sketchin

So after about a week and a half after my calf tattoo i started to get some ingrown hairs, now i put this down to the fact that my leg had just been shaved and i didn't ex-foliate it before hand (new to tattoos). I accepted this but they're not just localised in that area where the hair was shaved, they're up on my knee some are ingrown hairs others a just little red spots, some of them kinda hurt and have gotten a bit of white puss in them. Should i be worried? I used bepanthen to moisture the tattoo for the first week or so then when they came up i did a little googling didn't find much a part from some say A&D creams can do this so i switched to coco-butter. They're still there and have started getting dark red around them. I have a pretty pale leg so they look quite bad. Anyone have any ideas what i can do and why these have come up?

I've been using Bepanthen and my tattoo is healing really nicely though i had a few late nights and long sleeps so on slight areas of line work feel a little rough and scabby nothing serious though. But anyway i started getting little red spots so stopped the bepanthen and have just been using coco-butter. C ould get the recipe for the ointment you were given i've heard of a people using coco-butter and beeswax. I'd like to try something new when i go for my next session, also how thin do you mean, i've been heating my bepanthen so its really runny and using what would most likely be just over the size of a pea for my whole calf and rub it in until its not greasy.

I'm not black btw, some may have assumed this which. I obviously have it in me, i have some of the features as you'd expect. Maybe i will just get some dreads, always wanted dreads anyway.

cheers for the reply gave me some stuff to think about etc.

Yeah i guess that makes sense, to be honest i know of people getting longer than 6hours sessions but yeah that was how long the artist felt he could work for well, i literally said "look im happy to sit here as long as your happy to work you're the one doing the tattoo" i reckon i could have sat there at got it finished though, impatiens helps ;D

Nah she hates tattoos i could tell she was disappointed when she saw my first. The Red hot chilli pepper logo on my ankle. Also she got a scar when she was very young It has meaning behind it but she hates that also, wasn't her choice to get it done nor her ears pierced and she hates them. Hasn't noticed the solid neo-traditional dragon on my calf yet. Not finished but all the line-work is done and a lot of the dragon is coloured, she is getting older now though heh.

It's why i was a little surprised to find nothing, maybe i wasn't looking in the right places.

So my nan is from Ghana so i have a lot of African relatives and 1/4 African. I am very proud of my African heritage and would love sometimes African, i have had a good look on pintrest (if you don't know pintrest its a great app go download it, completely free and great) and a few google searches but i couldn't think of a better place to post this. Pretty much all i found was scarification which im sure a lot on here are into but personally not me, never say never but no, lol. However i really want something African done, now this won't be for a while, hell i've only just had my first proper tattoo. Saying that i've always loved them and always known i would be getting some ink, planned my first when i was about 14 (more about that in my introduction thread) I'm basically here to ask if anyway knows of any African styles. I did think about getting the African continent on me, somewhere lol, again this wont be for a while i still have 10 hours left on my 'first' and i even have plans to expand on that later in the year when i have the funds. But yeah is there any African specific style i could look at and get some ideas from? Anything would help right now i haven't found much myself. (i have thought of an African animal but im unsure as the thread)

Love it mate! Seriously really good stuff!

Here is my personal opinion and im new to tattoos and healing and it speculation. If you give it a good clean and are very careful, i mean clean hands brand new kitchen roll to dab dry after a quick wash or at least not using the first few sheets etc there should hopefully be no bacteria on the tattoo to fester, and if you wrap it correctly so it is air tight as it were and fully covered so no clothing or outside objects can even touch the tattoo i don't think there is a massive risk for it to get infected. Yes you will get more of a plasma build up and it will be moist and depending on the placement sweat slightly (maybe sweat wouldn't be good though right now lets say im talking about my current placement which is on the calf), but this is just white blood cells, wouldn't that also aid the fresh wound a little bit? at least if you did this for a day or two? Now if white blood cells being on the fresh wound wouldn't do anything but then i guess it is pointless and will just slow down the healing process and if you impatient like me and eager to that next session them 3 days longer are too long... LOL! Now this would, i'd assume slow the process of healing a little but i've only heard of people being told to re-wrap for a maximum of 3days. My stepsister has used this method for all her tattoos and she hasn't had any problems with the healing process. I went to a different studio, and personally i think a better one. Now i was told be to keep it wrapped for 24hours; (this was a large and long session on my first he said leave for around 4hours though that was small) then wet slightly making sure you don't soak the tattoo and use luke warm water; wash with a non-fragrance gentle soap such as sanex zero which is what i use; dab it dry with kitchen roll; i make sure to not use the first few sheets; heat some water leave my tube of Bapenthen in the hot water to give it an oiler consistency (again large tattoo makes for easier coverage) and then just be very careful with what you let touch the tattoo. I am very careful, it's my first real tattoo so i've been rolling up my trousers or wearing shorts, if im resting my leg on something i put a clean towel down first etc. Yes this may be a little OCD but it's my first real tattoo and well i sat for 6hours with one break to pee and like 3 cigs while he was changing needles or getting colour, and i paid a far amount of money for the days work so im not risking it. Not only does this faster method mean faster healing it also means the faster it heals the sooner i get my next session. I reckon i need another 10 hours of work. This would include background work. It's a 90s traditional oriental Dragon. (no you aint getting any pics until it is complete) Only question i have is has anyone used Bapenthen and found something better? This is the one thing that definitely varies, what lotion to use to keep sure it doesn't dry out too much and prevent bad scabbing. Oh and i forget this is an american site im a brit, Bapenthen is again a pure fragrance free none petroleum nappy cream. I'm sure anyone posting in here knows this but i will say it anyway just in case someone has been given bad advice don't use anything petroleum based such as Vaseline it will draw out some of the ink. Seriously though what do you guys think of my method and also my theory on wrapped tattoos, im a tattoo noob so give me all your knowledge :D though i aint stupid, i think. Also 10th post, thank you, thank you. *bows to applause*

6hour session what i like to hear. Is that kinda the limit most artist are willing to do, at least ones with sense? Also the only reason for my thread title was to put my mind at ease so i could sleep. And i will definitely start that thread, wish i could do it now. I'm going to have a ganders through the forum a little bit before i hit the hay. Went for a walk today just to get out a bit, big mistake, went a little to far. My leg started to hurt so to make sure i didn't 'stress' it out further i had to limp about a mile / mile and a half now my other leg is aching lol how counter-productive i am!

I'd love to maybe just start a thread about this but i can't yet (i'm on about African tattoos). There may be a thread on this subject already but i'm going to post here anyway; at least a few people are watching this thread. I haven't been able to find any real African styles, only scarification, anyone know any links / styles i could look at, specifically Ghanaian? Anyway it's pretty damn late (early) in the UK i need to rest. Peace. - Sketch

True, but im not in work at the moment and im about to be going back into college in September too. But at least i'll be going with this phat tattoo lol. Worth all the money no doubt just im paying £350 per day which is about 6hours. Pretty much the same as all the local / slightly non local studios i've spoken with but to me at least it' not a cheap thing. Though im happy to pay to these guys, they are really safe. Fuck they're in my home town also so it's nice to support them. And we do a lot of the same things if you catch my drift.

It has a little. Can't wait until this heals up then end of january going for my second session again im sitting for 6hours, then i will probs need at least another 4-6hours. Expensive things tattoos aye.

I was going by what my stepsister suggested she has experience with tattoos. Last tattoo i got from him i done exactly what he said and i healed pretty well, there is still a slight scab on it though everywhere else i fully healed. Also every now and then it just suddenly kills for a few seconds then goes. This normal? Im relatively new to tattoos and this one is rather large too. Whole calf.

Didn't get to sleep until about 5am which wasn't great but i did sleep which i know is very important with healing. God my leg looked black sooo much blood and plasma, when i took the cling flim off it was sooo thick, quite nasty. What rinsed it, dabbed dry heated up some Bepanthen (makes it a bit less of a thick consistency and makes it much easier to apply) rubbed it into my tattoo and re-wrapped it. I know my artist said i didn't need to but i think i will do this for another 2 days. Obviously replacing it each time i clean and cream up my tattoo. I didn't really want to post my tattoo until it finished, hmmm....

Haha, definitely my favourite album, though i do love Live in Hyde park, just because of that 14min guitar solo ;D I think the logo makes such a good tattoo, i was going to get it on my wrist but it's on my right inner ankle, i love the placement. This Japanese tattoo i'm getting looks killer already, my artist loves me lol because i was happy to sit for 6hours straight and he says he rarely gets someone like that so he never really gets to see his tattoo take shape in the first session. Line-work is definitely the most painful part i think. But i manned through it, partly because if im paying for a full day im staying for a full day and im impatient lol. I wanted to at least get the line-work sorted so you can make sense of the tattoo since it won't be finished till Mid-late January at the earliest. I'm going to assume you have ink, if so what was your first piece? - - - Updated - - - I wish i could but i suffer from quite bad insomnia, i haven't slept in two days anyway... I did have a rest last night. Laid in bed for like 5 hours trying to sleep so i wasn't fully wacked out for my appointment. But yeah right now i'm wide awake even though i'm on valium and sleep deprived. And it's 1:07am.

OK. Thank you. I was hoping i didn't just sit for 6hours straight for my tattoo too be fucking messed up lol. The artist was pretty impressed with how long i sat for, i paid for a days work so i was getting my moneys worth haha! This is gonna be a pricey tattoo, at least for me. I probable need another 10hours on it. I love it so far, i won't give much away until it is finished which sadly wont be until next year as i need whats done to heal then i'll do another 6hour session. If they went longer i'd stay longer though lol, i do however know getting too much done at once isn't a great idea. At the end of the day it's an open wound and a big session can put your body in shock. I would post up my Red Hot Chill Peppers tattoo but it isn't fully healed. I got fluff stuck to it when it was scabbing and have one scab on it still, not too thick but thicker than i'd like but i wont pick it. Also anyone have problems with ingrowing hairs, is it best to just leave them in case they contain bloody puss or should i get some tweezers and pull out the hairs then wash the tattoo? Anyhoo a little about me like i said i would introduce myself once i'd carmed down a little bit. I'm very new to tattoos though i have been thinking about the ones i have / working on for a long time. I wanted the Red Hot Chill Peppers logo on me ever since i was like 14 and im 20 now. And i've been thinking about getting some traditional 90s Japanese stuff done for over a year. I really admire Ed Hardy's work, specifically when he moved to Japan and started doing the Japanese tattoos, i actually saw a very good documentary about him a while back wish i knew the name as i'd love to watch it again. - Sketch

Hey, i'm not going to lie the reason i found and joined the forum is because i have a question though i'm sure i'll stay as i have just gotten the tattoo bug. Here it goes: I have just had my first session on my second tattoo this was 6hours (yup 6hours with like two cig breaks) now i was told to leave the clingfilm on until tomorrow morning. As i left the tattoo looked lovely but now about 6 hours ago. Now it all looks completely fucked, the clingfilm is still on but it's like all the colour has blended, seriously it's looking very very black and yeah like i said a fucking mess. I have a neo-japanese dragon on my calf this tattoo was so beautiful not 100% finished i will probs need at least another 6 hour session maybe 10 more hours. Is it just because i've got them clingfilm on it looks messy or should i be worried my skin just rejected all the ink and i have now fucked up my body and will probs have to get some major cover up. Looking through the clingfilm it really does look a mess and ruined. I'm praying it's just because it's still damp because it hasn't been aired and washed yet and after than will look like it did when i left the studio. Please could someone give me an answer so i can stop panicking and get some sleep. Seriously this is only my second and my first was a small very simple one (Red hot chilli peppers logo if anyone is interested). Seriously im never new to tattoo. Could someone please reassure me it is just because the tattoo is just still wet, leaking some white blood cells and a bit of the ink which hasn't absorbed is just mixing a little due to it being wet? So much thanks to whoever can answer me the question seriously i wont be able to sleep until i know it's fine! - Sketch - - - Updated - - - Now i'll introduce myself once im not stressing like a madman!!