polliwog 866 Posted November 16, 2013 Hi everyone. I'm from outside of Boston, MA and recently got my first tattoo. I will probably have many questions but will try my best to answer them pre-emptively by looking through what's already on here. I work as a bookseller at an indie bookstore. I'm a woman, if that matters. To begin, I'm wondering if anyone else on here has hypermobility-related issues and, if so, what effect hypermobility might have when it comes to how a person's skin handles ink. Considering that my joints are naturally more flexible than most (I'm not at the Ehlers-Danlos end of the spectrum, but I can do the creepy bending-one's-thumb-to-inner-wrist thing and tend to hyperextend my back), will the connective tissue in my skin potentially make me more prone to blowout and other problems? I tend to discolor easily after getting a cut, though my scars don't usually raise. My tattoo experience so far has been that I've healed quickly and lost virtually no ink after removing my bandage (as in, I wore a light t-shirt to bed the night after being tattooed over a largeish area of my upper arm and woke up to a still-pristine shirt), but some of my linework is a bit mushier than I would prefer. This was not an issue that I had noted in my tattooer's portfolio work, though I doubt I have as practiced an eye as most of you all. I'm not totally upset about this, but I was wondering if it might have anything to do with my particular biology. I also made the potential mistake of using glycolic acid lotion on my arm several times in the lead-up to my tattoo in an attempt to exfoliate well, and, while I could find a lot of information on using AHAs to fade tattoos, I found little about AHA use prior to tattooing. Unfortunately I don't have anything capable of taking higher-resolution pictures than the lousy camera on my laptop, but I'll try to get a photo soon. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'm a bit of a nerd... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polliwog 866 Posted November 16, 2013 Here's one of the least shitty of all of my shitty laptop photos. It's based on a Charles Rennie Mackintosh watercolor sketch and the partial coloring is intentional. I feel a little self-conscious posting something so simple when faced with all the amazing tattoos on here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amok 18 Posted November 16, 2013 Actually simple tattoos are often best. 2 KBeee and polliwog reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graeme 2,588 Posted November 16, 2013 Hello and welcome. How recently did you get the tattoo? I ask because it's really difficult to judge things like "mushy" linework until the tattoo is healed and settled in a bit. I know that when I've had healing tattoos that sometimes lines look like a bit of a mess, like they're blown out, but they're totally fine once the tattoo is healed. 2 KBeee and Mark Bee reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneaken1 0 Posted November 16, 2013 Welcome aboard Polliwog. I agree with Amok, simple works. Don't get me wrong there are some incredible complex pieces but those are usually done by incredible artists. Simple tends to read well from a distance. Graeme is spot on, let everything settle down before you stress out over it. My first one bled ink a lot but turned out fine, and my second set didn't bleed much ink at all. There are a million factors that could play into it as well. Diet, hydration, location, ink color, technique, etc. Keep in mind getting a tattoo is injuring the skin so some bruising and inflammation can happen. Peace, Ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gregor 14 Posted November 16, 2013 Wow CRM cool ! 1 Graeme reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polliwog 866 Posted November 17, 2013 I got it done a little under 4 weeks ago. It's still a little dry and itchy and textured, so I'll definitely give it a bit longer before I consider cleaning up any lines. Thanks! I do like how it reads from a distance & think all changes from the original drawing were the right ones! Simple but slightly weird is pretty much my aesthetic. I think well-done realistic and Japanese tattoos look great on other people, but I could never wear them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites