Question:
*** PIERCE FAQ PART 3 OF 4 *** Analgesic liquids, sprays or ointments are normally used to anaesthetise mucus membrane areas, such as the inside of the mouth, inside of the nose, penis, clitoris, clitoris hood and inner labia. These are very safe and effective but can take a long time to take effect as they are absorbed through the skin. On other areas the most commonly used anaesthetic is ethyl chloride spray, which freezes the tissue, but great care must be taken as too much can cause frostbite. It is therefore very important that only skilled operators should use ethyl chloride. The main advantages of anaesthetics are that pain is minimised, the piercee is less nervous and he or she is therefore less prone to flinching while the piercing is in progress. Nevertheless, the administration of and recovery from all types of anaesthetic is uncomfortable. This should be borne in mind when contemplating any piercing. [SM. A bit of ice is sometimes a safe and easy way to reduce the pain of a piercing] Basically, there is no completely painless method of piercing but different people interpret pain in different ways, and just because one person says that their piercing hurt dreadfully it does not necessarily mean that you will find it very painful at all. If you decide that you do not want the piercing after it has been done, the ring or barbell can quite easily be removed. It will heal up remark- ably quickly and usually any small mark or scar will very soon disappear completely. If, however, a piercing is actually rejected by your body – in other words the piercing moves towards the surface of the skin as it heals (and this can happen with some people and some piercings) – then you will be left with a scar, which will become less noticeable as time passes. If rejection seems to be happening, discuss it with your piercer as he or she will want to know and will probably be able to suggest ways of improving the situation. Often a change of jewellery will put things right, but sometimes the only course of action is to remove the jewellery as soon as possible and allow the piercing to heal over. If a person who has had a piercing reject decides to try again and have the same piercing re-done, the second time it may well behave perfectly unless, of course there was some fault in the original piercing technique, placement or jewellery which is repeated when the piercing is tried once more. People are different and their bodies behave differently. Some people have no trouble at all, no matter how many piercings they end up with, while others find that their piercings take a very long time to heal. If you do find that you are having problems with a piercing and it seems to have an infection or won’t heal up, you should re-contact your piercer and explain your problem. If the piercer cannot deal with it, then it is always wise to consult a doctor. Piercings which have been kept clean very rarely become infected, but it can happen, particularly if you are run down or ill (for example with influenza) but a short course of suitable antibiotics can generally clear up any infection within a few days. If you are unwilling to ask your usual doctor, then your piercer might be able to put you in touch with a sympathetic doctor. In cases of infection, simply removing the jewellery may cause more problems than it solves because the external part will heal over very quickly, thus cutting off the outlet for any matter that may have formed inside. The jewellery itself, providing that it has been sterilised (if previously used and thoroughly cleaned, is very rarely the source of an infection. Some people, however, are allergic to the metals used in 9 carat gold jewellery (pure gold is too soft to hold its shape properly and even 18 carat gold cannot hold a fine screw thread properly). Most people have no problems with the high-quality gold used in body jewellery, even in new piercings, but surgical quality stainless steel is particularly inert and is the safest possible option for a new piercing. In general, sleepers, ball closure rings and barbells are the most suita- ble pieces of jewellery for new piercings. The great advantage of ball closure rings over other types of rings is that it is difficult for them to come open by accident. It is almost impossible to open ball closure rings of 2.5mm gauge or thicker without a pair of circlip pliers: This makes them particularly suitable for genital piercings. Barbells are in general very secure, but care must be taken when tightening the balls: Do this with dry, un-greasy fingers – a ball which has not been securely fastened can easily come loose and drop off. It is unwise to change the jewellery before the piercing is fully healed. Until a piercing is well established, changing jewellery should be done with care so that the newly healed piercing will not be damaged. The gentlest way of doing this is to push out the old piece of jewellery with the new jewellery, keeping them in contact all the time to prevent the piercing closing up. If this follow through’ method cannot be used and a somewhat blunt ended barbell is to be inserted, then a tapered rod with an indentation in the blunt end into which the barbell can be located will make the insertion much easier. In addition, lubrication using a mildly antiseptic ointment such as Savlon will help the jewellery to slide into place easily. Some piercings behave better when newly done by using a thinner gauge than would be used for other piercings, but you must take your piercer’s advice on this matter. Remember that, once healed, a piercing can always be gently enlarged to take whatever gauge jewellery the wearer wants. Enlargement to a thicker gauge can be done using tapered rings or by coating sleepers or other jewellery with increasingly thick coats of clear nail varnish. Two similar sets of jewellery are necessary for this method: The set of jewellery not being worn is painted with one even coat of nail varnish and allowed to dry for at least 12 hours. The coated jewellery then replaces the jewellery bein worn and the pieces which have been removed are then painted with 2 coats of nail varnish and allowed to dry for at least 24 hours. Using this method, and replacing the jewellery no more than once or twice a week, a piercing can be very slowly enlarged. As the coats of nail varnish get thicker, the drying time must be lengthened accordingly so that all the solvents in the varnish can evaporate before it is introduced into the piercing. [SM. The use of teflon tape is also very good for this purpose as teflon is completely inert and the tape has no hard edges. Using the tape allows the same piece of jewelry to be used to enlage the piercing] Body jewellery does not need to be removed for sex – quite the reverse. If left in place it greatly enhances sexual activity and, if the correct jewellery is worn, will not be in any way harmful to either partner. However, common sense must always be exercised and body jewellery and Publications Limited cannot take responsibility for any accident, injury, illness or inconvenience resulting from any use of body jewellery. FEMALE GENITAL PIERCINGS INNER LABIA Healing time 1-2 weeks. Probably the most popular of all female genital piercings . Rings pierced through the inner labia heal very quickly and after a comparatively short time the jewellery can be removed for long periods without causing the piercings to heal over. Labia piercings should not be made too close to the outer edge of the labia, otherwise the thin web of flesh may be too weak. Usually, for comfort and hygiene, these piercings are done through the upper (front) part of the labia. They can, of course, be done all the way down but the lower ones can be uncomfortable while walking, particularly while healing. Rings are best in a new piercing but barbells can be worn in healed labia piercings. However, care should be taken to ensure that the barbell balls are fully tightened so that they cannot be loosened by the action of walking. OUTER LABIA Healing time 4-6 weeks. Again, outer labia piercings are best done in the top (front) half of the labia, though it is possible to pierce all the way down their length. Healing time is longer than for the inner labia because of the greater thickness of the tissue. Barbells are the most suitable jewellery, particularly during healing, as they tend to move around less than rings while walking, etc. As with inner labia, jewellery can be removed if required and the piercing itself is not really obvious unless it is actually being looked for. CLITORIS HOOD or PREPUCE Healing time 1-6 weeks. Providing that the hood of the clitoris is reasonably well developed it can be pierced horizontally or vertically, either with a barbell or a ring. Women with particularly plump upper thighs can find the vertical piercing much more comfortable than the horizontal, which may have a tendency to twist. This piercing tends to be sexually stimulating and causes little inconvenience while healing. However, the presence of jewellery in both a clitoris piercing (see below) and a clitoris hood piercing may cause discomfort by nipping the flesh in between the two pieces of jewellery. CLITORIS Healing time 2-8 weeks. This is a particularly erotically stimulating piercing which heals fairly quickly. Some women have reported that they were unable to orgasm during intercourse until they wore a clitoris ring. However, due to variations in anatomy, clitoris piercing is not suitable for every woman. Some clitorises, even when not erect, are hidden under the clitoris hood and jewellery through a clitoris piercing can be placed under permanent tension by pressure from the clitoris hood. In addition to being extremely painful, this pressure will usually cause the piercing to move towards the surface and eventually be rejected. Some professional piercers will not perform clitoris piercings because of these … read more »
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*** PIERCE FAQ PART 4 OF 4 *** FORESKIN Healing time 5-6 weeks. Used in ancient Rome on male slaves to enforce chastity. The foreskin is usually pierced on each side. While healing, one ring is worn in each piercing. Once healed, a single ring or barbell can pass through both piercings. Depending on the preferences of the wearer, several piercings can be made through the foreskin although, because swelling can result for a few days after piercing, it is not really advisable to have more than two done at a time. A ring or a short barbell worn through each piercing in no way hinders the retraction of the foreskin. Foreskin piercings can be enlarged fairly easily if done gradually and with patience. HAFADA Healing time 6-10 weeks. This scrotal sac piercing is said to have originated in Arabia, where a ring is inserted through the left side of the scrotum when a youth achieves manhood. A ring is more practical than a barbell during during healing, but once healed either ring or barbell is equally effective. The piercing is most successful when done through a forward fold of skin as there is less chance of it being rejected. These days it is usual to have a piercing on each side of the scrotum rather than just one. Several hafadas can be worn, including piercings done through the central ’seam’ of the scrotum but it is not advisable to have too many of these piercings done at the same time because this tends to delay healing. Some piercers prefer not to perform scrotal piercings on the grounds that puncturing the scrotum can create a passage for air or water, which might carry bacteria, to enter the abdominal cavity, although we have not heard of any case of a person having problems of this nature. [SM It really is not a good idea to pierce right through the sac; to be safe, Hafada piercings should only be through the skin] PUBIC Healing time 6-8 weeks. Visually a pleasing piercing but can be slow to heal and can also be rejected during healing, particularly if the pubic area tends to be a little fatty. A ring is best in this piercing but, once healed, a barbell can be worn if preferred. A pubic piercing stands more chance of success if placed very slightly ahove the base of the penis where it joins the body. GUICHE Healing time 6-8 weeks Said to be a fairly common piercing for the male natives of the South Pacific. The positioning of this piercing, through the ridge of skin bet- ween the anus and the back of the scrotum, makes it inappropriate for men with certain jobs or hobbies, such as cycling, horse riding, motor- cycling, etc. Usually a ring is worn through a guiche piercing which can be very arousing if gently tugged or stroked. A little ‘nagging’ may be experienced during healing, but any discomfort can be minimized by wearing a pad of tissue over it. Once healed, this piercing does not cause any discomfort – quite the opposite in fact . OTHER PIERCINGS NAVEL Healing time 8-10 weeks. Usually the ridge of skin directly above the navel is pierced, although this depends upon the construction of the individual’s navel. A ring, or even better a curved barbell, is preferable to a straight barbell, especially during healing but many people have no problems wearing a straight barbell once healing is completed. This can be a particularly difficult piercing to heal as it can easily get irritated by belts and waist bands or even by sitting or bending. Anyone unwilling to stop wearing tightly waisted clothing during the healing period should probably not consider trying this piercing as pressure from clothing can cause it to move, be rejected or migrate towards the surface of the skin. Once healed, it is no trouble and can be very decorative. NIPPLES Healing time rather variable, usually about 8 weeks but can be much longer. Nipples are usually pierced horizontally, but they can also be pierced vertically or even diagonally. Vertical piercings sometimes tend to ‘walk’ a little while healing and can end up being slightly diagonal. Care in the placement of nipple piercings is very important, particularly when both are being pierced. Some nipples have a tendency to twist as they become erect, so before a piercing is made it is worth checking the positioning both when the nipples are cold/erect and when they are warm/relaxed. It is important that the piercing is made through the centre of the nipple. A horizontal piercing made above the centre of the nipple will cause the nipple to droop under the weight of the jewellery, while a piercing made below the centre of the nipple will cause the nipple to point upwards. Normally the piercing is made at the base of the nipple where it joins the areola. Sometimes male nipples, if very small, are pierced slightly below (behind) the actual nipple if it is felt that otherwise the piercing may be too close to the surface of the skin and could therefore reject, but this is mainly an aesthetic decision. The build up of new tissue around the piercing usually causes the nipple to increase in size and further piercings can then be made behind the original one if desired. Female nipples can (but do not always) take longer to heal than male nipples, probably because of hormone induced changes which are part of the menstrual cycle. There should be no problems with breast feeding following nipple piercings: Some women keep jewellery in their nipple piercings throughout breast feeding, others remove their jewellery and, although some find that their well established nipple piercings accept jewellery easily after a period of breast feeding, others find that their piercings have healed up completely after only a few weeks of breast feeding. It is not advisable to have nipple piercings immediately before or during pregnancy, or while lactating. For both men and women, nipple piercings improve erotic sensitivity and the newly pierced nipple should be no more than a little tender for the first few days after piercing. Nipples tend to behave better and heal a little quicker if a straight sleeper bar is used while healing takes place. Sometimes a ring can be painful and/or cause the piercing to descend a little or become distorted because of the movement and curve of the ring while healing takes place . When selecting rings to be worn in healed nipple piercings, choose those with an internal diameter approximately equal to (or greater than) twice the length of the piercings. Problems could be caused by wearing, for example, rings of less than 19mm internal diameter in a piercing 12mm long. There are some people, both male and female, who have trouble with the healing of their nipple piercings and find that the piercings continue weeping for a long time: Very often a change of treatment to look after them will bring about their healing. Those individuals who have particular problems with the healing of their nipple piercings should probably avoid rings completely and stick to straight barbells, with or without U-shaped stirrups. NOSTRIL Healing time 6-8 weeks. A stud or short barbell is usually worn in this piercing, but a ring can also be used. Healing is improved if the piercing is made slightly larger than gauge of the jewellery to be fitted. It is unwise to remove the jewellery too soon as the piercing tends to ’shrink’ very quickly, thus making it difficult to re-insert jewellery without discomfort. Special Indian nostril studs (which have a spiral shaft instead of a back to hold them in place) can be used but they can be difficult to put on and remove. [SM Not after a bit of practice] EAR Healing time for the lobe, 4-6 weeks. Other parts of the ear usually take longer to heal. The ear lobe, the most usual part of the ear to be pierced, generally behaves well and heals quickly with either a ring or a barbell. Other parts of the ear which have cartilage between the two layers of skin, including the ear rim and tragus (the lump in the middle of the front part of the ear), behave much better during healing if the piercing is made of a slightly larger gauge than the jewellery. The skin each side of the cartilage shrinks to fit the jewellery while the piercing through the cartilage remains as it was when first pierced. Some piercers prefer to use a dermal punch which removes a small core of cartilage from the piercing so that the skin can form a tube of scar and tissue around the jewellery more easily. Too many piercings done at the same time are not advisable; this tends to be uncomfortable and the healing generally takes considerably longer. SEPTUM Healing time 4-5 weeks. This piercing in the central part of the nose is done through the thin web of skin beneath the central nasal cartilage. Either a ‘U’ shaped sleeper (worn with the ‘U’ shape upwards) or a very short plastic stud is worn during the healing period. The new piercing in the septum is not visible . Once the piercing is healed either a ring or a tusk shaped barbell, which are in no way uncomfortable, can be worn. LABRET Healing time 5-6 weeks. This piercing, through the middle of the lower lip (usually about 1 3mm/ 1/" beneath the red part of the lip) occurs frequently among the people of certain South American tribes, in Kenya, Zambesi and Northern Cameroon and can have a symbolic meaning. The ornamentation of the mouth may stress the importance of ’speaking’ in one society rather than ‘hearing’. Some tribes enlarge the labret so that a huge plug or disk can be worn. When first pierced, a plastic stud with a disc on the inside and a very small plastic bead on the outside is probably the most suitable sleeper to use. The lip may swell slightly for a day or two and the tiny bead can be moved outward to accommodate any swelling. This is not an ‘uncomfortable’ piercing while healing but it is difficult to get used to: There is a tendency to fiddle with the inside back of the sleeper with the tongue. Once healed, a stud with a flat disk back and a screw-on front is worn. It is important that the … read more »
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*** TAT FAQ PART 1 OF 2 *** This is the ‘other’ half of the rec.arts.bodyart FAQ file and includes information about everything but piercing that might concern bodyart. WHAT THIS FILE CONTAINS: This file is structured as a traditional FAQ in the form of questions and answers. Questions answered in this file: What should I look for in a tattoo artist? Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me? Can using a sauna or steamroom blur a new (or old) tattoo? Is sunlight bad for tattoos? Are there glow-in-the-dark tattoos? When did tattooing start? How do I look after my new tattoo? How does weight gain/loss affect a tattoo? Can a tattoo be removed? What is branding and how do you do it? What is scarring? I am largely not responsible for this info as I only have one small tattoo (now anyways) and so most of the material in this FAQ is from the experience of others. (So, if it sounds like *I* am talking about how my tattoos looked after I got pregnant, it is not actually me 
. If anything is incorrect in this please let me know. WHAT IS NEW: Nothing. This is really for those that don’t have the FAQ yet. Have fun and get inked! Paul Davies / Synthetic Man Q) What should I look for in a tattoo artist? A) Go to the parlor (or where he/she works) and look around. Ask to look at a flash book (should contain photos/drawings of tats the artist has done). Make sure the place is very clean, make sure the artist uses an autoclave or uses disposable needles (or both even). Try to go and visit and then come back some other day. Try and talk to some people that have experience with the artist (and not the groupies that you will find hanging around the shop). You should feel comfortable with the artist and you should like him/her. If you don’t, then don’t get a tattoo. Make sure the artist is willing to listen to you and respects what you want. Don’t go to an artist that has an agenda of what he/she wants to do. The artist is sure to make suggestions, but the final word is always yours. Q) Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me? A) Here is a list of tatto artists (which will hopefully grow). Some have recommendations for or against, others do not. It is your responsibility to check out the artist and make sure he/she will do quality work. Bay Area, California (South Bay): Top of file, stay away from Pinky Lum. He was good in his day, but I’ve seen some *horrible* work he’s done. Word is out on the circuit that he’s going blind and getting clumsy, botches tattoos and hurts people. I’ve heard this from several other artists. He’s in San Jose, Dragon Tattoo, I believe… (Someone should confirm the studio—I’m not sure if that’s correct.) I’ve seen a couple of his recent pieces, and they were blurry and badly done. On the other hand, I highly recommend his brother Eddie Lum, at Eddie’s Skin Works, in Santa Clara 1207 El Camino Real, (408)554-8520. His forte, not surprisingly, is Oriental stuff. Very good with flowing lines, dragons, tigers, flowers. I have two pieces from him, and am very pleased with them. Warning: if you’re taking in a custom design, there is a language barrier, and you may have to explain it several times. San Jose, again: Steve Cameron at Zap Illustrations. 1385 W. San Carlos, #202 (408) 287-4011 Mostly custom work. He will also try to talk you out of a tat, if he doesn’t think it appropriate to the rest of your body-scheme. (I respect a man who believes in total body planning.) Not for beginners. He does very good free-hand design, likes bold, aggressive designs. He’ll also put in vast amounts of design work for free, if the design excites him. Reno, Nevada: Jil, at Bodygraphics – 595 N. Lake St. (702) 322-8623 My *favorite* tattoo artist. Her forte is wildlife, but she’s good with just about everything. In another medium, she could be a very successful wildlife artist. Her tattoos have an incredible amount of life, and her detailing is incredible. 20 years experience. She’s a custom fineline specialist, and has won awards. Her style is what I think of as "fineline steel engraving" (as opposed to Kari Barba, who does incredible animals, but primarily with striking colorwork). I found her by pouncing on a total stranger and demanding to know who did his *incredible* tats. In the London (CANADA) area there are four spots with which i am familiar: Blue Dragon Tattoo — 253 Wellington London — 519-434-4706 the busiest shop in town, does a lot of flash work. I have found them either pretty grumpy/opinionated or at times friendly. Tattoos Unlimited — 847 Dufferrin — 519-672-8025 Al Newcombe has been tattooing in London for a looong time. His work is mostly flash, he can create stencils from your artwork. His work tends to have a "50’s" feel to it. the stuff you see on ex-seamen. Tattoos by Gypsy — <does not list addresss — 519-453-0822 Tony is pretty young and is a design artist. I’ve created some really nice work with him starting with my rough sketches. but his work is pretty uneven it can be really good or really bad. In Hawaii: The best place to go in Hawaii is China Sea Tattoo. This is the oldest tattoo studio in the US. Mike Malone and Scotty, the guys who work there, are both excellent. China Sea Tattoo 1033 Smith Honolulu, Hawaii (808)-553-1603 In Chicago: Guilty and Innocent Productions 613 W. Briar (one block south of Belmont, just west of Broadway) Chicago There’s a company in New York state called Spaulding & Rodgers which sells tattoo guns, needles and ink. The few artists that have worked on me (Cliff Raven, Kevin Brady, Phil Payton) usually do a lot of custom work on their needles if not the gun itself. Needles continually dull from use or sterilizing and have to be resharpened and soldered into the appropriate groups and configurations. VyVynn Lazonga- Dermagraphics 94 Pike Place, Seattle 206 622 1535 Lamar Van Dyke-Tattoo You Seattle Tattoo Emporium 1106 East Pike St., Seattle 206 622 6895 Sailor Cam also has a shop The Dutchman Tattoos 630 – 12th Street New Westminster, BC Canada (604)522-5156 If you can travel a ways (parts of Southern California are lovely in the winter, especially around Solvang, which is near Santa Barbara), I would say, bar-none, go to Pat Fish at Tattoo Santa Barbara! I’ve seen some of her Celtic work and she’s REALLY GOOD, and it’s her specialty. (I read an interview where she said she thinks it’s a genetic race-memory or something, and she went into tattooing specifically to get into Celtic work.) Well, I said I’d summarize and despite the fact that there is not an extensive list, the two that are on it come highly recommended by a number of different folks: Pat Fish, at Tattoo Santa Barbara Celtic style artwork a specialty, worth the trip to Santa Barbara. Vyvyn Lazonga Primarily in Seattle, also has an office in San Francisco. Seattle number is (206) 622-1535 Dennis Cockel in Walkers’ Court London W1 (a small side street in Soho) tattooed myself and a girlfriend about four years ago and we are both very satisfied with the tattoos. I got mine done by Ernie at Tattoo City in Butler, NJ. I don’t have his card, but I’ll post the number on Monday. It’s about a 20 minute drive out of NYC. In London (England): Dennis Cockel in Walkers’ Court London W1 (a small side street in Soho) tattooed myself and a girlfriend about four years ago and we are both very satisfied with the tattoos. About good NY artists, I can recommend C&C tattoo in Troy NY. The Address is: 307 Congress St. Troy NY 12180 (518)272-0576 (as of 5/91 when I moved) Ask for Sue (Daves "apprentice") She did my full back piece, In SF: Mad Dog’s ok. he’s done some really GREAT work, but I think he’s somewhat inconsistant… I’ve never met him… The "dude" is named Robert Roberts… Mad Dog is the name of his tattooing enterprise. I have seen a lot of Roberts work (probably more than anyone else on this silly group)…. Some of it is truly outstanding, other is not that great. I think with Robert, it really depends on what you are getting. If your tattoo is going to be all black, Robert is great. If you want color, I think you might want to go somewhere else. The best in SF (Actually, the best in the state, without a doubt, and possibly the best in the country) tattoo shop is ‘Tattoo City’ on Columbus; the shop is owned by Ed hardy, and teh guys who work there (Freddy Corbin, Eddie Deutsch, Dan Higg) are simply great. You cannot go wrong with the three; Freddy and Eddie are the two best tattooists I’ve ever seen. 415-433-9437 is the phone number…. Q) Can using a sauna or steamroom blur a new (or old) tattoo? A) Once it is healed, there is very little that will screw up a tattoo. The one exception is prolonged exposure to sunlight. (the other is scarring, but that is patently obvious). Q) Is sunlight bad for tattoos? A) Well, unfortunately it is. The newer inks are better at resisting fading but whatever you do, if you spend lots of time in bright sunlight your tats will fade (over a lifetime not over a week). The best is to try and keep them out of bright sunlight. No one wants to become a cave dweller just to keep their tats looking good, just use your common sense. Q) Are there glow in the dark tattoos? A) Quite simply, yes. You generally get a quick test to see if you react to it… If … read more »
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*** TAT FAQ PART 2 OF 2 *** Q) How do I look after my new tattoo? A) The artist that did your tattoo will have something very definite to say about the care of your new tattoo, and it is probably a good idea to listen to him/her. But, after saying that, here is some advice (not always consistent because everyone has a different experience just as you will). Opinions that differ are set off by square braces: []. 1) Get tattooed no less than five hours before bedtime. The first cleaning is important. 2) After the tattoo is completed, it should have some kind of ointment put on it, sometimes vitamin E is used, sometimes a Polysporin/Vit.E combination. In any case, it will come out with a bandadge. 3) After 5 – 6 hours, you are set for the first wash. Clean your hands. Then again. Normally I use only organic soaps in my house, but when handling my tattoos I break down and use a good disinfecting soap — just in case. [You do not need to wait this long... You can do this as soon as you get home. In fact, I recommend it, since you still have endorphins to deal with the pain of the first shower.] 4) Peel off the bandages, gently. Now wash off the ink/blood/ointment. I tend to fill the sink up with warm water and rest the foot in it. I then rinse by filling my cupped hands with water and stroking the gunk off the tattoo. [Wet them first; shower is the best place. If you soak the bandage, you decrease the chance of pulling scabs off.] I have heard that running water from the tap, or especially the shower is not good and will damage the image. [Nah, no problem, as long as it's a gentle stream. ] [Do not use HOT water. use warm. Hot is bad for a new tattoo.] 5) Soap up your hands good and then rub down the tattoo to get it good and soapy. Then wash off with soap until there is no slipperiness left at all. 6) Pat dry the tattoo. 7) Some people suggest leaving the tattoo for 15 minutes after washings to allow the healing process to begin. I have not found this to make a difference. 
Wet a kleenex with rubbing alcohol. I use isopropyl at 70%. Pat the tattoo until it stings. There are people on the net who say that this causes you to hurt the body and inhibit healing, but I’m not a big fan of infection. [This is silly, and though I'm not sure it is BAD, it's certainly not needed. It drys the skin and is not all that efficient a disinfectant; if you have used a disinfectant soap, and use an antibiotic ointment, you're wasting the effort, and it will HURT.] 9) Put a THIN layer of polysporin over the tattoo. The image should be visible; that’s how thin I mean. [Massage it in well. It's ok to rub gently. You want to get it into the skin.] 10) Put a thick shloop of Vitamin E cream over that. Get a vitamin E with a rating on it. I use a 10,000 IU product, but I do not think that the actual rating is important, just that the company really is putting some in it. There are a number of vitamin "E" salves (note the quotes they use) with little or no vitamin E in it. I found out the hard way that this matters. [Again, this is not neccesary, and, in fact, does not do much good. Polysporin will prvent absorption of anything that's put over it.] Now we bandage. I use kleenex and sticky (scotch) tape. It’s cheap and works. I have heard that gauze sticks — why ask for trouble. I find sticky tape pulls the skin and hair (no lacking for either less than masking or medicinal "white tape." [The only reason I can come up with to bandage it (once you have Neosporin-ed it) is keep from getting ink on the sheets.] [I don't bother. You can do this or not, as you like. I would recommend a 'non-stick' pad, however; you do NOT want the tattoo sticking; when you pull a bandage away from a fresh tattoo, ink can come with it. No one I know keeps a tattoo bandaged after the first night. It's really unnecessary; it's a lot of headache and does not really do you much good. I have heard that is slows the healing process, though I don't know if this is true. I've only ever heard of two tattoos that got infected. Of 1000's that I've seen or heard of. As long as you wash and keep them well ointmented for the first few days, infection is not a concern. What is a concern is keeping the tattoo moist for the healing period (about two weeks).] 11) Take a single sheet of kleenex and press FIRMLY into the shloop of vitamin E cream. What we are doing is ‘melting’ or ‘fusing’ the kleenex into the vit.E and onto the wound. This will act as a scab, and is what we are trying to do, fake a scab. The theory is "no scab — no scab troubles" 12) Cover the wound with another 1 or 2 kleenexes — "firm but not tight." If you are too tight you’ll swell. If you are too loose then the ’scab’ will not fool your body. 13) I repeat this four times a day. Since I live on little sleep, that gives me a cleaning at 5:00am, 11:00 am, 5:00pm, 11:00pm. It is very important to clean off all remnants of the last cleaning — blood, ink, cream. To care for the tattoo I have a "tattoo kit" consisting of soap, towel, scissors, box of kleenex, tape, Polysporin, vitamin E and rubbing alcohol. [Whoah... I tend to disagree here. After the first cleaning, switch to moisturizer (I like Lubriderm). Starting the next morning gently moisturize the tattoo. Keep it moisturized until your skin is no longer dry (several weeks past scab)... ] 14) Try to keep the area raised. I now keep a box under my desk to keep the leg elevated; if it is down, you will get swelling. landmarks: -After the second dressing change (for me the morning after) I have no ink bleeding out. [After the first evening, I have no ink bleeding out.] -After the second or third dressing, I have no blood. This varies of course based on how much the area has been worked and the specific location. -After day three or so, the redness will have gone away. When the red goes away, switch to vitamin E cream by itself. -When the tattoo stops stinging at the rubbing alcohol, it is healed. Stop bandaging it. In fact if you bandage for too long, the tape can cause a little bit of psoriasis/scaling, so try to change where you put the tape. -After the regular cleaning/bandaging is done with (and you no longer feel chained to a sink…. keep a thin layer of "something" on the tattoo. I have used cheap vitamin E, the "real" vitamin E, stuff called "fulgar" which is essentially petroleum jelly with an anti-bacterial agent. I actually like the "fulgar" the best and if i could find some to buy (’twas a gift) I would use it. Q) How does weight gain/loss affect a tattoo? A) Tattoos can definitely be affected by stretch marks. Whether you will or won’t get stretch marks is apparently something else that is genetically determined (this is what I was told by the MD during pregnancy). Anyhow, I know for a fact that stretch marks can ruin a tattoo, because I have a very small tattoo which now looks more like a blob than ever before, due to a large stretch mark running through the middle of it. Luckily, this was a home-brewed job (the kind done with India ink and a pin wrapped in thread) so I was never particularly attached to the artwork. :-} If your skin stretches due to weight gain and then shrinks back up without losing its elasticity (the loss of elasticity is what results in stretch marks), then I would expect that there wouldn’t be much distortion of the tattoo, maybe none at all. Or, put the tattoo someplace that won’t get stretched so much, like the chest area above the breasts. My upper stomach didn’t stretch much, either, but the lower abdominal skin did stretch quite a lot. Q) Can a tatoo be removed? A) There aren’t many choices for dealing with a bad tattoo. 1. get it removed. there seems to be two approaches. one uses ruby lasers and the other uses two chemicals injected into the skin. both leave scars — and the chemical, if not done correctly, can eat away at you until the sinews show. the scar tissue can be either good or bad to rework. the laser is REALLY expensive. As you said, this is expensive and leaves scars, AND it hurts. 2. get it re-worked this is the harder, what the frank [blue dragon tattoos] is suggesting is that we fill in the whole thing to get a nice black lump and then do a celtic over it in bright red. the black will leak through (the reason why black is miserable to cover) but this should result in a dark, dark red colour. You really won’t get much red, but you CAN do that. However, what I would me more inclined to do is to find someone who’s REALLY good at coverup. This means not just a good tattooist, but a really good artist; what they’ll have to do is find a way to work the existing tattoo into a new design that will cover and disguise what’s there. I have seen some brilliant coverup; there’s a lot of it in one or two issues of ‘Tattootime’. The people at Tattoo City here in SF can do it; however, I don’t know where you’re located, so I can’t help with a reccomendation… I was just reading that there is some success with going over the area with a tattoo needle again, then soaking out the color with an epsom salts solution. Apparently, it needs several applications, and only a few people are doing it, but there has been some success with it. I also understand it’s a bitch because it’s just like getting tattooed all over again—in reverse. Q) What is branding and how do you do it? A) Branding (as if you didn’t know) is the process … read more »
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