We’ve had a similar prompt recently asking about advice to our younger selves. At least, I think that’s what it was. Because this one today feels very familiar and because I know I’ve given serious answers before, let me offer some wisdom to young people about to get their first tattoo. But let me not be agist. There are plenty of people older than me who are also getting their first tattoos. My advice to them is the same as to the younger people. And that is, stay on top of moisturizing your new art. I am four days past my session on Friday and all the pieces he added to my arm are making me miserable. Because he is extra heavy handed, his work takes a lot longer to heal than the lady I went to for the pieces on my leg. Yesterday, because the oozing had stopped, I started putting Lubriderm unscented lotion on them and it seemed to ease some of the pain. With the pieces getting dry and scabby, they pulled my skin extra tight and since they are in places that get stretched when I move my arm, the pain has been pretty annoying. Ibuprofen doesn’t help as much as I hoped.
But everything is healing as it should. Josh asked if they were infected and I assured him they weren’t. Since I have gone through an infected piece, I know what to look for. These are definitely not going that route, but they are also taking the slow, scenic route to healing. Today is a little bit better, as it should start being each day. I have my little lumbar pillow on my desk to keep my arm from having to rest uncomfortably on the hard desk:
The one that’s on the bottom of my wrist is particularly spicy because I’m right handed and it’s quite difficult not to move my hand, thus pulling on the skin around my wrist.
I told Josh last night that after I go back for him to finish this, I’m not going to go back to him again. He’s a fabulous artist, truly. But I am beginning to loathe the healing process for his art. At this point, I’m rooting for the itchy phase. All fans of tattoos say the worst part of getting a tattoo is the itchy phase of healing because the itch is intense but you’re forbidden from scratching. I would gladly take itching right now because it would mean the perpetual soreness and intense sunburn feeling is gone.
I’m very thankful that the artist won’t be working next Friday which is the two week mark from last Friday. He said to come back in two weeks to finish the rest of my arm. Granted, he won’t be working in the same area, but two weeks is not enough time. I’ll happily stretch it to three weeks…just to repeat this same process again. Ugh! I’ve said it before, but I may actually mean it this time. After this is all healed, I’m going to wait a while before getting my next one. And by a while, I mean, at least until the fall. I’m going to need a few months to recover from this brutality. And by brutality, I mean a perfectly normal tattoo and a perfectly regular healing phase. This really is normal, but man does it suck right now!
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