After years of consideration drunk & sober, I am finally getting a tattoo! I will be getting it for my 34th birthday. Yeah, I know I’m a late bloomer, but better late than never.
I want something that I can be proud of, but only when I want to be proud of it, know what I mean? There is no need to make my mom cry at my age. It’s not her fault she doesn’t like them, it’s a generational thing. My brother and his 5 tattoos are enough for her. As for the Celtic part of it, I am of Scottish descent with some Irish thrown in for good measure, and the tradition of tattooing among the Celtic peoples goes way back.
So anyway, I have decided on the “where”, and at least the approximate “what.” It will be on my lower back, below the waistline (a sexy body part, I think). I want some kind of central piece of Celtic knotwork, with two complimentary, smaller pieces on either side. I want heavy black ink rather than colors, seems more traditional (although blue may have been the traditional color for the Celts).
I have even decided on an artist. I hope to have the work done by Pat Fish in Santa Barbara, CA. She seems to be well-respected and specializes in Celtic tattoos. I also looked at Captain Bret’s in Rhode Island, but that’s not really an option (I am in SoCal).
So, tattoed Dopers, do you have suggestions, ideas, warnings? I will be sure and post a link to a picture once it’s done. I would love to hear your stories (even the horror stories), plus your suggestions about care & feeding.
One on my left thigh, one on my back. Both were painful but everyone has a different pain threshold.
Don’t go in drunk or stoned. It doesn’t really help block the pain and makes you a much worse client. Drunk clients bleed more freely and throw-up a lot; stoned clients move when they shouldn’t.
You’ll bleed a lot and probably be very sore so wear loose clothing for each appointment. Dark loose pants and shirt may be best. Ibuprofen is a good analgesic that will help reduce the swelling (if any.)
I used a non-scented, hypo-allergenic moisturizer for the first couple weeks of healing; the damn things itched like mad while scabbing over. Your tatto artist may recommend something different.
Remember that direct sunlight will help turn your lovely new tattto into a blurry mess much more quickly. Use sunscreen.
Don’t push yourself too hard. If the pain really is unbearable, stop and make an appointment to come back. The longest I could bear was about 3 hours and by then the skin was very swollen and painful.
Also, I agree about the Mom thing. I’m 43, and I keep my tattoos covered around my parents–not out of shame, but out of respect.
I’ve sat for as much as 6 hours at a time, but I don’t recommend it. I have a lot of tattoos, but the only ones that I would really call painful were on the top of the foot and the lower back. My wife has one on her lower back as well (it is a sexy place for one), and she was surprised at how much it hurt. And she’s not a wimp. But I notice in your profile that you are a new mom. I would guess that if you can get through childbirth, a tattoo won’t be too much for you. I prefer not to think about other things, but to sort of “objectify” the pain, to observe it as something separate. I’m not into pain, but if it’s there, you might as well find a way to sort of enjoy it.
Pat Fish is quite famous in the field; you’re lucky to have access to such a well-known artist. Nothing against beginners, but I think it’s worth it to pay a little more and get a first-class job done.
One more thing: don’t pick at the scabs! While it’s healing, it is possible to pull out some of the ink. Good luck!
i recently got a tattoo the same place where you plan to get yours. it didn’t hurt me much at all, just when the needle went over the bone. other than that, it felt like someone was writing on me with one of those motorized “jiggly” pens.
i highly recommend having several people around for support, telling you jokes to distract you… or at least giving you a conversation to listen in on when you don’t want to talk for fear of accidently letting out a wimpy “yelp!” of pain.
the best part is when you can’t get the tattoo wet for two weeks :rolleyes: they didn’t tell me that part 'til the end. how did you all keep your tats from getting wet when you showered?? i cut up plastic baggies and used medical tape to tape it on. i couldn’t wait for those two weeks to end!
good luck with your tattoo! and watch out… its addicting!
When exactly is your birthday, EJsGirl? 'Cause I’m planning to get a tattoo in that same spot, also a Celtic knot (a triquetra), for my 30th birthday next month!
I’m going to go with dark blue, and I’m trying to find a nicely intricate design-- I have a pendant that’s exactly what I’d like (only smaller), so I might just bring that with me.
I’ll be getting it done at Jonathan Shaw’s Fun City Tattoo in New York. My first tattoo, a bunch of violets on my left ankle, was done by Fun City’s Franky. No pain, Franky was really nice, and it looks great. I’d like to make an appointment with Franky for the next one-- different artists have different specialties, as you know, but for me being comfy with the guy/girl poking me with needles is also very important.
And yes, it is addictive. I’m going to try to stop at two, I swear…
Tattoo artists give different advice on how to care for a new tattoo, but I’ve always been told it was okay to wash it (very gently) after 24 hours. This is what I’ve always done, and mine still look good. I wouldn’t scrub it with a loofah, of course, and I’d be careful drying it. (Pat, don’t rub.) Then for the next week or so while it was still scabbing, I always avoided scrubbing the tattoo, but I didn’t worry about water running over it. Just be gentle with it.
But again, every artist has a different prescription. Hell, in Japan, my tattoo guy said that in the old days, they would go sit in a boiling hot tub after each carving session. (Nowadays many public baths in Japan don’t even allow heavily tattooed folk in, but presumably they did then.)
I have a black and blue Celtic triskle on my left arm, just below the shoulder (easy to cover for professional situations.) I have certain co-workers who are more touchy-feely than I am and will sometimes come by and (lightly) punch me on the arm…I’ll pull up my sleeve and say, “Look, you hit me so hard you made me black and blue!”
Dumb joke aside, when I got my tat I found it helpful to start babbling to my friend so I wouldn’t have to pay attention to what was happening to my skin. But actually it wasn’t too bad. The black outline did hurt some, it felt like being repeatedly bitten by a rodent. But the fill just felt like my skin was being scratched really hard.
EJsGirl, good luck and relax. Actually, I think you’re a bit young for this. I got my first one a year and a half ago at the ripe old age of 42. A continuous Celtic knot around my upper right arm. Very little pain on my outer arm, but on the underarm side, ouch! There is some tender skin under there. Little or no bleeding however. As for care, I would recomend using neosporin, polysporin, or any other antibotic ointment. Reapply it about four times a day for the first week or two and that will help the tat stay moist and and prevent infections.
When my kids saw it, they thought it was cool and said they wanted to get one when they got older. I said ok, but they would have to wait until they were 42 also.
One last thing. Although it sounds as though you’re set on just using black or blue, keep in mind that there are some stunning colors available these days for tattoos and that the Scot and Irish traditions included colors, although I suspect not on tattoos. I’m of Scottish ancestry, and I chose a vivid red to color in the knot.
uberDave, I’m not totally opposed to color, I will let the artist have some input.
Rosebud, my belly-button birthday is 7/29.
I also thought about getting it for my 10th sober birthday, but I missed it (the tattoo, not my 10th!). So I won’t have a problem with going in plastered! Cuts out narcotic pain meds, but oh well, trust me that the world is better off!
I read on the web that you can shower right away if you slather the tattoo with vaseline to keep the water off of it. Just be sure to get the vaseline off-gently- afterwards.
I am very excited, and have one friend who’s already volunteered to come along. I will have to figure out childcare though- if I do it while my husband is out of town (likely), I can’t be flashing brand new ink when I pick the baby up from my mom!
and MrO- you hit it on the head. I don’t want somethng that I’m ashamed of, but I also respect my parents and understand their problems with most tattooing nowadays.
Did anybody see the show on the Discovery Channel about the insane halter-top tattoo that a woman got to cover her mastectomy scars? It was the most feminine, beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!
You know that spot on your back, between your shoulderblades that you can’t touch? That’s where I got mine. Except, I’m flexible enough that I could manage to take care of it while healing.
Still, would have been nice if I had someone to help out.
I have been doing more reading about the pain issue, and it sounds to me like it runs the gamut between “hardly a scratch” to “holy shit.” I’m sure I’ll be fine.
MrO- yeah, I’ve been through the birth experience, but that doesn’t mean I can do pain that well. I was in labor for a total of 24 hours, and that went from the early stage “hmmm, what’s that?” kind of cramps to the “get me some fucking drugs” stage. The last 12 hours, I got an epidural, which meant that I then had to be told when I was having contractions!
There are bonds of love, and of family, and of brotherhood, but there is no bond stronger than the bond between a laboring woman and her anesthesiologist!
The epidural didn’t hurt a bit, BTW, so if a needle into the epidural space of my spine was ok, well…
I’m going through some really, really bizarre pre-mid-life crisis and decided that NOW was a great time for a tat. I got one just where you’re talking about, a good-size dragon oruborus with color and everything. Two hours. And I didn’t even cry! Seriously, when we were about to start I was really keyed up, expecting searing pain, and she said that she’d give me just a little tap with the needle so I could get a taste of it. Five minutes later all I could think then was “Why haven’t I done this before???”
Turns out that it’s not so much where you have it done, it’s the talent of the artist, reflected in the depth and consistency they use. Of course, she also said that women are much better than men at handling the pain.
Mine barely scabbed, and I’ll tell you what I think had a huge effect on that. Listerine. The original yellow stuff, patted on three-four times a day. Hurt like hell the first time, but after that it became really soothing, and it takes away a lot of the itching. Expect LOTS of itching, round about the 2nd day or so. And you’re gonna want to invest in a pair or two of men’s jeans, sized about two sizes too big. I usually wear a 32 in men’s relaxed jeans… DH wears a 36 or 38. His pants saved me… anything else I got near the site chaffed something terrible.
Seriously, when we were about to start I was really keyed up, expecting searing pain, and she said that she’d give me just a little tap with the needle so I could get a taste of it. Five minutes later all I could think then was “Why haven’t I done this before???”