I'm happy to share my second-ever tattoo!
It's been a long time coming
Until 2018, I was the only kid in my family without tattoos. My three siblings have many tattoos and I always wanted one but was afraid of the pain of the process! My other issue was what kind of tattoo would I want. I had a thousand ideas and no ideas at the same time.
There are three major game series that shaped my childhood and continue to influence my adult life: Pokémon, Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. In 2018, I finally settled on Pokémon for my first tattoo. I couldn't decide on a single pocket monster, mind you, so I went with the classic original pokéball. Five years later I finally decided on a Super Mario Bros. themed tattoo.
Preparation
The tattoo process has become so much easier than when you had to let the wound peel "back in the day." For both of my tattoos, the artist put on Derm Shield when finishing their work. This is a sterile and waterproof bandage that helps the healing process. If you have a tattoo covered with Derm Shield, you no longer need to worry about the peeling and scabbing that tattoo work used to bring about.
The best part about the Derm Shield is you can shower with it on without worrying about the tattoo! Things may look a little funky after a few days but rest assured your tattoo is happily healing underneath.
After removing the Derm Shield (about four days), it's time to do your part to continue the healing process. My Pokémon tattoo was extremely itchy and it's important not to scratch it, so lotion became my best friend. As of writing this, I still have two days before taking off the Derm Shield on my bob-omb tattoo, but I'm sure I'll feel the same way as before.
I like Tattoo Goo's products so I'm continuing to use them for my new tattoo. The care lotion helps when the tattoo is in the itchy phase after the Derm Shield is removed. I'm using the tattoo balm for the first time with my new tattoo. Both items are going to help protect my investment - keeping the tattoo moisturized and cared for is important to me.
The artists
For my first tattoo, I doodled on an iPad and we finalized with proper line work. This time around, I fell in love with crisp.ink.la (Rachel)'s work on Instagram. To be honest, everything she creates is gorgeous and I don't know how I narrowed it down to my bob-omb choice!
crisp.ink.la kindly allows folks to use their artwork on personal tattoos. Rachel has links to Paypal, Venmo and CashApp so you can send over a thank you donation.
My tattoo artist for this tattoo was Lola from Lola Inkistry. I'm so glad I met Lola - she was very kind and understanding that my pain tolerance is equal to that of a toddler. Plus she was a gamer as well so we had plenty to talk about during my visit! I'm very happy with the work now that everything is healed!
Side note: The artist who did my pokéball tattoo in 2018 is not currently active on social media. If that changes, I'll link to their page.
Since it's been five years in between tattoos, I guess come back in another five years and maybe I'll have settled on my Sonic design! Thanks for reading. :)