SStu

Absolutely. Aside from the supreme protection against possible infection getting into the fresh wound, it minimizes healing time for sure. I only leave mine on for 4 days, but my regular tattooist says he leaves his one for at least a week. 

I've seen equal and worse that came out ok. Only time will tell. 

cracking and hurting is going to be part of the healing process on a wound this deep. I wouldn't put any cream on it either. 

Doesn't look infected to me, just really overworked. As long as it doesn't get red and hot my recommendation is to leave it alone for 6-8 weeks and see how it comes out. 

Hopefully you'll let us know, too. 

classic 80s era. 

no picture when I click on the links . . . 

yep. all depends on the artist, his/her vision and how big you're willing to go . . . 

welcome!

Yep. 4-5 weeks and you'll get an accurate idea of how it's going to look. 

1 hour ago, Hogrider said:

Also, the skin on the side of your hands is thin and so will be prone to blowouts. Make sure you get someone really good that knows what they are doing. It's really hard to do perfect script; there is no room for error. Too many people think script is simple and get the local hack to do it.

Good luck

THIS.

On 10/6/2022 at 4:31 PM, USninja said:

I currently have 2 neck tattoos that I want to add to but... it collides with my plan to join the Marine Corps (I wanted to do so by 2024). Right now they don't accept any neck tattoos and I'm waiting for them to relax the policy similar to other branches. My friend who is in the military told me he heard they gonna allow it from 2022 but we're nearly in 2023 and nothing has changed so I know the frustration. I already have a project in mind regarding connecting the two tatts but waiting on whether they update their policy soon to do that.

may be a long wait . . . 

great work!

I just needs to breathe a bit. Any moisturizer at all isn't a requirement. 

covering a scar with a tattoo is very common, but do your research and find a capable artist. 

Yep. Some people have more trouble with ditches than others, especially legs - but if I'm reading you right = DON'T put numbing cream on your healing tattoo. 

13 hours ago, TristanPaulin said:

It is difficult to tattoo the hand; the machine's motion causes excruciating discomfort.

This doesn't result from the machine - it's the sensitive nerves in your hands. Feet, too. 

^this. 

Way more important to find an artist who is totally capable of nailing an exceptionally fine line and simple (read: impossible to hide mistakes) drawing like you're currently interested in. 

Scratching a year old tattoo should not affect the long term visual of it. 

Superb!

So, what did your artist say yesterday?

Y

Quote

Yeah, that's not really unusual. 

Let's see pictures again after your next session. 

or nothing at all. all my tattoos have dry healed just fine. 

If you're going to reproduce old art as a tattoo then find a tattooist who is very good at photo realism. 

On the other hand, if you're looking for a one-of-a-kind piece of art - then don't even think about a "design service". A truly good artist will make a truly good design and then be interested in tattooing it. A large percentage of tattooists who might try to reproduce someone else's original work of art will do so only because they're hungry - not necessarily because they are capable. 

I would stop using that stuff and see what happens. 

over the centuries hundreds of thousands of tattoos have healed just fine with no product at all. 

Congratulations on 2 levels!