Kurgana

@LizBee that sucks, but from how you describe him it's quite likely he was just joking... Hope so!

Presumably you'll be wearing your kit over it so there should be little chance of direct impact damage to the tattoo. The 'derm may come off with excess sweat though (if you have the time there's quite a lot of info and experiences in the Tegaderm/Saniderm/Tatuderm thread in the Tattoo After Care section of the forum). With my last tattoo (second time using 'derm, two weeks old yesterday) I actually removed the 'derm at just under 3 days and it has been a very quick and easy heal. I guess I'd try to evaluate whether the tattooed area still feels tender if you poke it through the film and how important the game is for you, and go from there, obviously following any instructions given to you by your artist.

The reason why I went for the roll is that the larger sheets of Tegaderm don't seem to be available over here. Could have ordered them online & would have saved some money but with the postage from abroad the difference wasn't huge (I paid around 15 euros for a 10cmx2m roll). Here's a link to the 3M website: http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Tegaderm-Transparent-Film-Roll?N=5002385+8707795+8707798+8710678+8710820+8711017+8717839+3293321954&rt=rud Something you should be aware of is that the roll version is not and cannot be sold/classed as sterile since it's not packaged in the sealed pouch/envelope thingies the sheets are. However, many tattoo artists use 'derm rolls (Saniderm also comes in rolls, not sure if there are others) so it's good enough for me, provided that it is stored and handled properly.

My recent lower leg tattoo healed a lot faster than both my inner forearms for some reason. That said, providing that you can protect the tattoo from the sun I see no reason to turn down a holiday :). You could see if you can find some Tegaderm or Saniderm film to cover it while swimming just to be safe? It will be much more secure and comfortable than normal cling film. Not sure where you are from, but I just marched into a farmacy and ordered a small roll of Tegaderm that came in in about 2-3 days - I had never seen it for sale anywhere locally here in Italy, and they had no idea what I was talking about initially, but were able to look it up on the computer based on the manufacturer (3M) and the name of the product (I think it came up as "Tegaderm roll").

I'm with @polliwog, you definitely want to remove the 'derm before the tattoo fully dries out (unless you are able to keep it on until it's gone through the whole peeling stage but I have no idea how you'd be able to estimate that). On my first 'derm heal I removed it at 5 days, if I remember correctly, and boy it was dry/flaky/difficult to get off. Also, from the outside it seemed like the tattoo was cracking but I don't think it was done peeling at that stage. Happily the tattoo healed great. With my last piece I removed at 2 days and a half - the tattoo had basically dried up over the course of the last day or so but had not started cracking yet. I had applied at 3 hrs from finishing the tattoo but it weeped much less than the previous one for some reason. I think I hit the sweet spot because it was done oozing, not feeling tender either while removing the 'derm or after, and the skin wasn't overly dry. It started to and peel about 2 days later, and has been presentable (no flakes and was able to shave the leg) since day 10. And guys & gals, do try rounding the corners of your 'derm before applying, it makes a huge difference later on when it tends to roll up and pull off the skin!

@oboogie I can't say I have massive experience with 'derm healing after just two tattoos, but personally I'd do one of two things depending on how old your tattoo is: -if it's done oozing, I'd just patch the edge with another piece; -if it's not, I'd remove the 'derm, give the tattoo a thorough cleaning & reapply. One thing I found really helpful was to round the edges of the 'derm from the start since it always seems to start to roll up from the corners.

@pidjones congratulations to both of you! I've been with my husband for nearly 18 years, and one of the very first things we did together was to get a couple of tiny tattoos (tight student budget but that's probably a good thing, who knows what crappy tattoos I'd have now otherwise), followed by the dreaded name tattoos a couple of years later. We'd both always wanted more but somehow they never seemed to materialize until I got another one on holiday a couple of years back, and three more over the past year. My problem is too many ideas, his is too few :D but he's finally settled on getting his first large-ish one next month and I'm really looking forward to it as well. I hope that by now he has realized that I'm probably not going to stop getting tattoos unless I run out of space or money...

My forearms also oozed for a long time - first for about 3 days and the second a little longer (I fell ill after getting the tattoo so healing was really slow). That said, I really need to rant about my last one done on friday (outer calf). First the tattoo gun didn't make any noise (my first rotary tattoo), it didn't hurt, there was no pain or irritation or swelling afterwards (way different from my previous tattoos), minimal oozing, and it looked and felt perfect when I took off the tegaderm yesterday (monday). I was almost convinced he'd put one of those fake kiddy tattoos on me until it started peeling today :D. It's not even itchy... I feel like I'm cheating lol.

Hey, thanks for the update. Looking cool, I'm really liking the paper plane! When did you have it done? Now it's on to the least fun part of healing it (I guess I shouldn't complain though since mine that was done on friday is healing really well :)).

Just a quick follow-up, in the end I had no swelling at all and I just took off the tegaderm since the tattoo was feeling great and I wanted to be able to see it again. Seems like it's ready to peel, no scabbing and no tenderness whatsoever. This has been my easiest heal ever (including two tiny ones with just really thin linework). Definitely not what I expected, but I don't mind lol. Sorry for the crap pic, and the 'derm wrinkles! Tattoo is just under three days old.

So I finally had my calf tattoo done yesterday (pic in the latest tattoo lowdown thread). I'm wondering about the swelling which I still don't have at 32 hrs post tattoo - does it usually take some time to show up or have I dodged the bullet? That would be great because we decided to go with my uninjured leg in the end (for aestethic reasons) and since I still have some occasional residual swelling in that ankle, I'd rather not have two massive cankles lol. My skin seemed much less irritated than with my other tattoos, with barely any redness, for some weird reason. Have to say it was my least painful tattoo yet (the others are on both inner forearms, nape of my neck and a small piece each on upper arm & chest), to the point that I could have slept, but did my best to stay awake since I sometimes experience some fun leg twitching while asleep... I guess it could have been due to the artist's light hand and/or the kind of tattoo machine used (my first tat with a rotary). Also, it seems to be weeping a ton less than my forearm tattoos did, even though they are a bit smaller - so much so that I applied the tegaderm at just 3 hrs from the tattoo and I can still see the tattoo under it very clearly which is very different from the huge black bubble I got with the only other tattoo I 'dermed.

I was, too. I very rarely like portrait tattoos. So very happy I took the gamble after seeing his other work (he does not have much past work in a similar style) & talking to him about it on FB to start with. I guess it was his enthusiasm about the idea that convinced me initially, and he really did deliver more than I had dared to hope!

You pretty much summed up my thoughts at the moment! Such a great experience, amazing tattoo, amazing artist in every way! I really struggle to find words for how happy I am at the moment... plus we listened to Queen for the entire session :)

@oboogie here you go :). Done today by Mr_rom3o

That sounds super cool! I love both geometric blackwork & Studio Ghibli, please oh please post some pics here when it's done!

Freddie Mercury. I'm dying to see the initial sketch, my artist has been incredibly nice so far so I'd be even more bummed if I didn't like it.

I have the appointment for my next tattoo (neotraditional portrait thingy of my all time favourite singer) coming up on Friday and I'm deeeep into pre-tattoo jitters. Wish I didn't get like this every single time :D. What if I don't like the design, what if it comes out different from what I'm expecting, etc. My first bigger piece with colour and a new artist (whose style is generally a little different from what I'll be getting), too. Wish me luck, please :)!

@agadan93 nice! Since you are "sold" on the cloud(s) + balloon I guess I'd personally prefer more than one cloud. I have always been really happy with any changes my artists have suggested after hearing about my idea so I'd be open to that if he has anything to say about the design. Be sure to post some pics of your new tattoos once you get them!

@agadan93 definitely something you should discuss with your artist like marley mission said. I actually think your Goofy would be great in a sleeve like the one you posted (and no, it's not really considered the same style at all but some mash ups do work great, subject to the artist's ability and vision of course). I like weird stuff though and some tattoo purists would probably consider it an abomination :), but your body, your tattoo! Not sure if I like the balloon and the cloud in this kind of a context, at least in the style the images you posted were, but the background/filler type cloud in the sleeve you posted could work better? If you are thinking of building up a sleeve but are not completing it straight away, you really need to think what elements/images you want to include before filling up valuable space, and most people would get those before connecting the single tattoos with the background/filler. Who is your artist? I'm also getting a new one on the 10th, can't wait!

@agadan93 I like the idea of adding something under Goofy since I think at the moment the tattoo sort of cuts off quite abruptly. That said I personally feel like Goofy's upper body cruising around on a cloud risks to look a little weird if you know what I mean, though a good artist may be able to pull it off beautifully. Also, I really liked what @jadore suggested, a cool mandala or some sort of pattern with a totally different kind of style as a background. Obviously only you can decide what to do, since your tattoo should cater to your personal taste. I'd talk about it with the artist you are intending to use, usually they are willing to help you with the overall design & have a good eye for what will work and what won't.

Ciao e benvenuto da Palermo :D. Starting from your tattoo, I'd do a cartoon/Disney arm, probably getting several different characters I like and then tying them together with filler tattoos/background when there's no space left for decent size pieces. That's if you're going for a cohesive sleeve look. I don't actually mind separate smallish tattoos on the arm either, it's really up to your personal preference.

@ChrisvK Claudio Romeo from Palermo, or mr_rom3o on insta (hope he's not reading here lol). I'm not sure if he's planning to be guesting anywhere soon (they just opened the studio in the end of last year and he seems pretty busy), but I really like your idea! @bladezzz thank you! I get what you mean about personal tastes, but given my poor knowledge on anything alcohol related I'm happy to go with any safe(ish) bet. Btw as someone who does not drink and whose husband (who does not drink either) often gets gifted bottles of wine or spirits, we're surprisingly happy to receive this kind of gifts from time to time since it saves us the trouble of buying, and especially choosing, drinks we to offer guests ;).

Thanks for your replies people ;) I'm in Italy, so it's not really that tipping is not considered tasteful like in Japan for example. But as I mentioned before, I've seen other local tattoo artists decline tips before (even when the amount was less than 10% of the total). They seem to draw the line at "I'll buy you/get yourself a coffee" type of thing. Totally guessing here but I kind of get the feeling that they might find it offensive to be considered as "service workers" like waiters for example, who do get tipped? @bladezzz I might consider that, however I don't drink alcohol, so no idea what to buy... Which brand(s) would you suggest?