ghostknife

I honestly think that everyone heals differently, and different techniques are better for different sizes and placements. Plus everyone has different skin! I feel like there are a lot of voodoo magic myths about healing..."if you do x y and z, it'll be great!" When healing it any of the different ways would have probably been fine anyway. I have also totally babied tattoos and they scar up a little because the skin got overworked. No one's fault per se, just the way it goes.
For me, when I get anything done on my legs I swell like crazy so sometimes I wrap it for the first few days to avoid friction if I have to wear shoes/pants. When I get super detailed tattoos I tend to leak more lymph because there is more trauma to my skin, so wrapping for a few hours at a time when I am out and about can prevent it getting gross and crusty from letting lymph dry on it, and I wash it and let it dry out a little when I get home. Other times and places, I just use lotion and let it air dry and it heals like a dream. Not a big ointment fan myself because it clogs my pores but others swear by it.
Basically, Dr. Bronner's, unscented Aveeno, and the occasional plastic wrap wrapping if it's called for. I also dry with paper towels for the first few days instead of a bath towel because I am paranoid about infection.
Keep it clean, moisturize it a little, don't swim, don't stand around in the sun, don't scoop the cat box naked, and don't wear anything that rubs on it and I think it's usually fine! :)

I honestly think that everyone heals differently, and different techniques are better for different sizes and placements. Plus everyone has different skin! I feel like there are a lot of voodoo magic myths about healing..."if you do x y and z, it'll be great!" When healing it any of the different ways would have probably been fine anyway. I have also totally babied tattoos and they scar up a little because the skin got overworked. No one's fault per se, just the way it goes.
For me, when I get anything done on my legs I swell like crazy so sometimes I wrap it for the first few days to avoid friction if I have to wear shoes/pants. When I get super detailed tattoos I tend to leak more lymph because there is more trauma to my skin, so wrapping for a few hours at a time when I am out and about can prevent it getting gross and crusty from letting lymph dry on it, and I wash it and let it dry out a little when I get home. Other times and places, I just use lotion and let it air dry and it heals like a dream. Not a big ointment fan myself because it clogs my pores but others swear by it.
Basically, Dr. Bronner's, unscented Aveeno, and the occasional plastic wrap wrapping if it's called for. I also dry with paper towels for the first few days instead of a bath towel because I am paranoid about infection.
Keep it clean, moisturize it a little, don't swim, don't stand around in the sun, don't scoop the cat box naked, and don't wear anything that rubs on it and I think it's usually fine! :)

I am totally necro-ing this but I have noticed that since I started getting more into tattooing I am sometimes the one staring when someone walks by with a great piece...then if I get caught staring I want to clarify and say, "wait, it's just because it's awesome!" and actually talk about it. By then usually the interaction is over and I just feel awkward. I always hope that my looking is not interpreted as being a menacing/disapproving stare. The weirdest thing is when you think you see an artist's work that you know. I have yet to approach someone and say "hey, is that so-and-so's work?" because I feel like that would even more so freak people out, especially if I am right.
I have excellent resting bitch face and live in a pretty accepting city so thank goodness no one has touched me yet, knock on wood. I think if they did I would almost certainly snap at them. I have definitely endured staring (though as I believe someone else said most of the time I don't notice and other people point it out to me), strange reactions, and creepy comments along the lines of "but you seem like such a good girl" *shudders*. Most of the time when people ask nicely and respectfully I will indulge them...maybe that's due to social expectations. It often leads to good conversations, so there's that.
I think in general people feel entitled to women's time, space, and bodies...as a tattooed woman you are visibly deviating from social norms and are thus singled out for attention. Often times I think people just inquire about them in order to shame you for getting tattooed, particularly with questions about price.

Hi!
I decided to bite the bullet and register since I have been lurking for so long! I got my first tattoo when I was 17 (which is covered now, thankfully) but got seriously into getting tattooed and the whole collecting thing over the past few years. Looking forward to filling up my empty spaces and meeting awesome people along the way.
I am currently a social worker but have also spent time teaching and doing various other things...hope to further diversify in the future. I am definitely in the long sleeve forever club, which in Southern California can be upsetting but it's also worth every second of enduring the sweltering heat. I have uploaded some of my collection to my gallery...mostly the stuff on my legs or stuff I already had good pictures of. Once I enlist help with photography I will upload the stuff on my arms (or upload them in respective threads). I take pretty bad pictures, so my apologies in advance for that.
My most recent addition was by Johan Svahn, and it's still healing...before that I got tattooed by Chris Conn. Both allowed me to cross something off my bucket list!
Hope to see you all around, excited to be here!

Hi!
I decided to bite the bullet and register since I have been lurking for so long! I got my first tattoo when I was 17 (which is covered now, thankfully) but got seriously into getting tattooed and the whole collecting thing over the past few years. Looking forward to filling up my empty spaces and meeting awesome people along the way.
I am currently a social worker but have also spent time teaching and doing various other things...hope to further diversify in the future. I am definitely in the long sleeve forever club, which in Southern California can be upsetting but it's also worth every second of enduring the sweltering heat. I have uploaded some of my collection to my gallery...mostly the stuff on my legs or stuff I already had good pictures of. Once I enlist help with photography I will upload the stuff on my arms (or upload them in respective threads). I take pretty bad pictures, so my apologies in advance for that.
My most recent addition was by Johan Svahn, and it's still healing...before that I got tattooed by Chris Conn. Both allowed me to cross something off my bucket list!
Hope to see you all around, excited to be here!

Hi!
I decided to bite the bullet and register since I have been lurking for so long! I got my first tattoo when I was 17 (which is covered now, thankfully) but got seriously into getting tattooed and the whole collecting thing over the past few years. Looking forward to filling up my empty spaces and meeting awesome people along the way.
I am currently a social worker but have also spent time teaching and doing various other things...hope to further diversify in the future. I am definitely in the long sleeve forever club, which in Southern California can be upsetting but it's also worth every second of enduring the sweltering heat. I have uploaded some of my collection to my gallery...mostly the stuff on my legs or stuff I already had good pictures of. Once I enlist help with photography I will upload the stuff on my arms (or upload them in respective threads). I take pretty bad pictures, so my apologies in advance for that.
My most recent addition was by Johan Svahn, and it's still healing...before that I got tattooed by Chris Conn. Both allowed me to cross something off my bucket list!
Hope to see you all around, excited to be here!

I just want to say god bless sluts in tank tops

Hi!
I decided to bite the bullet and register since I have been lurking for so long! I got my first tattoo when I was 17 (which is covered now, thankfully) but got seriously into getting tattooed and the whole collecting thing over the past few years. Looking forward to filling up my empty spaces and meeting awesome people along the way.
I am currently a social worker but have also spent time teaching and doing various other things...hope to further diversify in the future. I am definitely in the long sleeve forever club, which in Southern California can be upsetting but it's also worth every second of enduring the sweltering heat. I have uploaded some of my collection to my gallery...mostly the stuff on my legs or stuff I already had good pictures of. Once I enlist help with photography I will upload the stuff on my arms (or upload them in respective threads). I take pretty bad pictures, so my apologies in advance for that.
My most recent addition was by Johan Svahn, and it's still healing...before that I got tattooed by Chris Conn. Both allowed me to cross something off my bucket list!
Hope to see you all around, excited to be here!