Tattoos

Tattoos are a luxury item, if you can afford to get one you can afford to tip. Not saying it has to be huge but its for life, treat your artist well.

I've never tipped a tattooist, although I did give one a copy of the IDW deviations series, Transformers, as he was a massive Transformers fanboi. Does that count?

I assume a healthy profit is built into the price I pay.

I've used every artists I've had a tattoo from multiple times, aside from tattoo conventions and guesting artists from overseas, and they were inflated prices already (not complaining)

Chest tattoo - should I shave the area the night before, so the skin has a bit of a chance to recover from the razor before the needle goes to work on it? It's obviously not a place I'm shaving every day and I'm worried about shaving spots aggravating my recovery itchiness again. I'd rather have it done the night beforehand, moisturise it a bit, and then wash it clean in the morning before getting inked.

Why not shave a week before and see what happens.

I’d ask your tattooer. If you don’t ask/tell them they’ll probably want to shave you again before the tattoo no matter how clean shaven you think you are

Yes good call, cheers.

I have done both, I usually go in with a certain amount of tip in mind, but I have also changed my mind at the last min depends on the actual experience.

1 time the artist and the shop owners and I had a good 5 mins debate on why I shouldn't tip the artist, I win! And it was much apperciated.

1 time I was going to tip but I changed my mind because there was a power cut mid session and althougth it wasn't the artist's fault at all, everyone else in the studio covered their client's skins and their stations when we knew it was going to be longer than 20 mins, he left me there kind of bleeding and with the needles just exposed to air when he walked off for a guitar sing song session at the reception area (I kid you not!). The power cut lasted over an hour, he didn't check on me at all, I said I needed to move about and I had to reach for the cling film myself. When the power came back on, he just went straight back to where it hurt the most and when I asked him to go a bit easy, maybe work on the 'un-tattooed' sourrnding skin for a while first, he just ignored me completely and carried on. So I saved the tip and treated myself to sometime nice instead.

I had the same deal and the same thoughts. I just cut it down with a trimmer and left the shavery to him. At least I didn't clog his razor with my jew-hair but he wanted it clean shaved rather than a 5 o clock chest shadow.

Then I slept on my back wrapped in plastic in the london airbnb so as not to leave an imprint of Matt Houston's hard work on my host's bedsheets.

I want a Daria tattoo.

I tipped Paul that did my leg. I'm a perfectionist and he was so patent working around my demands. He spend hours re jigging the design before we started and then he was a good guy with nice chat. Seemed more than fair. Plus he only charged for tattoo time really.

Like anything, don't follow any rule and just tip if its deserved.

Contemplating a pair of kind of meaningful but also fairly low-key/ rudimentary tattoos- been attempting some iconography/ visual language, but I suspect that the fact that one is shared by a washing instruction will confuse matters.
Where can you get a quick walk in on a weekday in London?
If anyone can translate them I'll be happy.
Need to finalise line thickness- want all lines to be same thickness- but unsure how to on PPT...

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Remind me that knee tattoos are uncomfortable.
I'm about to email my (current) regular guy to get booked in to start my other one.

Knee tattoos are uncomfortable!

It's an interesting point. When Max Kuhn did my back, he said it would be £400-450. Which I thought was a bargain given A) How much I absolutely love his work and B) how much I'd paid for other tattoos prior to that. So I took £500 just in case. He, nor I, had a break so we finished it pretty quickly. I think he asked for £400 due to the speed. In the end, I just gave him the whole £500. I thought that was reasonable for the work he'd done, the fact that he'd travelled from the States and also, the size of it. It's all relative I guess.

Ha! Thanks for the advice!

I seem to recall the outline wasn't that bad, but the colouring in was horrific.

TTTism issue three is out now. If you order four copies you get 30% off the price. Does anyone here want to go in on it together?

Little holiday treat in Berlin.

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Just a reminder that knee tattoos are uncomfortable. By far the least comfortable I've been whilst getting tattooed!

Also, what are people’s thoughts on wrapping in cling film? It’s about 48 hrs since and I’ve been washing, adding cream and putting a clean wrap on 3x daily - as instructed for the first 3 days. The internet seems to suggest this is a bad idea.
Because it’s on my inner arm, it seems at risk from rubbing on my clothes a lot so wrapping seems sensible to me.
Any ideas?

Personally I think two days is fine and as long as the clothes are not very tight I think it will be no problem.

Apply garlic and chilli sauce you say?

Last tattoo I had, I removed the cling film same evening after tattoo, washed it with water only and never applied again.

From next day, 2 times a day soapy water and 3 times a cream.

Worked well.

It really depends on the artist’s suggestions and your own experience.

I have had cling film wrapping new tattoos from 2 hours to 3 days. Each artist’s recommend sth different.

The last few times I use this

http://www.dermalizepro.com

And whilst it gives really good protection and it does seem to make my tattoos heal a lot quicker, removing it after a couple of days is a bitch as the residue is horrible...

Apply garlic and chilli sauce you say?

..and rinse with rum, yes!

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