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I agree with @Dan, that's pretty bad. Awful design, poor execution. Looks like something done in a kitchen, or at a "tattoo party."

it has many issues IMO,the leaves are wrong,they overlap like they are transparent , the solid rose makes no sense. the main stem is different thicknesses. there is not much I like about your tattoo,oh sorry your friend's tattoo. 🙄

Try not to worry and let it heal for a few months. You won't be able to tell anything until it's healed completely!

terrible design/composition. and what's up with the solid black flower top? - looks like a biker blackout.

That is an abomination. I feel sorry for the person who is stuck with that forever. YIKES.

Yep. looks like a cover done by a non professional.

4-6 weeks to completely heal. I wouldn't get any touch-ups before then, even if needed.

Sorry, non-pc joke... Why did God make Belgium? To give the French someone to make fun of. 🤣 Have a wonderful trip and please share some pics.

I've got no love for the pain: it's just three hours of pain. No adrenaline kicks in, I'm just getting stabbed repeatedly in my back while lying on my stomach naked, trying to talk as much as possible and to breathe through the pain. It's all about gaman: perseverance. I only ever do 3 hour sessions with breaks. It's about the rhythm of life and integrating sessions into that rhythm. The pain makes me discover my body in ways I'd no idea. haha. It's about doing something for me, only me; reconnecting with my body and focusing my mind in ways I've not done otherwise or previously. I do enjoy the me time. The ritual. The worst is having to take a shower when I get home. I just want to drink a pint and go to bed. But I've got to clean and coat my back. ugh. My tattooer rules; so much fun to shoot the shit with him, such a great artist with his own style and yet traditional. So part of it is being connected with him and with a certain tradition which I've chosen to be connected to. So like most long term things we go through in life, it's not so much about enjoying it. But I guess I'm heavily tattooed individual now. haha

@soraya You are a much more creative/profound writer than I. My gf's a phlebotomist and she told me the reason people are more afraid of blood draws/shots compared to tattoos is because of the difference in the needles and amount of penetration. Shots/blood draws have to go deep beyond the layers of the skin while tattoos (hopefully lol) are only going through a few layers of the skin. No idea if this is actually backed by any science but I love her so i'm going to go with it for now 😉 But I agree with people here. It's a therapeutic painful experience. 3 hours is my tipping point where the adrenaline is gone and it becomes miserable.

Had my first tattoo at the beginning of this month and then a second one last week. Waiting for them both to heal before I get my next one which will be a bigger one. I personally find the feeling quite therapeutic, and like looking after the tattoo once it's been done.. It's not as uncomfortable as having an injection or blood test in my opinion, how about you guys. Before I had my first one I thought it would be painful but i was wrong 😄

Yeah, I wouldn't consider getting a touch-up before a month. I was just wondering how long to wait until it's safe with the damage to the skin. And it's definitely going to need a touch-up as the K is supposed to be solid and it's definitely not.

I want to feel ALL of that tattoo. The best. The worst. The excitement. The vulnerability. The fear. The anxiety. The confidence. The strength. The power. I have found a lot of peace and healing through the pain. Some people don't get that and can't. Some of you will no exactly what I'm talking about. Embrace that shit.

All of the color fell out of one of my tattoos that got infected. It was months before he could go back to it because it wasn't fully healed. Just leave it for a while. Your artist can fix it up for you when you are fully healed.

Hello guys! I just got my first tattoo 4 days ago on my arm and i love it! And i already got addicted to tattoos just from my first haha. I'm already planning a to work more on my arm, maybe making a half-sleeve and make the tattoo up to my chest. So i was wondering, do you guys have any tips or inspiration that could work well with my existing tattoo? I dont want to go full egyptian theme. I'm just in my planning stages, that's why im here. Im gonna ask my tattoo artist for help later, but i always want some ideas/ inspiration. Thank you !

Welcome! Is it an egyptian half sleeve? If so, you could always get Anubis or Horus incorporated in there somehow. If not, then completely ignore me. Looks awesome tho!

Agreed it looks unfinished. Is that the artist's normal style? Definitely going to need to proceed with caution . . .

This is one of my favorite tattoo topics: The experience of tattooing. I find tattooing therapeutic, enjoyable, exhilarating, empowering, painful, agonizing and annoying all at once. I echo Dan’s comments about the importance of the process. It is a ritual of planning, creating, collaborating, preparing, enduring, healing, and loving the result. I love every part of it. And as @Dan said, it is intimate, which is appealing to me. Not sexual intimacy, but the intimacy of permitting and trusting someone who is basically a stranger to touch you, to wound you, to permanently alter you body. You may be largely unclothed in front of them (my husband and I dated for over a year before he saw my breasts. My tattoo artist was touching them within 15 minutes of me meeting him). The pain? I like it…No! I hate it…No! It’s not that bad!…Well, sometimes it is bad, and I hate it. But I like it….Well…I don’t really like it… blah blah blah. The bottom line is, it is a pain I choose, no one that was inflicted on me unexpectedly. I don’t like it, but I like that I am able to endure it, I like that it challenges me and pushes my limits, And I love, LOVE the result.

The only advice I have is to be really careful what you do to that tattoo. I've seen more tattoos made worse than improved by monkeying around with them.

I find the liner hurts more than the shading. I get some kind of rush from it, but it is difficult to explain to people who aren't pretty heavily tattooed. I've sat for about five hours in the past. It get worse and worse as the time passes after about the third hour. Come talk to me after you've done more than 15 minutes. That's nothing. My Mom has done that, and she's in her 70s. Haha.