Let's see your tattoos

Nope, I'm half Iroquois-Mohawk, have a thing with two ravens. That's my second Raven Skull now.

I did the same thing, the Snake on my arm has Celtic knot work and two of the Knots are and M and an A for my parents initials, that's the same one with the Maltese and 343 reference. But like you said, they are for me, and I usually don't point out them out unless someone really asks about the tattoo.

 

Looks good man rinse it with cool water 30sec to 1 min as many times a day as you can think about it really helps.

 

This is the aftercare my shop recommends I know every artist has his own and but this is what I do & I heal quick and do not get much itching.

Aftercare Instructions

STEP 1
Wash the plasma (clear slimy fluid) off of the new tattoo 2 or 3 times / day for the first 2 days using a lather of antibacterial soap. Making a lather is important to dilute the liquid soap. Putting the gel directly onto the tattoo can be too concentrated and dry it out. Rinse for 5-10 seconds under cold running water and gently pat dry with a clean towel. Rinse the tattoo with clean, cold running water about 5 times a day in addition to the soap lather washes for the first 3-5 days. Do not use any lotion for the first day.


STEP 2
Begin to apply a small amount of Curel original formula or fragrance free lotion once a day, on the second or third day, if needed for comfort. Do not use Curel "ultra – healing". Rub it in gently and completely. Use cold water rinses as an alternative to more lotion.

After a week or so, when the tattoo has almost entirely flaked or peeled (if it does at all) it will have a shiny, tissue paper look. At this stage the tattoo may look lighter and/ or not as crisp and bold. This is when you start massaging the Curel lotion into the tissue 2 – 3 times a day. The act of massage stimulates the regeneration of the skin cells. Do not just smother the tattoo in a layer of lotion. Always allow the skin to absorb the lotion and breathe for a few hours before putting more on.

STEP 3
Do not pick or scratch the tattoo. Leave any scabs or dry skin flakes alone. Wash them gently and when applying lotion; dab the lotion on them and carefully massage around them to prevent tearing them off.

Never wear tight clothes on a healing tattoo, They can chafe the ink away and they prevent the skin from breathing.

Moisturizing a healing tattoo is a delicate art. Do not over moisten the tattoo or neglect it until it is super dry. Read your skin. Tight, dry, cracking skin is over dry. Gooey, oily skin and/ or a halo of pimples around the tattoo indicates over moisture. Remember cold water rinses for 5-10 seconds are a great hydrating alternative to too much lotion.

Usually day 1 – 2 the tattoo looks great and just needs washing and rinsing. Day 3 – 5 it will dull over, crust a little, or scab. After about 5-9 days the scab or dry skin will begin to flake off leaving the shiny, foggy, tissue paper look. (Flakes or scabs have ink in them when they come off so don't be alarmed.) After days 10 – 21 of massaging with lotion, the tattoo should look solid, bold, bright and beautiful. The average total healing time is 2 – 4 weeks. Healing times can be significantly

 

I just bathe normally and keep A & D ointment on it. Have not left the tattoo shop with a bandage or Saran on it in 20+ years. And I never put anything on my back piece. As my artist says, if you can't reach it, your body will take care of it

 

Still have a little to do on my shoulder piece but it's more just things I want to take care of/add.

Also trying to think of how I can make this into a tattoo for the elbow down area of my left arm. Not sure If I should leave it negative or what? Also how it'd get tied to flow with the trees above. Ideas?

And don't judge my sexyness

 

Are you thinking of making it into a sleeve? If yes, you could have the design on the lower part of your arm reflect a world underground. Mines, maybe, with people working. A battle between fantasy creatures, perhaps. It seems to me that if you just add something not somehow reflective of under the surface of the earth, it will just look like you stuck something there to fill space.

Just my own $.02. And no judgement.

 

Yea I was thinking of making it a sleeve. I suppose I could always just out it somewhere else

 

I think I've done every type of "care" for a tattoo that is under the sun, so far, the best that works is leaving it covered till I get home, reason being, it's a fresh wound, don't want nasty crap getting into the wound and risk infection. One I get home, and take the covering off, warm water rinse followed by gold soap, non scented, get a nice lather going and rinse off. Pat dry with a towel. I do that once a day for the first 2-3 days until the scab showes up. From there out it's just enough lotion also non scented, to keep the scab from cracking open.

Only time I've ever had a problem was typical, lower leg swelling because of blood flow, they tend to take longer to heal. There have also been two occasions where I knocked a scab off before it was ready, some how managed to kick the inside of my leg while hauling a patient up the stairs and then recently I caught the corner of a shelf at work with my arm and cracked a scab open.

Other then that, it really comes down to your own body and knowing how it heals and what keeps it happy during the healing.

 

Neither of my tattoos scabbed at all. Only one of them actually peeled

 

Neither? Like you have two? I only have one. It's just not all connected yet!

 

I have 2, one on my shoulder that will become a half sleeve (or full maybe, idk yet) and one on my calf. There will be more for sure.

 

They are all parts of the same whole. So you have ONE Joe, just one. lol

 

Serious question. Anyone on here have a tat on their sternum and their rib cage? I have heard that the ribs is a real bitch. But after having my sternum done, I find it hard to believe. It is not something I would willingly do again. But it was worth it as it was a piece for my three sons.

 

My girlfriend has a tattoo on her ribs and said it was pretty bad, she said the vibrations in her ribs were pretty painful. She has one on her upper back and one on her ankle and said the ribs were way worse than the other 2.

 

All mine scab and peel, my wife scabs and peels. You are the only person I've ever known not to scab over. Lucky bastard.

I got a handful of random tattoos (8 of them).

My wife on the other hand looooooves getting tattoo's.

This is my wife's back the day it was finished. She also has a half sleeve which is moving to a 3/4 sleeve and is working with her artist to get a leg sleeve started. She has other random tattoo's as well that I just don't have pics of.

 

I have 2 - one on each upper arm. The first did not scab at all, but peeled almost completely over a period of a week. That one had no plasma leak and no ink leak.

The second, done on Saturday, has had a bit of plasma and ink leak - I noticed the ink the first few times I washed it and then applied Aquaphor. I could see traces of ink when I blotted off any excess Aquaphor. The just is out on if this one will scab or not. I can already see the beginning of some peeling in spots - I heal pretty quickly. There are several spots that look as if they might scab...but then again, maybe not. This one also seems to be more sensitive than the first - perhaps because this one had a lot of shading - that makes it feel like a bad brush burn when my shirt sleeve touches it.

All in all, though, I can't complain about the healing. I do believe that each of us heals differently and there are no absolutes...other than a little goes a long way in applying ointment and lotion while healing!!

 

I have the one on the ribs, you can see in the pictures above. It didn't bother me any

 

I have both ribs done, 6 hours on one side and 4 on the other. It is painful but nothing I couldn't handle.

 

I've got my the top of my sternum done, my shin hurt more then my sternum did. I think it's different for everyone.

 

Yeah probably, regardless of the spot some people handle pain better period.

I almost fell asleep during my calf tattoo it just kinda buzzed along. There is very little shading there though which I think makes a difference too.