tertia

I was prepared for my knee ditch to be a tough spot to heal. I was not prepared for it to get INFECTED! Ugh. Fortunately, I sought medical care as soon as something seemed amiss: abnormal redness around the tattoo about a week out from getting it done, and the worst tattoo itchiness I’ve ever experienced (I actually thought I’d gotten a mosquito bite ON the fresh tattoo at first.) I’ve been on antibiotics for a few days and it hasn’t drastically improved, but the itchiness has subsided and at least it doesn’t appear to be getting worse. And the tattoo still seems to be healing normally. Not sure where I went awry with this healing as I babied this tattoo more than any of my others. I only washed twice a day instead of three, but I also wasn’t leaving the house at all and had it exposed to air almost constantly. *shrug* I emailed my artist and the shop just to give them a heads up, which I felt kind of weird about but they should know, right? I don’t actually think I picked this up at the shop, but couldn’t hurt for them to give everything a nice once over with disinfectant, yeah? Anyway, this first picture is some mild redness, the second is the worsening redness one day later that prompted me to go to urgent care. The second is a couple days later. Looks about the same currently…really hoping to see more significant improvement soon.

Hey all - it's been a long time! Between having a baby and surprise global pandemic, I took a 3 year tattoo hiatus. You can imagine I was very excited to put an end to that extended break this past weekend with this piece by Steve Flores at Spiral Tattoo in Ann Arbor, MI. Knee ditch butterfly: I was really nervous about how I was going to heal this spot with a toddler running around. I haven't bent my leg more than 45 degrees in 5 days, so we'll see how it turns out. 😛

Love it!

I really like Mel Perlman's floral work. She tattoos out of Aces High Tattoo Shop (Boynton Beach location). Not 100% sure if she does cover ups or reworks.

I think the mice are really cute! And I don’t see any reason your daughter can’t still color them in. I echo everyone else that I wouldn’t do any thing to try to “fix” it. It’s a nice tattoo. 🙂

It is funny to me the amount of concern new-to-tattoos people have about the pain of getting tattooed, when what they should really be worried about is the INTOLERABLE ITCHING. 😫

What @Hogrider said. If only more people joined the forum before getting their first tattoo! Glad to have you here. 🙂

I am low key obsessed with this traditional rose done for me by Tom Einheuser out of Union 3 Tattoo in Detroit over the weekend. I’m really pleased with the placement, and how my leg is finally starting to fill up! Here are links the artist and shop’s Instagram accounts: https://instagram.com/tattoos_by_tom_einheuser https://instagram.com/union_3_tattoo

Welcome! Do you have a picture of your tattoo?

Similar to Dan, this is me getting ready to go the beach in Miami: I was a sunphobe long before I started getting tattooed. I'm a big fan of UPF clothing. Keep your work covered, keep it bright!

Picked up this dog rose from Cassandra Frances when I was in London a little over a week ago: I was nervous about what the dry air on an eight hour flight back home the next day would do to it. I originally planned to re-wrap at my artist’s recommendation, but when our first flight got cancelled and I didn’t want to struggle to A) try to wash it in an airport bathroom or B) leave it wrapped for 24 hours, I just put a little Aquaphor on it as usual and this has been one of my easiest heals so far. No stinging when I wash, swelling was gone within a day, no scabs.

Live with it.

+1 for using images vs. text/dates in the tattoo I'm not sure how you feel about flowers, but just like there are designated birth stones, there are also birth month flowers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_flower You could make a family bouquet with the flowers for your anniversary month and all the birthdays. There are also trees associated with birth months, the signs of the zodiac as someone else mentioned, birth stones, etc.

Coming to accept the tattoo(s) you have is one of the best lessons I've learned from getting tattooed. There's so much trust involved in being tattooed, because no matter how much research you've done on artist, how many portfolios you've looked at, how excruciatingly you studied the stencil before having it put on your skin, when it comes down to it, you're basically trusting a complete stranger to permanently alter your body and appearance. As someone who generally likes to be in control of everything, getting tattooed allows me to practice letting go, being present in the moment, and accepting things I can't change in a way that few other things in my life can. I only have three tattoos, but I have one that I had a harder time accepting than the others because the lines aren't as bold, the colors not as saturated, and stylistically is just a bit off from the bolder style I've learned that I prefer. I don't regret the tattoo, and I certainly don't hate the tattoo, but the point is, even if I did, it's there now! Nothing I can really do to change it so it's not worth worrying over. I think your tattoo looks lovely and well done. I agree that it would be prudent to hold off on completing the sleeve until you feel more certain that's what you want. I think it looks fine as a stand alone piece.

Now that I know it exists thanks to your earlier post, yes, I'll definitely be checking it out at least one of the days!