byzantine

Looks like that little cluster of bumps falls under where your bra strap would lie. Have you tried wear a strapless/ halter for a while to see if it goes away?

@Sol James they're both great. Similar to Florian Santus - although he's had "bookings closed" for 2 years so a good alternative 😅

How about something classic like “Memento Mori” . Keep it simple

I totally feel your pain. When I got my elbow tattooed it didn't turn out how I expected at all. I hated it. It was the only tattoo on my arm and I spent around 6 months wearing 3/4 or long sleeve because I couldn't stand the sight of it. I already had quite a few pieces but had a weirdly emotional reaction to this one and lost sleep and just felt really regretful and unsettled. I also considered getting laser and even went for a consultation - it was so dark a cover wasn't an option. In the end I decided to get another tattoo, rather than laser. Right next to my elbow tattoo. I loved it and have got more since. I'm so glad I didn't get laser - it would have been so painful and expensive. If you can - live with it a little longer. It's only been a couple of months. Give it 6, even a year if you can. You'll be surprised how much your feelings change. I found the hardest thing was not to obsess over it and stare at it all the time, so it was easiest to just get up, put a long sleeve on and not think about it. IMO it's a good tattoo. Remember it will fade more still aswell - it usually takes 6 months for them to fully settle/ fade.

😑

I'd let it be - they are just part of getting tattooed - best to learn to love em! That said - if you really can't stand the blown out bits, you can always get the actually blowout lasered. Couple of passes and it will probably get rid like this pic shows

Keep it covered til the night, wash out all the goo and rewrap with saran. Next few days wash with antiseptic soap - usually a bar of dettol - and rewrap every 4ish hours during the day, applying moisturiser if needed I wet heal my tattoos until it feels ready to let them dry out - usually after 2-3 days. Stops them scabbing. Also stops them touching my clothes. Only exception is in hot weather when the saran comes off a lot sooner.

I'm not from Baltimore and I don't know tonnes about Japanese - but this guy looks good https://www.instagram.com/franmassino/

Yep - it's normal for it to look a lot lighter after the scabs fall off. Black will never look as dark as when the tattoo is fresh. In reality it's always gonna look more of a dark blue than actual black. Occasionally you may also get lighter spots related to bits not healing so well / ink fallout - hard to know that til it's fully healed though.

I'm not sure what Cicaplast but it sounds like the Bepanthen might not be helping ya - they changed the ingredients in January and it's no longer good for healing tattoos. My boyfriend had a similar reaction when healing his latest tattoo - around an area of red - it caused some ink fallout - we figure it was cause by that. This article is helpful https://inkluded.co.uk/2017/01/18/never-use-bepanthen-new-tattoo/ . Could be something totally different - but either way I'd cut the Bepanthen - I hear Hustle Butter is a good alternative.

It's pretty bizarre and unnecessary IMO. And I'm really not keen on the idea of powdered plexiglass being put in the body! In all truth, it also put's me off getting tattooed by green circle people because they are endorsing it...

Pentagrams are cool. Keep it. If you want to get rid later, laser will probably work or there's always option to cover.

Really hope you're not trying to do this cover up yourself.

Interesting article on why not to use bepanthen / alternatives. Think I'll go for shea butter and coconut oil next time after reading this... http://inkluded.co.uk/2017/01/18/never-use-bepanthen-new-tattoo/

bloody eyes on my butterfly gal. by herb auerbach last year. just after he added the white.

Healed lady I got from Ivan Antonyshev while he was guesting in Leeds last month. Spotted this design on the Mainstay T-shirt and fell in love with it. So stoked to get a piece from him at last.

here's a little butterfly babe I got from Matthew Houston. Glad I managed to get tattooed by him before he headed off to Vancouver!

Yep! Which artist did those? @floriansantus does some amazing ones.

Trad collar and then roses on each side

Call me a purist but I'd save up, fly out and get the real deal. Flights to Barcelona are going to be affordable in advance ( at least he's based in Europe). Can either make a trip of it- take a friend, get tattooed on the last day or go there and back on 1 day. Croatia is smack bang in the middle of Europe - everything is within reach. Perfect for starting a tattoo collection.

IMO i think you should lay off getting tattooed for a bit - your other tattoos - aren't even healed yet. honestly, adding a load of fillers is not the best thing to do right now. but when you do fill the gaps (one day) in your current pieces, I think a snake winding through would be rad - snakes are great for filling awkward gaps.

Usually if I'm not happy with a tattoo it has a lot to do with the experience (arrogant artists, bad shop vibe etc) not always the actual tattoo. Think that has happened here since you got overcharged. It's really easy to obsess but try to channel your focus into other stuff for a while - it's almost winter so at least you won't see them all the time. Get more tattoos when the time is right and do a heck load of research.

Yep, 200%...and the rest ?

hey @bloodsport cool first one. I know some people that prefer to concentrate on one limb or area but I like to go all over the place- wherever feels good and kind of balances my body- usually the opposite of my last tattoo. when I have too much on one side I fee lopsided : / so I'd say go opposite side somewhere. have you considered legs? they're pretty easy to hide too for work purposes etc. it can also work going to an appointment with a few placement possibilities in mind, or a totally open mind. sometimes I go to get a piece and end up with a tattoo somewhere totally different to what I intended just cause it didn't feel right there. Don't be afraid to try putting the stencil in a few spots til you're feeling it, although often first spot is always bang on : )

If you want to attract scratchers and weirdos this is the right way to go about it. We're all trying to seek out quality work from decent artists because there are so many people that suck out there! please don't invite them onto your body. Seek out a decent open minded artist who'll appreciate your approach. There are so many amazing artists who would love the chance to work on adventurous projects with a near blank canvas.