Did something spontaneous... now regret and feel stupid!

[cavycavy]

So I am a very sensible, professional, 39 year old mother. I’m not (totally) boring but I’ve never really done anything really spontaneous.

But at the weekend I decided to be spontaneous and get a TATTOO.... so I got a very small one on my lower back of a bluebird.

The picture I took in was a black line drawing, similar to that you would see in an old nature book. Kind of sketched but realistic.

Went to the best tattoo shop in town and checked out the artists work. All looked amazing with loads of nature pictures. On Facebook he had countless rave reviews and a few people a know who have tattoos confirmed his good rep. He appeared totally confident and I booked in to have it done the following day.

So in a go, and he does it. It’s very small (50p sized) and it hardly hurt at all.

He told me to keep it wrapped for 1 hour then uncovered or very loose clothing until fully healed. Wash/cream etc.

Firstly, I’m not that happy with it but it’s hard to know what it will look like when fully healed. The proportions of the bird look a bit off and very different to the picture I took in and the transfer he printed off. Also the skin behind the tattoo immediately become very red and sore and all the lines became really swollen so I couldn’t really tell what it really looked like even straight after.

Since then (4 days later) it has become even more red and swollen. It actually looks like it has been drawn by a child with black felt tip!

Looking at all his other tattoos the lines are so thin and precise! There’s a tiny spider (literally about the size of a 20p) and you can see the individual hairs!!

Anyway, have seen a practice nurse and a GP today who both confirmed it is definitely not infected or an allergic reaction, I just have delicate, pale skin which has effectively been injured by the tattoo.

However, I still totally regret having it done! I feel like MASSIVE wanker for thinking I’d be spontaneous, not doing any proper research etc, only for it turn out a bit shit.

The few people I have shown have said “oh that’s lovely” but I can tell they are just being nice bless em!

Anyhoo... my AIBU question is:

AIBU to go back and ask to have it corrected? Can it even be corrected? I have since learned of an amazing artist in a nearby shop who apparently can work magic so is it worth going somewhere else... ? The only problem is, I can see they are friends on Facebook....

The other thing is my tattoo artist posted pictures of all the other work he did that day but not mine!! He obviously wasn’t that proud of it! :(

afterinked.co.uk/bepanthen-why-you-should-not-use-it-for-tattoo-after-care/

are you wearing sox,stockings,shoes etc
all will irritate /suffocate and slow healing

what are you washing it with?

Just wanted to say that I really love your tattoo Have never wanted a tattoo before but seeing yours has actually given me tattoo envy

i dont require a picture.You have tattoo guilt.I was mited with it.age 18,babysitting my wee sis for whole weekend(probli not listed on wiki riots) i spent the saturday shift getting a really small strawberry(am allergic/otherwise irrelevant)tattood . for weeks after every single person in the world felt the need to place their hand on my (abused)shoulder,it burned,stung,itched and tho non infected-fuckin shoulda been.i hated me....not it...me. Fat forward to age 26,had oh had a nickname. i knew before i had the idea the entire picture version of identification would make me feel stupid..the reaoning was not as stupid as he'd look without me. Half way through the guy admitted this was a bad idea-i was so thin he felt more like a bone etcher...he halved the cost. i dumped oh weeks later.he still looks twatty without me. mine are in places that arent on display.despite not as few as id like instances in being a dick in my life.those two are the only guilt event ever.you gony be fine.really.x

Bitchwitch

I started with Bapanthen but because it felt sore (my skin is really sensitive) I switched to cetraben ointment which is calming it down a lot.

(The bepanthen stung like buggery)

Avoid all socks and wearing dolly shoes or flip flops so the tattoo is never covered.

feet and top of hands heal differently than fleshy tattoos.thats why its illegal in some places in the world to tattoo them and faces.

it looks ok just stop the ointment,
use a triple antibiotic ointment. don't know which.not in uk.neosporin in u.s/polysporin in canada

do not use aloe or anything that "draws" a wound.
when it is surface healed put sunscreen on it to help keep from fading.

tattoos take a very long time to heal under the skin ,but should surface heal in a week to ten days with an outline.with color and shading they will take longer.
and never try to "coverup"an existing tattoo for at least a year after its been applied.

brother used to fall in love regularly and want a"love tattoo" of some sortwe stopped after the 3rd one.love tattoos, cuz we got tired of having to go back and cover them .
the last one we designed a coverup tattoo when we did the latest love one.he was not amused but we were...

I think collecting pollen on a flower would hide the legs a bit 🌸

sox and hose can do horrifying things to raw tattoos.had a dancer come in and she had a lovely rose .started at her hip and extended to mid thigh.longstem rose as it were.
her instructor made her wear her dancing hose or tights and the result was awful.split cracked,infected.
so that has been one i pass on when ever someone gets ink below the waist.
best thing to wear over fresh ink anywhere on the body is white cotton.
good luck and let the little guy heal.might give him a flower to land on ,on the other foot.
i have size nines too.btw.
mom said its so we don't fall thru the clouds when we eventually become angels.

Late to the party, just wanted to tell you I think your bee is lovely! I have a tat on my ankle I’ve had for 20 years. It has meaning for me but as it mostly black, I sometimes look down and think how the hell did I get that bruise!? I hope you grow to love your tattoo. Perhaps I might get a dragonfly on my shoulder...

@bitchwitch..😄😄😄

Aw he's a good bee! It will heal and look better and nobody will ever look at it for more than two seconds except for you... so as long as you like it, all is well. I like it, id be happy with it.

secretwitch dragonfly tats are so beautiful
best i ever saw only had black ink for the body the rest was in blues and greens and a golden yellow.
also had a big man come in wanted a pegasus with a fairy riding it/no black ink at all.
once you get of the floor from laughing.
he did it because his daughter 9 asked him too.now thats a dad.it came out gorgeous.eventually built a whole scene down his arm with that as the centerpiece.

@bitchwitch, what a lovely dad! I am now really thinking of a dragonfly. Have loved them all my life. Will do much more research for design and artist than I did for my first tat. I received that one at a fair! It’s simple and fine but truly an impulse thing!

bitchwitch I'm not sure the website of an expensive tattoo aftercare cream is the most reliable of sources for a lesson on why not to use a cheaper alternative.

A lot of people do seem to recommend against it these days though. I use E45, never did me any harm.

lydia didnt pay attention to the site just looking for a decent explanation on why not to use the cream .have had people use some of the strangest things on thier fresh ink.there are multiple sites with the same advice.
a cheap triple antibiotic ointment works fine.

Whatever you do don't go a tattoo fixers, they'll give you a crow/skull that wraps around your thigh to hide your teeny bee ! Joking aside it isn't that bad, maybe some white highlights or a pretty flower might help it look a bit less drugged?

I know someone that had a bee tattoo in their late 30s too only it was a giant thing on his chest, so baaaad! He got it before the Manchester thing too so at the time it seemed very random and a source of much amusement, I still chuckle now when I think of it actually!

It looks fine, and I was expecting it to be awful after what you’d said!

It's not quite like your original picture is it. I'm not sure if it's just me, as lots of people seem to like it, but the wings look to be in the wrong place. They should be in the middle of the body but yours are at the far end, so effectively on the bee's head.

It looks different to the picture but it doesn't look bad at all, it's cute. Maybe you could have someone do a cover up job by adding a flower to cover up/ change bits you don't like. It looks fine though.

better to camouflage than cover.maybe a flower behind it if you don't like it.tats are illusions so play with it if you aren't happy
take a photo, print it out or use photo shop to play with the design.

and sensible 39 yr old mothers are allowed to get tattoos.my 83 yr old one has had 2 in the last 4 yrs.all tiny ones like yours.

oldest woman one we did in the first shop was a 90 yr old great grandmother.a tiny flowerbud for each greatgrandchild.

It looks as if the tattooist may have forgotten to add the white highlights which appear on the sample picture you took in. Once it's healed, I would go back, with the sample photo again, and ask for him to finish it off - by then you'll be able to see clearly if anything else needs touching up.

My DH has a 5 x 4 inch tattoo of his ex-wife's initial on his bicep, in thick, dark black and blue ink, decorated as if it's the first letter of a word in a new chapter (iyswim) - it's quite a decently done tattoo and he did offer to get it removed before we got married, but I told him it didn't bother me and would serve as a good example to show our future children why they should always think long and hard before getting a tattoo themselves. Our eldest DD (now 11) tells us "If I had gotten a tattoo 7 years ago, it would have been Dora the Explorer, 5 years ago; My Little Pony and just imagine how embarrassing that would be! But I know if I got something from Harry Potter, I'd love it forever!" (perhaps I'll check back with her on that in a couple of years!)

I have no tattoos myself, but I like yours!

Aw I think it looks nice, it can be tricky with tattoo artists as I think sometimes they assume you have gone to them as you like their style and want them to put their twist on it. If it had been a replica of the picture it wouldn’t be unique either :)

A lot of people re talking about it scabbing over.

I had one done about 30 years ago and it scabbed over which I picked off but a much larger one I had done last year did not scab at all.

It was wrapped with a surgical type of cling film which I had to leave on for 48 hours. when I removed it I put a cream called Ozonal on it (might not be available in the UK) and it stayed soft and healed beautifully.

I am obsessive about putting factor 50 sunscreen on it when I expose it to sun though.

It’s very nice. Cute. Personally I’d still book myself in with the other tattooist. The body shape and legs are both different to the origional image.

Love it, OP!