Wanted an Ouroboros on my forearm for a while, but realistic. The eternal cycle of change and reincarnation. Been going thru some rough shit in my personal life for 4-5 months, but starting to come out of it. Def a different person. Hopefully for the better. There was a Ted Talk I listened to years ago, frustrated that I can't find it. It talked about life changes and the premise was a simple question - are you the same person you were 10 years ago? They asked every age demographic - 20,30, 60. Virtually every single age group, even fucking 70 year olds, answered overwhelmingly that they are much different than 10 yrs ago. Never stop growing, never stop learning, never stop evolving. You never have life figured out.
I’ve heard chest pieces hurt so bad. My buddy told me if he would have started with the one on his chest, he never would have gotten another. Good luck!
He started around nipple and said if you can handle this, you can handle tattoos. Ngl, felt like a little bitch for the first 15 minutes. It got radically better quickly from there. All going good now.
That’s a multiple sessions tattoo. Do the line work then later do the shading. Pro: breaks the pain up and makes it more tolerable. Con. You have to endure multiple sessions of pain.
I really would love to get a tattoo but I've never been set on anything I'd want on my body the rest of my life. It would have to be something related to my kids.
Hey, just repeating what he said. I am sure there are more painful places to get them but most people don’t get them there. This is the most pain I plan to endure on my tattoo journey. Finishing and occasional touch ups on this piece are most likely going to be enough for me.
A few questions for sleeve guys: -How big was your first tattoo? -Did you decide from the beginning to do a sleeve or later?
I have two sleeves. Both started with just about half sleeves tattoos as the first tattoo. Back of the arm from top of shoulder to elbow and most of the bicep on each. The plan was always a sleeves so I had to try and come up with stuff that made sense with what I had. I ended up just incorporating an element (water and fire) on each arm that made both sides look like one big piece instead of “patchwork” tattoos.
Now you have a bigger decision to make: -let the chest hair grow back and cover your tat -go straight bare with regular waxing -half-n-half (my vote)
First tattoo was over my left pectoral. Wasn’t bad at all. 2nd one was over my other pec and came close to my arm pit. That area hurt like a MFer and so did my collar bone area when I got stuff around my shoulders. I never wanted a sleeve until I got my 2nd or 3rd tattoo. I want one badly, but am hesitant due to getting into a new career.
Was it a freehand design? Kinda looks like Mufasa from the nose down and Scar from the nose up. It’s definitely a killer tattoo. Good choice. And getting your first taste of the needle at the nipple is absolutely insane. There and over the spine have been the worst in my experience. But I only have them in places I can cover for work.
I've had my ankle bone and Achilles done twice. Once for a shitty skyline tattoo and the second covering up said shitty tattoo with all black. Never again.
I added a grey-scale filter to an actual image of a lion I pulled off the internet. The artist asked me if he could add color and I said go for it so long as the color was subtle. Thank you, I am so far beyond my expectations on how it turned out.
I will have to say, I was not prepared for the “itching” sensation. I want to scratch my skin off right now.
my dude put on a plastic breathable sheet that he said to leave on for 5 days unless things turn funky underneath. Also, my dude. He does some sick stuff. https://instagram.com/ejaytattoo?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=
The itching drove me nuts when mine was healing last month. Mine was on my leg so I was wearing loose fitting shorts and sometimes I’d just try to like “fan” my shorts to try to move some air around it.
Shit has changed size I started getting work done. I think I have my calves left then I’ll be done. It’s either gonna be one big piece on both calves or two related pieces.
So if I do that, what is my next step. Just wash it and try not to get grungy? Being off work (manual labor dude checking in) and having the weekend at this point helps.
It's such a big piece I'd try not to sweat for 7-10 days. Don't scrub it a ton, better to let it heal naturally. Think of it like a big fucking scab.
I was in college, working at a gym, and playing baseball when I started getting mine. Had these recommended to me, and I’ve ordered them every time since. They keep it covered and promote/speed up healing. I put one on every morning and could work out and sweat at the gym or practice, and these kept it clean and sanitary. It’ll itch no matter what, but these helped with that too. Haven’t had to worry about sweat for my last few. But these also helped in keeping my work shirts clean and stain-free.
I tried the breathable patch but my skin had a meltdown and got super red almost like psoriasis. Took it off and did the traditional cleaning with no fragrance soap and lotion
First week or so, I washed it off with regular antibacterial soap a few times a day. Pat dry with a paper towel then waited 10-15min and applied Aquaphor. After that I kept the washing routine but switched to regular unscented lotion. Did that until it was healed/done peeling.