scottyg

looks perfectly normal for this stage

nice!! yeah, the back in general is *brutal* cheers, and welcome.

it's taken me almost 3 weeks to stop peeling on my latest round as my tattooer was really packing it in last time. the skin's just healing. it looks fine, and really it's nothing to worry about.

in all honesty it looks like a perfectly natural part of the healing process

nah, 3/4 sleeves are dope!

I've got traditional Japanese so I do research as to subject matter, and then trust my artist. Cheers!

More red! Green next time!

My leg piece feels sensitive to the touch/irritated pretty much all the time. It healed fine. I think I just have sensitive skin. God help me when this back piece is finished.... Btw, if it's pain it ain't phantom.

hahaha you're a riot But seriously some of this is definitely true. I get nervous before hand and all the way out to Brooklyn still, but as soon as I enter the shop I'm chill. While getting tattooed I tried to talk as much as humanly possible--that gets me through it. And then yes, totally, that last wipe down is such a relief! And then it's on to the next month....

Sorry you're having a bad experience/not the experience you want, but I'd say at the outset that nothing you describe sounds terrible/terribly out of the ordinary. A lot just sounds like a personality difference. But: 1. if the artist is a true pro it's not so important about the planning: she knows what she's doing. the discussion is more on you to ask ask ask. (That said, I'm doing traditional Japanese where you only pick the subject of the tattoo and everything is up to the artist. So I come from a very different perspective on this.) 2. "touch-ups" in the context of still working on a large piece are different than if it were complete and you were going back months later. They're often necessary, and I would just chalk it up to getting the perfect piece. 3. $250 is a loooottta cash but yes that's what you'd pay for a unique top quality piece. Without seeing it it's hard to judge whether it's truly cookie cutter though, you know, rather than your feeling bad about it given the experience you're having? 4. yes it'd be an issue, and don't do it..... 5. finish what you started. You have to finish things in life. That's my 2cents, others may disagree/have different interpretations. Cheers and good luck!

you're a boss, you got this man!!

progress....

generally you should pat dry the area with a clean cloth and then apply the lotion while your pores are still open, so that it can absorb better.

First two days I use Aquaphor, light coating when it's dry. Then I switch to Cetaphil, which doesn't contain lanolin, which is a wool-derived product used in almost all moisterizers.

@Tsam looking siiiick

nice! nice work with a distinct style. good luck, and be sure to upload pics as you go!

@Tsam you got this man!! who's your artist?

more red!

hahaha

tebori is just a different kind of pain haha

you want to get the alien covered up? oy vey

I don't think that's normal, no, but yeah it sounds like the soap you used messed it up a bit. I'm pretty certain it'll heal. You could always go back to the artist to get his opinion.

if it's peeling that's probably good, it's the next stage very light soap and just like gently clean it with water; use regular clean towels, not paper towels and just pat dry/let air dry lightest of lotions: you want to keep it moisterized but not like damp don't rub/don't peel the flakes people tend to overdo it on the care part

a rash; you're probably over cleaning it/over doing it on the cleaning regime how's it looking today?

looks fine to me