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Archive through January 07, 2006

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Dec. ~ 2006 Feb.: Free Expression: Tattoos Anyone? (ARCHIVES): Archive through January 07, 2006 users admin

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Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 7:15 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Rg, the wrist area is very sensitive but I think it's a great place for a tatt.

Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 8:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Eeyoreslament a private message Print Post    
RG, for what the butterfly symbolizes to you, I think somewhere you can see it all the time is a great idea. I've heard the wrist hurts too, but I'm sure sobriety and the struggle to obtain/maintain it, wasn't easy either. Perhaps it would be appropriate?

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 10:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
RG, I am not sure if you want to go with the inner side of your wrist; you will feel that one for sure.

A couple other spots might be on the outside of your wrist, just above your watch, or if the butterfly is quite small, you could even consider on your hand between the thumb and finger.

On the webbing by the thumb/finger, you will see it much more often than on the inside of your wrist. If you think about it, how often does one look at the inside of their wrist. When you are writing or typing, you see the upper side. About the only thing with the hand is that some artists do not do hands or feet.

If you select the wrist area, try to get it away from the area which has much movement. I have a blue star that has one tip down over the wrist and onto the hand. Dork that I am, I got it on my left (writing hand) so the movement was huge and the healing, etc was not great and we needed to touch it up a bit.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 11:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Actually Shadoe I see my wrist tatt more than the others I have. It's visible when I type and because I talk with my hands I see it then too when in meetings. Anytime I use that hand actually. But it did hurt like a you know what.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 11:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
OK - handtalkers can go with the inside of the wrist.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 11:30 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
hahaha

Resortgirl
Member

09-23-2000

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:04 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Resortgirl a private message Print Post    
I have my rose on my bony little ankle and it hurt like hell! I can't imagine the pain would be worse would it?? I know I wouldn't see it as much as I would if it were on the top of my arm, but I don't really want others to see it all the time either. I'm sometimes shocked at the disgust people show me when they see the tattoo on my ankle !! But I do want it somewhere that I can look at it to remind me of where I've been....

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Lol I love the reactions I get at work about my tatts which I don't try to hide. Well cept the boob one, wouldn't look good to be flashing the execs with it during a presentation lol. But I don't go out of my way to hide the one on my wrist.

Resortgirl
Member

09-23-2000

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:19 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Resortgirl a private message Print Post    
I wouldn't hide it... just don't want it to be the first thing someone sees before I open my mouth... I'm to freaking sensitive I guess...LOL

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
lol

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Mocha, at work there is one guy who refers to me as the painted lady. Many others usually ask me any tattoo questions they have and always ask me if I have any new ones. It's cute to see the faces of new staff when they first meet me; they are usually rendered speechless.

RG, this tattoo is extremely important to you, so I want you to look inside and pretend for a moment that you are the only person in the world. Now, where do you feel that your tattoo should be?

What others may think or say about such a thing is meaningless. Long ago, I was more conscious of my ink, but now I have better things to do. Others who may be walking with me get a kick out of the looks I get from others but I have become oblivious to it. The people who may look on my ink with disgust most definitely have some scary items in their closet, but let's not go there.

The roots of your tattoo's meaning are deep, and I don't think you will need to see it all the time to be reminded of where you have been. You will forever feel that place in the roots of the ink.

If you want to put it on your wrist, then you should. You should be proud to display this symbol of your success. You are the strong one.

Resortgirl
Member

09-23-2000

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 3:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Resortgirl a private message Print Post    
You are exactly right Shadoe! I am really getting better at not letting others dictate to me what I should and shouldn't do or feel....

So I'm sitting here thinking... where would my butterfly give me the strength to keep fighting the fight... and I think that everytime I pick up my glass of iced tea or cup of coffee (instead of my bottle of beer) I'd see it on the inside of my wrist of perhaps as you suggested between my thumb and finger... COOL!!

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 4:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
That's the way to live your life RG; be yourself.

You will then be accepted for who you really are instead of who you are pretending to be in order to be accepted.

Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 7:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Eeyoreslament a private message Print Post    
You could also put the date of your sobriety in the intricacies of the butterfly's wing design. Just a thought.

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 10:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
I did it! It hurt but nothing I couldn't handle. I love how it turned out. It's red & swollen right now but it will look better in a couple of days. Any suggestions on after care would be appreciated.

x

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 10:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Looks great V!

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 10:45 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Yay Vacanick! It looks nice!

Alwayzmovin
Member

11-06-2003

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 10:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Alwayzmovin a private message Print Post    
Vacanick....follow the instructions from your artist on aftercare....I have 4 tatts by 4 different artists and each one have different instructions because they all don't use the same ink and other factors. Enjoy!

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 11:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Hey that looks great!

After care - there are quite alot of suggestions you may get and different artists will give you varying directions, but some things should never change.

Keep in mind that the ink has been put into the layers of skin and need time to settle and heal correctly.

I came across a site which had a pretty good list of info on after care - Borneo Headhunters click on the enter and look for the tattoo aftercare section in the new window - their work is incredible and I am nearly jumping out of my skin since I heard they will be coming to this year's NIX tattoo convention in Toronto.
Tattoo aftercare

My rules are this:
I remove my bandage after about 4 hours or so and run lukewarm water over the surface to wash off the scummy coating and whatever the tattooist place on the work for my trip home. NEVER rub dry the area; pat it dry only.

I let the air get at the artwork as the skin needs to breathe. For this reason, I never use any cream or vaseline. Gooky creams just choke your skin and don't help with the healing at all.
Differences in after care

I frequently shower/bathe the area with water to keep it moist. As it heals, the skin tightens up a bit and flakes which brings on the itching.

I never ever scratch or pick at the tattoo. If you're not careful, you will end up pulling the ink out of the skin and having a blotchy tattoo later on.

For the itch, you can just hold a wet warm cloth on the skin, or even slap the art to make yourself forget about the itch - lots of people use that slapping method. Me - I carry around a small tube of aveeno so I can put a dab on any itchy spots.

Keeping the art moist is very important because if it is allowed to dry, it will crack and again maybe spoil the healing and end result.

For moisturizing creams, I use Lubraderm or Aveeno or something light. I have received suggestions of Bacitracin ointment and my current guy mixes his own stuff for me. You don't need to put gobs of it; just a nice thin layer over the freshly washed art. You may see that Tattoo Goo at shops but it's not the greatest - just look at the ingredients - the first one is water! And no polysporin or such creams; they are not good for the art.

Ok that should start you off for now. I had found a picture of the layers of skin and how the ink settles into place, but I will have to dig it up later.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 12:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Vacanick, I found the site that sort of explains how the ink settles/heals below the skin surface. This site is not the one I first saw which had more info, but the pictures give you a good idea.

Settling of tattoo ink

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 2:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
Shadoe, thank you so much for all your information. The lady, Lin, who did my tattoo gave me Bacitracin ointment for the first week and then suggested Lubiderm for the second. She also suggested "washing" it gently twice a day.

From the picture you can see that her "markings" are still on me. I don't know how to get them off??

The picture is from yesterday shortly after I had it done. I'm not as red or swollen today. But how long does it usually take to look "normal"???

BTW yesterday was my tattoo artists 36th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday. So we had a connection ... she was wonderful! Great experience!!

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 5:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Vacanick, when you 'wash' the tattoo, you will also be removing the markings around it at the same time. Remember that any markings for the tattoo are on the surface, and they are not permanent ink. It will not look 'normal' until the surface healing is completed.

As for the length of time before the redness and/or swelling go away, each person is different.

It is important to keep in mind that you have placed something inside your body, under your skin. The body will now go about the business of 'healing the damaged area'. Depending on your immune system and how well your body normally heals scratches and that sort of injury will be no different for the tattooed area.

As for the length of time when you can consider the tattoo entirely healed and settled, you can count on a couple months; the ink will settle into its final location within the layers of your skin, and you can then look closer to see if any spots may need a touchup or something.

For most of mine, the swelling and redness is pretty much gone in the first 3-4 days, then the tightness of the scabbing starts, and most of the tattoo on the surface is smooth (with the odd rough spot) in about a month.

I think somewhere in the links I posted, it says that some areas will flake a few times. I have noticed that sometimes I may have a bit of itch even after the surface feels smooth. I just slap on a tiny bit of the Lubriderm to calm it down. It may have something to do with the ink moving further into the skin.

Enjoy!

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 6:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
Shadoe, you have such a wonderful wealth of information. Thank you!

Hermione69
Member

07-24-2002

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 6:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hermione69 a private message Print Post    
VACANICK! You did it! Lovely tattoo! I was thinking about you yesterday around 4 p.m. your time. :-)

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 6:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Vacanick, you're more than welcome.
Any ink question you have, feel free to ask me.