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Hey Folks- I am a filmmaker and tattoo enthusiast. I've been going to the Greenpoint Tattoo Company in Brooklyn, New York for five years now and the owner (John Reardon) and I have always joked about Parks and Rec set in a tattoo shop. Well, we made it- albeit in web series form. It can be seen here for free: Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 There is a bit more information and a binge watch version on www.inkincshow.com. It stars a few other tattooers and plenty of weird clients. We really wanted to stay true to tattooing and expose some of the more annoying things artists deal with on a day to day basis. I hope you enjoy it.

Have any of you experienced raised skin/ink up to 6 weeks after getting tattooed? I've heard that red ink in particular often takes longer to heal, but the rest of this tattoo wept, peeled, and healed in about 2 weeks while a few patches of solid red are still raised, itchy, and peeling now (almost 7 weeks after getting tattooed). I've had similar heals with other red inks, but none that have lasted this long. Any tips on how to deal with this? Tattoo is on my lower leg, just above the ankle. I know that everyone heals differently, just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and can share their experiences. Thanks.

Ah I got it, Hello all, Names Morgan just as is in my User name. Been tattooing now 11 years, currently working out of Oakland at Bell and Iron tattoo. On of my co-workers turned me on to this site and so here I am. Cheers.

Just tell your artist about your reaction/allergy/whatever to certain inks and ask if s/he could use other pigments instead. No one likes being told how to do their job, but this sounds like a legitimate request and one that I hope would garner some empathy. Keep in mind that not all inks/pigments are created equal, and your artist may have a strong preference for something other than what you suggest.

Been liking the Hustle Butter. Sometimes my artist gives me a big packet of it, I just got 3 5-oz jars on Amazon for $45. Super deal if you are having a lot of work done. My upper left arm, healed great a couple weeks ago. Hustle Butter was all I used.

you figured it out, good stuff ! i like positive outcomes, especially when it's tattoo related.

el twe, I am. He did mention "Ill knock a few dollars off cause of all the breaks". So he did seem aware of the issue before I said something. Maybe he had something personal going on, and was having a real hard time with it. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the situation, since his apology seemed very legit. He even said in the email that he did bring it up to the shop owner so everyone knows the situation. I wouldn't go public (Yelp, Facebook Reviews, etc) until I at least gave them the opportunity to correct it. That would probably guarantee that I wouldn't get a credit/money back! I do understand that it was a bad experience with that one artist, and not all artist at that shop are that way, and would have just considered changing artist had the manager be willing to work with me.

I have trouble getting to my "happy place" if I have anyone with me, and, in general, I think it is a distraction for most everyone. If the person is cool, the artist is okay with it, and they know how to behave and blend into the scenery then it can be fine. So often it is like these nightmare scenarios described above, however, and that's what ruins it for the cool kids, as usual...

I really really like going to my sessions alone. I like being focused on the experience and on connecting with the artist too. I know some artists don't mind having you bring a companion but I also don't want to be worrying about anyone else—if they're okay, are they getting bored, are they hungry—while I'm getting tattooed. (Unless we're both getting tattooed.) My brother went with me one time but that was a really quick session (less than an hour) and the two of us had fun chatting with the artist while she worked. My aunt who was hosting me in Seattle arrived too early to pick me up after my appointment and she soon got bored so she and her husband left to have dinner while I was finishing up (it was a 9-hour session). One time, two travel companions insisted on walking me to the tattoo studio in Denmark. I told them they can say hi to the artist but that they wouldn't be allowed in the tattooing area. So they did that, gushed over his design, and left. Then again it might be a different scenario if you're talking about a person you really really like. Maybe weigh if having her there for the entire five hours would make the experience better for you? Otherwise, maybe you can ask her to drop by when the session is close to being done. :)

Hahaha...that's fun! I didn't this year but got one last year (posted in the Lowdown thread).

Kinda like this? As far as I've figured out, it's an allergic reaction to the specific color. 2 artists told me that they had a nurse come in when a client had a similar effect. They said the body is basically always trying to reject the ink, and it can stay this way for a long time. Another tattoo I have with what appears to be the same reacton is over 2 years old and it is still slightly raised and flakes every now and then. Now, I don't remember the color used, but the same 2 artists believed it was a color named Deep Red, either by Intenze or Ethernal. Recommendation? Stop caring about it. Are you going to surgically remove it? Probably not. And don't let any artists use the same brand of ink that caused it in the first place.

I've found red ink takes longer to heal on me too! All of my red ink areas have gone scabby so far - I even had one area get a little permanent dented scar. Recently got sunburned on the roses on my thigh (accident - I re-applied 3 times) and all of the red petals became raised and hot. then went super itchy and now flat again!