Tuesday July 1st, 2008 @ 9:35 PM
I want to get a tattoo (of the little mermaid) on top of my foot but I’m a bit worried about some things,
*lines blurring
*ink fading
*red ink…
How bad’s the risk? Anything else I should worry about?
Is it just a bad idea?
shoes aren’t a problem, i plan to get it in a spot where i can still wear flip flops and skimmers
Foot tattoos tend to blur a bit more than normal tattoos regardless of how gingerly they’re treated. It’s just something that one faces when they decide to get their feet tattooed. Most of the time, if the piece properly in the first place, it’ll age comparable to any other tattoo, save a little more fading. It’s not absolute, but should be expected. Red pigment will cause you no additional problem on the foot than any other part of your anatomy: Either you’re allergic or you’re not.
Both of my feet are tattooed and they’ve aged gracefully.
3 / 3 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tuesday June 24th, 2008 @ 10:40 PM
Hello! (:
For my sixteenth birthday, my parents have decided to allow me to get my first tattoo. I’m decided on a design, and I think it would look best on my inner wrist, however, my father believes that his is dangerous and refuses to allow me to get it done there.
I’m going to try and talk to him again about it tomorrow, but is it really as dangerous to get a tattoo on your inner wrist? I always thought that it was just as dangerous there as it is on any part of the body.
Some facts would be helpful, since I’m getting conflicting reports on internet searches.
Thanks.
Dangerous how? As in, it will puncture blood vessels and you will bleed to death? Dangerous as in it might be harder to get a “professional” job with a more visible tattoo?Dangerous as in you might get the “wrong” tattoo without knowing it and you will be slaughtered by a band of angry ninjas while you sleep? I’m guessing it’s the last one he’s worried about. 
In reality though…there are no more risks associated with getting a tattoo on your wrist than getting one anywhere else on your body. I think how it might affect your future is definitely something to keep in mind, but that’s not really a danger, per se.
Have your dad take a look around the city you live in or hop on the Internet and look at all the tattooed folks that are out there. If it were that dangerous, would so many people get it done? And wouldn’t he hear about all the people getting sick or dying from it?
Best of luck with your first tattoo.
7 / 7 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Monday June 23rd, 2008 @ 7:55 PM
Is there any particular make-up brand I could use to cover up a tattoo I have on my ribcage for when I’m wearing a low cut dress?
One that is commonly used is a brand called DERMABLEND.
Going to someplace like SEPHORA might be in order, as their staff can not only sell you a product but give you tips on blending and all that. I’ve just put a message out to a makeup artist friend of mine- her response will be posted in the comments field.
5 / 7 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment
Saturday June 14th, 2008 @ 8:52 AM
I’m getting a chest piece done in 2 days time.. =)
but, i have just started mensuration now. I heard that we girls will have lower pain treshold during this period. Is this true? If so, i will postpone the tattoo appointment~
It is indeed true. It is down to the presence of prostaglandins which play a part in the sloughing off of the womb lining. Unfortunately for us, prostaglandins make the nociceptors (pain receptors) in the brain more sensitive. As a point of interest, if you suffer from bad period pains you will be more sensitive to pain around this time in general, as the worse the cramps, the higher the level of prostaglandins.
3 / 5 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday June 11th, 2008 @ 3:19 PM
Hello…i had my last session on my chest piece about a month and a half or two months ago and i was asking myself what i should do to protect my tattoo from the sun. Do i have to wait a certain amount of time to completely expose my chest to the sun and after this time what is the best way to protect the tattoo if i can’t keep a shirt on. And finally, is there some things that i should completely avoid?
Thank you!
At 1.5 months, you’re good to go with using most sunblocks.
I’d go for the highest SPF I could find, personally… and remember to reapply.
6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | Comments
Monday June 9th, 2008 @ 12:40 PM
What makes a color tattoo really stick out in it’s colorfulness, is it the quality of ink a tattoo artist uses, or is it their skill with color, or some combination of both?
All that and more!
The pigment quality is very important, as is the artists ability to get it solidly into the skin. Add to that the client’s skintone and how they heal it, and you have your answer!
6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment
Wednesday June 4th, 2008 @ 2:02 AM
I’ve been thinking about getting an inner lip tattoo. I was wondering does the aftercare for that differ from normal tattoo aftercare and if so how? Thanks.
There are a vast amount of tattoo aftercare ideas ranging from: leave it alone all the way to applying some sort of ointment and cream.
The issue with inner lip tattoos is the aftercare protocols are a bit different. The area is already very moist and wet so there’s no need to apply any ointments or anything like that. The main concern is to lay off any “sucking” movements in your lips…No sucking on ice…No sucking on water bottles…No sucking your bottom lip,etc.
Even then if you follow the aftercare right down to the last sentence there is also a high chance you will need quite a few touch ups,etc.
If I were you I’d simply ask the tattoo artist if they’ve done inner lip tattoos before, how many they’ve done, and how many successfully didn’t need any touch-ups…But if touch-ups were needed around how many times were touch-ups required. Also ask how they advise their clients on caring for their inner lip tattoos and simply give it a shot.
But essentially for the most part I know artists who flat out tell the customers: “its going to look like shit and you’re going to need a touch up no matter what. But ideally leave it alone, do not do any sucking motions and brush your teeth daily“
2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Wednesday May 28th, 2008 @ 1:33 AM
Hey. I’ve been browsing the BME galleries for submitted flash to practice my drawing. I’ve made three large pieces for various purposes and want to continue, but I want to be able to say that they’re totally my own creations.
Is it ethical to borrow from someone else’s flash to create a new piece? How do professional tattoo artists learn and develop their own styles?
No matter what you think, these are NOT your drawings. They are your copies of drawings and ethically if I were you I would never steal someone’s drawings and claim them as your own.
Copying other designs by tracing and later attempting to re-draw is great for practice, but you should never try to re-sell the prints to anyone else. Because how would you feel if you spent your own personal time drawing up something and then next thing you know someone is re-copying it and selling it as their own work?
A true artist will practice on various styles of flash and after enough time will be able to draw these things up easily (flowers,etc). For more detailed serious work sometimes artists will investigate and take bits and pieces of various imagery and piece them together as one before drawing it completely out.
Professional tattoo artists, the ones I know anyways, who have developed their own styles. Have done so through countless hours of sketching, drawing, copying and just fully surrounding themselves within their art. To be honest there is no “personal style” anymore as there’s so many artists out there so pretty much every “style” has been thought up already…But a real artist will not need to copy anyone elses work, they should be ready, willing and capable of drawing up a broad range of imagery no matter what.
Personally I never got the whole: “I only do black and grey” or: “I only do color” way of thinking some artists take. A true artist in my eyes should be as I said ready, willing and capable of drawing any and all potential ideas that a client thinks up, be it: realistic, cartoony, black, color,etc imagery. Yet they’ll still be able to put their own personal spin into the design based on their emotions/feelings, what the client is looking for,etc.
Just let your thoughts and emotions flow from your mind and soul onto the paper.
8 / 12 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday May 27th, 2008 @ 7:05 PM
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting small tattoos of wings on my ankles, but I’ve heard that jointed areas are prone to rejecting the ink. Would a tattoo in that area be advisable?
I don’t think jointed/bendy areas are necessarily more prone to rejecting ink, but they do experience much more movement and friction during the healing period, making them a tougher area to heal…which can result in loss of ink. In addition, jointed area often tend to have thinner skin, making it a bit harder to put the ink in without also doing too much damage to the skin. This may result in some artists going a little “light” when working in these areas, thereby not getting good coverage to begin with.
I don’t have my ankles tattooed, but I do have both of my kneecaps done. I definitely found the healing of these tattoos to be more difficult, but I didn’t find that they lost any more ink during healing than less bendy spots I’ve had tattooed.
1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday May 27th, 2008 @ 7:01 PM
Hey there folks!
I have a question regarding tattoo aftercare. Since I’ve been getting tattooed, I’ve been using A&D ointment, then switching to lotion after 4 or 5 days or so, and using that until it feels like regular skin again. Thus far, it’s been working, but taking sometimes more than 3 weeks to fully heal.
I’ve heard great things about using bag balm for aftercare, but am curious as to what you fine folks have to say about it. And, would I use it for the entire healing period, or just in place of the A&D?
Thanks for all your help!
Tattoo healing can be a bit of tricky business. If you’ve been tattooed by more than one artist, you very likely know that various artists have various things they suggest. The differences in aftercare can even sometimes seem (or be) contradictory.
For my tattoos, I use an aftercare routine very similar to yours…although I switch to a mild lotion about 3 days after doing A&D. I use this method regardless of what artists is tattooing me, as over the years I’ve found it to work the best for my body.
I know some people who use bag balm and love it. I know others who have used it and not been happy with the result at all. In the end, it’s one of those things you are going to have to try for yourself to find out whether it works for you. Worst-case scenario…your tattoo won’t heal as well as with the A&D, and you’ll have to endure some touch-up work.
Best of luck.
3 / 5 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
