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White
Skull Tattooing
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85 Manilla Street,
Manilla, N.S.W 2346 Ph 6785
0148 Mob 0428972745 |
Frequently
Asked Questions
When do tattoos need to be
touched up?
This depends on many things.
Under most circumstances, the answer is either never, or once, since modern inks
are very strong and hold much more steadily over the years than older style
inks.
However, there are many cases when you might need one touch up after the initial tattoo. An area might scab slightly during healing.
When
doing all black tattoos (like tribal), it's difficult to pack the colour
completely solid in one pass. Black takes longer because it is the highest
contrast from the skin tone, so the more you have to work the skin, the more
damaged the skin becomes. That leaves little room for error, so there are
typically a few spots in a tribal piece that need to be filled in after the
initial healing.
For
the same reason, if you have one large solid field of one colour in your tattoo
design, there will likely be a few spots that need a touch up after the initial
healing.
Sometimes, if the tattoo is a large one and takes a
long time, the skin's pores will "open up" and won't allow the ink to
be deposited in the skin and the resulting colours tend to be very light. Some
people's pores will open up after only a few minutes, but fortunately, this is
rare. For most people, this doesn't happen until after two hours or more of one
sitting, for larger pieces.
After
the initial touch up, there won't likely be any need for touch ups ever again.
In some cases, it might be beneficial to get a tattoo touched up after 10 years
or so, since your skin may have changed greatly over time.
How long do they last? Will
I need a touch up?
Tattoos will last a lifetime.
With modern inks, your tattoo should stay vivid for a lifetime. You may need a
touch up after the initial healing, if there are any areas that are lighter
than others. This is especially true in the case of designs that have a large
area of one solid colour, particularly black (like a tribal design) because
when filling in solid areas of colour, it is very easy to miss a few spots
since light spots are hard to see before healed. After 2 weeks, you'll notice
right away if there are any obvious areas that need to be touched up.
Tattoos are basically healed after
2-3 weeks, but take about 6 months to "cure" into the skin. After 6
months, your tattoo should pretty much stay the same, although over the years,
the texture of your skin will change with age. Heavy sun exposure can lighten a
tattoo and cause the outline to thicken a bit more than it would by itself,
especially heavy sun exposure in that first 6 months of curing time. Dry skin
will make your tattoo appear lighter - try applying some lotion over dry skin
and watch your tattoo look bright again!
My tattoo feels raised.
What does this mean?
If you've had the tattoo for a year or more,
then it's likely one of two causes: a) your artist went too deep, or b) your
skin scars easily. Sometimes a normal, smooth tattoo will become raised when
exposed to sunshine or certain chemicals (like those sometimes found in brand
new, unwashed clothing) and may even itch, then return to normal when the
exposure ends. It's hard to say what causes this, but it is a somewhat common
experience among the tattooed, even with tattoos that are very old.
If
it's a new tattoo (up to 6 months) then only time will tell. It can be very
normal for the outline to still be raised after a few weeks or even months.
I've seen (and have) tattoos that were slightly raised for months after getting
it done, and slowly, they've flattened out. If it's otherwise healed, keep
using a good lotion on it (cocoa butter is good as long as you're not applying
it to broken skin or a fresh tattoo) and it may settle down. Also, after a year
or so, the ink deposited under the skin begins to sort of crystallize and
actually harden under the skin, so on a thick outline, you may detect slight
rising after the tattoo has cured into your skin. This is normal and under most
circumstances, only noticeable to the touch, and even then, you have to look
for it to find it usually.
Some artists do believe that it's good to be able to feel a tattoo
slightly after it's fully healed and to them, it means the outline will hold
better over time. I am not one of these people. Experience has shown me that a
long-holding, clean and beautiful tattoo actually hold better over time with a
lighter approach in my opinion.
I've heard of people
getting infections in their tattoos. How does this happen, and what does it
mean?
A tattoo is an open wound, so can become
infected, just like any other open wound. Additionally, it contains pigments
that can react with different elements, which increases the infection risk.
Avoiding infection risks is as much your responsibility as it is the
cleanliness of the artist applying the tattoo. There are many reasons a tattoo
may become infected.
Among
them: Allowing it to come in contact with chemicals, animal hair or other
unsanitary conditions. While the inks used in tattooing are common and safe,
they can react with many other chemicals.
Picking at the tattoo or scratching it can result in
infection from re-irritating it.
You
can have infection in your body (such as the beginning of a cold) and that
infection will look for any easy way to come out of the body. Under normal
circumstances, if you don't have any open wounds, the body looks to the lungs,
sinuses, organs, etc. to eliminate infection. An open wound is also a place
where the body may look to eliminate infection. Don't get a tattoo if you know
you have a cold or have any other cuts or scrapes that look like they might be
infected.
Can I get a tattoo over a
scar?
Yes,
however, the texture of the scar will still show through the tattoo, and the
scar tissue may require a touch up since it's thicker than skin without scars.
As an artist, I recommend choosing a design that doesn't necessarily completely
cover a design, but instead, a design that runs through a scar. That way, the
tattoo distracts from the scar, making it less noticeable. If a design
completely covers a scar with all areas engulfed in ink, the raised areas of
the scar can become even more obvious.
What if my body changes
where I get a tattoo - for example, if I get pregnant, will that change a
tattoo on my stomach? If I get tattooed on my arm and work out a lot, will
stretch marks ruin my tattoo?
A tattoo on the stomach can be affected by
pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause the skin to sort of break apart, and this will
affect a tattoo on the stomach. It also can affect a tattoo placed on the hip,
but is less likely. Tattoos on the arms generally won't be affected by sudden
"bulking up" unless it goes all the way around an arm, such as an
armband. It's usually the skin on the underside of the arm that gets stretch
marks, not the visible part on the outside of the arm. The key to doing a
tattoo on the outside of the arm on someone who will likely gain mass is to
place the tattoo properly centred, so that when mass gain occurs, that the
tattoo stays "centred" on the arm.
How will it feel after I
get my tattoo?
A tattoo feels a lot like a brush burn after
it's done. The area around it will be red for a day or two, and the soreness
will last sometimes for 3-4 days. After that, it goes through some itchy, flaky
phases. Don't pick at it or scratch! Total healing time is about 2 weeks.
What colours work well on
darker skin tones?
Black,
red, orange, deep pinks, greens work well on darker skin tones. White can be
used, but appears more yellow. White, on any skin tone, is best used only for
highlights and blending, since it tends to hold unevenly. Blues can look green,
since with darker skin, the first layer grows back over the tattoo, which is
deposited in the second layer. The first layer of skin contains your natural
pigments, so darker skin will cover the tattoo with a yellowish layer, like
smoked glass.
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