@
Hi everyone,
I am a new member, and am looking forward to getting to know you all.
I’m writing with a problem, and am hoping that you all can provide some thoughts or insight. A month ago, I got a new tattoo on my upper arm/shoulder. It is a flock of birds flying above several waves. The waves turn into a band that circles my arm.
The whole tattoo is solid black, filled in, no shading.
I had the work designed and done by a very reputable tattoo artist in my area. She came highly recommended, and I felt very comfortable with her. She produced drawings for the tattoo that I loved, and did it all in one sitting, a little less than 2 hours.
While she was tattooing the inside of my arm (which is just the band), I felt a great deal of pain and pressure. It felt like she was bearing down very hard on my arm, but, as I only have one other small tattoo (on my back), I had no real frame of reference. For several days afterwards, the inside of my arm was extremely swollen, but again, I had nothing to compare it to, and assumed that everything was fine. The tattoo has healed beautifully, and in general, I love it.
The problem is that the ink around the band on my inner arm seems to have bled out. For about an inch on either side of the band my skin is stained light blue. Initially I thought it was just bruising, but my arm is not at all sore or swollen, and the color is uniform, not splotchy like a bruise.
Obviously I need to go talk to the artist, but I wanted to get some feedback from others first. Is this normal? (I’m guessing not.) What would you do in this situation? What should I ask her for? I don’t really see a way to “fix” this- there’s an entire inch of staining on either side of the band, and I really don’t want anything else tattooed there. I guess I’m just feeling upset, and I feel like I need to let her know what happened, but I’m not sure exactly how to proceed.
I should also say that this tattoo was a really big deal for me- I got it in honor of my daughter, who was born last year and a has a name that relates to the tattoo theme. It was also quite expensive (I’m a grad student, and this was a significant investment for me.) Overall, I love the tattoo, but hate that I no longer want anyone to see the stained inside of my arm. I feel sort emotional about all of this, and would really value some input.
Thanks!
A picture would help a lot, but from the sounds of it, you’ve had a blow-out. This is caused by the needle going too deep into the skin, causing the ink to hit fat-pads, and spread the ink out in an ugly, blurred blotch.
If I’m wrong, someone will correct me.
Hope I’m not stepping on the ‘no technique discussion’ toes.
If that’s the case, then you can still get it covered but you said you didn’t want anything else tattooed there, so it’s something you’ll have to think about.
Anyway, you should show your artist, they need to see what’s happened so they can correct their technique.
Hi
Well def sounds like a blow out of major proportions.
That said with some shading it can normally be fixed.
You really need to get straight back to the artist and tell them to sort it out or get somebody who can. Also do not pay them for the fixing as it does sound like a bit of butchery has gone on.
If you have no joy pm me where your area is and I will try and track down a reputable artist who will be able to help.
Take Care
Matthew
You must be logged in to create new topics.
