Hands On

go get it! post a picture! love it! get more tattoos! do it!

@Asthma Inhaler Jim a couple things that tattooing has taught me is to care less about what other people think and to be more comfortable in my own skin. The folks who knew the person who passed should be glad you commemorated that person and it should bring them some sort of positive feelings. If not, then perhaps that's a good way to weed out the folks who might not be worth being around, if their energy doesn't vibe with yours.  On that same note, your family and friends who matter should accept you even more than those who just new the person who died.
As for knowing how a tattoo will effect your life, it's impossible to imagine and it's different for everyone. You're just getting started and it sounds like you have a good positive outlook which will lead to a positive journey to come! Getting tattooed will teach you many lessons along the way and you'll have the constant reminder of each one to mark your growth and evolution. Enjoy it!

just checking in, hoping your second guessing and self hate has subsided a bit. Getting your first visible tattoo is a pretty big step. There are some threads here on LST that might help, if you do a little searching. 
FYI, this is a pretty old thread, relative to how long a lot of folks have been staying on this forum lately, so you might not get a response from the OP... especially since they only have 4 posts total.

People get body suits. Get a tattoo any place you can stand the pain.

just checking in, hoping your second guessing and self hate has subsided a bit. Getting your first visible tattoo is a pretty big step. There are some threads here on LST that might help, if you do a little searching. 
FYI, this is a pretty old thread, relative to how long a lot of folks have been staying on this forum lately, so you might not get a response from the OP... especially since they only have 4 posts total.

Yakuza bath house, 1947

Just keep it clean and let it heal. And please quit staring at it. 😉 

Don't be so harsh on it. I've seen tattoos WAY worse than that - most of which came out just fine. I don't think you have a "problem" at all. 

I'm two sessions in on a flora and fauna back piece by Virginia Elwood. The piece is covering up a somewhat ill-advised first tattoo that I got after surviving a very tough year at age 18, and I'm pushing 40 now, so it seemed like a good moment to move onwards and upwards.
I'm so in love with how it's coming out. Everyone is right about some of these spots being no joke though — 3-4 hours feels like PLENTY for one day. My next session is this week to add some more creatures in some of the spaces along the sides and hopefully start some shading. Should be "fun"!

26 hours down with one session left! Spent the last session doing background shading and the whole branch. The lovehandle area had me almost tapping and *almost* in tears. A very special kind of searing pain 🌶

When I got a rocket tattooed on my calf, my tattoo artist strongly suggested the rocket should be pointed away from the center of my body, rather than looking like it was headed for my butt...

the ones they have done 1000 times. 

there are things that i have anxiety about with tattoos of mine that i didnt think about before i got them. 
 
one of my tattoos is the name of a person who died.  there are others who knew the person, and i sort of have anxiety about them wondering if its alright for me to have their name tattooed on me. 
also i have anxiety about some family members and friends of my family seeing them. i dont really have a problem with just wearing clothes that make them invisible but its something that came to mind after i got tattooed. 
 
i feel like people cant be expected to be imaginative enough to really think about every single possible way a tattoo will effect their lifestyle. even with that said though i kind of feel bad about not having the mental creativity to come up with the questions that would have lead to the answers that would have helped me. 
 
 

I'll just say that with well over 200 hours in the chair, the only time I've ever said "stop" was when he was working on my stomach. I needed a minute to breathe.

Old school rules (certainly not a mandate in these days and times) is that any image should face toward the center and/or front of your body. 

I'm not sure how anything is worse than a bad artist, but with all of the tattoo shops out there, I don't now why anyone would tolerate either. If you can't find a good artist in a good shop, you're not looking very hard.

thou shalt look up "which way should wrist tattoos face?" before getting one. 
 
i wish i had done this before i got mine facing me. 🙃

Hi im new to the forum. i have three tattoos i got from the same shop. not all of mine are that great. heres how my experiences have been so far... 
 
first tattoo - a person i knew died and i got their name on my arm. it came out good. the only thing i sort of wish i did differently was not get the entire name in capital letters but that doesnt really bother me. 
second tattoo - got another lettering tattoo on my right wrist in dark blue ink. the placement didnt come out as straight as i wanted it but i kind of blame myself for misjudging the stencil and being worried i was going to bother the tattoo artist if i asked to keep re applying it. also i didnt find out until after my third tattoo that i shouldnt have gotten it facing me. 
third tattoo - i got some album artwork on my left wrist that is pretty much made up of 4 squares that form a braille letter R. i got it done by the same guy that did my second tattoo. one of the squares is slightly mishapen and not exactly uniform with the others. also i didnt find out about correct tatttoo orientation until after i got this one. so again i got a second tattoo facing me instead of the other way around. 
 
im quite annoyed i got my wrist tattoos facing me instead of the other way around. i doubt ill get laser treatment, and probably wont cover them up unless i can think of something i really want. Im planning on getting a fourth tattoo soon though. hopefully that one goes good. 
Just wanted to give a quick introduction to myself and my experiences with getting tattooed. looking forward to learning more on the forum. 🙂

Hi — just joined the forum, though I've learned so much from reading others' experiences.
I just started a full back piece by Virginia Elwood this month (two sessions of outlining so far), and I'm so excited to see it come together over the next year. My other pieces are mostly on my thighs and calves, and so far the back seems like a completely different beast. Looking forward to sharing my progress!

I’m due in for another sit with  Matt Collins soon but here’s some older snaps of where it is at now, maybe 22 ish hours in? I think it might need another 8 to go? The cranes will need white and then we have to add the red to their heads and the maple leaves, and then tackle the omamori. Phew.

Replying to my own topic, but I guess I may as well ask my question here.
I’ve done plenty of my own research and I’ve scoured the forum, but I’m still interested in your insight. I had an 11-month healed and well-executed tattoo touched up 4.5 months ago. It had ink fallout on two little bits, but the artist (not the original) redid the entirety of the tattoo instead... for uniformity of colour, I presume, though I knew and know this wasn’t necessary. It is now raised throughout; some bits more than others... like Braille. She also inked an Old English tattoo on my thigh in the same session, which healed perfectly - flush with the skin. Based on her portfolio and the reputable studio she works in, she is quite talented. 
 
Granted, I was mistaken and ill-advised, not covering the tattoo when I went outside on walks and even, on occasion, applying sun lotion (an open wound, I know). Other than those massive blunders, correct aftercare was followed. In full, the tattoo has a second layer of ink over what was otherwise a saturated tattoo, combined with poor aftercare.
Scar tissue? Swelling? Purely consequence of a second layer of pigment making the skin rise as of unnecessary touching-up? Anyone have experience with this, specifically with touch-ups? Appreciate any insight. Again, it’s been 4.5 months since, so beyond those initial healing speculations.
 
 

Sorry, I've got no experience with this particular issue. 

I haven't seen this before. I have outlines that will rise for a few minutes to a few hours, but nothing permanent.

Been in search of the full Dave Lum’s Heavy Duty Tattooing. Willing to buy VHS copy or borrow. Talk to a lot of guys about it when I get tattooed and most of them say they’ve seen it but don’t have a copy.

Wear sleeveless shirts.
Seriously, you're over thinking this. Get the tattoo you want and don't worry about the rest. Make sure you get referrals and see previous tattoos in the same style by the artist. Don't go to an "I can do every style" tattooer. NOBODY does every style well. Go to the people that specialize in the style you want.