Tattoos - choices and aftercare

Realize some things BEFORE you get a tattoo:
What do you want   /   Where do you want it
"Black & Grey" or Color piece
How big do you want it
do you want to get it in one sitting, or multiple visits with healing time in between (for large pieces)
~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
find  a reputable artist
trust your artist   /   trust the venue (sterile, etc)
pick a date (or dates depending if it's not one sitting)
be aware of full cost before you agree to getting the tattoo
~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
You cannot get laser hair removal on tattoos, so get it done before you get your tat
Do not show up drunk for your tattoo
Make sure you are healthy on the day of receiving your new tat.

What to expect:
TIP YOUR ARTIST
Pain, redness, swelling
itchiness, sensitivity to touch
compliments as well as prejudice



Ok, now that's out of the way...
I'll go over how to take care of your new tattoo without spending a fortune on   Tattoo Goo   /   Ink Fixx   /   H2Ocean   /   Tattoo Lube   /   Lapeau-Ink   /   After Inked   /   TAT (Totally Awesome Tattoo)   /   Heaven & Hell   /   or whatever the hell else the parlor wants to sell to you.

You JUST got your tat? Here's what you need to do:
If wrapped in anything other than a bandage, TAKE IT OFF. If you have a bandage, keep it on for about two hours, but no more. The bleeding should have stopped by then. If you're having a bad-luck day and the gauze is stuck to your tattoo, run some cold water over the bandage until you can remove it.
Wash the tattoo to remove the plasma, which dries on the skin and creates scabs :( and no one wants your sexiness factor to go down from ugly scabs. Use liquid antibacterial or antimicrobial soap - liquid Neutrogena cleanser is GREAT. Also, use your hands! Wash cloths et al will be too harsh. You have a wound. Be as gentle as possible. Lukewarm water won't irritate the skin. Do not apply alcohol. You'll just cry like a little girl AND run the ink from your tat.
With a clean towel, pat it dry. Completely. No paper towel, unless you're desperate and SURE the fibers of the towel aren't abrasive - Like Viva. Viva is awesome and so freakin soft... but I digress... Where was I? Oh, air-dry for fifteen minutes (which is fun when you have strategically placed tats :P ).
Now it's clean and dry (finally), so we need to moisturize! First, my do-not rant:

• Do not apply Vaseline, lanolin, or ANYthing with petroleum. Petroleum-based products drain the color from your tattoo, plus, they don't do anything to heal it. You'll smell like a old man, too, so... have fun with that.
• Forget about Neosporin no matter how much you swear by it. The new ink now in your skin will likely cause an allergic reaction to the product, even if you're not allergic to the Neosporin yourself. Unless you want a spotted tattoo, then don't listen to me.
• Bacitracin bleeds the color from your tattoo a few days into healing. That, simply put, just makes it difficult to keep your body art clean. Save yourself the trouble.
• Stay away from oils and bees wax because they clog pores (just like petroleum) and your tat needs to breathe in order to heal. Yes, vitamin oils promote skin rejuvenation and suppleness, but they will prolong the oozing plasma cycle which increases the chance for scabbing and ink loss. Oh, and staining your clothes and/or bedsheets aren't really my cup of tea.
• Basically, if the product you use isn't water-based, your clothes will stick to your tat. Try that on for fashion-sense.
• Make sure the lotions you use are fragrance-free. Again, this is a repeat of allergic reactions, clogged pores, and cleanliness.
• Over-application is a big no-no. Thin layers of anything is better, multiple times a day for the first two weeks.
• If you're all into that oil, vitamin, comfrey herb scene..... buy some supplements. Don't put it on your wound. There's too much risk for complications.
• Last, but certainly not least, don't do anything stupid to thin your blood for the next two days, and that's including TODAY. Drinking alcohol or taking aspirin is a bad move right now. [Were you drunk when you GOT your tattoo? Um, well, have fun explaining that one to your friends and family]

I honestly don't like the idea of applying lotion to a BRAND-NEW tattoo the first two days. You have a scar - not just dry skin. Sleep well and drink a lot of water. But if you feel that's too much to ask, Eucerin is OK; it has minimal ingredients so your safety is maximized, but you need to apply it a billion times a day and purchase a new bottle more often than you'll likely be comfortable with. I LOVE Mary Kay Intense Moisturizing Cream. It's fragrance free, VERY hydrating, and doesn't irritate the skin. I think I applied it twice a day (the first four weeks) and I was set. It's a little pricey, but it lasts a LONG time. I'm still using it over a year later. Remember - thin layers go a long way (and won't stain your clothes).
Elevate lower leg/foot tattoos as much as possible the first two or three days.

Things to remember during healing (two/three weeks):

• never soak your tattoo - so no swimming, baths, or anything of that sort
• never expose it to the sun or tanning beds/sprays. You can buy patches to cover it that block out light
• keep the tattoo covered while working around dust or dirt to prevent infection. Cover it when you go to bed, too
• don't pick at it. Yuck, and ow!
• clean it regularly (once or twice a day) with mild soap and use your hands - which are also clean! Pat dry.
• If you have any concerns, go see the artists that did your tattoo. You don't have to be done with them once you get your ink. They're there to help you, too.
• "If the skin itches, slap it. If it is peeling, put lotion on it. And if it is scabbing, just leave it alone."

After it's healed, for the Love of [insert religious/spiritual pronoun, or self if you swing that way], apply SPF 30+ when you go out in the sun. Your tat WILL burn faster than the rest of your skin and it'll fade a hell of a lot faster. In fact, do one better -- most chemical sunscreens just absorb UV rays and don't actually protect your ink work, so buy some UV-reflecting serum or whathaveyou or simply keep it out of the sun. If it's small, chapsticks and lip balms with SPF work just fine.Brief warning: If you love color tattoos and you're one to have/want your work to contain white, yellow, or orange color..... say goodbye ASAP because - in that order - they fade the fastest.

College Ruined my Life, Prt Three

• I don't truly blame anyone (I know, such a bad American) and all I ever strive for is my happiness. I highly value education. I simply have little respect for the modern, formal, higher-education system in America.
•  My love for Edgar Allen Poe is shot.. I took a college course to study his work (because I was a huge fan) but the class dissected it to death and now I can’t stand to read his stuff anymore.
• I couldn't major in music, so I've been miserable with anything else. Been slacking, taking semesters off, purposefully failing courses so I'd be academically dismissed and free from this misery. But, turns out, that simply put me in "continuing education". What bullshit.
• engaged..... then engagement called off 
• reputation ruined due to lies
• had my heart broken. Twice. then left my fiance due to a hurt

Where I stand now

• I really want to find or make my own natural beauty products - I hate drugs and chemicals
• I hope to build a social circle with people I can, oh, I don’t know… TALK TO and not feel like I’ve lost my mind.
• I promised myself I would never marry while I was in school. Now I don't need to worry about that anymore.
• I never wanted children until I was much older, but I kinda have.... baby fever and seeing my friends happy with their children (ages days through 6) puts me in a longing mood.
• No time for volleyball – don’t have enough friends for a team, anyway.
• I'm literally shopping for a new wardrobe this or next week. I can't stand these cheap college clothes.

Hmm, love. I had my ass handed to me these past years because I either loved too much or loved the wrong people. Even so, I always love myself. I met too many emotionally unstable individuals. Of course they all fell in love with me. One especially taught me how to hate. It's unfortunate, yet very fortunate.... in that painful but productive way...
I'm spending more time on PoleHappy. I'm getting my finances together -- ABOUT TIME -- and hoping to sponsor a pole event in 2011. I'll let you know how that goes. Maybe I'll even compete. I should get a pole first. Yet, I'll get a tattoo before I get a pole. See how I confuse myself?

College Ruined my Life, Part II

So here I am, 24, out of college and on to get my happiness back. All I wanted to be throughout my life and since childhood…. was happy and healthy. I’m practically neither. Well, I’m Happy, but a little lost. Does that make sense?

• There are no belly dancing groups around my area (to my knowledge). I was taught ballet as a girl while my mom paid for lessons, but when I was in high school, I met a "gypsy" woman (for lack of a better term) and she discussed tribal dances with me monthly. She passed a handful of years ago and I haven't met anyone with that particular interest since.
• I realized I'm good at releasing energy via dance and cognitive exercises but how can I KEEP some energy I might not need (or want, I don't know yet) to release and creatively re-shape it into a less raw and somehow else useful energy.....

• I used to meditate - and not often. Regularly, but not often :(
• What I seem to be drawn to now is a series of stretching that gets me closer to a meditative state that meditating did. I work out a lot, and before I do, I stretch for about an hour/hour fifteen. My trainer says it looks a bit like yoga, but I've tried yoga before and I hate it.
• I noticed that I'm more connected with my body when I USE it (like when I stretch or dance) than when I'm sitting calmly
• I’m in love with the moon. I cry every time I see him now, because I feel distanced. I want to end the hurt.

I miss the days when I had money to spend. Seriously:

• borrowed money for first time in life. Thrice! Parents and two friends.
  wanted to work, but school demanded my life enough that I couldn't work full-time and receive my grant. I had to be a full-time student.
• debt for university tuition
• debt for opening a small business
• thousands of dollars for hearing aids (I have a high-frequency lost) and I never freakin' wear them because they are uncomfortable :(
• There was a six-week period where I kept losing my earrings. No joke. I owned the same earrings for eight years, and all of a sudden... within two months I'm down to like, five pairs.
• Tooth surgeries (three) followed by a broken foot

What was up with being ill so much in college? Was it because I stopped formal cooking to bury myself in academia?

• Sick often from 2004-2009, so I had less time to exercise and my health went down the drain
• to spare you details, I had my first experiences with some common health concerns relating to being female
• I burst multiple hemorrhoids and lost a month of work (later to find out rumors were spread that I had an abortion. riiiiiiiight)
• at one point my doctor put me on estrogen (long story) and now, to be blunt, I have cellulite. [Estrogen softens the fibrous connective tissue that anchors the skin to the muscle. Look it up if you want.]  
• I newly developed allergies. Like - WHAT?! I can’t be allergic to the OUTDOORS. I AM one with the outdoors. So, I think college tried to kill me. I want to get my family back (plants, animals, breeze…) and I refuse to buy pharmaceutically developed and altered drugs. However (aka in the meantime), I can’t breathe or see sometimes when I’m outdoors. I want to remedy this, permanently and naturally.

College Ruined my Life, Pt 1

• I moved to Delaware for university schooling after graduating high school in 2004 outside of Philly. I totaled my (not even) two-year-old car in a blizzard visiting my parents for the first time in eight months. Yeah, Welcome Home!
• Joining facebook was actually, in all honesty, a homework assignment for a communications class. Talk about a huge time-waster. I never wanted the damn account in the first place, but the professor said I'd fail the class if I didn't create a facebook profile. Grr. Days later, I had a bajillion friend requests from people whom I KNOW don't care about me, otherwise they would have contacted me outside.
• What is up with pop music that sucks for longer periods than it is good? I miss the 80’s and early 90's.
• My clothes stopped fitting, so I get what is cheap, thus my wardrobe does not reflect me, but my tolerance for poor fashion.
• I haven't traveled since high school. I used to visit Hawai’i almost every year and after 2000, I was on a roll with Scotland, England, Iceland, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria…
• I'm not leisure reading. Burying yourself in textbooks for hours on end does not get you in the mood to read any more, no matter how much you enjoy the work.

For my entire childhood, I was outside all the time. All of a sudden, I hit college. I forget about my religious and spiritual practices because I’m buried in textbooks, I stop cooking because I lack time because I’m buried in textbooks, I neglect my natural athleticism and stop working out because I was so tired because I was always buried in textbooks.

I was really lost in college because I was pulled from nearly everything that made me happy and healthy (wait for next week's post). It's been a few months now and I'm back in the groove of things:

• I don't go out of my way to exercise most of the week because it's my job - I teach ballroom and pole fitness. So instead of going to work and then working out, I can do both simultaneously. I love two-for-one deals ::laughs::
• I'm eating better now (because I have more time to cook balanced, healthy foods) so I'm fine in that category.
• I'm always educating myself. I'm completing my fitness trainer certification in February and I'm taking culinary classes in May.

As if this post couldn't be filled with more random points...:

I have no one in my area to talk to about my beliefs, concerns, or spiritual paths. Furthermore, I grew up in a country setting and now I'm living in a small city. I feel a bit disconnected to animals and naked earth.

My main concern now is that I'll get started with diving into literature for druidry and it consumes my next few weeks..... and then I'll just drop it for months at a time. I think I get frustrated because I have no mentor. Not even a fellow follower to talk to. I soak all this information up and I can't dissect it into proper mental categories because I might be a little ignorant to some bits or possibly large parts of the picture I'm painting.