el twe

Got this in November from Mike Fite when he was at the new Kadillac Tattoo in Hatboro, PA.

Just tell your artist about your reaction/allergy/whatever to certain inks and ask if s/he could use other pigments instead.  No one likes being told how to do their job, but this sounds like a legitimate request and one that I hope would garner some empathy.  Keep in mind that not all inks/pigments are created equal, and your artist may have a strong preference for something other than what you suggest.

@Leah3 weeks is still plenty early as far as healing goes, I'd skip the ointment and wait at least 3 more weeks before starting something else...
I meant to update this thread sooner, but here's the latest on my red ink saga: 
The benadryl cream didn't do a whole hell of a lot for me, other than some short-term relief.  The next suggestion was witch hazel, which I applied probably daily for several months.  Things got better, but only to a point.  Granted, I was told to have some applied with a tattoo machine and needle to get it under the skin, but topical application seemed to help.  I then visited my local shop, got a new tattoo, and asked this artist if he would do as the first artist (who had a guest spot but lives too far away for me to conveniently follow up with, besides the point but still) suggested and actually tattoo the spot with witch hazel.  He graciously obliged, which sparked a conversation with another artist who had a client with a similar problem and suggested rubbing vitamin E oil on the red ink.
The witch hazel tattoo helped a lot right away, and once that felt "healed" I began applying vitamin E oil twice a day, then daily, and now every few days.  Now, there are still some small spots that are a bit raised/hard, but nothing remotely like it was before.  The whole experience has honestly soured my feelings about the tattoo - nothing against the artist or the design, but I can't help but associate it with this 15+ month long healing process...
Sorry for the ramble, and hope it didn't come off as too much of a rant.  Tattoos!

@Leah3 weeks is still plenty early as far as healing goes, I'd skip the ointment and wait at least 3 more weeks before starting something else...
I meant to update this thread sooner, but here's the latest on my red ink saga: 
The benadryl cream didn't do a whole hell of a lot for me, other than some short-term relief.  The next suggestion was witch hazel, which I applied probably daily for several months.  Things got better, but only to a point.  Granted, I was told to have some applied with a tattoo machine and needle to get it under the skin, but topical application seemed to help.  I then visited my local shop, got a new tattoo, and asked this artist if he would do as the first artist (who had a guest spot but lives too far away for me to conveniently follow up with, besides the point but still) suggested and actually tattoo the spot with witch hazel.  He graciously obliged, which sparked a conversation with another artist who had a client with a similar problem and suggested rubbing vitamin E oil on the red ink.
The witch hazel tattoo helped a lot right away, and once that felt "healed" I began applying vitamin E oil twice a day, then daily, and now every few days.  Now, there are still some small spots that are a bit raised/hard, but nothing remotely like it was before.  The whole experience has honestly soured my feelings about the tattoo - nothing against the artist or the design, but I can't help but associate it with this 15+ month long healing process...
Sorry for the ramble, and hope it didn't come off as too much of a rant.  Tattoos!

Last one for a while but going out in style. By Grez. <3

Glad to hear this one had a happy ending.  As a business owner myself, I'm always happy to hear about things like this being solved in person, rather than online (not a dig against you/this thread, just thinking about the beast that is Yelp...).  Do you plan to continue with the same artist?  It sounds like he's a reasonable person, and would be open to your requests re: fewer smoke breaks. 

Didn't feel like much of anything, really.  Again, I'd strongly suggest cutting out the lotion/cream/etc. for a few weeks and just allow the tattoo to breathe and the skin to heal itself before adding more to it.  After that, I strongly endorse a drop or two of vitamin E oil (as I've seen suggested by a few others on here for weird heals).

@Leah3 weeks is still plenty early as far as healing goes, I'd skip the ointment and wait at least 3 more weeks before starting something else...
I meant to update this thread sooner, but here's the latest on my red ink saga: 
The benadryl cream didn't do a whole hell of a lot for me, other than some short-term relief.  The next suggestion was witch hazel, which I applied probably daily for several months.  Things got better, but only to a point.  Granted, I was told to have some applied with a tattoo machine and needle to get it under the skin, but topical application seemed to help.  I then visited my local shop, got a new tattoo, and asked this artist if he would do as the first artist (who had a guest spot but lives too far away for me to conveniently follow up with, besides the point but still) suggested and actually tattoo the spot with witch hazel.  He graciously obliged, which sparked a conversation with another artist who had a client with a similar problem and suggested rubbing vitamin E oil on the red ink.
The witch hazel tattoo helped a lot right away, and once that felt "healed" I began applying vitamin E oil twice a day, then daily, and now every few days.  Now, there are still some small spots that are a bit raised/hard, but nothing remotely like it was before.  The whole experience has honestly soured my feelings about the tattoo - nothing against the artist or the design, but I can't help but associate it with this 15+ month long healing process...
Sorry for the ramble, and hope it didn't come off as too much of a rant.  Tattoos!

Okay thanks. I think I'll just let them know what the potential issue is and see what he says. I for sure don't want to undermine his expertise at all or come off like I'm telling him how to do his job. I'm not partial to a particular brand or anything.

Have any of you experienced raised skin/ink up to 6 weeks after getting tattooed?  I've heard that red ink in particular often takes longer to heal, but the rest of this tattoo wept, peeled, and healed in about 2 weeks while a few patches of solid red are still raised, itchy, and peeling now (almost 7 weeks after getting tattooed).  I've had similar heals with other red inks, but none that have lasted this long.  Any tips on how to deal with this?  Tattoo is on my lower leg, just above the ankle.  
I know that everyone heals differently, just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and can share their experiences. 
Thanks.

Just tell your artist about your reaction/allergy/whatever to certain inks and ask if s/he could use other pigments instead.  No one likes being told how to do their job, but this sounds like a legitimate request and one that I hope would garner some empathy.  Keep in mind that not all inks/pigments are created equal, and your artist may have a strong preference for something other than what you suggest.

you figured it out, good stuff !
i like positive outcomes, especially when it's tattoo related.

el twe,
I am. He did mention "Ill knock a few dollars off cause of all the breaks". So he did seem aware of the issue before I said something. Maybe he had something personal going on, and was having a real hard time with it. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the situation, since his apology seemed very legit. He even said in the email that he did bring it up to the shop owner so everyone knows the situation.
I wouldn't go public (Yelp, Facebook Reviews, etc) until I at least gave them the opportunity to correct it. That would probably guarantee that I wouldn't get a credit/money back! I do understand that it was a bad experience with that one artist, and not all artist at that shop are that way, and would have just considered changing artist had the manager be willing to work with me.
 

Here's the complete Stoney documentary for those interested. Such a cool video, I love all of his old sideshow flash!
Stoney Knows How

Glad to hear this one had a happy ending.  As a business owner myself, I'm always happy to hear about things like this being solved in person, rather than online (not a dig against you/this thread, just thinking about the beast that is Yelp...).  Do you plan to continue with the same artist?  It sounds like he's a reasonable person, and would be open to your requests re: fewer smoke breaks. 

Glad to hear this one had a happy ending.  As a business owner myself, I'm always happy to hear about things like this being solved in person, rather than online (not a dig against you/this thread, just thinking about the beast that is Yelp...).  Do you plan to continue with the same artist?  It sounds like he's a reasonable person, and would be open to your requests re: fewer smoke breaks. 

Dang, been a while since I checked this thread, nice work everybody!  It'll probably be a couple more years before I'm in a position to start my own back piece journey so I'll continue to live vicariously through LST...

My artist always deducts all prep time, his lunch break and throws in some time for free. I have an established relationship and tip well. I need to stretch once an hour or so and dont mind when he needs a break. I understand his need for margin. He delivers an outstanding customer experience. 
Quality of work is very important. The customer experience is also important. It works both ways. Simple communication helps both expectations.
 
If your artist is not delivering the same type service...I would look else where. 

I've had both of my shoulders done and I just about slept through it. Sounds like it may be time to move on.

As of yesterday!


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whoa, you folks weren't lyin! The back is tough! I was disappointed that I was only able to sit through 4 1/2 hours.  It was done by Ian Lutz who tattoos in Denver CO. He was in my hometown (Pittsburgh PA) guesting at a local shop, so we were able to start this project on my turf. Next sitting is in January at his shop, World Tattoo. LOTS more to go, but excited for the journey.    Also...the outline on the love handles?!?! HOLY HELL! I never knew pain like that existed lol i have my inner thighs/feet/chest all done and i didnt think pain could get much worse but WOW!!  i could have almost passed out when he was hitting those spots. I felt like such a baby!!!

Last night, 3.5 hours, a couple of small breaks. Got home after midnight. This is round 3, maybe 1 more to go.

We're done! The previous two day session didnt' go as well as the few before it had, I ended up having a pretty bad case of hitting the wall hard enough to lump my noggin. So I was concerned about the final session... but I did much better during those 5 or so hours a few days ago and here we are! Total I think ~35 hours, maybe deduct one or two total for breaks etc. That tengu has the exasperated smarmy expression I would expect it to have having had a teenage Yoshitsune (nee Ushiwakamaru) thwack it with a wooden sword.
Horifuji's instagram has some clearer pictures from before we applied the film on it (as you can tell it was a bit ticked off and seepy by that point).
(by Horifuji @ State of Grace, San Jose , CA, USA)
Feels a bit weird plopping this on teh intertoobz but I am so pleased with my experience* that I wanted give him and the whole shop a shout-out.
 
 
*minus the hurty being- poked-with-needles part.

This is about as close to the internet as this is getting, but couldn't resist posting a peak of this silky smooth background action from Edmonton's fav underground tattooer (as I'm sure @bongsau would agree).
 

Video is now live on http://www.gypsygentleman.nl/
And guess what?  It's great!  I love this series and am happy to see Marcus continue it, especially after what he and his shop have been through in the last year.