IzzyBizzy

My newest, I call him my Paleolithic pony. My back is to be dedicated to important events in human culture, and he's the first.

Yeah in a way I am thinking it can't be that bad if we don't see tattooed people dropping dead everywhere, but I would prefer companies would disclose the ingredients. Ancient ink was made with simpler ingredients as far as I know like pure ash, indigo or even with breastmilk (!!) :p
It would be interesting to see how colored lines or font fade. If it simply turns lighter but doesn't look blotchy that is great. I was thinking of adding certain colored tattoos also to soften and break up the overall look, stick with a certain color theme of black, blue tones and maroon maybe...but that is just an idea of mine. Not sure it is realistic.
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I apologize if toxin was the wrong term. I wanted to use a word that describes any harmful substance. In German that would be "Schadstoffe", so the word that first came to my mind was toxin, but I guess harmful substances would be more correct.
I am thinking of substances that are foreign to the human body and cause a reaction...Not directly of course as in the tattoo will make you fatigued, I am talking about a reaction to a function in the body like the endocrine system for example, which in turn could cause other imbalances. Or carcinogenic substances that don't directly cause cancer, but speed up cell division and lead to an increase of cancerous cells (cells like this are normal to the body, but when they increase in number it can become a problem etc.)
There was one site that spoke of heavy metals in tattoos...sadly not the music kind. But the body can detox from heavy metals, so hard to say if there is a longterm effect.
I am interested in all this because I dealt with many chronic health issues the past years, plus cancer and it took me about 5 years to rid myself of all of it. So if anyone would tell me the color purple has a high concentration of carcinogenic substances (f.ex.) I might reconsider.
In Germany tattoo colors were tested (though I can't find anything about dark blue, purple or maroon), and some brands were labeled as unsuitable. It seems though that German tattoo fans question these tests, because there seem to be no fool proof methods for accurately measuring levels of X. Very confusing...
http://www.testberichte.de/kosmetik-und-pflege/3286/tattoofarben.html
Please blame typos on my phone. I can't even see what I'm writing :/.

This is my plan for our family beach vacation in two weeks. I picked up a Coppertone Sensitive Skin SPF 50, but it looks like white paint, so I'll just cover with a micro-fiber shirt and use the Coppertone when I mow and to protect my face and ears.

@IzzyBizzy either keep it covered or use a barrier cream! something with zinc oxide or titanium oxide. badger balm makes a couple of good ones. just make sure it has those ingredients in it and it will be better than the neutrogena i think. but the best thing you can do for a tattoo that is that fresh is to keep it covered.

Good question! I just read something saying new tattoos are more prone to sun damage. Maybe someone can confirm? Can you wear high neck shirts or a thin scarf when in the sun?
As far as sunscreen goes, chemical sunscreens (mainstream, non organic brands usually) are said to be less effective because they penetrate the first skin layer and react with the skin in a way that can even make it more prone to skin cancer and certain sun damage.
"Physical sunblock", containg Zinc Oxide for example is said to be better and healthier protection. Though many brands make your skin look chalky and the safety of Nano Zinc particles is debated. Some brands deemed fairly safe are Badger or Devita and Juice Beauty. I have used all three and Devita feels nicest when it comes to application, but it does contain Nano Zinc particles. The upside is it does not make you look chalky.
Not all products with a high SPF necessarily provide good protection from UVA and UVB rays. Google Cosmetic Chemicals database, there is information about the strength of the sunscreen as well.

My husband always points out when he sees women w/sleeves or half sleeves-he likes it and he knows I do too. It's very..I don't know, I find it sensual and beautiful. This is what I have so far. The cherry blossom side is going to be added to-more flowers and wind bars. It will go around the upper arm and then up across my upper back to meet the water piece on the other side. Frog will be redone and incorporated into everything. Maybe add another frog in there someplace, who knows. If I thought the school district could handle them down to my elbow I would go that far at least. And it's not that much farther, but still, better to not push it. If my husband's business takes off and I can quit-full sleeves!

Amazeballs. Seriously stunning!

Got my second session in on this free hand piece by London Reese at The Vatican Studios in Lake Forest,CA
First was done in 4 hrs
Second was done after 6 hrs

good times! but next appointment isnt for several months unfortunately.
anyways, thanks for looking!
-Joey

Honestly......I really don't see the huge deal with this "I won't do them" posts
If the people know up front that they may need some maintenance then what is the big deal?
Customer walks in....you tell them up front the deal....they still want it....make them sign something saying you told them.....do the tattoo!
My thumbs....including the sides have held up perfectly fine for 3 years now....and I am not talking script...i am talking images.....
If done by the right person then fingers can hold up....maybe not forever.....but just go get them touched up every year or two or three when they need it!
If you work with your hands it is less likely to hold up....of course!
But if you sit behind a keyboard and take care of your tattoos then they will hold up longer!
There are ways of making them last longer......techniques that were shared with me before I even started tattooing to make tattoos hold longer!
If you want it done and you know the possibility is there you'll have to pay to get it touched up in the future......(prob shop min)....then go get it done!
Just my opinion of course!
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Sorry.....this may be based on "science and society" but this is not in every case.....and I don't think it's all that constructive or helpful! It basically is trying to talk people out of getting tattooed in areas this artist doesn't want to tattoo anymore.....at least it reads that way to me!
Tell people up front and let them make the decision!
Now if you don't have the skill to put it in without blowing it out.....that's another story!
Send them to someone with more experience!
Sending them to someone who has the experience to do it shows the customer you truly care about their tattoo and not the money in their pocket!
Society moves forward by those willing to push the boundaries......not falling in line with the rest of the sheeple!
Yes.....inform the people what COULD happen to them.....and let them make their own minds!
If this was written by someone with 30+ years in the craft.....I'd consider the advice!
I was told 30 years ago the same thing.....society won't like it!!!
guess what...they didn't....LOL......and I still have a better job than most of my friends who didn't get tattooed in 1984!

Agreed.... as my post from earlier stated, I didn't want the same tattoos as my grandfather and uncles who served in the military...mostly because that stuff looked like grease stains on their arms, not cool traditional tattoos. I think tattooing, not matter the style or subject matter, has come a long way since those days. The basic concept or technique didn't change that much, just the appreciation of it as "an ART" and therefore how it's handled. my gramps would've socked someone in the kisser for telling him to stay out of the sun or put some "girly" lotion on to protect it.
No matter what style/color/subject matter/line weight is put into the skin these days, the chances of the thought going into it and the energy spent protecting will keep them from looking like "grease stains" for a long, long while.
....and does't the tagline to this website say "get good tattoos"....not get such and such a style ONLY. pretty sure there's room for everyone's style and opinion here!
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As soon as i can have someone in my family snap some pics of my work, I'll update my profile. I too have a full Eddy Deustche sleeve from 1990 and various work by Marcus Pacheco around the same age. Most of my tattoos are 18-20 plus years old and still look pretty great. Some of the finer detail has faded, depended how exposed to the sun the area was but, overall I still cherish every inch of that stuff.

My husband has zero piercings or tattoos, and I have both. He's into Jimmy Buffett and I'm into the Dead Kennedys. He accompanies me to punk shows (what's left of them these days) and to the tattoo parlor, and supports whatever I'm into. Our next anniversary will be 25 years! Opposites attract sometimes...
P.S. I took him to a Buffett concert last year for his birthday and had to walk out to the parking lot. Could. Not. Take. It. He's a much better spouse than I!

Man.... I could write for hours about my relationship/family and tattoos
I met my wife when I was 29. We were both in the throes of early-life (as opposed to mid-life) career crisis and met in college. I had already lived a hard, but fun life and she was well traveled, but somewhat sheltered in, ahem, alternative lifestyles. I had already been travelling, getting tattooed for 11 years and had 1 full sleeve and both legs from hip to ankle completely covered. We met in winter and I was fully clothed and not really advertising any ink. She saw the tattoos on my knuckles and peeking out from under my shirt cuffs, but wasn't deterred from getting to know me.
Once we started actually dating (and therefore getting nekkid) she told me "as soon as I saw tattoos on your knuckles, I knew you had A LOT of tattoos". To me, that was like receiving her approval, no matter how off handed. I started to notice quickly just how different we were in terms of of our background, and the way we had gotten to this point in our lives.
She was Pavorotti, I was a punk...She spoke French, I knew drug-speak...She had friends at the country club , I used a club on some ex-friends....you get the idea. Culinary school and our shared love for cooking was our common denominator. We laughed and loved and became the best of friends and through all of that, tattoos were never an issue. Both of our careers took off wildly and for what little "me" time I had, I wasn't having any desire to get tattooed. Mind you, not "never again". just not at the new, exciting and extremely busy time in my life.
At this point the relationship is going well and I find myself accepting of EVERYTHING that I had told myself I would never, ever do....namely, getting married and having kids! It felt good to be settling into, what my parents would call "a normal adult". Normal is a relative term for me, and even though I was getting married and planning a family, I never wanted to give up all the things I held dear. My future bride seemed to be on board too, saying "I would never ask you to give up the things you love (music/tattoos etc.)". We even had many discussions about tattoos and the fact that, even though they weren't for her, she didn't really care what I did. good to know........
Fast forward about 18 years: My wife and I are still in love and have 2 pretty great kids. We've both since changed careers and things are going pretty well. I had always kept a distant eye on tattooing and what was going on with it. I always had in the back of my mind that the itch would come back and I would ride out my "later years" with some new ink. This was all in the back of my mind though and I never really talked about tattoos with my wife. I suspected that she had some growing concerns about the tattoos as my kids reached school age and I started to volunteer there. I was asked, by her, to "not wear shorts" when I volunteered or "can you put a band aid over the bad word" (I have a big Sailor Jerry dagger with the words "death before suck-ass" down my left shin). I understood but never had any idea of what was about to come.
One day my wife came to me and said " would you ever consider getting any of your tattoos removed?"
I was floored and I asked "which one(s)?"
She said "well, from your knees down to your ankles on both legs", and she was serious.
I didn't know how to respond except to say "Never!!!"
She tried to explain that she thought that my tattoos where somehow hurting our (read:her) status in her job and in the community. I was flabbergasted...the women i had spent 18 years with was now, in my mind, against me and what i believed in. The conversation ended with me angrily saying " I'd rather cut my fucking legs off"
to be continued..........

A few years ago, my little dude came to me with his shirt off and a temp tattoo placed smack dab in the middle of his chest... He puffs up and says " when I'm old enough I'm going to get tattoos JUST LIKE YOU daddy!!!"

With a sly smile, I reply to him " Oh yeah, that's cool...but what makes you wanna get tattooed??" He says "because I want to be a bad guy and people will be scared to mess with me" I ask him if he thinks I'm a "bad guy" and people are scared of me because of the tattoos. He says "No. I know you're not a bad guy but I don't think that other people who see you, know that". "plus, all the villains in movies have them and....." he makes the knife with his finger going across his throat "they do bad things". I tried the best I could to explain that I could to his 5 year old brain that tattoos are NOT just for bad guys, a lot of "regular" people have them too.
I showed him that photo last night and asked him if he remembered that conversation we had and if he still wanted to get tattoos just like daddy, when he grew up. "Nah, everyone has tattoos now...plus , Mom would probably kill me". we had a good laugh.....

Hi Everyone,
I dont do too well talking about myself but I'll give it a try.
Since this is a forum for Tattoo aficionados, I'll try and stick with that and not stray. I'm sort of old for a person to get into tattoo's I guess. At 35 I have a solid 18-20 years on many collectors when they first started. I never saw myself as the type of person to get a tattoo. I'm just super fickle. Plus, I always lamented my more embarrassing styles growing up so I was never willing to commit to something permanent. Now that I'm older I embrace that I once had a mullet, once had a metal phase, tried the goth thing, even was a cowboy for a while. Thinking back to my mullet used to create a small pang of embarrassment (it was a serious mullet...like Billy Ray had a candy ass mullet compared to me). But now I embrace it as part of what makes me...Me. Now that I can embrace things like that rather than regret them, I feel I 'm in a mental place to get tattoo'd.
I've also realized that I have a really crappy memory. I've also realized that I have a really crappy memory. I remember being places, having feelings associated with an event, but rich details about my past elude me. I have a tough time living in the moment and tend to always focus on the future. I think that makes me a bit aloof and thus I never solidly lay down the neural pathways for cool memories. I dont want to be a boring old person who cant remember all their own stories. To me, tattoos seem a way to cement a memory in physical form and help one to remember details otherwise forgotten. Take my scars for example...I love every one of them. And when I look at them I am transported back to the event of their creation and all the feelings, events, people involved in my life at that time. I love that!
Lets see... I suck at Art. By suck I dont mean "You really should work on adjusting the angle of your light source..." No no no my friends. By suck at art I mean unable to draw a fucking smiley face. My stick figures are so bad, that were inability to draw a disease, I would need to be put down. I chose a life of science instead...and thank the Lord almighty. Dont get me wrong, I love artistic expression (I'm here right), I just need someone else to express it for me. So that leads into my profession, I'm a doggy doctor, porcine proctologist, Shiba Inu shaman, a feline wangateur...or just a veterinarian. I also happen to be in the Army (at least for a few more weeks). So, I'm a vet (veterinarian) and a vet (veteran) - VetSquared.
Tattoos - none yet. I have two days booked with Uffe Hansen of Meatshop in Copenhagen this June. The wifey and I are going to take our first real break from the youngin and take a holiday to Denmark (and get a rad tattoo). I'm not really into tribal, or neo-tribal, but they are doing some amazing dot work in a, I guess, "Neo-Nordic" style and I just love it. Plus my last name originates from a character in Norse mythology so I figure it fits. I also just booked a consultation with Horitomo this December. Hopefully that means we'll get started in February sometime...not really sure. Honestly, I'm not sure an image has ever resonated with me as much as his Monmon cats. Dont want to say too much until its in my skin...but I'll share when they're done and healed. Basically, It'll be a Nordic wolf like image on the left lower leg, a Monmon on the right lower leg. I'm a small animal veterinarian, cats and dogs make up 90% of what I do all day. I'll have a dog on one leg and a cat on the other. Honestly, I am still wrestling with where I want the Monmon cat. I like the lower leg because, if you're special, I can pull up my pant leg and show it to you. But it's also a great piece of artwork from a famous artist and thus feel like it needs a higher place of honor, like my shoulder/upper arm. Feel free to chime in.
To finish off - my hobbies. I'm into adventure motorcycling. I have a dual sport bike fitted out for adventure travel. Done a couple big rides, including across america on dirt roads from east to west. Planning an around California ride this summer, starting in So-Cal, going up through Sequoia, yosemite, kings, over to the lost coast, and back south. Going for as much dirt road as we can find. I also like mountain biking, backpacking, fly fishing, and building stuff.
I'm not very good at responding to PM's, or even on my own threads...I'm just too damn busy to sit at my computer all the time and Tapatalk doesnt work for shit. I'll try and get email notifications set up so I actually communicate. I also tend to not be a huge participant in online forums because, frankly, there are just too many dicks...so, so many dicks. Albeit, the only other forum I'm on is ADVrider. And, as everybody knows, all motorcyclists are assholes ;) You all seem to be a pretty good lot though. Hopefully I'll find this site more inclusive.
Cheers,
Clint

I Stumbled on this forum looking for alternative after-care advice, I stayed because...tattoos.
My name is Allis, have several smaller pieces by local artists (most of which I still like). I am set to be tattooed by Hoffa at Hell City Columbus this Friday, May 1 and I am very excited. It will eventually turn into (hopefully) a floral half sleeve by various and sundry artists. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm not on my work computer.
Thanks for listening. Look forward to participating more.

It kind of looks like he gave you an option to build a sleeve underneath that. Seems like an ideal placement to put more tattoos underneath it.

Believe me, at 50, 60 - you won't care if it shows. You'll probably flaunt it!

Hi
I'´m Hampus Samuelsson from Sweden. Long interested in cultural tattoos and collected a few as well. It all started in the beginning of the 21th century when I traveled to Samoa for my first time. My girlfriend at the time had her family there. Her father worked at the hospital on Tutuila so we visited them during christmas. They knew this tattoo artist there, Wilson Fitiao, and he did my very first hand tapped tattoo. After that I needed to get back. And so I did in 2007. This time I had to meet up with Petelu Suluape. So the search began about a year before the trip. I talked to Heidi Hay in my home town, she were about to marry Paulo Suluape which tragically ended up in him being murdered :(. But even if she were close to Petelo, she could not help me. So I started calling to the US, tried to get hold of Freewind Suluape but failed, talked to a bunch of artists and customers but nothing. So I searched the internet. There I found I guy on bebo, an australian facebook version at the time. He was family to Petelo Suluape so we started chatting a bit and some phone calls. Eventually I could speak to Petelo himself. His english was not as good as I thought it would be, so I got suspicious. Talked to Heidi again and she also thought it sounded weird, Petelo speaks good english. Turned out I had been speaking with his brother, they shared the same name! The rumour says he was born Alaiva'a but took his brothers place in school and been called Petelo since. Anyway, time was running out and I left for New Zealand with still no contact with Petelo Suluape. Four month went by in NZ and I sat on the plane to Samoa about a year after I started my search, with nothing. But while walking the streets in Apia a saw an american that I recognized from the site couchsurfing. There were only two registered couches in Samoa so I had read both their profiles. This guy, Peter, had his wrists tattoed by Petelo. I called out his name, and he was much surprised that I recognized him. I asked him if he knew where I could find Petelo,
-Sure, he's a shop right around the corner, next to Spoons (the ice cream shop)!
A whole year of searching and it was this easy? I went straight to the shop where I met, another, Peter. He was the son of Petelo and a very talented artist. I asked him if I could book a time with Petelo.
-Petelo? no, he's in Hawaii.
*doh*
-He'll be back on Thursday.
*yay
Got his cell number and waited for Thursday, called but no answer, friday nothing. Saturday morning, finally! I described what I wanted and he sounded interested.
-Can you come tomorrow, 10 o'clock?
-Hell yeah.
It was finally happening. Took a taxi down to Faleasiu and we went through my ideas. He grabbed my arm and twisted it around almost to breaking point. Then finally said.
-It's a big tattoo........ OK!
Six (!) hours later it was done and they smuggled my out of the village in a minivan and dropped me of at the highway where I had to hitch hike back to Apia, manuia le kerisimasi. Why? It was Sunday and he wasn't allowed to tattoo on Sundays or he have to pay a fine to the church. Eight years later and my tattoo still rocks. Solid black and sharp lines.



But, that's not the reason I came. I've done some viking reenactment in my days, about ten years, and met a lot of interesting people. Some of them tattoo artist working with hand poking techniques. Peter Walrus, Kai Uwe Faust and Colin Dale to name a few. Being a hobby videographer I ended up doing a short interview with Colin Dale that I'd like to share with you. Hope you like it :)


Watch it in full HD here: https://vimeo.com/abacrombie/roots
Maybe something for your video section @slayer9019

Got a shoulder piece done on the 14th. At this time, I'm not getting color or shading. I like the negative space. And hope it conveys the softness and femininity I was going for and doesn't just look unfinished.
Now I just need to figure out if I want to continue with black a gray pieces. I have an absolute love for neo-traditional tattoos. I'm just a little unsure how to mix my pieces.

I can say a little more about this now. So far all of my tattoos have a similar style, meaning they are all rather minimalistic silhouette tattoos with just black ink.
The reason for this is also because I worry about the tattoos harmonizing with each other. I don't think I could bear a watercolor style tattoo next to something old school for example ;).
I have shyed away from colors so far because I wear a wide variety of colors and styles....all black one day and then florals and pink the next day. I do want something with color but I am thinking long and hard about what colors will match most looks.
I also want colors that harmonize with my skin color ^^ which is probably a weird thing to consider?
But I can go on and on about these things. They need to be perfect for me. I'm the type of person that if I wear mismatched colors or outfits, my day is ruined hahaha...I can not even handle wearing mismatched lounge clothing at home. I will change into something else...
And I do know I will always try to balance out how many tattoos I have where...I am planning it like an architect.
I did a fairly good job with my piercings. I was able to fit 5 on my face in one area ( nose, mouth ) and it still looks balanced...imho :D

There's also the fact that panthers are classic American traditional, whereas the feather birds are a newer trend. Doesn't make it all right, it just is.

The last few posts about this post.. After some extended deprivation of sleep i was thinking, from what i understand you guys basicly said that no panter is the same. Therefor it is still unique. But this website still looks down on young girls getting a tribal tattoo just above the but or a feather disolving into birds (correct me if im wrong on this). I think we've all seen this picture and laughed about it

How is one allright but the other is not?
Too quote Aragorn 'What say you?!'

On this very forum, I've seen more black panthers than the 60's era civil rights movement. :D

You don't by any chance have a beard a quiff and a full sleeve of bird silhouette's do you? (joking)

Now that's funny I don't care who you are!