Valerie Vargas

i find having a hot bath the first night of the tattoo really helps to open up pores and get all the extra gunk off, washing with dr bronner's liquid soap too, it really gives that squeaky clean feeling on your skin. for cream i recommend e45 or cocoa butter but always the least amount you can get away with. if you keep your tattoo clean by washing it a couple of times during the day (for the first week max) i find theres little need for any cream. personally i barely use any, just take care of washing my tattoo often seems to be enough. people with greasier skin shouldnt use cream in my book, everyone's different and this is why i will always have a proper chat with my customer after their tattoo, specially if it's their first time getting tattooed by me.

So i've been getting a couple of pieces removed with laser and wondered what other laser technicians have said is good aftercare for customers. Ive been using Aloe-99 cold processed aloe vera gel as soon as i get home. by then the treated area is beginning to swell and is red hot. I'll wash the area with some dr bronners liquid soap (i use it at home and the tattoo shop) and apply the aloe vera gel straight away. i will repeat almost as soon as the last batch was absorbed and do this as many times as i can before bed, then i have recently discovered that if i wrap up my leg (thats where the offending tattoos are) with lots of the gel for the first day following treatment (and change the dressing a few times during the day), the swelling is minimized and the discomfort is minimal without clothes rubbing on it all day. i'm on day 3 since my last treatment (ive had 3 on one and 4 on the other) and bruising has def taken over and the mad itching begins. no one told me how insanely itchy lasered skin gets, holy shit! it's primal, you cant stop yourself, ill even wake myself up in the middle of the night full on scratching with all my nails. also it goes without saying that laser treatment needs the patience of a saint and shouldnt be taken lightly, for a start it hurts WAY more than the original tattoo ever did, it's not a quick way to remove or lighten any tattoos, it's expensive over time. i know people whove been trying to laser off medium sized plain black tattoos for a couple of years and they are only beginning to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. your lasered tattoo WILL look like shit for the whole period of time you are treating it ( i reckon it looks a bit like mouldy bread), i'm lucky cos mine are on my legs and i got so many tattoos around them you almost don't notice somethings amiss unless you know what youre looking at. i only recommend laser to my customers if they want a cover up anyway and it's gonna help lighten the original tattoo. ive seen that laser just aint the magic cure to completely get rid of tattoos. ps. once it's all over and it's time for the cover ups i will post before and after pics, but really, it's not gonna be for a frickin long while!

i got an invite and have a few to give out, still not sure about it. kinda feel the same as that other google thing that went down the shitter recently, google wave.

i agree with stewart, what you need is art printers, not the high street stuff. i had some giclee prints made last year and they are DEFINITELY not cheap.

i think money should always be discussed before any bookings are made. this is a business transaction after all, like getting all excited by some beautiful alligator skin stiletto heels, running to the cash point without checking the price tag and and having your eager heart broken cos they were $3000. im sure there's some sort of analogy that would suit guys better but hey...

I've had to stay up late to call a different time zone when booking a tattoo session and it's no biggie. At the end of the day it makes everything easier for everyone involved.

i'm a bit scatter brained and do forget details sometimes, usually if i've had a consult months before the appt. but i take notes every time to help me jog my memory. there has been times ive had to call someone and double check what were doing, because ive forgotten what we spoke about or to clarify since they have the same name as another client of mine. i dont think ive forgotten completely what i was ever gonna tattoo on someone but id hold off till the day of the appt and see what happens and trust your tattooer. i only draw up designs a couple of days ahead max, and sometimes even on the day itself (on paper, or on drawn up on the skin with marker pens)

never EVER feel dumb for calling, these tattoo artists will usually be paying the wages of the kid that answers the phone. this is to minimize having to sit at home in the evening using up their wind down time answering emails. that's certainly me, and anyway, some of my receptionists know more about my schedule than me and are way more eloquent than me at answering questions. personally I'm done with emails and do everything through frith street, it's amazing how much time replying to emails sucks out of your day off/evenings. if you phone and then they explain that said artist prefers email conversations, then there's your answer!

there's no plans to release them on DVD sadly, so make sure you bookmark the videos when they come out :)

Just got round to watching it, today was my catching up day, and i truly cannot wait!

Really great interview, zero negatives from me. ps, funny to hear Tim telling stories in the background haha

uggggnhhhhh

i enjoy both though i'm covered mostly in colour tattoos. i think i get a little more excited about color tattoos but thats mostly due to the style it's executed in for example, i love b&g style tattoos but not so keen on traditional tattoos done in black and grey. also i much prefer b&g portraits, not into colour ones at all.

AWESOME! i'm right stoked, thank you, will message you the noo!

These are great! I was just talking to my boyfriend about making tattoo design cushions covers then saw this post. i love the devil one!

i have a uniform for work. it's whatever is clean in my house haha! i'm a slouchy person so most of my clothes are slouchy, i wish i could care more about the way i dress but i can't seem to. being comfortable is important to me, physically and psychologically, i simply feel like a dork if i try to match an outfit together. i live in jeans and plain tshirts. on the shop uniform thing though, i couldnt imagine working in such an environment. to me it speaks of the shop's ethos. at frith street the emphasis is on the tattoos that come out of our shop, not the way we appear to the client. we dont turn up smelling of booze or wear offensive slogans/tshirts, we're a tidy bunch, but we try to let our work speak for itself instead.

not sure what to think of the new galleries... they do look better but i'm not sure what to think about my uncategorized images being categorized on my behalf. also when you click on a persons profile and try to check out their work, it just takes you to a massive gallery of everyones tattoo uploads making it hard to keep track of whose work youre looking at. we'll see how it goes...

You spelled Stewart's name wrong in your last paragraph.

i agree with iwar, having a tattoo for only a few months is not long enough , i feel, to make such a drastic decision. my advice is to live with it for longer and to just enjoy getting tattooed. covering up such a nice tattoo, being so new, will make a mess of your arm and lasering it won't really work. the few people i have come across that seem to be in your situation end up being so focused on that one tattoo they dont like that it's all they can think of and really, the more tattoos you get the more you wil realise what a great design it is. personally i think it's really great with a nice sentiment behind it to boot.

I do a bunch, but i always forget to take the before pic. i'm working on a few so wil keep reminding myself to take one and put them on here when I finish 'em.