LizBee

I will just pile on here and say I'm completely blown away with how my upper arm piece did with Tegaderm. Typical treatment first 10 hours to let the initial plasma leak out, etc., tegaderm four days, remove the film, soap and water and it peeled all at once, now it looks completely healed, smooth, bright colors, soft, not dried out or peely. People can't believe their eyes, knowing when I had it done. Going back soon to finish the work and am eager to share results with the shop, and I'll never go back.

Two days after upper arm piece and first time with Tegaderm use. I have to say I think this is the way to go for me. At the very least it makes life easier in terms of keeping bedding clean and not having to worry about slipping clothes on and off - it is like a slippery shield of protection. Edit: Nevermind. Just went to make the bed. White sheets and duvet. Black and red stained plasma leaked out of the top of the Tegaderm. Fuck.

Maybe not worry as much about the date of the tattoo being applied to your skin, but work an important date into the tattoo design itself, if the date is significant. Then you can work with your artist to see which date lends itself, artistically, best to your design, since you've got several dates to choose from.

Yeah, you're right, @Tornado6, and tomorrow I finally get my left shoulder piece, but, in my mind (don't know if this is how others feel about where their tattoos go) this tattoo MUST be on my LEFT shoulder cap, not the right, no way no how, but not exactly sure why and there is not a clear reason for that. So, if I find that the one-shoulder top trend leans towards showing the right shoulder, I'd still have to go with a left shoulder tattoo! For the first time ever I'll be sad to see warm weather leaving us this fall and have to start covering up my new shoulder piece as the cold starts creeping in. However, there are always occasions, even in the winter, where women bare their shoulders, so all is not lost!

You'll get used to seeing it on yourself and it will stop alarming you. This is your first tattoo?

I consider it looking for trouble, and there is enough trouble finding us all, no matter how hard we try to avoid it, without seeking it out, IMO.

I do not think this is infection at all (I am in the medical field and see skin infections often) but you do appear to be having a scar reaction. I'd say the artist was a bit heavy-handed on the right side, and it is a hypertrophic scar response, but of course that's me looking at a pic over the internet so take it for what it is worth. This is the risk we all take when being tattooed, and I would not blame the artist, since they can't know ahead of time how your skin will respond, especially since obviously your skin doesn't always respond this way. I'd also NOT do anything to it at all, especially not this soon. You run the risk of making it worse by touching it up, though I'd get some more opinions on that - this is just my own opinion.

@soraya, I like your comment about how you, as a tattooed person, sometimes stare at tattoos, and you're right, so do I, in appreciation! So the stares are not always in horror or distaste, and sometimes I really wish someone would stop so I could look more closely to see them. You just don't know what someone will perceive as rudeness, though. I also like your comment, @Bunny Switchblade, about how people are people, and you aren't "a tattooed person" but just "a person," as this is a conversation I have with my daughters all the time. We tend to label people, categorize them, since it is human nature to do so, but it shouldn't be much different than, like you say, someone with jewelry versus without, or short hair versus long, spectacles versus contact lenses, etc.

I'd be rather surprised if that pink went back to deep red, though I am no expert. If you are not happy with what you have, in that it is not the tattoo you agreed upon (pink color instead of red) and they respond with "too bad, no touchups, like it or lump it" then I'd accept this tattoo for what it is and move on. My own artist wanted to see mine after about three weeks and then be sure I was happy, though, so I'd give it that much time. If they have told you "no touchups" then I guess the point is moot!

Wow, @beez, I had not thought about that! I live in one of the most tattooed cities in the US, and sometimes I forget that.... it is easy to wander around with them showing and not worry about it.

@soraya, that's a great observation, and I'll even add a bullet to your list: I am one person that, depending on my mood, could fall into any of the categories above! I do wonder if this is more of a female thing, too, and if guys with tattoos put this much thought into it, lol. Probably some guys do, and some don't, just like the rest of us. I'll be getting a new shoulder piece in a week and a half and I'll definitely shop differently for clothes now, with sleeveless dresses/tops having more appeal than they did before, and, by the same token, short-sleeved sweaters and wraps will be on my radar now to have on hand to be worn at work, at the ready when a cover-up is needed.

This is really the important bit, right here. Work is work, and is where you apply your skills, and get paid for it. If you have an artistic vocation then you're probably expected to inject your personal style into it, but in my line of work it is a distraction to have "too much goin' on" and I prefer to be put together, stylish, clean and appropriate, but anything beyond that could take away from my performance, perhaps. It is not the time or place for it, in other words. I personally don't mind it in others, because I have a very open mind and tend NOT to be distracted by others' expressions of personal style, but many people would be distracted by it, and I prefer to just keep things simple and let my professional skills shine and be the thing that people know about me and remember about me, primarily. In other words, there doesn't have to be any angst about it, it is just business. :)

Black and grey for now, color for the other arm. No need to choose - you can have it all!

Yes, yes I do. Edit: Let me also say that my tattoos are not on my face, not on my lower arms, or anywhere that I could not easily cover them in my relatively conservative profession (medical), though I do have probably more freedom than I used to. At work I tend to keep them covered, but otherwise, NOT. I have them as an artistic expression, and want to display them, and that means even if I am in a non-work setting where I will see professional colleagues, meaning that in a professional work setting I tend to hide them, not because I don't want colleagues to know, but because that setting is not the place to display my personal artistic expression. When I'm on my own time, and happen to run into them, my colleagues are welcome to see my body art and I don't mind a bit.

For me, different experiences at each shop, and also this has been spread out over about 15 years. The older ones were pretty straightforward and I wasn't particularly worried about the cost, and I honestly can't remember if I tipped or not! I didn't know any better back then, that's for sure. I didn't even know that I ought to research artists before scheduling. More recently my artist liked to handle everything by email initially, with a plan about what I wanted, size, etc., with me sending him pics of the body part I wanted tattooed, and a lot of back and forth in an email consultation. I scheduled an appointment in person, and he had the sketch ready, and I went for it. We had already worked out the cost by email ahead of time - he seemed very interested in settling that ahead of time. He's been at it about 20 years. My upcoming work will be done by an artist that does not want to do anything over email but wants to meet you and have a consult in person to discuss what you want, and she gave me a rough idea of how long it will take, plus how much per hour she charges, so I can have a rough idea. We then went to her calendar and I couldn't get on the schedule for 3 months. I was a little surprised at that kind of delay but I don't know what is going on in her life, since she travels and she may be away for the summer. I don't mind - I really want HER to do this tattoo, and compared to having this on my skin the rest of my life, 3 months is nothing. I also tried to get some work done by another artist I admire but she won't do any work that she herself doesn't like and wouldn't enjoy seeing in her personal portfolio, so she refused to tattoo me. She considers her clients to be her own canvas, like if she went down to the craft store and purchased it, and hung it on her own wall, so she has to like the tattoo she's doing. I find it interesting how different artists have wildly different approaches to how they deal with their clients. Artists are entitled to this, and it is the nature of the gift!

@Sick, definitely start here: Worst Tattoo EVER! | General Tattoo Forum | Last Sparrow Tattoo

I have had varied experiences myself, similar to @Tornado6. I've had sketches emailed and essentially free consults online, others who won't use email at all except to say "give the shop a call," and once I had a consult, a rough quote and an appointment a month ahead, but a couple of days later got a call to say he had a cancellation that afternoon and if I could get my butt over there for the time slot he'd cut my price by 20%, no matter how long it took! It wound up being a great tattoo at a very reasonable price, so I overtipped, so he'd know I appreciated his work. This is really no different than any other aspect of getting a tattoo, when you break it down. If you walk in and the place seems iffy, the vibe is off, they misunderstand you or you misunderstand them, you have trouble "connecting," etc., you need to find another shop/artist. If you walk in and you are made to feel awkward about the cost then that might not be the shop for you. When it is right, all of the pieces seem to just fall into place, including how to work out the money issue. I know of an artist who is of the "if you need to ask, you can't afford me," type. Some artists are just that - purely artists - and consider every tattoo a commissioned piece that has their name on it, and won't do the tattoo if they don't want it in their portfolio, or on the wall of their personal gallery. If they don't like the design themselves they won't do it. Other tattoo artists are willing to do whatever you, the customer, want done. They have a talent and they make a living doing it, and that's all there is to it. There are all types of tattoo artists and you need to find the one that you're comfortable with in every aspect, including how they charge for their work. Most of us have a specific tattoo budget, so it is absolutely critical that you are not blindsided when it comes time to pay, and you shouldn't apologize for that.

I will second the motion to go to a convention. Artists, understandably, put together a portfolio of only their best work, just like plastic surgeons, lol, so you're only going to see the stuff they are MOST proud of, in most cases. For me, I spent a lot of time looking at good tattoos, and even looking at sites that showcase really BAD tattoos so I could get an understanding of the range of styles and techniques, and I began to have a very specific eye for what I wanted and what I knew would work for me. All that browsing really helped me know what I wanted, which in turn helps the artist help YOU get what you want.

@jimstanley, I can relate, and am especially amused (?) by the last bit about Minor Threat. My friends and I were chewed out by Ian Mackaye for smoking and drinking behind the BAR that he was playing in, which I had to sneak into for being underage, and though we were all major fans, we simply blinked at him. Plus, when I look at old pics from the punk scene, hardly ANYONE had tattoos, lol. So much plain skin seems so strange to my eye now.

Yeah, I think you'll LOVE your feet and ankles if you decorate them in this way.

Great idea, @pidjones. I had completely forgotten this, it was a long time ago, but I did the very same thing - I went to Claire's (a jewelry/accessory store for young girls) and got temporary tattoos of vines/tribal type stuff and walked around with them for a while to see how it would look, or at least give me an idea. It was very helpful! :)

I don't have the slimmest of ankles, either, and that's where I got my first tattoos - on both of them. I urge you not to judge yourself, or label your body parts with pejoratives, lol, and simply get a tattoo where you feel led to get on placed. I knew my first tattoos were meant to go on my ankles, though I have no real explanation for why, and that's what I did. I even got my tattoos circumferentially around each ankle, which, if you listen to the style gurus, cuts off your leg and makes short legs look shorter (not supposed to wear ankle straps on shoes, for instance). To hell with that crap! Ignore our image-obsessed culture and do what you like, and get a tattoo that YOU like.

Mine have never gotten itchy, either. Peeling and peeling, then when I think it is done it peels some more, but not itching, thank goodness. I'm allergic to so many things, foods, environmental stuff/pollen/insects, so I feel fortunate I don't get a histamine response to tattoo ink, or whatever causes the itching.

Yeah, this is really the thing about it. She is very pleased to know that I'd put this on my body permanently. It helps a lot that it is a decent design - WHEW! I warned her that the artist might tweak it a little and she's cool with that. She's starting at an arts high school in the fall (the same one her older sister went to, and the same one that Rayvon Owen from American Idol went to) and is focusing on visual arts. @Synesthesia, what was the design you did for your dad?

I agree with Iwar - I think you'd be surprised to see what a good artist can do to give you something that, believe it or not, you might like even BETTER than the one you saw on IG. Show them your inspiration, and let them create something for you, after you've found an artist that does other work that is in a similar style.