dieselkat

Thanks OZ! Octopi are pretty amazing creatures. My tattoo is now 2.5 weeks old, and still scaly, dull, and blurry. How long does it usually take to be pretty again?

My newest tattoo, I sat 5 hours for it last Saturday, and this pic is from the next day. I commissioned the art from my favorite artist (Hannah Yata) and had the tattoo done by Dana Krieg at Pop's Tattoo Emporium in Kingston, NY. I absolutely adore it!! (Although the current healing phase is driving me crazy)

My first tattoo was in 1998, it was a 17th birthday present from my mom. We went to a shop in Fredericksburg, VA and I got tattooed by a guy that went by the name Sailor Joe. I just picked out a red and green gecko from the flash, and told him I wanted it huge on my right forearm, from inner elbow to wrist. He (VERY thankfully!!!) refused to tattoo such a large, visible tattoo on a 17 year old and so it's on my right shoulder blade, pretty small. I'll have to look for a picture later, but it's pretty terrible, haha. I've considered covering it up, but since it's a present from my mom I think I'll keep it.

I am tattooed and married to a man who does not have any tattoos. I'm not extensively tattooed (yet!), but I have 9 and two of them are quite large. My husband was always attracted to tattooed women even though he never made the plunge himself. He's very supportive and actually always telling me that I should get more, haha. I think he was just as excited as I was about the large thigh tattoo I just got, and he loves it. I don't think someone has to have tattoos in order to appreciate and understand the culture. But there are people (like my mother... and sister-in-law) who don't appreciate it or understand it and have no desire to. And of course, I could never have had a successful relationship with someone in that camp, as even when I only had one small one, my plan was always been to get more.

Well it's good to know that it's not unusual to still be sore. It's much better today, the most sore areas are definitely the ones curving toward the back of my leg. Anti-inflammatories help, can't do much icing at work. The peeling today is out of control.

I'm five days out from a 5 hour outer thigh tattoo. Definitely my biggest, and my first leg tattoo. Healing has been annoying, and it's still pretty painful and tender, and it's super scabby and peeling like crazy. I have a feeling my pants will be disgustingly full of skin when I get home from work today... Is it typical to still be pretty sore and tender this far out? I don't remember my other ones hurting this much for this long.

Last Saturday, I sat for 5 hours for a tattoo on my outer upper thigh. My longest sitting previous to that was 2 hours. But I went to a guy who's 3.5 hours away, and I really wanted to get it all done. We took a break after 4 hours, and we shouldn't have, because the entire last hour was KILLER. But I love it, and it was totally worth it!! (Not loving the still sore peeling mess though...) ...So apparently I don't know how to upload a picture. It's in my album.

Thanks so much for all of the advice, you guys are great! It's now in that gross scabbed/scaly/flaky stage and peeling like crazy. It's back to work pants for me, so I'm a little worried about the rubbing pulling all of the flakes and scabs out. Man, healing a large thigh tattoo is definitely more complicated than any of my previous tattoos. Especially with my job requiring professional wear. I imagine I'm going to definitely need touch ups.

Thanks for the tip! I have to attend a conference tomorrow and my options are skirt and pantyhose or form fitting slacks. I was torn between the two, but I think either will work if I pick up some non-stick gauze!

Thanks for all of the replies! Like I mentioned, I'm a bit paranoid as this is my first leg tattoo (and my largest tattoo in general). The nature of my job puts skirts and dresses out, unfortunately. Once I got to work today I changed from my dress slacks (which did have goo and flakes/scabs adhered, ugh) into scrubs, and they're much nicer and no one has said anything yet. I think that'll be my plan for this week. Otherwise, I might try SeeSea's paper towel trick. suburbanxcore: I actually drove 3.5 hours to upstate New York to see an artist I already trusted. It was a bit of a hike, but totally worth it.

Hi everyone! New to the forum, in Philly, PA. I've been perusing the threads and this seems like a pretty great community. I have nine tattoos, including a brand new large octopus on my right outer thigh. That's where my question comes in. This is my first leg tattoo, so I've never had to heal one before. The tattoo was done Saturday day into evening. I took off the bandage and washed it the first night, and slept without it covered. Last night I washed and applied lotion (skin friendly Lubriderm) and then slept in thin pajama pants. When I woke up, the pants were adhered to the tattoo. I used water to release the pants, but there's a lot of ink on the pants and the complete outline of one of the octopus eyes in ink. Have I ruined my tattoo? Also, I work in a professional office and have to wear slacks every day. I'm pretty concerned that the rubbing of the pants is just going to pull all of the scabs/flakes away and take the color with them. Any tips? Thanks!