The Tig

By Mihail Polina

As long as it isn't leaking or pealing away, keep it on unless you are just tired of it.

It holds the oozed ink, which looks kinda' crazy from the outside, but the tattoo remains intact and heals in a more sterile environment than it would if exposed to air.

Due to my now ex-job (got layed off Monday) I haven't been able to ride any MTB in over 6 years, Today, that changed!

Rode the Fisher Rig 29" single speed this morning in perfect weather. I had a blast!

Sometimes you just have to stop and look around, listen to the birds, and soak it all in. This is my ultimate medicine.

I rode the Memorial Park XC trails (some of which I helped to build almost 30 years ago) and was saddened to see how many trees died from the drought a few years ago. I'd say about 35% are gone.

In order to make room for our replacements in India, a really intelligent co-worker and I were layed off yesterday. I knew this was a possibility, but didn't expect it so soon, hoping they would go after the higher priced people in our group that don't do nearly as much work. I left on good terms because you never know.

So today I applied for a newly opened position in another group in the same company, just feet from where I used to sit. I get along with everyone there really well and the manager likes me. I can't expect anything so I'll start the ever so fun of job hunting in a town that has layed off thousands in the last 12 months due to low oil prices.

Meanwhile, the man behind the curtain:

As President & CEO at ___ INC, _________ made $6,547,558 in total compensation. Of this total $538,474 was received as a salary, $1,000,000 was received as a bonus, $0 was received in stock options, $4,637,415 was awarded as stock and $371,669 came from other types of compensation.

How To Use Sani (or most any) derm

Tattoo Aftercare Instructions | How to Use Saniderm

:)

Hello and welcome! Good to have you here.

The hand tattoos you posted look great!

Will you get there fast and then you'll take it slow?

Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama...

Currently healing both hands, which go up onto my wrists and down onto my knuckles. I'm about a week in, they're so sore, very crusty, I can't really move my hands properly. Going back to work on Tuesday so worried about gloves coming on and off. Whaaaaaaa this is the PERFECT thread for me. What's weird is the usual wash/cream thing that usually makes my tattoos feel better actually making these ones sting! Was so bad the other night after washing and applying aloe Vera they felt like they were on fire! I started crying to which my usually lovely boyfriend rolled over and said 'will you be crying for long? I've got to get up in the morning.' Haha cheers love. Anyway glad to have somewhere I can whine to people who understand!

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This gives me hope, mine are crust city. It's so sore! I hate healing

Hand healing mojo!

If you are using aloe vera gel (I don't use it for healing tattoos, but your hands are a different story), check the ingredients for alcohol since many will have it. The best easy to find gel I've found is by Fruit of the Earth since it has no colors or alcohol added. Robot Check

We also have a few aloe vera plants to get the raw stuff for burns.

Hello and welcome!

What part of Texas are you in or willing to get a tattoo at? There are plenty of people here that know about Texas tattoo artists.

Bienvenidos from Texas!

January 2nd was the last one.

I'll probably get a banger at the Houston Tattoo Extravaganza in March, maybe a hannya by Tracy Lambright.

Hello and welcome!

I agree with quite a bit of what has already been said. Take your time, as long as you need, to choose what you want forever. Keep in mind that most everyone here will tell you that the tattoos they wanted when they were young are nothing like what they wanted and got later. Even more important, take time to research an artist. Search pinterest and instagram. There are plenty of great ideas that died under the needle of someone who should have realized they were not the best artist for a specific style or art.

Onto a more personal level, I feel your (similar) pain, both physically and mentally. Life can be a cruel bitch, full of pain. The suffering part is what WE control, however. One frame of mind or direction change I'd steer you towards from my personal experience is:

Work on going from being a victim to becoming a survivor.

There is always room for growth in that department.

Hello and welcome!

Even when I had just one visible tattoo, people would stare with a disapproving look.

I quickly realized that a tattoo is an instant litmus test that exposes snooty, judgmental assholes I'd be happy to not associate with.

Houston Texas Tattoo Extravaganza

The image flips only when I post it here for some reason:

Tattoo artists so far:

Lyle Tuttle

Arc Angel Tattoo

Anthony Montemayor

Shawn Degan

Don Patton

Scorpion Studios

Dan Martin

Pair-o-Dice Tattoo

Richard Stell

Gill "The Drill" Montie

Black Dagger Tattoo

Magic Moon USA Tattoo Supply

AJ Maloney

Jeremy Cook

Eric Solis

Jesse Vomhit

TC Hatch

TATTOOAGOGO

Donn Davis

Theophile Bourgeois

Ram Page

Chago Garcia

Alton Sides

Nick Moran

Peter Justice Studios

Peter Gonzalez

Bijou Studio

Megan Cates

Brice Schoenstin

Calib Morford

LoneStar Tattoo

Joseph Courvier

Chris Keasier

John Perez Tattoos

Yep, that looks normal and typical. I'm not sure the best way to explain it, but the body rejects the excess ink by weeping or oozing the first few days. The rest will stay and look sharper after a week or so. Just protect it, keep it clean, and don't let it dry out and scab up too much.

Browse healing threads like:

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/2961-thread-we-commiserate-about-healing-our-fresh-tattoos.html

I like quite a bit of Dave Wah's work. He was guest spotting at a local shop (Red Dagger), which is how I learned of his work.

My next tattoo will be inspired by his vintage track racer:

Before I was born, my dad got his shoulder tattooed while in the navy during the Korean war of an anchor and oak leaf clusters. I remember him telling us about what it was like getting it. I'm not sure if he got tattooed while in San Francisco or San Diego.

My great grandfather (1880-1977) had a horse's head on his inner arm that looked like a big "L" when he was in his 90's.

I love the cats!!!!!!!!

Well, you better avoid searching for "monmon cat tattoo" images.

Hello and welcome!

Let's see that Star Wars tattoo you mentioned in the other thread.

Tattoos heal in a similar way that road rash does (or doesn't), but with fresh ink to preserve. Go from there...

Do people have boundaries at all these days?

Sadly, I think that the relative anonymity of the internet and the habit of typing without boundaries spills into people's real lives. A week's worth of local news stories confirms this!

Sad but true...