Howie

Woah, talk about great taste straight off the bat. Absolutely love your tattoos, welcome!

Don't worry, and definitely don't make any snap decisions now. I strongly recommend getting two or three more tattoos and if you still don't like it at that point get it covered up with a dagger being plunged into a panther's head.

I'm currently working in Saigon VN and have to wear long sleeves to cover my tattoos. I have to say, it's a bit warm for it here at the moment but the majority of my time is spent indoors with AC so it's no big deal. You can cover healing tattoos with clothing just make sure they're loose fitting and clean when you put them on

Hi folks, I'm currently settling into Vietnam and completely bogged down with work so haven't had a chance to think much about tattoos lately. A couple of people have told me that the standard of tattooing here has improved a lot but they're still lagging behind in achieving long lasting vivid colour. The last couple of tattoos I've had have been black traditional with some negative space, I like the look of them a lot and really don't mind the idea of getting more. My shoulders are both sporting some pretty damn bright coIour but I quite like the idea of coherently planning out the rest in one go when I have more coverage, might tie it all together a bit. Is it generally a done thing to put colour into non colour stuff years down the line?

Seems quite normal to me! Maybe apply a bit less ointment (looks shiny - a thick layer stops oxygen from getting to it and obstructs the healing process) and pat dry lightly so the scabs don't stick to the paper towel. Most important rule of all - do not tease or pull the scabs!

Your artist might have simply done an average job but it's pretty normal for bits of ink to fall out during healing. Life happens - scabs get knocked off under clothes, you accidentally scratch yourself in your sleep, someone might hug you a bit enthusiastically or slap your arm during a handshake etc. Go get it touched up by someone you trust. Had most of my recent pieces touched up on the weekend and now they look really solid and bright

@pidjones Huge improvement, it really pops now. Bet you're stoked!

I practically eat as a vegetarian because my girlfriend is a strict veggie... if you're a lazy cook just get a big crap load of mushies beans and eggs on toast down you the morning of the tattoo and drink loads of water the day before while not getting completely hammered... should do the trick. 5 hrs sleep shouldn't kill you!

@SStu I did spot that, I get to HCMC on the 19th unfortunately. I did consider the possibility of leaving sooner for the convention but money didn't allow, I need to work right up until the 17th... mostly due to tattoo brokeness ironically Thanks for the heads up all the same buddy!!

Good idea. Rose on Saturday from Reece, the shop apprentice at Cuba Street Tattoo. He didn't go crazy on shading just in case I decide I want him to put color in it before I leave NZ but I think I like it black for now. Can't wait to carry on but I'm moving to Vietnam in a few weeks and every time I think "maybe just one more for the road" I log into my internet banking and my account keeps being all...

Of course, I meant it more from my perspective as a customer than the government's attitude to it or the qualifications required... I go to a special sterile place to get my skin painfully hacked up by a professional and a foreign liquid injected into me to make visible lifelong changes to my body, objectively it's not a million miles away from the two professions I mentioned and my toes curl up at the thought of doing it to myself. I don't judge you for making your choices. I have a couple of tattooer friends back home from when I played in hardcore bands and their upper thighs are covered in really shitty beginner doodles, it's definitely not an alien concept to me. I didn't mean to sound patronizing with the concern comment. I haven't seen you give advice other than suggestions about designs etc, I think the objection from the more established members might be the couple of attempts you've made to discuss technical stuff regarding gear or technique, the reason being most people feel you should pick up that initial knowledge in a shop during an apprenticeship. I don't think you should stop posting *hug*.

@Gingerninja Very awesome tiger! On the subject of untrained people doing tattoos, everyone has different opinions and I'm a relative new-jack but for me I see tattooing as being almost on the level of dentistry or cosmetic surgery or something in a "you really wanna get that done by a fully trained practitioner" kinda way. If someone told me they were going to learn how to do a face-lift on themselves by looking on the internet for odd half-pieces of information, buying scalpels on eBay and having a crack in the mirror I'd for sure be concerned about that person, right after puking on his/her shoes at the thought of it. Hardly finger-painting is it.

Traditional rose on my leggy from the shop apprentice on Saturday. Trying to decide between color and black whaddyareckon? I'm leaning towards black cuz black roses r tuff.

Fair enough! I'm going to settle in there for a while, hopefully strike up a few conversations with people sporting nice tattoos and get the lay of the land. That combined with a reccy at each of the obvious shops I'm sure I'll be able to make a good decision. I'll report back for any current/future members wondering about Vietnam Thank you for your replies @SStu!

I much prefer a drier heal - blotting dry with paper towels after a morning shower, making sure nothing dirty touches it and hardly any ointments or oils etc unless it feels overly raw or like it's gonna crack, even then, just a one-off microscopic amount of Bepanthen to take the edge off. The guys at my shop firmly believe the skin needs to breathe as much as possible to heal quickly... a layer of ointment, a layer of oil and a layer of sweaty plastic doesn't exactly sound breathable. Keeping the original wrap on until the next morning seems like a very long time too - I take mine off after a couple of hours or whenever I get home after a victory beer or two! Then again I don't have any large scale work and I'm hardly a tattoo veteran (going in for my 5th hand-ish sized piece on Sat). You should just fully trust your artist and follow his/her aftercare instructions. Maybe if sleep is a big concern you could discuss Saniderm/Tegaderm type products with your artist too.

With the shop I currently go to I don't see my custom designs in any form until the day of the appointment, but I've been blown away by the outcome every time. This seems like quite common practice so if I were you I'd prepare myself for it. As @Synesthesia said there's nothing stopping you walking out of the shop if you don't like the design but asking an artist to draw for you is pretty much a commitment to getting tattooed by that person. If your shop is like mine, turning the design down isn't a case of replying to an email and saying no thanks, you'd be physically walking away from the person who'd just spent time working for you, leaving him/her with an empty day and nobody to tattoo. If you love your artist's portfolio and give clear references, you can't go wrong

Photo-realistic Bob Ross portrait the size of a carvery dinner plate on your belly with an inspirational quote. “There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend”

Yeah I doubt there's a big market for it. Apparently tattoos are still relatively taboo among locals in Vietnam and your average expat or tourist going to the 'best tattoo shop in town' probably isn't wanting a crude piece of sailor flash, and neither am I really. When I say "American Traditional" I don't mean I'm looking for a shop literally doing authentic Sailor Jerry rip offs... it would be more accurate to say I'm getting one-shot traditional style pieces that are vaguely in keeping with the aesthetic. I feel there are a number of promising tattoos on the Saigon Ink site in terms of application, so maybe it's worth popping in for a chat, get a feel for the hygiene standards and try to catch some regulars with healed work etc. Quite surprised at the total lack of response regarding the health & hygiene aspect of my question considering the website's mission statement. Maybe due to a lack of first hand experience in SE Asia? Surely there are some tattoo enthusiasts here that have lived in or travelled to this part of the world?!

@Cameron Jose Cute frog. Had this done today by Grant Gebbie, owner of Cuba Street Tattoo in Wellington NZ - @ggtattooer on IG. Very stoked. Bought my girlfriend a birthday present too... a Cheeky Thigh-Leopard she fell in love with last time we were at the shop together, rarely seen this side of the Pacific. Done by Joe @jj_doom. Shame you can't see his other paw here 'cause it looks like he's 'holding' her kneecap on both sides, cool placement.

So, you're telling me mandalas aren't American Traditional?! A couple of the guys there at least seem to be doing some stuff with solid lines and a fair bit of black shading etc, would be nice to find someone catering more for the style though. Maybe I'd be better off flying to Thailand whenever I fancy getting something.

Damn, so many amazing tattoos here, @havetsherre - that is a hell of a dragon, can't wait to see the finished piece. My latest is an Eagle and Snek done last weekend by Joseph, currently doing a guest spot at Cuba Street Tattoo in Wellington (his usual shop is City Of Ink in Christchurch) @jj_doom on instagram.

Sorry for your loss @Youngjason. Life and death are full of challenges, hopefully you have good friends and family to make you laugh from time to time and get you through! I'm new here too, but I thought I'd chime in... the tattoo looks great, really nicely done script, flows with the shape of your forearm and it is noticeable but I would look upon it approvingly if I passed you in the street, the wisdom with size seems to be bigger = better anyway (giggity). Let it settle in and get used to it for a few more months safe in the knowledge that it's a nicely executed tattoo with good placement regardless of the emotional weight attached to it. In the meantime, research tattoos that would compliment it and easily build into a sleeve. In my opinion, however uninformed it might be at this stage, black & grey/realism kinda styles fit nicely around script like that and I'm sure a good artist would easily put a subtle background behind the text to tie it all together... As others have said, apparently lasers cost a lot more than tattoos and getting more tattoos will look much better! Just take your time choosing an artist and an idea.

Going in this Saturday for a traditional kraken vs clipper ship on the ol' shoulder from the same artist who did a great biker girl head on my other shoulder! Can't wait!

Hello all, Firstly I'd like to say thank you! I very recently started getting tattoos as man in my mid-to-late twenties (30 in a few months LOL). TLS has given me a bunch of laughs reading all the fucked up apprentice stories and whatnot, but more importantly this site has played a big part in my taste quickly going from absolutely nowhere to the point where I know what I like and am able to spot shitty/good artists to a certain degree. Anyway, I'm a Welshman living in NZ at the moment where I've gotten my first handful of tattoos, and in a month I'm going to live in Saigon Vietnam for a while. My question to the fully initiated tattoo people of LST is this... Is getting tattoos in Vietnam and SE Asia generally a big no-no in your guys' books? Or is it just a case of being a little more aware than usual and being damn sure tubes are coming out of autoclaves, needles are coming out of packaging and ink has branding on it? By the way I seriously don't want to offend any people living in Vietnam reading this but I've had a couple of warnings regarding shop cleanliness etc and wanted to get some opinion. http://www.saigonink.net/ - this seems to be the shop that has the best rep. Anyone know of other shops in that area? I'm going in an American Traditional direction, both black and color. Would be interesting to get people's thoughts on the subject. Many thanks!!