Tattoos

Hey everyone!

As promised, this blog post is about the tattoos that I have. In this post I am going to write about pain scale, timing, if it was comfortable to get tattooed, healing process and whether the tattoo needs touching up.

((Disclaimer: These views are entirely based on my own experiences getting tattooed and if you're reading this because you are thinking on getting tattooed, please do not presume that your tattoo experience will not be the exact same as mine. Everyone is different and everybody will react to a tattoo differently. This is a post based upon my experiences alone.))

Tattoo number 1: Sleeping Beauty castle in a snowglobe

This tattoo is on the front of my right thigh. I had been wanting this tattoo a good year before I finally bit the bullet and got this done. I wanted to find the right artist to bring the style that I wanted to the tattoo, and I finally found tattooist Ollie Pinder who is based at Magnum Opus Tattoo in Brighton. This tattoo cost me around £300.00 in total. (Ignore the red scribble at the top of the photo - you could see my underwear as the tattoo is high up!)

Pain?

This tattoo is the biggest tattoo that I have, and had to be done in two sessions. Sadly after the first session getting the lines down, I had to tap out. The front of the thigh was relatively easy, however my tattoo goes into the inside of my thigh, where the really thin skin is right at the top. This was honestly the most painful spot that I have been tattooed on. The only way I can describe the pain is like someone pouring hot water onto your crotch and pinching it at the same time. I would rate the pain around 7/10 - it would be significantly lower if it was not for the inside part, which destroyed me completely.

How long did it take?

Overall, I think the tattoo took 3 1/2 hours panned out over 2 sessions. My first session was around 50 minutes, only getting the lines down. I went back for my second session a couple of months later and my best friend came along with me. The colour and shading was so easy in comparison to getting the outlines, and I managed to sit the rest of the tattoo with my best friend sitting and chatting away to me.

Was it a comfortable experience?

No. I could not get comfortable throughout either of the sessions for this tattoo. I started sitting up and then decided to lay down after the first 10 minutes as it was not comfy sitting up. However, when I  laid down I just could not get comfy at all. I was also aggressively sweating (for those of you who have not been tattooed, this is a natural reaction to you getting penetrated with a needle) and I was sticking to the massage chair and slipping all over the place. Not to mention, this studio is all open plan, so anyone else getting tattooed on the main shop floor or anyone who walks into the shop can see you getting tattooed. I was a little uncomfortable with this as I had to have my skirt hitched up fairly high because of where the tattoo was.

Healing process?

The healing process for the line work was the easiest thing I have ever experienced. It pretty much was healed and peeled in the first week, with no itchiness whatsoever. After I got the colour done, this was a lot more... lengthy. Overall my thigh took about 3 weeks to heal completely. It was SO SO itchy, and was a nightmare to dress correctly because of where the tattoo is. The tattoo does not at the moment need touching up - this tattoo healed perfectly and I cannot fault anything the artist did with this.

2. Alice in Wonderland

This is my FAVOURITE tattoo. This tattoo is on the outside of my left calf. This is my first tattoo from the beautiful Vicky Morgan based at the Ghost House in Derby. I had been wanting a tattoo from Vicky for a while but never thought it would happen because of the distance to get to her and I thought her pricing would be really high because of how beautiful her work was. I was able to get my Alice tattoo from her and the rest is history. This tattoo was £200.00.

Pain?

I found this tattoo relatively easy to get through. The worst parts of this was on my shin bone and around the back of my calf on the fleshy bit. This tattoo was done in one session and towards the end I was in a lot of pain, but this happens with all big tattoo pieces. I would rate the pain of this tattoo 4.5/10. The shin bone felt like someone had a chisel and a mallet against my leg and they were trying to chip away my bone. The back of my calf was a horrid pinching sensation, which I personally found worse than the shin bone pain. Although these aspects hurt, I found this tattoo easy to sit through right to the end.

How long did it take?

This tattoo took around 2 and a half hours with a short break between lines and colour.

Was it a comfortable experience?

Obviously, all tattoos are painful and this can make you extremely uncomfortable. However, I came better prepared for this tattoo, I had a proper meal before I got my tattoo done and the weather was a lot cooler outside making it less hot and sweaty. I was a hell of a lot more comfortable with this tattoo then I was with my thigh piece. Unlike at Magnum Opus, Vicky shares a room with her husband and one other artist, but it is closed off and is not open to the reception area. This set me at ease, and I was a lot more comfortable with this. I was also more comfortable around a female artist.

Healing process?

This was probably the worst healing experience that I've had out of any of my tattoos. Even after a few days it was sticking to everything I was wearing which was pulling the scabs off. I was so upset as this is my favourite tattoo, and my anxiety was sky high because I could not stop worrying about the tattoo getting damaged. It was also SO itchy. I could not deal with how itchy this tattoo was. Thankfully after 2 weeks she was healed and peeled. I had to have Alice touched up when I went to get my next tattoo from Vicky, as the blue is a total bugger to heal as there is white inside of it, so it was extremely patchy in her dress. Vicky was able to touch up as much as possible, although when I head back to her in September I may have to ask her to give her another little touch up for me.

3. Ariel and Eric

This tattoo I also got from Vicky. This is a tattoo I've been wanting for years so I was super stoked to be getting it done by Vicky. For those of you who don't know Vicky's work, she adds a beautiful little twist to her Disney characters, and this was why I wanted tattoos from her. This tattoo is on the outside of my right calf and cost me £200.00.

Pain?

Same as the Alice tattoo above. This was in the same place just on the other leg, so the pain was the same.

How long did it take?

This tattoo took around the same time as my Alice tattoo took, around 2 and a half hours with a small break after getting the lines down.

Was it a comfortable experience?

This tattoo was the easiest tattoo for me. Since I had already met the artist and knew how lovely she was, I was a lot more relaxed around her and a lot more comfortable with getting tattooed. This was also my third tattoo so it was getting easier for me to know the right positions to sit in and how to make myself comfortable. Vicky makes every tattoo easier, as she is so chatty and is such an amazing distraction from the pain, this is one of the many reasons why I enjoy getting tattooed from her.

Healing process?

This tattoo was the complete opposite of Alice - it healed like a breeze. Overall I believe it took around 1 1/2 weeks to completely peel, it barely itched and caused no problems for me whatsoever. This was the easiest healing process ever and I wish that all tattoo healing went as wonderful as this one! This tattoo needs no touching up at the moment, although the red may need touching up in the foreseeable future!

4. Harry Potter Always Patronus tattoo

This tattoo I also got again from Vicky. With this tattoo, I gave her an overall feel for what I wanted the tattoo to be like, however I gave her complete freedom with how she wanted to draw up the tattoo. I was so happy with what she presented to me and did not have to make a single change to the design! I decided to get this tattoo done after Alan Rickman died. I always knew I wanted to get a Harry Potter tattoo, however was not set on what I wanted to have done. After the passing of Alan Rickman, I thought that this would be a beautiful tattoo to commemorate him and his character Snape. This tattoo cost me £200.00.

Pain?

Not going to lie - this tattoo really hurt. Although it was not as bad as I expected the pain to be, and it was bearable, it was not pleasant at all. The pain of getting your foot tattoo is different to the rest of the tattoos I've had done - its an extremely uncomfortable pain. The worst part of the pain for me was towards the end of the tattoo. Vicky had to lean on certain parts of my foot to tattoo me, and the foot was starting to bruise up. Every time she touched me it was like being attacked by Satan. I'd rate the pain 8.5/10 - I would rate it higher but I know I am going to get more painful tattoos in the future.

How long did it take?

This tattoo took around 3 hours with a break. I was quite pleased with myself for sitting the whole tattoo in one session.

Was it comfortable?

No. The problem with getting my foot tattoo was trying to stop it from sliding across the massage chair, especially when my foot was sweaty and horrid. You also have to keep your leg up with your foot flat against the massage chair, so I kept getting cramps and all sorts. This was not as uncomfortable as my thigh tattoo, but was close to getting that way. I also hate having my feet touched by people.

Healing process?

The healing for this was not the worst, but wasn't the easiest. The first few days were a nightmare, as my foot was so so swollen and I couldn't fit into my shoes. You also have to be careful with feet tattoos and ensure that it gets as much fresh air as possible, so when I wasn't outside i was walking around completely barefoot. It was itchy but not unbearably. This scabbed up the most and took around 2 1/2 weeks to peel completely. This tattoo is fairly new and is just around a month old so I'm not 100% sure on whether this tattoo will need touching up or not. 

Thank you so much for taking time out to read this.

Please let me know any comments or thoughts you may have!

With magic, always

Hay x