cgrave

It looks perfectly fine. Nice placement too. Those doubts will pass. Meanwhile, may I suggest that you stop staring at it, analysing it, examining it under a microscope. Once you stop paying it that much attention, the mind games will ease.

You are right. Most people don't notice a whole lotta stuff until we call attention to it by being overly self-conscious. And honestly, the words could be interpreted many ways. Don't stress it. Could even be a cool prop for a pickup line.

Totally this. Imo, tattoos chronicle our lives. They are ours and ours alone. No one will ever get what each tattoo means or what stage of our life each represents. And that's totally cool. No point worrying about what others may think. One man's meat is another man's poison and all that.

It's perfectly fine. Tattoos will always shift or contort with your body when you move. It is inevitable and unique to tattoos since the canvas is not static. If this is an issue for you, you might want to avoid getting any other tattoos. Messing with the tattoo by changing it will just make things worse. Honestly, after a while, you don't even notice the momentary distortions any more.

I had something similar happen to me for the half sleeve on my arm. No issues until the very last session when the ink fell out where there was shading on my bicep area. Everything else healed fine but the shading for that area was just... gone. Originally thought it might have caused by my sleeve rubbing across it, causing the area to become pink, as if the skin had been rubbed off. But the lines around the shading were fine. One and only time that happened to me. Got it touched up and now it's all good.

Done is done; can't be undone. The photo looks ok. Doesn't look like it is infected or irritated. But honestly, you won't be able to tell if it is fine until it has completed healing. As what @SStu said, the issue might be with the end result rather than the process.

I've never had a tattoo artist tell me I can do whatever after a tattoo or not give any aftercare advice to a customer they are tattooing for the first time. Personally, I wouldn't trust any tattoo artist who gave me the kinda answer they gave you. You may want to refer to the answer I gave another forumner on this exact same issue in the link below.

If it's a rash, I would avoid putting anything on it. I'm referring to lotions. Not prescription meds or whatever since that would need to follow the doctor's instructions. An allergic reaction usually means the area is more sensitive than normal hence putting lotions, and changing lotions as much as you have, could irritate the skin even further. Let it dry heal, take your antibiotics as prescribed and try not to do anything to irritate the area more (eg scratching).

I prefer to plan my tattoos based on body parts. In my mind, the body is a canvas split into various "parts". The chest, the back, the upper and lower arms, upper and lower legs, etc. For example, I plan my upper and lower arm half sleeves with an idea or theme in mind. On the other hand, my lower left leg is reserved solely for smaller pieces of flash that might catch my fancy from time to time. Elsewise, I intend to continue planning each part as a "large" complete tattoo in and of itself. The reason is my absolute lack of any form of artistic sense. If I get "smaller" tattoos, I cannot envision how they would work with other tattoo ideas that I might have. That would probably leave me with a smattering of small tattoos with huge empty spaces in between... an absolute waste of tattoo prime estate. I have seen the "body suit" that many people have that are made up of small tattoos with little to no link to each other. Personally, I don't think it looks any less impressive than a specifically designed body suit. It just messes with my mind. Gives me tattoo block. Lol.

Back to the main topic, I have always believed that you should always get a tattoo for you. As long as it makes sense to you, that's all that truly matters. That said, you can't really stop people from commenting or asking questions that make you wanna strangle them. Depending on my mood, the question "What is it or what does it mean" can be met with a blank stare, a wordless smile, or some inane story that I made up on the spot. Hope that helps!

What everyone said. Ain't nothing wrong with it.

The tattoo on my calf healed at the same rate as my other tattoos so I reckon it probably depends on individuals. Then again, I've noticed that tattoos of different styles and by different artists heal differently as well. I also had one that did not peel/flake at all. Imo, if there ain't anything wrong with it, you're golden.

I reckon the instant gratification mindset of the younger generation probably plays a part. They see something, they want something, they get something. After that, they probably realise it wasn't how they envisioned it to turn out. And, lo and behold, it ain't like the latest fashion statement or fad where you can just purchase the latest model, use it once and relegate it to the back of your storeroom until the next spring cleaning either lands it in the rubbish dump, the salvation army donation box, or a garage sale. Imo, that mindset does not go with tattoos unless we are referring to the the temporary kind. Plus, let's not forget all the "role models" who make it cool to have tattoos on their face, neck, hands, knuckles just for the sake of being a cool kid. Wasn't that the argument given for all the young guns taking up smoking (decades ago)? Then again, there are also those for whom the above does not apply wherein it is more about adaptation than anything else.

As everyone mentioned, all that dark black that's freaking you out right now will get lighter in time. If it is any consolation, that's the absolute darkest it will ever get. Furthermore, it's early days yet and you won't really know what the end product is like until all the healing is done and dusted. Plus, it takes our minds some time to get used to any major changes to our bodies, including large tattoos (especially on highly visible areas). If you look around the forums, you will find that this is quite common. A little advice: don't make any hasty decisions, don't panic, and breathe. There will always be haters and everyone has their own opinion. With or without tattoos, you will be judged. It is inevitable. End of the day, it's your body, it's your tattoo and the only one who gets any say at all would be you. A tattoo, visible or otherwise, does not change who you are. And honestly, if someone is gonna judge you differently due to a kick-ass tattoo has some, imo, serious issues and biases. But that's on them, not you. Cheers!

As everyone else has said, that is one cool sleeve so, imo, no real concerns there. Also requoting everyone, it is actually quite common especially for more visible (huge) tattoos since your mind will usually recognise it as "alien" or "foreign" from what it understands your body to be. When I first got my wrist tattoo, I would sometimes get a shock and wonder where I got it dirty or why there was something on it. Now, it's just part of me. My mind has finally caught up to the changes. Try not to overthink it. This too will pass.