Devious6

Welcome! Go ahead and ask your question here. It will be helpful if you also tell us what after care approach you are using.

Welcome! Remember that while you are healing a little lotion goes a long way. Your skin needs air to heal so lathering lotion on it defeats the process. I use Aveno every day after my shower to keep the skin around my tattoos moisturized.

Welcome! As Dan said you're going through normal healing - and it can take up to 6 months to fully heal. Have you talked to your artist about your concerns?

Welcome to the forum. And congratulations on your impending child! I have a good friend who went through a very difficult pregnancy so I can understand the emotions you are feeling. The vast majority of the folks here are collectors, not artists so I wouldn't expect any drawings or renderings, just advice and ideas. At 32, you are far from late on getting your first tattoo. I was 60 (weeks from being 61) and 61 for my second. We all get our first for different reasons so the timing is truly a personal thing. The symbolism of initials, or a name, with a date generally refers to commemoration of a death. Of course, because it is a very personal thing, yours can be whatever you want it to be. Personally, I'd add some other art component. A rose or something else that has meaning to you...maybe something that invokes Summer in your mind as a seasonal reference to her name. Understanding that this is permanent, I'd suggest you not rush into it. You are obviously excited and anxious because of the difficulty and importance of the pregnancy. Impulse can lead to regret...so take your time. Search your area for good artists (people here can make recommendations if you indicate where you live), check out their portfolios. Search Instagram and Google - and here in the pictures - for ideas. When you have some ideas in mind - and they don't have to be specific - and have an artist in mind, go sit with him/her and discuss your intent and the types of tattoos that you've seen that capture what you want. Even if you ultimately just decide on letters alone a good artist will help you decide on font, size, placement, etc. Good luck both with the birth and the selection of your tattoo! I look forward to seeing the results...of both!!

If I was a cat, I'd be down to 1 life left..at best. In fact, I may be ahead of the game. In just my 26 years in the Army, I had an 8" artillery shell detonate over my head and was hit with shrapnel but without injury, I've ridden 2 helicopters to the ground with engine failures...one hard enough to compress the skids...and walked away and was in the area of the Pentagon hit by the plane on 9/11 and twice escaped (at least) from circumstances where I could have not made it out. My uniform is part of the Smithsonian exhibition form that day....I stared Death down and smiled back. My second tattoo is attribute to the 9/11 experiences. Not focused on death but on the determination to live and to face the threat head on. That's why I chose an eagle standing on a pentagonal shaped rock with sun rays shining overhead. Death doesn't scare me nor does it control my actions. When it comes it comes...and I am ready to face the life after.

Has the artist/shop done anything to make good on their use of contaminated ink? Are you sure they no longer use that product or was the contamination because of poor hygiene practices? Are they charging you for this work?

Agreed - go see a doctor!

Welcome to the forum!

Another Commencement ceremony is in the books!! I absolutely love this day every year!!! Knowing that I'm going to retire in 3 years is bittersweet - only 3 more of these ceremonies left for me to enjoy. We had the rehearsal on Friday - and we all dress casually since were busy and walking around the college all day. It was hot so I opted to wear a sleeveless shirt under a short sleeve button down shirt. The gym was not yet cooled down so right before we started I pulled off my outer shirt. I heard the immediate conversations start from the students and then cheers and clapping - lots of the students had on clothing that showed their ink and I got lots of smiles and comments as they came up to practice receiving their diplomas.

Hola

I've got no experience with watercolor type tattoos so I can't offer any advice there - but welcome to the forum!!

Welcome!! Any pictures to post?

@Boiled Dove I'm not a counselor...but I have slept in a Holiday Inn Express. Seems that you have two stressors in your life, at least. The job and the marriage. I wonder if one or might be causing the issue with the other. I guess I'd just suggest taking the time to assess that and determine what is at the root of the unhappiness. As @Gingerninja said, are they a means to an end or the end to the means. As one of the relative old guys and one who has been in leadership positions since my early 20s I've seen many people go through the ups and downs of positions, jobs, relationships, locations, etc. There are cycles to it and many things can cause/impact those cycles. As an Army officer there is a pattern that sees officers hit low points at relatively predictable times in their careers. Many opt to get out at those points. Most did it for the right reason and are happy with their decisions...but not all. Make sure the emotion of the moment isn't driving your decision. I offer what I call "The Volk Principle." Feel free to attach your own name to it if you like it. It goes like this: It doesn't matter who you are, who your parents are/were, where you went to school, what degree(s) you have, who you know, what type of car you drive or how much money you have....sometimes it just sucks to be you. At some point - tomorrow, next week, next month - it will be someone else's turn and life will come back to center. If you can approach times of trouble and misfortunes from that perspective, it helps to see your way out of the hole. I know it's trite and it is not meant to downplay your situation. I offer it only to encourage you to really think about what it is that makes you happy and what is truly causing you to feel as you do. Sometimes we rush to a decision only to find that it was something else that was really the problem.

Does it still look like that?

Hhhhmmmm, I love the smell of Spam in the morning. Could it be that there is a clue to the intent behind your post above in the website affiliated with your account???

Washing with hot water - or soaking - can cause ink to leach out of a tattoo because the heat opens your pores. The result is ink loss, not blowout. This is blowout.

I agree ^^. I can't offer any other advice but am sorry you are going through this.

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of bias against tattoos out there, especially in certain fields and professions. There are a good number of folks who work at my college with visible tattoos. I interview every full-time employee before they are hired - some came to the interview with exposed tattoos, some not. And many of them work in my IT department. For me it isn't an issue at all. I also don't hide the fact that I have tattoos - although I have not made the jump to a below-the short-sleeve shirt level....yet. I find it funny when I'm out somewhere with folks of my age and hear them comment about tattoos. Generally, I don't say anything but, if I'm wearing short sleeves I'll casually make like I have an itch on my upper arm and expose part of a tattoo. The reactions are priceless. I also make a point of wearing sleeveless shirts in the warmer months and my social media pages have pictures of me with my tattoos exposed. Call it my campaign to help eliminate tattoo bias. Of course, I'm 62, have an Army retirement check coming each month and I'm the president of the College. There's not much people can do to me at this point. Still, I will probably wait until I retire in a few years to move to an exposed area. That's my long way of supporting what people have said about focusing on the importance of your job. It's unfortunate, but unless you are willing to wear long-sleeve shirts for work I'd probably forgo an exposed tattoo for now.

Welcome to the forum!!

Nice!!

Shading bothered me more than outlining. Kinda felt like sandpaper rubbing over and over sensitive skin.

You've already been given several options for advice. Did you try Benadryl as was suggested? If, as your artist suggested, it might be heat related did you try anything that would help eliminate a heat rash? In the end, though, the best course of action is to see your physician at this point and definitively determine what is causing the bumps.

Is it just me, or can anyone else see a laughing face in the upper dot of this tattoo? Maybe I just need more coffee?

Welcome to the forum! Give it time to heal and then you can always talk with your artist at that point. I have a lot of heavy black on my first tattoo and it did require the artist to hit a few places where the saturation wasn't as uniform. But, as has been noted, they never look like they did immediately after they are first completed.

Sometimes you have to go with the flow...even when you're the College President. My 2d favorite day of the academic year - Honors Convocation.