Tattoo aftercare and sunscreen recommendations?

Jose Miller3 said:what about scrambled eggs? 😁

it's probably better on toast😁

🤣 Honestly, I end up looking like a complete lunatic; I’m bringing foil to my college lectures, and then during a break, I’m standing there in the restroom with one leg propped up over the sink to clean myself, while everyone gives me these weird looks because they think I’m just an idiot lifting my pant leg for no reason. In reality, I’m just terrified of having an accident right now, especially given my eye color 😁, and I hate that I come across as some kind of freak 😵

Let’s try this—since I’m totally panicking here—I applied the ointment at 10:20 AM and I’m going to have to head out pretty soon, so should I reapply everything before I put the foil back on, or what?

Mustard told me not to sweat it, but Washington, D.C. has these whole different theories about changing the foil every three hours or whatever, so I’ve just been sticking strictly to their guidelines

Just make sure you don't let the tattoo get too dry. I actually forgot to apply lotion to my own once—or maybe I just couldn't reach it since it was on my back 😬—but it looks fine now, even if it is a bit raised 🤔

Actually, you should probably be moisturizing it every three hours or so 🤣

Honestly, I just finished washing everything up after two hours of work because I have to head out to campus, so I’m just going to spread some Mustard on it and cover it with plastic wrap for lunch. Let's not mess around with all this nonsense; it's much better to be careful so nothing gets ruined. 🙂

Mine is still bulging, too. I don't even remember applying any gel... It just left marks on my underwear and pants 😂
I didn't wear any foil at all (that's what Stella told me).
I can't recall exactly how long I was applying it, but I know I did it several times a day..

The link is working fine for me...

Work was so relentless today that I didn't even have a spare second to swap out the foil.
I had fully intended to get it done around 8:00 AM before heading into the office, then just head straight back home with the same old foil around 5:00 or 6:00 PM... 😁

It’s enough to drive anyone absolutely insane.

I'm just sitting here waiting for Mustard to get back to me about when I can finally stop applying this stuff, because if I don't figure it out soon, tomorrow is going to be a total disaster. I've got classes running from 3:30 all the way until 9:00 PM

Honestly, those first five days are what really matter most... though I suppose it all depends on whatever kind of skin type you're working with, haha. In my case, everything peeled off by day five, even though I tend to have pretty resilient skin; I actually stopped using the Bepanthen quite early on. My wife, on the other hand, has much more sensitive skin, so she didn't stop applying it until day eight once the excess layer finally shed. Once we cleared those initial five and eight days, we just switched to using a basic baby lotion before bed, mostly just to keep things supple and maintain elasticity. We were also incredibly strict about keeping them out of the sun for the first month—total blackout. After that period, we picked up some Vichy sunscreen with SPF 30+ and applied it religiously all summer long, regardless of whether we were wearing a T-shirt or not. You simply cannot mess around with sun exposure; it’s dangerous enough for healthy skin, let alone skin that’s essentially an open wound from a fresh tattoo. It’s a compromised barrier that requires extra care and protection. To give you some perspective, we have tattoos that are five years old, others that are ten, and some that are only three months old; we’ve treated them all with the exact same level of care, and they all look nearly identical in terms of quality. Granted, the ones from ten years ago have faded slightly, which is perfectly normal given how skin regenerates over a decade—and, well, we aren't getting any younger either...

Gregory Smith8 said:Mine is still raised too. I honestly don't remember ever peeling it off. It just left marks on my underwear and jeans 😂
I didn't even use foil (that's what Stella told me).
Can't recall exactly how long I spent applying it, but I know I was doing it several times a day..

Same here... followed Stella's advice and everything was great after 6 years, though the first one on my back is still slightly raised (especially in the summer heat), while the other one (from this winter) on my stomach is totally flat... crazy stuff...
In the summer, whenever I can remember, I go heavier on the lotion for my tattoos, but I always make sure to apply it...

It’s been about seven days since my skin started peeling more noticeably, and now that I’m on day nine, I can actually feel the texture changing under my fingers whenever I apply lotion. Honestly, I’m feeling a bit lost right now because I really don't know what the next steps should be—like, when is it safe to take the film off, and when will I actually be able to go back to my normal hair removal routine on my leg?

So... did you tell your parents yet? 😁

I’m feeling pretty wired right now, which makes me want to head out and get tattooed immediately. 😁

To be honest, my design is just sitting there gathering dust while I procrastinate on actually taking it down to the shop. 😁

fadedtrucker19 said:So... have you actually told your parents yet? 😁

I am. 😁 Well, I guess it’s official—they absolutely loathe me. 😬

Ryan Ruiz said:Yeah, I am 😁 Guess what—they absolutely loathe me 😬

Oh, please... you're all about that Gothic aesthetic, so I assume you're quite used to having the entire world despise you... 😁

Has anyone actually had a bad experience with tattoos—like, at all? And what’s the word on the street regarding the shop in Washington, D.C. run by Gandalf?
My son is pretty much rushing into this—he's all over it—so I'm feeling a little anxious, I guess. Any advice?

If they pack in way too much ink, it ends up looking all raised and bumpy. Mine isn't like that, but honestly, I dig that look... 🙂

I got my tattoo back in June. While everything was healing up, I was out living my life, hitting the beach and stuff, just being normal. Only thing is, if I knew I’d be stuck in the sun all day, I would go absolutely overboard with the sunscreen. Like, heavy duty amounts where you're basically turning white, and then reapplying constantly... 🙂

And I have to say, the absolute worst part is when the itching starts driving you insane! You aren't supposed to scratch it—not even a little—but I was told that if it gets totally unbearable, you can just lightly tap it with your fingertips, just enough to take the edge off. But man, if it's on your back and you can't even reach it... 😬

graniteeagle10 said:Has anyone actually had a bad experience with tattoos, and what’s the word on the shop in Washington, D.C. run by Gandalf?
My son is really pushing for one, so I'm feeling a little anxious about the whole thing. Any advice?

Look, some people might have had issues, but for the most part, everything usually turns out fine. The shop with Gandalf in Washington, D.C. is incredibly expensive, though. If you want my opinion, I'd suggest going to Mustard—they work with Robyttatoo over on Tratinski Street.

graniteeagle10 said:Has anyone actually had a bad experience with tattoos? And how is the shop in Washington, D.C. run by Gandalf?
My son is really pushing for one, so I'm a little nervous... any advice?

I visited Gandalf back when they were still separate shops. All five stars! 👍

Ryan Ruiz said:Look, some people might be, but for the most part, everything is fine. Washington, D.C. and Gandalf are insanely expensive... I’d suggest Mustard—over at Rob Tattoo, also on Tratinski Street.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you end up paying?