jitterbug

I love the cats boots .

Just got this put on me by El Monga. Picture stolen from his instagram.

Got this from Deno earlier in the week whilst he was in Melbourne.

Brandi - I have no first hand experience with the procedure however I did find this video after a quick search:


I've heard of this new technique of tattooing in ink or "all natural whatever" to remove / vanish tattoos. That video scares me. To properly apply a tattoo, an artist has to hold the machine at a very specific angle, with pressure and a touch that only a proper apprenticeship can give you. The person doing that seems to be in a hurry more than anything. Also, there is no clip-cord cover, which is one of the easiest ways to start cross contamination problems within any tattoo shop.
My other main problem with this is that it's invasive. More needles going into the skin. Tattoo removal via FDA approved laser works by focusing a condensed beam of light at pigment and fracturing it, thus creating much smaller particles of ink that the immune system can dispose of. It's non invasive, it's much quicker and has proven results.
I'm not totally opposed to new technology or learning, but your tattoo would take about 40 seconds to treat with a laser, probably closer to 5 minutes with this product, and with a tattoo machine (invasive). Depending on the cover-up piece you wanted, you'd be set in 2-5 treatments to have your artist go over it from laser tattoo removal. This invasive cream, I just can't tell you anything about it.
For what it's worth, most of my competition locally are dermatologists or "med-spas" who all use similar equipment to us. There is a reason why the Q-Switch Nd:YAG laser is considered to be the standard in removing tattoos.

Looks great. The total number of treatments will depend largely on what your cover up piece is and who's doing it. Most people have 2-5 treatments for cover-ups, waiting a minimum of 8-10 weeks after the last one before getting a tattoo.
The good news is you're very fair and the tattoo is all black, so you'll see some pretty dramatic fading about a month after your 2nd treatment.
Keep us updated with progress!

I am getting tattooed at a fast rate! I'm not really in pain as much as just itchy and my immune system is well and truly ready for a reboot! My tattoo artist isn't sure if/when he's going to be returning and i really want the majority of my left arm to be done by him hence the regularity of the appointments!
Being tattooed is also something i've repressed for a long time.. it feels like a relief to finally be allowed to do what i want with my body :)

I struggled a bit when I had my outer calf done. My ankle and the top of my foot was swollen from standing at work and I started getting pins and needles in my toes. I took antihistamines, anti inflammatorys and kept my leg elevated when I could but it still took about a few days before my leg was a normal size again. I'm getting my other calf done in two weeks and know what to expect this time around.

Biggest peeve would have to be being looked down upon.
It hasn't happened recently (since I'm more visibly tattooed now), but when jeans and a t-shirt covered all my tattoos, there were a few shops I went into where I was treated like an imbecile or a joke based on appearance alone. I can't stand being condescended to, and I sure as hell wont spend money for the pleasure.

I agree. Also, if I could afford (or when I can) to make it to California, booking an appointment with Chris Conn would be at the top of the agenda.
To get back on the topic of pet peeves...for me, the only big one I've encountered from a customer's perspective is having to listen to stupid, offensive shit. I realize that a lot of people would consider me to be overly PC, which is fine (I disagree to a large extent with what most people consider to be "political correctness" and see it more as "not being an asshole", but whatever), but it definitely turns me off to hear racist or homophobic shit when I'm getting tattooed. On one trip to a pretty well-known shop, my buddy that I was staying with (who is gay) decided that he wanted a tattoo too and came with and got tattooed. He was super stoked on it and really liked the dude that we both got tattooed by, but during his tattoo a couple of the other tattooers hanging out made a few gay jokes (unrelated to my friend), and it was pretty awkward and uncomfortable for both of us for a minute. Consequently, I probably won't ever get tattooed by those dudes, despite them making rad tattoos. With a finite amount of skin and a Want list longer than I'll ever be able to get through, I want to enjoy my tattoo experience as much as possible, so I'm gonna go with the tattooer I don't worry about having to endure hearing go off on some "faggot" shit during my session.

I'm 35 and only started getting tattooed last year. I feel lucky that my husband has been very supportive so far, especially for someone with no tattoos nor interest in having any himself. Like many tattooed people I suspect, I started off just wanting one tattoo; now I have three big ones and can't see myself stopping any time soon. He's been with me all the way, and the only reservation he's expressed so far is that he really wouldn't want me to get a chest piece.
I will never tell my dad, but I told my mum after Christmas dinner when we'd both had lots of wine. She was shocked but not in a dismayed sense, I just think it totally confounded her perception of me, particularly the fact that I could sit for hours under the needle - she has this idea of me as someone who can't handle physical hardship/pain. I don't think she knows what to make of it all but that doesn't matter, I suppose. The main thing is she's not disappointed in me, which I had been childishly worried about.

Gorgeous! Where did you have this done?

I just bought a magazine called Tattoo life it is issue no81, your awesome back is on page 25

Thank you. I can't stop staring at her... she is the most beautiful of all my tattoos, though I love them all equally, as soon as I saw the stencil she felt "mine" I guess. Hard to explain. I just love it so much

When I was about a year and a half, sitting on my Fathers lap. He has a skunk tattooed on his arm with the name Stinky. Certainly not the best choice he could have made, but I think from that moment on I was hooked. I had to have one.
And 50 years later, my arms and chest are covered. Dad has complimented me on making better choices in artwork!

My first truly spur of the moment tattoo, a late birthday gift from my brother and sister

First sitting on my Tiger with Kore Flatmo yesterday. 4 1/2 hours so far.

Yea it's breaking down, good new is it's black and near the heart so keep at it and it will fade well.

I had this ugly tattoo done on my back about 11 years ago and it's been a pretty miserable experience. I hate the way it looks on me, I was young, stupid and had no idea what I was getting myself into.
I'm really embarrassed about posting a photo here because I know how bad it looks but hopefully with patience I'll have an awesome coverup sometime soon and can put this all behind me.
When I first had the tattoo done it needed to be touched up and so I've had a lot of ink put into this tattoo. 6 months after it was done I had a couple of laser treatments that didn't seem to do anything at all and it was so bloody painful I couldn't continue and so suffered with it for a long time. Last year I decided enough was enough and have gone to a different laser clinic with the Q switched laser and have had 4 treatments so far. The previous place took ages to laser over it but this place only takes about 10 minutes which is more bearable. So far I've had some slight fading and there are some white spots in the tattoo which is really encouraging.
After laser treatment it gets red and blistery but the blisters are small compared to some of the photos I've seen here which I'm grateful for.
I have no idea how many more sessions I'll need for a coverup, will be speaking with the artist soon to start planning a coverup. I'm not really sure what I want it covered with yet I'm just focusing on getting it lasered every 6 weeks.
Pre laser:

After 4 laser sessions (last one 7 days ago)

I had this ugly tattoo done on my back about 11 years ago and it's been a pretty miserable experience. I hate the way it looks on me, I was young, stupid and had no idea what I was getting myself into.
I'm really embarrassed about posting a photo here because I know how bad it looks but hopefully with patience I'll have an awesome coverup sometime soon and can put this all behind me.
When I first had the tattoo done it needed to be touched up and so I've had a lot of ink put into this tattoo. 6 months after it was done I had a couple of laser treatments that didn't seem to do anything at all and it was so bloody painful I couldn't continue and so suffered with it for a long time. Last year I decided enough was enough and have gone to a different laser clinic with the Q switched laser and have had 4 treatments so far. The previous place took ages to laser over it but this place only takes about 10 minutes which is more bearable. So far I've had some slight fading and there are some white spots in the tattoo which is really encouraging.
After laser treatment it gets red and blistery but the blisters are small compared to some of the photos I've seen here which I'm grateful for.
I have no idea how many more sessions I'll need for a coverup, will be speaking with the artist soon to start planning a coverup. I'm not really sure what I want it covered with yet I'm just focusing on getting it lasered every 6 weeks.
Pre laser:

After 4 laser sessions (last one 7 days ago)

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe
Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.
It would just be a bonus. :)

I can only agree... i'm not a confident person at all and i guess you could say i have low self esteem. I used to look in the mirror and really dislike what i saw but now i look in the mirror and see so many things that make me smile. i feel far more comfortable in this beautiful colourful interesting skin. I've also realised that it's ok to not be like everyone else.
So yes, tattoos have changed my life for the better :)

I've talked about this some before...
A few years ago I found out that I have a neurodegenerative disease that will eventually land me in a wheelchair. I really don't know how fast or slow it will go. There's not any treatment for it, nothing to do for it but treat symptoms and wait for the inevitable.
I got super depressed about it for a long time. I absolutely HATED my legs. Despised them for having this disease, for failing me, for "dooming" me to be disabled someday.
Sometime last summer I started to have persistent dreams that I was getting my legs tattooed. I ignored them as well as I could for awhile, and then started putting some serious thought into going for it. I started looking around the interwebs to see what was out there...
And then I came here :)
Since I started getting my legs tattooed my feelings about them have changed completely. I don't hate them at all anymore. In fact, I might even love them!!! I definitely love the tattoos, and to a great degree all those positive feelings have bled over onto the legs themselves.
And... I'm finding that my perspective about the disease as a whole is beginning to shift some too...
I'm coming around to the idea that I need to view it less as a curse, not "being doomed", and more of just "a change"...
I'm definitely not all the way there yet, but it's something that never would have been possible in the state of mind I was in when I hated my legs guts for having this thing in the first place.
- - - Updated - - -
And I have to add...
I want to thank all y'all here at LST for being here, for giving such great input and advice, for showing off such great work all the time!!
God forbid, what if I'd gotten crappy leg tattoos?!?!
I doubt it would have had the same positive impact that it's had...

I'm from Adelaide, too. Small word!

I'm 33, a nurse and from Adelaide, Australia. I found this site because I'm going through the unpleasant experience of having my back tattoo lasered off and reading the stories on the removal thread has given me the motivation to keep persevering. I'm going to start a thread on my own laser experience and hopefully will be able to get an awesome coverup at some stage.
I have a few other tattoos and next month will be getting a Medusa tattoo covering my left outer calf. I love all things tattoo related and look forward to chatting with you all.

This is my latest by Stu Pagdin. It's Athena with her owl. The owl was inspired by the look of one of Valerie Vargas tattoos.