Need Tattoo Advice!

catscheller wrote:

Also, in regards to after care, trust me on this one (and I'm sure that shep will agree) you will get a different opinion about what is the best aftercare from almost every single person you talk to. It can drive you nuts because aftercare can play a big part in how good your tattoo eventually looks and you want to make sure you're doing the best thing. Mostly, the point is to keep it clean and lightly moiturized and you should be good.

So true... It used to drive me nuts everytime I went to a different artist they would recommend different aftercare... even the artist I work with consistantly has changed his recommendation over the years... it's crazy.

However, what I would say to you, being that this is your first tattoo, do what the artist recommends. There are so many suggestions people have out there, and ultimately it all depends on what works best with your body. Being that this is your first tattoo, you don't know that yet, so I would highly recommend sticking with what the artist tells you.

Personally, I'm a really slow healer. My ink usually takes anywhere from 8-11 days to completely heal up and the scab to peel off. Most people usually heal up a lot quicker. The important things:

Don't pick or scratch at the scab, let it peel away naturally (picking or scratching will actually create light and dark spots in the tattoo).
Monitor the scab - if it starts getting really thick, try washing it a little more frequently (not scrubbing it, but lightly soaping and letting the water run over it) to loosen up the scab.
Do not apply vasoline after the bleeding has stopped! Vasoline has no healing properties and artists only use it as a protective barrier while the bleeding stops.
Try not to sleep on the healing skin.
Do not go out drinking for the next 24 hours of so.... your body will thank you for it and heal up much faster. (I once had a tattoo done in the middle of a 4 day bender... it didn't do so well and it was my own stupid fault.)

Other than that, there's not really much I can tell you. What works best for me:

Go home after the tattoo, rest for about 4-6 hours, then hop in the shower, take off the bandaging, and lightly soap off the vasoline. Allow the tattoo to breath for the next for the next 12-24 hours, until it is dry to the touch, then use a light amount of moisturizer (typically I use Aveno, but DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH ALOE CAUSE IT WILL BURN LIKE ALL FUCKING HELL). Wash 1-2 times a day and reapply moisturizer while the scab heels and peels... then continue moisturing until I feel the skin is all healed up!

Wow-you guys are so great! Shep this info helped me too-been working out what I want for 2nd & maybe 3rd tat!

Just wanted to reiterate that you should def be comfortable w/the artist & place itself & totally agree that any artist will be willing to work w/you to help you get exactly what you want but sometimes this does mean allowing them to work w/your original design. Took me a long time to finally decide what/where I wanted mine. Made it small & just black for my 1st. I work in an elementary school so didn't want anything to "jump out" but am also not a fan of getting something that I can't see & thereby enjoy. I ended up on inside of my left wrist w/"smile" written in script as it's one of my fav songs as well as nickname/name here. The artist worked w/it a bit & ended up liking his version better than what I had in mind. Anyway did not feel it was too painful @ all & I love it!!!!-no regrets! That's why I hope to add one or 2 more. Next one I hope to be more colorful & incorporate sun design & "opening band for the sun" lyric &/or waves-stickman & "riding high amonst the waves" lyric. Also maybe some reference to PJ Spectrum shows (a Philly area girl here) &/or MSG shows since I am still ridin my high from them! I know that's alot so I welcome any ideas/scetches to narrow it down-i can't draw for shit!

Anyway best of luck to ya-just stick to what you really want & take yer time/don't be rushed into deciding. It'll be w/ya for a long time

Interesting read here!
For my 18th birthday in October I'll be getting my first tattoo (PJ related), and I'll definitely keep in mind all the things I read here.

catscheller wrote:

I just got my first tattoo last year and found my friend Joe's blog post about getting a tattoo extremely helpful!

And thanks for that link- definitely very informative!

Teddyledbetter wrote:

Black and gray would be cool...
Red, yellow orange colors fade quick... I just had my AIC sun recolored. Closer to bone is more pain. I use neosporin afterwards and I never let it dry out and scab...that is bad and the ink comes out and it will fade quicker. I've got 5 tatts so far and it hasn't failed me yet. I like the parachute idea! Dimitri has a nice tattoo page going on face book make sure you send it to him!

What works for you, works for you, but I've never heard of someone have a good result using neosporin. That stuff actually will wash the colour out of your tattoos.

I have plenty of red, yellow, and orange on my body, none of which I would call faded. The oldest of which is over 8 years old now.

I'm also curious how you don't let it scab? Scabbing over is a natural process that happens with any and all tattoos. I have well over a third of my body tattooed, and every one of them has scabbed and peeled off.

Here's a couple of pics of my older work... I'll have to take a fresh pic of the PJ related tattoo...

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... tomach.jpg
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... omach2.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... C_0709.jpg
(keep in mind with this second pic the light spots in the heart were part of the design - the camera doesn't seem to have captured it quite right...)

I'll see what else I can post up tomorrow for anyone interested....

nykoelle wrote:

Wow Kimba, thanks for the killer sketch! Digging the whole merging of ideas. I'm going to have to remember this for October.

Before I forget, how long does it take a tattoo to heal? Like, until its totally ready to go. Trying to plan out the exact day I should get it among holidays and travel and whatnot. Thanks!

It depends mostly on you, but it also has to do with how heavy the artist tattoos. By heavy referring to what frequency he uses on his/her machine and how hard he presses on your skin. Generally the more heavy (i.e. higher frequency and the more he/she presses) the deeper the ink will set, and the more color will stay in your skin, so you get a darker more fade resistant tattoo. As well, typically artists who tattoo heavier will tattoo faster, cause they get the ink in quicker. The down side of this is that if your artist has a "heavy hand" the tattooing process is going to hurt a little more, and typically you will be sore (muscle and bones) for a little longer.

But, back to the question: most people, provided you're not doing a massive tattoo and you give your body some opportunity to rest, will heal over in 5-7 days. I'm atypical in that it takes me a little longer - usually 9-11 days... again the healing is largely dependent on your body and how it reacts, and the stresses you put in through in the days following the tattoo.