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!

I was literally thinking last night how I want to go to a tattoo convention in 2018. I didn't realize there would be one in Jacksonville! Sounds like you've got some good work lined up.

I'm attempting a dry heal for the first time with my latest tattoo per my artist's instructions. I was feeling pretty skeptical about it last night after my shower because my skin felt so tight and looked so dry. I almost broke down and dabbed a little Aquaphor on there, but my artist specifically said that ointments tend to make his work scab, so I toughed it out. It feels pretty good this morning, even after washing. I'm looking forward to starting to use a little lotion tomorrow. All in all it seems like I'm on track based on how my other tattoos healed. I'm also enjoying not sticking to my bed sheets because of sticky ointment.

Here’s my latest from Phil DeAngulo at Behind the Circle in Brooklyn:

For others who might be interested, the scan passed without incident. My injured foot was all wrapped up in a boot, but I think that was just to keep it still. Both my legs went into the machine. I don't know how many Teslas it was, but my tattoos did not feel or look any different during or after the procedure. I asked the technician about it beforehand just in case, and she said the only time it's an issue is with old tattoos, prison tattoos, and tattoos people have done themselves at home. I had the same thought about iron, but I think the difference in magnetism is probably related to the iron being in an organic form (in your blood) vs. inorganic (in some tattoo inks). That's complete conjecture though, I really have no idea.

Reading through this thread, consensus seems to be that nothing terrible is going to happen if I get an MRI, yes? I'm going to have my foot scanned tomorrow and since it's my non-tattooed leg that's injured, I was hoping they could just stick that foot in the machine and leave the rest of me out of it. I don't think that's what's going to happen. The lady I scheduled the appointment with asked me a bunch of intake questions (the normal stuff about claustrophobia and metal), but didn't mention anything about tattoos, so I asked if she'd ever heard of that being an issue. She said she'd been scheduling radiology appointments for a long time and it had never come up, so presumably it's not a big deal. I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience with MRI since this thread was last updated.

Just booked an appointment with Phil DeAngulo for December!

I didn't really expect to learn anything from getting tattooed, or for tattoos to change me in any way. I got my first one due to an interest in the art form and out of curiosity/a desire to take a risk and experience something new. The whole process of getting tattooed (everything from planning the design to scheduling the appointment to waiting for the appointment to trusting the artist to not F*** up your skin to living with the work after it's done) has been so much more fascinating and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I think getting tattooed is a pretty intense trust exercise. You approach an artist - who's probably a stranger, describe what you have in mind, and trust that they'll be able to execute your vision and put it in the right spot and apply it with proper technique. Even after you approve the sketch, you have to trust that it will transfer well to skin, and that the color palette will match (or be better than) what you imagined. All that can be nerve-wracking, but as someone who loves to control everything she can and worries incessantly about plenty of things she can't, there's something incredibly therapeutic about relinquishing control and putting trust in a stranger to put something beautiful and permanent on your body. My tattoos have also been a great exercise in acceptance. My control-freak nature also comes with a healthy dose of perfectionism (and a propensity for not taking risks), but with my tattoos I've had to let that go. I think I have great tattoos, but of course they have their flaws, and learning to live with and accept them has been healthy for me, I think. I made a choice to get tattooed, trusted my artists, and have to accept the work as it is because it's there forever whether it turned out like I planned it or not. Lastly, I never expected getting tattooed to be so FUN. Not that I explicitly enjoy the needles-boring-into-my-skin part, but the excitement and ritual leading up to tattoo day, hanging out in shops, seeing the huge lovely flash collections on the walls, and meeting interesting people has been so delightful.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I have a related question. In general, do you guys trust your artist to place the stencil where they think the tattoo will look best (once you've given the general direction of "right forearm" or "left bicep" or whatever? How often do you have the artist reposition the stencil after it's been placed? I tend to take the approach of just trusting that my artist knows what they're doing and what will look good/"right" better than I do. At the same time, it's your body and you're the one that will have to live with the placement. So how do you guys decide on placement, especially if you're building a "sleeve" (or at least a collection of pieces in the same area on the body)?

@kassandrac That is ADORABLE.

Thanks guys. I have since gotten my second tattoo and 1) it does not mirror the first one, and 2) it's on the same leg as my first. My latest plan is to work on filling up my right leg with oneshots, so maybe I'll get a little hot air balloon eventually.