Dan

17 minutes ago, glow-on said:

Thanks for your input! Since I'm considering a cover-up, I will have to do at least a few laser sessions anyways, so I'll definitely need to do a lot more research. The place I considered originally has a PicoWay. I'd be open to hearing opinions on different lasers. Mine is mostly shading with very light line work - artist specifically said she was using very light touch and there was such little pain I felt like I could have taken a nap. I'm hoping that might help reduce the number of sessions needed to fade. I have another tattoo with heavier line work, and that one felt like a razorblade slicing through the skin the whole time. After 10 years it looks very much the same. I'd say the line work on that one is at least twice as thick. Never regretted that one, always loved it, but then again it has a lot of significance as my late mother had a matching one.

It's interesting but not surprising to hear that you had a different response to the laser on different body parts. I wonder if it's just increased circulation in different areas, or if it's more complicated than that? 

Of course I would love to be one of the very lucky few who do get almost complete removal (keyword almost), but my expectations have thankfully been lowered. I at one point strongly considered a chest piece but decided against it. I wouldn't be broken hearted to end up with them, after all I like them enough to have considered it for years, but since I ultimately decided against it, I'd obviously slightly prefer to not. It's anyone's guess why I went with that positioning this time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

no, that's not necessarily true, there are many tattooers that like doing and are good at cover ups.

this is one I had done, with no laser before.

12 hours ago, glow-on said:

Yes I'm considering a cover-up. I'm not sure if I'm convinced one way or the other if full removal is possible, but I'm not counting on it. Currently this is what it looks like under normal clothing: https://imgur.com/a/ano00yi so you can probably understand why I'm feeling underwhelmed. It's not the tattoo artists fault, I should have considered how weird it would look under a shirt. I have a chest wall deformity so I'm not 100% sure if a full chest piece will work for me currently, but I am potentially getting chest wall surgery if I qualify (waiting for testing currently). 95% sure I'll qualify and 25% sure I'll have the balls to go through with it. Really that's only relevant to my decision to purchase a package deal or not. Essentially would be 200 bucks a month for a year for unlimited PicoWay. Trying my best to make the right choice, but world is full of salesmen and naysayers so it's always a challenge with this kind of thing.

Edit: I mean I'd pay 200 bucks a month for a year, the unlimited PicoWay would continue as long as needed. Wording came out weird.

what the hell is the problem ? it looks sexy and nice, leave it alone, can we see the entire piece ?

1 hour ago, glow-on said:

I've done a lot more research and consideration since I posted this yesterday and I'm feeling much much better about going through the removal process. I'm going to wait two months for healing and see how I feel when the time comes, and if I still don't like it I'm going to start the removal process. I'm not normally as on edge and skeptical as I was yesterday, but anxiety and paranoia come in waves, some waves are bigger than others.

have you thought about a cover-up ?  instead of laser 

I just jumped in with both feet, my first tattoos were all from my wrists to my beceps, I started about 37 years ago, I am heavily tattooed now, and it has been a fun ride for sure, I have been to many cool shops, met a lot of amazing people, and haved loved going, mingling, and getting tattooed at many conventions.

I have always loved showing my tattoos off and talking about them, weather permiting I wear tank tops and shorts when I can, I have had jobs that allowed visible tattoos fortunetly.

so either embrace visible tattoos or don't get them.

On 2/16/2022 at 6:48 PM, allieesaur said:

So I got this tattoo on my leg and originally I liked it but now I’m thinking it ruins my legs and it’s been about four days is this normal to be depressed? 

 

are those finger tattoos you have ?

if you're that concerned, you should definetly meet with the artist in person

3 hours ago, Hogrider said:

I like the one on your knee, but you probably shouldn't have gotten the word "sad" tattooed on your ass.  

 

I agree , that white ink never holds.

it looks fine, and your legs do too,  it's 100% normal to have those feelings, it will go away.

see ! look how happy your dog looks !

looks 100% normal to me,

use a little Aveeno a couple times a day real lightly 

9 hours ago, Asthma Inhaler Jim said:

Im making this thread for three reasons. 

01. just to vent my dissatisfaction with my newest tattoo 

02. to try and figure out if its my fault or the tattoo artists fault 

03. see if you guys think i should still go back this tattoo artist 

 

ill try to keep this post as short as i can without leaving out too much info. 

The mistake that was made was adding linework where there wasnt supposed to be any. 

heres a picture 

'

 

At first i wasnt bothered by it but i started to be because its not exactly accurate. 

I knew that detail might be overlooked and i thought about pointing it out to the artist before he began the tattoo but decided i didnt want to do anything to disrupt the process and trust that as a tattoo artist he would know to color it accordingly. this is the result. 

 

here are some details that should be considered when deciding if it was my fault or not. 

 

- i brought in a picture of the tattoo printed on paper for the size reference. my printer did a bad job at printing it so it came out like this. 

I think the tattoo artist may have used the bad printout as the color reference. he possibly assumed the bad print left out a black outline in the characters eyes when there wasnt any to begin with. 

 

- right before the appointment through instagram i DM'd him a proper picture of the image i was getting tattooed. The reason i did so was for the color reference because the color on paper from my printer looked different than how it appears on a computer screen. 

 

- I brought up the difference in appearance of the printed image compared to how it looked on my phone/computer screen and he told me he was very familiar with this particular pokemon characters color. Im not sure if he used his memory for the color reference or if he used the bad printout i brought in. I know he did not use the image i DM'd him. 

 

So heres where im not sure if its my fault or not. Should i have brought in a better color reference? i wanted him to use the picture i DM'd him, i didnt think he would use the size reference i brought as the color reference. Should he have noticed that linework detail? Is it my fault for not bringing up what i knew was a non obvious detail that might be overlooked? 

I sent him a DM about a month later saying id just like to let him know that there was a small coloring mistake in the tattoo he gave me but that id still like to get tattooed by him in the future. I see he received the message but he didnt respond. 

 

Should i avoid going back to him? i think hes capable of giving good tattoos. hes given me one i like before but im not sure if me having to explain so much is normal? I kind of feel like it shouldnt be this hard to get a proper tattoo. 

What do you guys think? 

I think this is 100% on you !   you approved it by not saying anything.

100% normal, in 6 months it will all look more cohesive,

I think it looks fine now, it does have nice contrast.

21 minutes ago, MPM said:

Also sorry guys for bothering you again but I just wanted to ask that for how much time will it take for the discoloration to fade away? Any idea? 

a week or 2

3 hours ago, MPM said:

Hey guys pls help 
I got a tattoo one and half week ago. They put a saniderm wrap on it and told to keep it for 5 days. After removing it there has been some discolouration of skin on some parts of skin around the tattoo. I have been applying A & D ointment as adviced by the artist. Will the discolouration will go away?

without seeing a pic of it,a little redness around the tattoo where the saniderm was is normal, also could be a little bruising which is normal and will also go away, it will go away.

pretty cool !

@nominal

looks 100% normal to me,  it's still healing,

more importantly is it takes several months to fully "settle in" to look more like the other settled in tattoo. 

relax, give it time, and start planning your next tattoo.

10 hours ago, Tsuru said:

Just dropping in a pic of my almost finished Matt Collins full back for the thread. Home stretch now, it’s 90% done just got a few touch ups to go, maybe 29 hours work so far I think? Stoked!

 

wow !  very very nice !

I have had tattoos look like that, IMO it's just healing, it went away on me.

same here @Steve

I think you mwill be fine, I am 62 and still getting tattoos.

it's a tiny tattoo, easily covered up with clothing,

but it looks fine, it will be ok, 

relax, take a deep breath.

On 11/28/2021 at 6:09 AM, SStu said:

Yep, and I've had at least a couple that came out fine after looking worse than that. 

me too

On 11/22/2021 at 7:34 PM, Asthma Inhaler Jim said:

i was considering getting a tattoo of a powerpuff girl. But unlike another tattoo of mine which is from a video game i played when i was younger, i have no personal connection to powerpuff girls. I never watched the show. i ike its art style though and thought itd be cool to get as a tattoo. 

What do you guys think about getting tattoos that you have no real special connection to, but like the image of? do any of you have such a tattoo? 

I suppose itd be like getting a bart simpson tattoo because you think it looks cool but you never watched the simpsons. 

99% of my tattoos have no special meaning or connection

On 11/15/2021 at 1:23 PM, westernhaiku said:

excuse how swollen my arm is haha — i’m so excited to see how this is going to look when it heals 🗡

well it looks like a nicely done tattoo, I like it alot.

On 11/4/2021 at 2:52 AM, helny said:

Hey forum,

I did get a tattoo on my right wrist covering like a bracelet up to the middle of lower arm 13 days ago, this is my 4th tattoo in general but first as in wrist area, other tattoos were healing super fast and i barely noticed even they were there, but this one is still feeling tight and sometimes feels like a sunburn/stingy especialy if something rubs against it like cloth or mousepad when using mouse etc, its still super sensitive

Its black ink only and there is no redness,ooze, scab, swollen etc

My question is that something normal for that area feels like this? When artist was doing his work it was also painful naturally due to area but i didnt expect it will be that still discomfort and pain while it heals even after 2 weeks?

yes, all that sounds 100% normal,

it's thinner more tender skin on our wrists.

On 11/2/2021 at 9:11 AM, darksage94 said:

I’m aware, in the process of researching removal. I don’t think you can quite grasp the anguish and agony I feel. I had to take off of work due to mental health.

just know that "removal" is a long painful expensive process that does not "remove" ink 100%, and please, a bad tattoo is not the end of the world.

I have some good tattoos, some great tattoos, and some shitty ones, it's all part of the tattoo process, I love all my tattoos though.It's all parts of my life over the years that makes my body a road map of my experiences.