Tattoo Aftercare Secrets!

Freshly Inked... 

Tattoos are a major gra of mine, from the smell of the tattoo shop, to the stencil and placement to the pain. Yes, I enjoy the pain. I'm able to compartmentalise myself pretty well and so even if I'm in a lot of pain while under the gun, I will sit like a rock. It's probably in be to sit so steadily because I've an awful short fuse for fidgeting.

While I love all aspects of tattoos and admire the qualities that make artists great, I have to admit the healing process sucks the most bitter of lemons! I don't like the throbbing ache you've to deal with for a week, the tight itching skin and the peeling. I honestly don't mind cleaning and minding it, hell when you've shelled out as much money over the years as I have, you wont mind either. Its not the process, it's the irritations that go with it. So here's my list for minding your new ink, that your artist didn't tell you.

First and most important... Follow your artist's after-care instructions to the letter!! They know what they're doing, and they know what's best for your fresh work.

Take preventative measures. Clip and file your nails so they're not long or sharp. I do this every time I get work done because scratching your new body art is detrimental to it. I love my nails, but I love my investments more, and even with the most rock solid determination, you will still scratch unconsciously when you're asleep. I know, I've woken myself up trying to get at new ink...

Peeling and itching like a mother...

Change your bedclothes. I know this seems ridiculous, but there's a reason you cover your pillows when you've a fresh ear or facial piercing - hygiene is everything! Buy dark sheets and a dark duvet cover, that way if your new work weeps during the night you wont have an ungodly smudge on your lovely silk bedding! Keep it for when you're planning new pieces.

Try not to sweat for a while. Avoid running, gym sessions, zumba, etc until your healed up. If you have to zumba or run, take it handy, ok?? Just avoid pools and the like at all costs. I'm serious. Chlorine is evil.

Carry your lotion with you everywhere. I've learned that tight, dry, itching flaking skin will drive you nuts if you don't moisturise it slightly. Find somewhere private and reapply a light layer of your lotion over your new tattoo. Trust me, even if you're in some quasi-public space, wierd looks are better than slowly losing the will to live from itching skin.

Find what works for you and stick to it. Personally, Bepanthen (the plain nappy rash ointment) is my lotion of choice for the first 2 to 3 days of healing, and after that it's over to my good buddy E45. This time around, I've found a brand called CaraDerm and their seaweed soothing lotion is the biz! The same goes for soap. Dove plain soap is usually my choice, but Sanex 0% is great too. If you're unsure, get your artist to recommend something and then go hunt it down.

Arnica!! Arnica tablets will set you back around 6 euro. They are tiny little things but they are the absolute shizznit. Arnica tabs will take down your swelling and bruising in double quick time. If like me, you bruise and swell like nothing else on earth, you need arnica. Zinc would be good too, it's helpful for your natural defences and since you're healing a very nicely designed open wound, you'll be needing all the help you can get!

Patience, grasshopper. It's going to heal, just give it time, okay?? Don't pick, don't rub, don't scrub, don't worry. It will get there.

Enjoy your new ink, and remember two weeks of irritation is nothing for a lifetime with your new art! 

Amy

x

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Conch Piercing; 1 Year On

Last year, on the 17th of December, I believe, I went to Dublin for my Christmas shopping and came home with the shopping and a fresh piercing. 

I got my Conch pierced. I won't beat around the bush, the piercing hurt being done, I yelped a bit when the needle went through. It is the thickest part of your ear so I should have expected it. When I came home, I cleaned it and it was throbbing but it wasn't painful any-more. My ear was red and angry for a few days but nothing I wasn't expecting, after all, I had just paid a lovely lady to push a 1.6mm tri-bevel hollow needle through my ear. It was mad at me. I understand!  It was agony to sleep on for 3 months or more, so I learned to sleep on my left side, which I still do even though my piercing is fully healed and doesn't hurt at all as I type this. 

A few months on (April) and I was growing weary of the little stainless steel ball in the hollow of my ear so I took myself off to Wildcat and picked up a black acrylic ball with white stars on it. I just wanted to have a nice top ball and the piercer said it wouldn't impede healing so I was happy as a clam. It hurt to sleep on for a bit but it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as the tiny ball was.

In July, I got my Arrow barbell and I adored it. I maintain my status as an archer, no matter what, I will go down swinging!! What better for an archer with an arrow tattoo to have a tiny silver arrow in her ear?! It was fabulous, until I wanted to change it. It wouldn't unscrew. For a few weeks it didn't bother me, but I knew something was up so once again, I took myself back to Wildcat to have them see what was up. Basically, I wound up having to have the whole thing pulled from my ear in two different directions and it SUCKED ASS SO HARD!!! I sobbed like a child, but the piercer was so cool she didn't judge at all, in fact she was amazing!! Back to a stainless steel barbell I went, replacement bar in tow in case I wanted to put the arrow back in a few weeks later. I didn't. I'll stick to my tattoo thanks!

Last month, I went to Baz Black (based in Dundalk), who would technically be my Boyfriends local piercing place, if Chris was pierced. I got Baz to switch out the bar, replacing it with a blue adonized Captive Bead Ring at 12mm diameter and 1.6mm in gauge. Having him change to the hoop - no bother at all, not a flinch or a twinge within a 10ft radius. Sleeping on it sucked for a fortnight and to be honest I thought about taking myself back up to Dundalk and getting Baz to swap it back again but I persevered and now it's perfect. The site of the piercing needed time to adjust to the curve, and now its absolutely perfect and it looks so bad-ass! 


Healing was a bit of a pain at times... It's had a pretty angry keloid on the back of my ear, which I drew out with Disprin pastes, and now its absolutely perfect, and healed really well after all the issues with the keloid. I cleaned it twice daily for 3 months, once a day for 3 months, and then every other day for 3 months, as well as applying tea tree oil with a cotton wool bud twice a week for the entire duration. I try not to touch it but the ring especially is easy to fiddle with. I still occasionally apply tea tree oil to the piercing and spray the whole thing with anti-bacterial spray by Easy Piercing just to be kind to it.

So 12 months on, and what's the verdict?

I wouldn't get the other Conch pierced, and probably will never venture into cartilage land whatsoever, but I would not change this conch ring for the world. I love it just as much as my tattoos, sometimes more. I'm all about tattoos, piercings are a longer more intricate commitment in terms of healing. You really have to be on the ball when you heal a piercing, there is a lot of scope for infections and rejection. I think I've learned enough about tattoos to know I'm happier healing fresh ink than a piercing. 

As cheezy as this is, I wanna say a big thank you to anyone who gave me advice or helped in any way when I was healing this bad boy! Sorcha at Wildcat Ink in Stephens Green, my lovely piercer, Dani in Dublin Ink for telling me about Disprin Pastes, Baz at Baz Black Piercing Dundalk for swapping out the bar for the CBR and various pierced friends for being dead sound when I had questions! 

Hope this post was helpful, 

Amy

xx

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Lip Service - Tattoo Hatin'

5. Arrow; Right Forearm

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I recently had my 5th tattoo. I love tattoo's and can honestly say that if I meet someone who has a visible piece, I will compliment it. It's a kinship of sorts, I feel. 

I absolutely love the whole thing that goes with being tattooed, from the design process, to the stencil application, I mean, I can't pass a studio without smiling or commenting on the smell of the rubbing alcohol or the sound of the guns, it's just a really unique experience, that ends with you having a piece of art with you for life. 

That's pretty special. 

 However, the point of this post isn't really to talk about how much I love indelible body art. The purpose of this post is to address the topic of Tattoo Haters! I'm going to try and address the most common things I've experienced personally, from people I know and strangers, alike!

• In General; The people who passively just don't see the appeal! 

4. Venus Doom & Heartagram

I know that there are people out there who dislike tattoos and don't understand why others like them or get them. I have plenty of people in my life who dislike the whole concept of ink and that's okay, it's their opinion. After rolling into college, fresh out of a 2-ish hour session in Spilled Ink, I was chatting to a guy in my course who just plainly doesn't see the appeal, and that's okay! Tattoos are most definitely not for everyone. I have absolutely NO problem with someone who is just passive and says "That's nice for you, but it's not my bag!", because I know that those people know they have no right to judge me for what I do... 

Take my mother as an example, she's pretty cool about tattoos. I mean, she signed the paperwork for me at the age of 16 to have my first tattoo. I cannot say more than that. She doesn't like them, she sees no appeal, but she knows she would not be able to stop me. I suppose it helps that I am respectful enough to say, "Look, I'm getting more work done, I'm telling you so I don't catch you off guard. You're informed beforehand, that way we avoid having any kind of row or anything of that nature.". She's always been cool with it, it's my body at the end of the day. 

• Judgmental People: The people who are just rude and offensive! 

3. Evlish LOTR quote; Right-Hand Ribcage

Okay, I know plenty of these people too. As a tattooed woman, who has some visible work, as well as hidden tattoos, I can definitively state that I have met my fair share of people who are really fucking rude about it. "Tattoo's are stupid!", "You're going to regret them when you're older!!" "Why would you waste your money on that?!" And to those people I have the following replies: 

1. "Tattoo's are stupid!" - Well, your judgmental attitude, your ignorance and tone are unpleasant, and lets not get stared on your face, love!
2. "You're going to regret them when you're older!" - That is my risk to take and I'd thank you not to comment on what I do with my own body.
3. "Why would you waste your money on that?" - Why the hell does it matter to you (or anyone for that matter) what I do with my own money? And also, it doesn't occur to you that I handed over the money in the full knowledge that this is coming with me everywhere, from the moment it's done even beyond the day I die. The only time that it will be gone is, as gross as it sounds, when I've decomposed in the ground or when I'm cremated!

I really cannot wrap my head around why anyone would think they have any right to dictate to another human what they do or pass comment on their choices. I understand that they think they have a point, but none of their reasoning stands up to rebuttal in terms of their opinion of what they believe I should be doing with my body. I don't want to die a beige, wrinkled old lady who regretted not taking the chance to be more aesthetically interesting than those who vehemently shove their beige-ness down my throat. 

• The people who deliberately try to demean you - and usually they fail!

2. Ambigram of my Name; Left shoulder.

These people are less common but they are still the worst ones to encounter. I have been unfortunate enough to have experienced these people who are flat out the worst kind of human. These are the people I go out of my way to annoy because it's hilarious that they think their opinion means anything. In fact, these people, while being out-and-out rude, are also kind of my favorite because they make me laugh too. 

I have a rather large tattoo dedicated to the band that helped in a major way, to save my life. It took me 5 years to work up to a tattoo dedicated to them. Do these people really think they have any kind of place to say things like "Oh you won't love that band in 5 years time...". Well take it from me, pet, if I still thought it was a good idea 5 years after I originally decided I wanted it, and thought about it for those 5 years, a grand total of 60 months, I'm pretty sure my decision was a good one. Similarly with my newest piece, I don't care what anyone says about it because I know that it was a good decision, that it's going to make me smile every day because it represents a sport where I excelled, and that gave me friends I know I'll have for a very long time to come. 


All in all, tattoos are a personal choice for those who have them. I love 90% of the attention garnered from them, because it's usually like-minded, colorful people (both in body and spirit) who are an absolute pleasure to talk to. I adore my tattoos and would never regret them, because they are important to me and my life's milestones as well as achievements. They remind me who I am and that I am the product of every struggle and success so far in my life, as well as what is to come. 

Have you experienced tattoo hating people? 
If you have how do you deal with them?
What do you think of my body art?

Amy xx

Tattoo Time!!

***What follows in this post, is all my own opinion. I am not in the business of lying to people, especially when it concerns something as serious and permanent as a tattoo. I am grateful to the whole gang down at Spilled Ink for being so cool, and I definitely wont be forgetting them for this!***

The basic design...
Fotor wouldn't let me
 do any better!

On Friday 30th of August, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Spilled Ink Tattoos, and get a tattoo for free. The agreement was that I would pimp the studio in a blog post, on my Facebook page, etc. So I'm going to review the whole experience from the start to end, because I can, and I want to!

I will say though, before we get into this post, that I never actually intended to get a free tattoo. I was pricing work with various studios in Dublin, and I got talking to Mario (Spilled Inks lovely owner, and yes, he really is lovely) who offered me a pretty sound price. Being broke has its pitfalls though, and I was prepared to pay for this piece fully, when and idea hit me...

Phil! Spilled Ink has an apprentice, and if you have seen his portfolio (HERE) you'll know he's a cut above most apprentices, for sure! I thought it would be worth an ask, if nothing else and Mario informed me that if I wanted to get my work done by the apprentice, it would be free, but of course, I would have to accept the risk of him being an apprentice, you know, slight inconsistencies and the like. No bother to me at all, as you will see further on, the tattoo I was getting is all line work, so my worry levels were pretty much nil.

So, I hashed it out with Mario and we agreed on a bit of pimping and the like (I wont get into that because I doubt he wants to be hounded for free ink morning noon and night), to which I duly agreed and we sorted the day for Friday at 11am. I e-mailed Phil with the design, and then double checked both on t'internet and with Mario himself about the aftercare lotion I would need so I could buy it ahead of time!

Apprentice tattoo artists are only going to be let tattoo willing clients if the fully qualified artists training them think they are up to it. I can't imagine how much pressure there is in this job, its nothing like painting a canvas, since the client can feel pain, will breathe, cough, you name it-- and they have to allow for that. I always said I'd love to be able to tattoo people, but I think I'll stick to blogging as my creative outlet! I have the utmost respect for tattoo artists, they do a difficult job when you think about it!

The studio is located at 18 Great Denmark St, Dublin 1, which is right in the heart of the city. It's actually quite near to the Hugh Lane Gallery, The Gardens of Remembrance, and if you need a landmark walking from Parnell/O'Connell St, hang a right at the Candy Cafe and it's on the right hand side! (Check me out with all my bases covered!) Here's the map for those of you who may need it!

The studio itself is absolutely beautiful!! It's all glossy floors, and you can smell the lovely scent of the disinfectant stuff they use. It's a smell that makes my heart beat fast, how sad is that?! They have a comfy seating area with leather chairs and a leather sofa, and a table absolutely covered in books about tattoos, art, music and movies. I indulged in my love of Banksy, and satisfied my curiosity in regards to Russian Criminal Tattoos.

Phil showed me the printed design and we both concurred that it was a bit too big so he shrunk it down a bit and we sized it against my leg. Perfect!! Then we went back into the actual room, where I stood on a chair (I'm a short arse!!) to have the transfer applied. After 3 attempts (because he' a perfectionist and I stand like a goon thanks to hyper-extension in my knees), the transfer was perfectly straight down my leg. Once it was totally straight and perfect, it was needle time! Phil had set out a single and a shading needle, a fresh pot of black ink, a massive hunk of Petroleum Jelly, and a bunch of paper towels. Everything that Phil was going to be touching was barrier wrapped, and that includes the plinth I was going to be laying on. He put his disposable gloves on in front of me and then we got down to the sore bit...

Phil worked from the bottom (nearest my foot), upwards. The outlining was pretty tough to sit through, I won't lie! I swear, poor Phil, and Chris had to listen to me bitching about the pain. You'd have sworn I was never tattooed before. Once the "Doom" emblem was outlined, Phil said he would fill it in and then that would be one done. The lines were so close together, though, that he had to shade it with the single needle. It wasn't actually as bad as the outline, but when the needle got closer to a bone or tendon it would suck a bit more.

A quick glove change, and then it was time to outline the Heartagram. I decided I needed to get up when the outline was done so I could go to the bathroom and walk around (my hips like to cease up). Phil wiped my leg down, and wrapped me up so I could venture out to the reception area, the bathroom and walk around a bit. I had the chats with Mario and Paul, and Pauls client who was in for the first session of a Lego Superhero sleeve. My phone rang before we were due to go back in to finish the rest of my leg, and by the time I got off the phone, I was dancing my way back down to Phil to finish my sitting.

More fresh gloves, more anti-bac squirty stuff. Onward with the shading we went! I have never sat under a shading needle before, so it was all new to me. I have to admit that it was sore in places but not as bad as outlining by a long shot. Once the Heartagram was all filled in, it was on to the "Venus" emblem. This one sucked. Its only saving grace was the short lines on the outline. Phil was great though, he let me have a minute here and there when I needed it, and distracted me with the chats. Life was good.

When it was all done, all filled in and little bits of touching up attended to, my leg was fully wiped down with anti-bac stuff (I dunno, it jut smelled good to me), snapped a few pictures for his portfolio, and wrapped me up really well, because he knew I was going to be out and about for the rest of the day. When I was all sorted, I went back out to Mario and Phil, got my amazingly detailed and customised aftercare sheet (customised by the day you get your work done, rather than the client, but still!), some healing advice, and gave Phil a well deserved tip. The lads all had muffins I baked them too, which definitely softened them up a bit! Everyone likes Double Chocolate Devils Food Cupcakes!

All in all, I was treated so well, and got the best tattoo in my collection in Spilled Ink. I waited 5 years to get this piece, thinking and rethinking and thinking some more about the placement and the sizing, about whether it was a good idea etc. I am 100% sure I got the right man for the job, and I had the best morning/afternoon having a laugh, and a really clean, safe experience. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

I wouldn't be writing this if I wasn't insanely happy.

Thanks Phil for his amazing work and infinite patience, and thanks to Mario for hooking me up.
You're both  on the Christmas Card list! :D

If you want some good tattoo work done, swing by Spilled Ink, I promise you wont be disappointed!

If you want to get in contact with Spilled Ink, you can find them on Facebook, or you can give the studio a call on 01-8741111 or 086-3973636 OR you can email them at spilledinktattoo@hotmail.com   
 
Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed my experience!
 
Amy xxx