Matthew Thomas

Do any tattoo artists or anyone with an artistic eye have any suggestions as to whether it can be fixed, or what could make a good cover-up? I was thinking either a red skull or maybe a rose with a black pearl in the middle? Do either of those seem like they would work? Or does anyone have any better ideas?

Well I suppose I've learned a lesson to not put a large deposit down next time, so can we drop the subject now? You have actually said the same thing about it more than once now, lol.

well I'm not about to forfeit a $650 deposit, so what other choice do I have?- - - Updated - - - The inner star had been done previously by someone else. It had gotten infected. I asked her to fix that star after it healed, and add the outer star. She drew the outer star on my skin with a pen (no stencil) and I didn't notice what was wrong with it until after it was done. Even then, I thought it might just be some crazy swelling or something. But it's long since healed, and the mistakes are clearly visible. I have my next appointment with her a week from today, I'll bring it up then and see what she says.

These are two other tattoos she has done on me recently, both of which I am happy with, both of which were done after the star and are covered by the $650. I just don't know how or when I should bring up about the star. I don't want to offend her to the point she asks me not to come back before my other pieces are complete, but I'm worried that if I wait too long she might say I have to pay extra if I want it fixed. So what do I do? Should I ask her to fix it or cover it? Granted she made the mistake, but is there a limit as to what I should expect her to do to make me happy?

She didn't ask for the whole $650 at once. It was part of my income tax return, and I decided to put the whole thing down at once because I wanted several pieces done and we agreed on a price for everything, so I gave her the whole amount. The star had been done prior to this, but I did not notice how uneven it was until last night. The star was not covered by the $650, but had been paid for separately. Trust me, if I had noticed what was so wrong with it, I would not have gone back to her. Once the pieces I've paid for have been completed, I will be going elsewhere.

Maybe I should have asked for advice specifically from other artists.

This is a recent tattoo that I got. The inside star had already been there. The outer star was added later. The artist drew the outer star around the inner star with a pen. From my point of view, it looked fine. It was not until I saw a picture of it that I saw how asymmetrical it is. Should I ask the artist that did it to fix it (if it can be fixed), should I go to another artist and ask them to fix it (really don't want to spend more $$ on it and don't have any right now), or should I get it covered (can it be?). If I do ask the artist that did it to fix it, should I keep the red, or would it hide the mistakes better if I got it filled in all black? Really upset about this. The artist has done two other tatts on me and they've both come out fine. Located in lebanon, pa. Really need some good advice here. - - - Updated - - - Should I expect my artist to fix this for free? They already touched it up. I did notice one point of the star being bigger than the rest, but thought it was just some crazy swelling. I'm afraid my artist will get mad and ask me not to come back if I bring it up. I've put a deposit of $650 down for some other work and I can't afford to lose that deposit or go elsewhere at this point.

Personally, this is how I feel. If I ever have kids, I will let them get tattooed before 18, but there will be restrictions. They must be 16 at least, they must have good grades and be responsible (coming home at a decent time, pass their driver's test, participate in an after-school activity or part time job, so on) and my wife and I must both approve of the design and location of the tattoo. However, my wife does not currently feel the same. She feels that they must wait until they are 18. Either way, I do want to be with them when they get it. Depending what it is, I may even match it.

Got this tatt a few weeks ago, Celtic knot with my first initial (M), wife's first initial (G) and our anniversary.

I doubt if it's true, as there are some well respected brands that manufacture these antiseptic solutions with lidocaine, one that comes to mind being H2Ocean. There are others as well, but I can't think of them. I would try to talk to your artist about it before the appointment if possible. It's not just the pain that's a problem, it's also the swelling. The skin can swell during the session, and tattooing swelled skin can cause extreme scarring. The scarring will disfigure the tattoo, and can make it impossible to repair later. I would not be as concerned if it were a 4 hour session, but an 8 hour session will have much more chance of swelling and scarring. I just hope your artist is aware of the concerns and will take the proper steps. Even if he doesn't have a solution, the shop where he is guesting might have some.

It's kind of a catch 22 with tattooing, because with painting and playing music, if you mess up you can start over and there are no permanent mistakes. But when it comes to tattooing, the only way to get good at it is to do it. The philosophy of many here would be to never go to an amateur or inexperienced artist, yet there is no way to become a professional without experience, and the only way to get experience is to tattoo. You see what I'm saying? This really sounds like a bit of a rant to me. Everybody starts somewhere. Unless you have a natural ability, your first few tattoos are not going to be perfect. But you have to get experience somehow.

I find the OP incredibly rude, disrespectful and completely lacking any social skills. Walk up to one of these women that you see with "way too many tattoos" and tell them they are "warped pieces of garbage" with "no sense of what it means to be a living being". I will bet you my next tattoo that you'll get punched in the face. If you have any tattoos, I'm sure you chose them for a reason and wouldn't care if someone were to judge them. So why judge others? They don't give a shit what you think, nor should they. Even if I sometimes don't like the way a person's tattoos may look to me, I don't judge them because I've no right to do so. It's their body, and regardless of what you think, they're going to do as they please with it. Might as well accept it and move on, because the only person your negativity is having any effect on is yourself.

For the pain, there are antiseptic solutions which contain a small percentage of lidocaine, a local anesthetic. I honestly do not think you will survive an 8 hour session without it. I am getting ready to do a 4 to 5 hour session next week, and my artist is going to use such a solution. They can't use it during outlining, because it would wipe away the stencil, but they can use it during the filling in and it will greatly reduce the pain. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that reducing the pain may also reduce the body's shock response, thereby also reducing the amount of swelling. But after an 8 hour session, I recommend putting some ice on it anyway. The less swelling, the lighter the scabbing will be. It will also be sore and tender for a much shorter period of time afterward. I'm not an artist, just someone who is sharing what I've found to be helpful. Good luck!

Does anyone know if vaseline could help lighten an old homemade tattoo? The ink is pretty light. I'm not about to spend money on expensive laser treatments or tattoo removal creams. It's an old tattoo on my chest and it's lettering with very thin, light linework. Yes I care that it's there, even though it's covered by a shirt. Any thoughts? - - - Updated - - - I've discovered another way to remove it. I'm not sure of the rules here concerning posting info about tattoo removal methods, so I won't share it except to say it's minimally destructive and non-invasive, and is actually an existing treatment for skin problems which will have its intended effect, except on my tattoo instead of the skin problem it was made to treat. Given the fact that it's such a light tattoo, it should only take a few treatments.

That's looking really good so far. It's always amazing to see people jump in to such large pieces for their first tattoo. I think it takes a lot of guts to do that. My first tattoos were small and able to be hidden by clothing. Now I've got more visible tatts than not lol. I'm getting some larger pieces done now. I've put quite a large deposit down with my new artist and am going for at least two more appointments. Anyway, good luck with the rest of the piece. Looks like you've chosen a great artist.

No disrespect to you brother, but you haven't even opened yet, and you expect no competition? And it's only 10 miles to the next shop? I could see if it were 50 miles, but brother, 10 miles ain't very far. You can pedal a bike that far no problem. And if people from Knightdale have already gone there (which I'm sure they have), then they are bound to have some loyal customers. And that's competition for you. How have you not considered this? I'm sure you will get a fair amount of business, but with the next shop only 10 miles away, you will have competition.

I've recently found a new artist, and she sells a product called After-Inked. I can say that the color of my tattoos has thus far remained much more saturated with this product than with any other product I've used. I do still scab heavily, but I don't lose very much color at all, so touch-ups are no biggie.

bugxjuice, I'm not sure if that's meant as a compliment or sarcasm, but I suppose it doesn't matter either way.

I've posted pics of my most recent tatts. I haven't taken any pics of my older ones recently, so I'll get them up as they are taken. A few of the older ones will eventually be covered as I have money for them.

After thinking about it, I do agree that it's redundant. I've already paid my entire deposit which covers several pieces, two of which are already done. But I have another piece that I would like to do in a different color, perhaps she will do that for me instead. I will talk to her about it when I go for my next appointment, which happens to be the grim reaper. Can I post links to images even though I'm a new member?

I guess it's hard to get American humor when you don't speak proper english...

Hi, I'm new here but not new to tattoos. I got my first tatt about 12 years ago, and I'm somewhat heavily tattooed now with almost 15 tattoos on my arms and hands. I do have a question, though. Is it weird for a man to get a tattoo of handwriting? I'm thinking of getting the words "Death is certain Life is not" in my wife's handwriting, next to a grim reaper that I'm having done wrist to elbow on my right arm. But I'm thinking the handwriting part is a little too feminine? Maybe not, what do you guys think?