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	twoiskewl 2008-04-29 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	no idea personally, but maybe the folks at http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/ can help you if nobody here can :) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	negativecosine 2008-04-29 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	Ooh, thanks for the link! (Reply to this)(Parent)

panthea
2008-04-29 10:33 pm UTC (link)

It's been a while since my last tattoo (over a whole year!) but off the top of my head:

Immediately after and for a day or so, it hurts like a sunburn would. The skin feels sensitive and abused, but not, like, blindingly painful.

After a couple of days, it starts to itch like a motherfucker. Which sucks, because you're not supposed to scratch, or it could ruin the design. You're supposed to slap the itch instead of scratch it, which leads to a lot of odd looks when you go around randomly slapping yourself in public. (For extra amusement, get a tattoo on your ass!)

Appearance-wise (and I've only ever gotten black tattoos, so I can't speak for color), immediately after, the black is very stark and the skin around it is reddened. Around the same time it starts itching, the skin starts to scab and flake off, again like a sunburn. And it looks really gross.

The scabbing and the itching stops about the same time, around 4 to 7 days after, and then it's more or less completely healed. The ink isn't quite so vivid anymore.

After it heals, the design should be flat against the skin, not raised at all; if it is raised, that usually means the artist packed too much ink in there and it scarred.

Oh, and I don't know what you've read re: lotions, but you shouldn't use anything scented or overly fancy, and definitely don't use Neosporin because it can ruin the design (it heals a little too well and can cause the ink to fade). Some places sell their own tattoo cream. I've also used plain lotion and vitamin E oil.

Hope this helps, and I'll be happy to answer any more questions you have, if I can.

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additional details

coyotegirl
2008-04-29 11:24 pm UTC (link)

Mine hurt a bit differently than a sunburn; the pain after was like a close paintball shot or a knee scraped bloody. Still, not horrifyingly painful. It's irritant level pain, rather than oh-god-it-hurts.

During the tattooing, it hurts as you'd expect from being jabbed repeatedly with a needle. It's similar to the kind of pain you'd get from a vaccination needle, but shallower, so slightly less painful. However, it's repeated jabs in the same area for an extended time. My experience was that the pain came and went, sometimes almost ignorable and sometimes pretty painful.

The scabbing and flaking may contain some ink leakage, so it may be odd and disgusting colors. Until it quits scabbing and flaking, you're not supposed to wash it with soap. Also, you're supposed to wait six weeks before immersing it in water (swimming, baths).

Before being tattooed, you may be given a list of disclaimers and cautions to sign - basically "if you fail to care for your ink properly and screw it up or get infected, it's not our fault, we told you how to take care of it."

That's all I can think of right now other than what

panthea said above.

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Re: additional details

whimsy_chan
2008-04-30 12:57 am UTC (link)

This all sounds about right to me, as well. Part of my tattoo goes over the top edge of my shoulder blade, which I found to be the most uncomfortable part of being tattooed. The pain was not much worse than the lower bit, where there was more meat under the skin, but I could feel the vibrations all through my whole shoulder and that bothered me. As for the pain, I told my mother at the time that it felt like having a kitten scratching my shoulder with its tiny sharp claws, over and over and over. So, not terribly painful, but not comfortable, either.

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Re: additional details

tephra
2008-04-30 03:14 am UTC (link)

I agree with all of the above two comments.

I thought getting it felt like paper cuts... until it crossed over a place where the bone was closer to the skin, I don't think I have words for that, it wakes you right up though. After a while it had the glowy burny feeling of a sunburn... with paper cuts being added. Once it was done (mine is about 2" by 3" and took about 45 minutes, color shaded) it didn't hurt really, just felt warm and a bit raw.

Healing, well I found out that I have a lanolin sensitivity. :P So beyond fragrance and dye free I needed lanolin free lotion for mine.

My skin LOVES ink so other than one tiny spot that was heavily worked with the outline I had no blood or ink on the bandage when I took it off. The color was bright, it looked fake, for a couple days, then the onion skin thing and the peeling started. It itched so bad I could have chewed nails and spit tacks, OMFG.

The whole healing process was over in about a week to 10 days.

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Re: additional details

sparkysrevenge
2008-04-30 09:06 am UTC (link)

Oh, God, you just turned me off getting a tattoo for LIFE with this:

It's similar to the kind of pain you'd get from a vaccination needle, but shallower, so slightly less painful. However, it's repeated jabs in the same area for an extended time.

I am deathly afraid of needles and OH GOD. I maan, I know that's what a tattoo is, but to hear it as a shallower vaccination needle? *shudder*

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Re: additional details

palabradot
2008-04-30 11:58 am UTC (link)

I'm scared to death of 'em too, but I got my tattoo on my 31st birthday - a very simple one in black ink. My artist was very nice about explaining how the gun worked and would pause if I asked.

It's really not that bad. To me, it just felt like, yeah, extended paper cuts or something very hot being drawn across my skin. You don't really feel them as separate jabs. If you can get through the outlining of the pattern, usually the coloring in isn't that bad.

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Re: additional details

mydruthers
2008-04-30 02:00 pm UTC (link)

I'm terrified of needles, but I got a tattoo about 6 years ago and I don't regret any part of that decision. It hurt while he was doing the tattoo, but literally only at that point. As soon as he moved the needle away, the pain disappeared. I didn't cry, but I did swear from time to time. When it was all done, I went back home and slept for about 12 hours. When I woke up, the spot was sore to the touch but otherwise I felt fine.

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	Re: additional details frequentmouse 2008-04-30 04:53 pm UTC (link)
	I find that having started on insulin has decreased my desire for a tattoo. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: additional details coyotegirl 2008-04-30 07:22 pm UTC (link)
	Erk, I'm sorry. I don't like needles, but I have a minor quirk in that if I don't have to watch it, it's okay. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: additional details

kayla
2008-04-30 10:48 am UTC (link)

Mine was right on my calf muscle and the muscle itself was extremely sore for the next few days to the point that I had trouble walking and had a noticable limp. Mine took about 2 1/2 hours and the skin was quite raw by the time it finished, but that part of the pain healed up pretty fast. What was really creepy to me though was seeing how much it bled while he was working.

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	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:31 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for the info! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dejana 2008-04-29 10:44 pm UTC (link)
	I'd think wizarding tattoos would move and possibly make sounds, like the futuristic tattoos in Futurama. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	moonpigeon 2008-04-30 12:19 am UTC (link)
	ooh yeah like instead of a regular old tattoo of a skull it is a tattoo of a skull that TALKS. And instead of stationary tribal tattoos the design writhes sinuously. And tattoos of flames that actually flicker and emit light. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	aurussteelsword 2008-04-30 01:27 am UTC (link)
	I agree. That would be awesome. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:33 am UTC (link)
	That would be pretty kick-ass, but possibly harder to conceal, and might cause a bit of trouble in certain situations... Also, which Futurama is this, and how did I miss it? D: (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dejana 2008-05-01 04:56 pm UTC (link)
	It was the one with the $300 tax rebate. Amy spent hers on a new tattoo. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	chaos_theory 2008-05-01 09:04 pm UTC (link)
	You know, that's not a bad tax rebate idea... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	aurussteelsword 2008-05-02 06:26 am UTC (link)
	Seriously. (Reply to this)(Parent)

pishbadlarr
2008-04-29 11:37 pm UTC (link)

A fresh tattoo, like panthea said, is very very red and feels 'raised' since it's a bit inflamed. A google image search for 'new tattoo' or 'fresh tattoo' can get you more results, that's what I found on the first page.

I can't seem to find any good images of a scabbing tattoo, but I believe mine (all black ink, it may differ with colors) just looked kind of 'dusty' unless you got really close, from the white-ish skin flakes and scabs on top of it.

Pain, for the most part, depends heavily on the location and that particular person's pain tolerance. You could easily pick "it hardly hurt at all" or "it hurt SO BAD for SO LONG" or somewhere in between and not be incorrect.

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	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:33 am UTC (link)
	Yeow! Thanks for the info and picture! (Reply to this)(Parent)

aurussteelsword
2008-04-30 01:26 am UTC (link)

Mostly agreeing with other commenters. Fresh tattoos are like scratches/scrapes in the way that the body reacts. The skin is puffy/inflamed for a couple days. I got a big one on my forearm, and it stung on contact for the first hour or so after being done, after which it started to be a general ache, which lasted for a day or so. After that, it was more stinging on contact for maybe five days? It started to itch on the third or fourth day, maybe (it's really hard to remember specific times of these things). The itching was pretty tolerable, though my ink was all black, and I hear that color itches a lot more. The places where it hurt the most were where it was over my wristbone, and the inside of the crook of my elbow - the rest of it involved noticeable pain, but I could've sat through it all day, whereas those particular places required some real effort to sit through quietly.

I had some initial bleeding that was visible while the artist was working, and there were traces of blood on the bandage when I took it off the next morning, but other than that, I didn't have much bleeding or scabbing. It did, however, peel pretty aggressively after the third or fourth day. Applying lotion made the itching stop and the peeling become less visible for a little while.

I have some photos of my ink on the morning after, this post. Some of the redness that you see is just leftover marker ink, but you can see the swelling very clearly. The black ink fades over the first week or so to a very dark, almost black, blueish-green. The swelling of the skin around the ink went down after a couple days, but the ink itself had a slight raised texture to it for about a month afterwards.

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me! Just getting the one has turned me into a huge tattoo geek, and I love talking about this stuff.

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	kittenmommy 2008-05-01 02:38 am UTC (link)
	Wow, it looks shiny, almost wet in those pics. Do all fresh tattoos look like that? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	coyotegirl 2008-05-01 02:55 am UTC (link)
	Generally yes. The effect goes away in a day or two. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kittenmommy 2008-05-01 03:20 pm UTC (link)
	That's... wow. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	aurussteelsword 2008-05-01 05:24 am UTC (link)
	Partially, yes, it's just that it's new. The ink tends to look very glossy. In these photos, though, it's also that I've just applied the goo that the shop gave me for the first few days. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kittenmommy 2008-05-01 03:20 pm UTC (link)
	Ahhh, that explains some of the "wet" look! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:34 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for the info and the picture! It's lovely, btw. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	aurussteelsword 2008-05-02 06:28 am UTC (link)
	You're welcome, and, aw, thank you! (Reply to this)(Parent)

chaos_theory
2008-04-30 02:51 am UTC (link)

I have one on my lower back, a black death's head that I got about 4 years ago.

Everyone told me that the lower back was going to hurt, because they had to go over your spine, but I actually thought that that was the coolest part because I could feel my whole body vibrate when the artist went over my spine with the needle. She outlined my design first, which was the most painful part for me-it felt like being stung by a bee, but over and over. But just like being stung by a bee, the thought of it is a lot worse then the actual experience, and since it takes so long (mine took about an hour and a half) by the end the pain isn't really a key feature. Filling it in wasn't so painful, and by the end I had a serious giggly endorphine rush. She took a picture of it for her portfolio, taped a piece of plastic over it, and sent me on my way. The worst part was immediately afterwards, when the waistband of my denim skirt cut into my back when I sat down in my car to drive home.

For the first few days it felt really raw, a lot like a scald burn, and I lymphed a lot. I distinctly remember rolling onto my back in my sleep the first night and waking up immediately because of the pain . When it scabbed over it was much less painful, and I kept poking the scab because I am a dork and it was in the exact shape as my tattoo, which was SO COOL. Dial was recommended, which worked alright, but it irritated the skin around my tattoo, so I had to water it down, and eventually switch to another unscented antibacterial soap, and I used some unscented Aveno moisturizer. Bathing was hard, since it's difficult not to get your back wet in the shower and the tub was pretty much out.

The scabs came off a little at a time as I washed it, in little black flakes and chunks, which was fairly gross, but I healed pretty fast, and about a month later I didn't have any scabs, and by the time my mom saw it (when I came home for my sister's wedding, bent over to pick up my suitcase from the car and my shirt rode up) about 6 weeks after getting it she could poke at it with a condeming finger and the only thing that was hurt was my heart. I was told to avoid the pool, because chlorine might fading it, but now I swim in the pool occassionally, and haven't noticed any significant fading. I try to keep it out of the sun or smear it with sunblock if I think it might get sun exposure.

And yes, I am tired of tramp stamp jokes. But I love it and would get more. Right now.

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tofuknight
2008-04-30 03:44 am UTC (link)

Um, I thought the tramp stamp was a butterfly on one's ass, but high enough up to show with low jeans that don't expose more than a bit of ass crack?

I had wondered about the endorphin rush I've heard about! I don't intend to get a tattoo myself, but I think they're very cool and can be attractive on others (not to mention, you know, being _their_ bodies, so really none of my business). I'm not the OP, but this post is so useful for my ficcing needs!

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chaos_theory
2008-04-30 04:05 am UTC (link)

I get tramp stamp comments all the time, even though I have a big scary skull with wings, because I have it in the right general location (lower lumbar region, visible with low rise jeans). Some people I talk to think it's a tramp stamp (people who think I'm trampy? Maybe) because of the location, or think it's not a tramp stamp because of subject matter.

I got my nose pierced a couple years ago and I was really grumpy because I thought I was going to get a similar rush and was completely disapppointed when I had nary a light-headed giggle. Of course, now I have a cool nose piercing, so that's alright.

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	panthea 2008-05-01 12:26 pm UTC (link)
	I swear, getting my nose pierced hurt worse than any of my six tattoos. My stomach hurt and I nearly passed out and the guy had to give me a lollipop. Then again, it was over faster, so... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	chaos_theory 2008-05-01 01:36 pm UTC (link)
	When I got mine done, he popped the needle throught my nose, stuck in the jewlery, and all tough girl like I asked "Was that it?" and then I realized I had a single emo tear trickling down my cheek, which the piercer wiped up with a Q-tip. It's hard to look tough when someone's wiping tears off of you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:38 am UTC (link)
	Good to know about the endorphin rush-- it'll definitely be a motivating factor for the character. Just, one thing-- are you not supposed to get it wet? I've heard so far about not over-moisturizing or anything, but how long did you have to keep it dry? Thanks for all the info! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	panthea 2008-05-01 12:27 pm UTC (link)
	I never heard about the not getting it wet thing-- actually, about two hours after you get the tattoo, you're supposed to wash it in hot water, I forget exactly why. (Reply to this)(Parent)

chaos_theory
2008-05-01 01:26 pm UTC (link)

Sorry, you're not supposed to not get it wet, just not immerse it, especially in hot water, I think until the scabs come off. I wasn't sure how much water=too much, and I take scaldingly hot showers so I was worried about it fading or having the scabs come off before it was time. Since it was on my lower back I was also worried about things like shampoo or conditioner running over it and irritating it. I probably was too cautious.

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	aurussteelsword 2008-05-02 06:32 am UTC (link)
	I was told not to immerse mine (or be somewhere really steamy, like a sauna) for a month, and I've heard other people say six weeks. In the end, it probably depends a lot on skin type and how fast you heal/scar/etc. (Reply to this)(Parent)

breecita
2008-04-30 03:26 am UTC (link)

Don't forget the most important thing that you could probably pick up just from reading these comments...

It is fucking addictive.

I've got one right over my ankle bone, and I thought the pain was negligible. What drove me crazy was the way the needle felt when it was right over the bone...that was creepy and wrong.

I've learned since that tons of people say not to use Neosporin, but the guy who did my tattoo told me to and I believed him, and I had no oddness come of it.

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madelfdisease
2008-04-30 03:29 am UTC (link)

With a really fresh tattoo, the skin looks shiny and the ink is especially dark or bright. There's usually a little bit of blood and scabbing. The tattoo itself will look great for the first day, until it starts to heal - then it looks a bit gross.

I always thought the pain was comperable to a bruise - it's a little sore, but only if pressure is applied. The worst aspect of a healing tattoo has to be the itching stage - the skin gets all dry and starts to flake off, but you can't scratch at it. I always used an unscented lotion on the area when the itchy was unbearable. It helped to ease the itchiness a bit. Healing time varies, but all of mine seem to have healed up in a little over a week.

Hope that helps.

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	tintin 2008-04-30 04:29 am UTC (link)
	I got a tattoo on my inner arm last year, and it didn't hurt at all. It felt like a sunburn. (Reply to this)

	magpiggles 2008-04-30 09:48 am UTC (link)
	Seconding the fact that some can be pleasurable. After a couple of days there'll be a bit of flaking when you're rubbing on aftercare of some sort. Oh and like other people mentioned the itching. To me it felt like someone had put spider eggs in my back and my backbabies were hatching and trying to crawl out. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	singe 2008-04-30 04:28 pm UTC (link)
	my backbabies were hatching and trying to crawl out GAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	magpiggles 2008-04-30 08:58 pm UTC (link)
	I grew to love my children just in time for the healing to finish and me to never feel them again : (Reply to this)(Parent)

	negativecosine 2008-05-01 07:39 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for the (mildly disturbing) info! Would you mind terribly if I used the analogy of spider eggs? Not necessary to the story or anything, I just like the way it sounds... (Reply to this)(Parent)

darth_snuggles
2008-04-30 05:11 pm UTC (link)

Hah, I just got my first tattoo a week and a half ago. It's finally coming out of the itchy/scabby phase, thank god.

Immediately after I got it, it was still bleeding a little, but that had stopped by the next morning. For the first two days, the guy told me to put vaseline on it and wear saran wrap over it. Mine had maaajor swelling - it looked like I had a huge dome-shaped growth on top of my foot. The pain came and went, depending on how much walking I was doing; and it usually wasn't any worse than a dull ache. I did have kind of a limp for a day or two, though.

After those first two days, I took the saran wrap off and started putting unscented lotion on it. You also don't want it to get into much contact with the sun, 'cause it could fade. And yeah, the itching was horrendous. I was slapping my foot and applying lotion every like every ten minutes (possible exaggeration!). And then the peeling was just icky. Because you don't want to peel it off yourself, you want to let it all fall off on its own. My skin peelies were blue and yellow, though, so that's exciting!

I'm sure wizards would have some other solution than vaseline and saran wrap, of course. :P

(And for the record, getting a tattoo on my foot was by far the most physically painful thing I have ever gone through. I was crying and biting my knee the whole damned time. But it's cool, 'cause now I can say I'm ULTRA HARDCORE.)

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	cmdr_zoom 2008-05-01 04:23 am UTC (link)
	Would this be about what's practically involved in getting a Dark Mark? (Getting one of these put on when you don't actually roll with Lord V and his posse is a bad idea, for all sorts of reasons.) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	negativecosine 2008-05-01 04:42 am UTC (link)
	This would be completely unrelated to Mr. Vole, actually, but I figure that might be something to mention in the fic itself... (Reply to this)(Parent)