Is it going to hurt? Yes. Is it going to be over once you leave the shop? No way. This doesn't apply to tattoos smaller than the palm of my hand. Considering my sleeve was my very first piece, I don't have any experience healing small tattoos, and I'm sure its a breeze. I was under the impression that I would get drawn-on by a buzzy needle, it would hurt a bit and feel like a sunburn for a few days, and then it would look great. I was so wrong. I was surprised to find out that tattoos heal differently for everyone, and the healing process depends greatly on size, placement, and artist's style. How you care for your new ink in the first few days after getting tattooed are crucial in determining how it will look forever, so its very important to listen to your artist and listen to your body. Having so much done in such a short time frame created a very unique healing experience for me. Initially, everything is just a goopy mess. All kinds of liquids are leaking from your skin now that the top layer is removed... blood, plasma, excess ink. You take a shower, it feels like bathing in acid, skin rubs off, you wrap yourself in plastic, you get even more goopy. It's super fun. Taking the train from Sunderland to London, having a layover in Dallas and then finally flying back to Denver required my fresh open wound to be in contact with public transportation which grossed me out more than words can explain. The most up-to-date shops and artists use a medical-grade breathable wrap used for burn victims called Tegaderm, which is an adhesive that will stick to the dry, unaffected skin around your wound. Since my entire arm was a wound, I didn't exactly fit the model patient. Without any untouched skin to attach the Tegaderm to, we opted for good ol' cling wrap. You are supposed to remove this after leaving the tattoo shop, but due to my circumstances I essentially committed tattoo suicide and left my this wrap on for an extra few days to navigate the trains and planes with the least amount of mess. Without letting your wound breathe and dry out, the risk for infection is high. A hot, sweaty, plastic-wrapped wound is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. I'm still thanking the tattoo gods for allowing me to return home safely without some incurable antibiotic-resistant infection that would require amputation of my right arm. The plane ride was interesting– I MacGuyvered an elevation rig out of airline pillows, blankets, bags, etc. to try and combat the swelling which was amplified by being airborne. Every inch of my arm from shoulder to wrist tripled in size, which stretched my wounded skin even more. Ouch. Once I finally returned home, showered, and slathered myself in Hustle Butter, the peeling and scabbing had already begun. It felt tight, itchy, and my designs that were so beautiful a few days prior had become an unsightly mess, which isn't ideal when everyone wants to sneak a peek at your new ink. Each day, things seemed to get a little better. More skin would come off in the shower (or in my shirt sleeve) and the swelling slowly subsided due to persistent icing and elevation. The colors are dull while it heals, because the top layer of your skin is regenerating. After a few weeks, the vibrancy returns and your tattoo begins to look less like a mutant disease. When the peeling period finally ended, I was left with redness in areas with lighter shading that looked like it might never go away (see wrist). This lasted for weeks, even after most of my tattoo was completely healed. I was terrified that I had done something wrong and that it would result in a scar. It turns out that the red, inflamed skin was partly due to the swelling from being on an airplane for 10 hours, which had stretched the skin and then deflated within a short time frame, dragging out the healing process in that area specifically. Hustle Butter and time are your only allies. Like I've said before, this is a worst-case scenario, and if you aren't planning on being a psycho who finishes tattooing an entire body part in five days and then journeys 5,000 miles home, you probably won't experience these issues. Within a few weeks my tattoo looked good enough to show off, and as of now (two months later) every last inch is fully healed. Everyone's experiences healing tattoos are different. If you do any consulting of the internet for advice, you are going to get many different methods– wet heal, dry heal, antibiotics or not, as long as you are taking care of yourself you should end up with some good looking art. And since its skin, not a canvas, there are some unpredictable outcomes that are very common. Ink might fall out, especially color, and especially in areas with tougher skin. It is standard practice to schedule a short session with your artist a few weeks or months after your tattoo is complete to touch up some of these areas. I definitely experienced some color loss in the shading of my most colorful spots, especially around my elbow. Since my artist lives so far away, we had to schedule my touch ups for the next closest convention, which will be in Montreal this September 2017. Thanks for reading, I hope you have a more *realistic* idea of what to expect when healing larger tattoos, especially if you are traveling to get them!
Claudia
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AuthorClaudia, 22, Denver ArchivesCategories |