Hello, I’m new. I’ve had a browse around and you all seem quite helpful.
I need some advice, and I know the questions that I’m going to ask will probably be searchable elsewhere but I keep getting conflicting answers. Sorry and I’ll try to be as brief as possible!
– I’m 21 and want to get a tattoo – small and discreet. Not because I’m ashamed, but it’s for me, not other people. I want sharing it to be optional
– I’ve already designed it, and I want it on the inside ankle/heel of my right leg.
– my mother will cry when she finds out. That’s not going to stop me, but I figure I’d rather she work it out a few months after.
– which means I need to get it at uni, after my exams before I go home and she sees me every day. This leaves one week I can get it done in.
So, questions:
– the week after I’d be getting done my uni does a week of balls, of which I’d be going to several. They last till 6am, which is a long time of wearing shoes. Will I be able to wear shoes over the tattoo? I keep getting conflicting answers about healing time. It’ll be small and is only outlining – but is the scab still likely to be there by that week and am I in danger of knocking it off? I’d wear flip flops for the proceeding week to get it healed as much as posisble. Would it better to wait until after? I really want to get it done before so it’s hideable for when I go home. I heel quite quickly but obviously don’t want to risk a cock up. This is important to me, as I’m sure you all understand
-the actual tattooing. I pass out with needles. It’s not a fear thing, and it’s not a pain one either. I’m utterly unbothered by needles. But my body goes into some shut down/reboot thing, whether I’m getting some injected in (vaccinations) or taken out (giving blood) Am I likely to have problems? I don’t mind passing out, I’m entirely used to it, but I wasn’t able to give blood for a while because the nurses werent prepared to take it from me. Are tattooists likely to have the same concerns? I can’t see the whole thing taking much more than 20 minutes, and should have someone going with me…but yes, advice would be great. I’m NOT a wimp, I have an awkward system!
Sorry for such a long post, and I hope these questions don’t seem stupid, I’d really appreciate some advice.
Thanks in advance
It takes me approx 2 weeks to completely heal – so use that as your guide
As far as passing out some people do some people do not – getting tattooed is nothing like a medical injection for say a blood test or something
My Tattooist has had a lot of people pass out on him (for their first tattoo) over the years , so I guess its fairly normal an experienced tattoo artist will not be phased by this at all
providing that you have a decent meal and something sugary to drink before getting the tattoo then you should be ok… if you feel funny or light headed then tell the artist straight away and he will stop.
….. upto now i have never had a fainter 😉
the healing process is different with everyone… it will be healed enough that the skin has scabbed, then pealed and then looks good after aprox 3 weeks in general, but the deeper skin tissue takes about 6 weeks to fully heal.
Outlaw, are you a tattooist?
I had another question but don’t want to spam up the boards…
My tattoo will be quite small but have writing in…Well, one word that actually makes up part of the outline of the drawing. How small can writing get before you have to worry about bleeding? I want it in a cursive, calligraphy sort of font?
Thanks!
Hi
In answer to your question you do not want anything that will rub against the tattoo (shoes or clothing) this can damage the area and pull the ink if it peels the scab off. Especially in the first 2 weeks.
The size of text can be any size but realistically you should not go smaller than 10pt because as you age the tattoo will blur and if it is too small it will become a blob.
Bigger = better when it comes to text tattoos so 12 pt is always a good average but depends on the size of tattoo you are after.
Take care
Matthew
Oh 12 point should be fine. I was thinking text had to be a lot bigger than that. It’s going to be a small tattoo anyway, the idea is wearing trainer socks should cover it. I had fun drawing on my skin in the area with a pen last night and I think it should be ok.
Sorry to keep asking but I figure it’s better than starting another topic…
Would putting some kind of padded plaster, bandage etc securely on my foot before wearing shoes be a sufficient protection. I’m not trying to rush it it’s just logistics of getting it done that means I kind of need to get it done a week before I’ll be wearing nice shoes for 9 hours at a time….surely if I cover it with something secure, and then have tights, that should be enough layers to stop the rubbing.
Do thin line drawings heal any quicker? There’s literally no shading in my design, it’s just a black outline…is that likely to heal easier.
Thanks for your patience, I’m finding this site really, really useful
Poesy
answer to your question is “yes i am” 😉
the last thing you want to do is cover it….. as soon as the artist has finished the piece he/she will cover it just to prevent anything from getting onto the area as its an open wound, you should leave the covering on for aprox 1 or 2 hours or until you get home…. then wash it with hot soapy water (not too hot that it burns you) this will open the pores and rinse out any unused ink that is between the layers and doing nothing, then wash it straight after weith cold soapy water this will close the pores up and prevent exessive ink loss onto your bedsheets etc. pat it dry… “DO NOT RUB IT DRY”
apply a small thin amount of antiseptic cream as advised by your artist, i recommend either savlon or bepanthen but there are plenty of other aftercare products available 😉
now leave it uncovered… there is no need to cover it again as you want air to get to it as to speed up the healing, if you cover it up again then you are creating a breeding ground for bacteria.
Thanks for replying again.
I know I need to keep it uncovered initially, and can do so for a week, I’m a little concerned about afterwards (tricky place to be getting it done) Will it be ok to cover it up for a night to prevent rubbing from shoes.
During the day i can just wear flip flops or walk about bare foot, but after a week or so I have some black tie events and can only get away with proper/girly shoes and am worried about what’s acceptable by that period in the healing time.
Sorry to keep being so pernickety – just want to be on safe side!
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