Tattoo DIY?

[Plastik]

I just want 3 small letters on my inner-forearm. Does anyone know of a fairly safe, permanent way to accomplish this? Initials for a recently passed away loved one. I dont care if it has a "jailhouse" look, as it will be very small lettering and no one will see it but me. I currently only have one other tattoo (upper arm from 2 years ago) when I lived in PA.

The problem: I live in a pretty desert area now, the only tattoo shop within a 50 mile radius has a bad reputation. They have been closed down 3 times due to them not conforming with local and state laws in regards to keeping a clean environment. I will NOT be going there.

Any info appreciated

edit: Woops, meant to post this in General Chat. Not General Health. Can a mod kindly move it?
Thanks

[Geeper]

As someone with MANY tattoos I can tell you the shop with the worst reputation in the world will do a better job than you doing it yourself. (Quality of ink, lenght of time it will last ,infection ect)

Just wait till the opportunity arises and then get it done. As you know from your other one it's there forever so there's really no rush.

[Plastik]

thanks for the feedback. I've never had lettering done. How long do you think 3 small initials would take. Regular font, nothing fancy

[getfit]

well my initial behind me neck that took 20 mins to do, so i would say mabe 1 hr

[Sidior]

3 small letters? i would say like 20 min...I have been inked twice, one is a maple leaf took 30 min, and another is some rock work and it took like 1.5 hours...simple stuff especially letters is quick

[getfit]

3 small letters? i would say like 20 min...I have been inked twice, one is a maple leaf took 30 min, and another is some rock work and it took like 1.5 hours...simple stuff especially letters is quick
really? wow, god knows why he took 20 mins just for one letter on me!

[Sidior]

really? wow, god knows why he took 20 mins just for one letter on me!

ya that really is weird, mine had colour too, which also usually takes longer....were you using any intricate kind of font? If not then I would say he just took his sweet time

edit: btw any behind the neck tats are awesome, any pics?

[neartaigh]

It all depends on the artist....different tattooists have different skills.

All the same, you really should go to a professional. Make sure that all the equipment has been through an autoclave (a high heat medical sterilizing device) and that the needles are NEW as well as autoclaved.

I know you say that "you are the only one that will see it". But you must remember that this is an indelible alteration-- you will wear it forever. You should be able to get it done for 100.00 or so at most reputable shops. Average that out over your lifetime, and you are paying less than pennies a day.

FYI, I have 5 LARGE tattoos....all of them were done professionally, and were well executed. Regardless, I am unhappy with one that I`ve now had for 10 years. I`m in the process of laser surgery to get it removed. Removal is time consuming, expensive (8 sessions at 400.00 a pop in my case) and painful. Be REALLY sure that you want this thing...

It it`s worth it to you to do it, do it right. Also, if it`s a memorial piece, don`t you think the person it`s memorializing would want their initials NOT to look like jailhouse ink??

[Sidior]

It all depends on the artist....different tattooists have different skills.

All the same, you really should go to a professional. Make sure that all the equipment has been through an autoclave (a high heat medical sterilizing device) and that the needles are NEW as well as autoclaved.

I know you say that "you are the only one that will see it". But you must remember that this is an indelible alteration-- you will wear it forever. You should be able to get it done for 100.00 or so at most reputable shops. Average that out over your lifetime, and you are paying less than pennies a day.

FYI, I have 5 LARGE tattoos....all of them were done professionally, and were well executed. Regardless, I am unhappy with one that I`ve now had for 10 years. I`m in the process of laser surgery to get it removed. Removal is time consuming, expensive (8 sessions at 400.00 a pop in my case) and painful. Be REALLY sure that you want this thing...

It it`s worth it to you to do it, do it right. Also, if it`s a memorial piece, don`t you think the person it`s memorializing would want their initials NOT to look like jailhouse ink??

great post

[Plastik]

thanks. I got it done last night. $25. Looks *a little* jailhouse like, but at least I got it done professionally. Doing the typical a&d ointment right now.

While were on the subject of tattoos, anyone have any idea where I can find filipino tattoo symbols? I would opt for the chinese symbols, but I am mostly filipino.

Thanks again

[Sidior]

search online...most places you can bring your own design in

[Plastik]

i actually did, but was having trouble finding a site. Lots of links, but mostly dead end.
I'll try again thanks

[Relentless]

You should be able to get it done for 100.00 or so at most reputable shops. Average that out over your lifetime, and you are paying less than pennies a day.

My only comment here, and it made me laugh, was that $100 averaged out at 2 cents per day, means you reckon ol Plastik has a life expectancy of just 13 and a half more years (give or take).

I'm sure it wasn't intentional but I thought it was damn funny.

[Dirt]

My only comment here, and it made me laugh, was that $100 averaged out at 2 cents per day, means you reckon ol Plastik has a life expectancy of just 13 and a half more years (give or take).

I'm sure it wasn't intentional but I thought it was damn funny.

:scratch: I don't see what was funny at all. If you took "pennies" to mean the lowest plural form of penny (ie. 2) you're stretching that figure of speech ("pennies a day") pretty far to make a joke.

[KiwiBuilder]

really? wow, god knows why he took 20 mins just for one letter on me!

Just a guess GF, but maybe the dude was just admiring the view....?

[geoffgarcia]

While were on the subject of tattoos, anyone have any idea where I can find filipino tattoo symbols? I would opt for the chinese symbols, but I am mostly filipino.


Filipino has been the national language of the Philippines since 1957. It is based on Tagalog but also includes elements from the other languages of the Philippines, such as Bisaya, Ilongo, Cebuano and Ilokano, and from Spanish, English and Chinese. Since 1978 Filipino has been used as the language of instruction in schools and universities throughout the Philippines, though English is also widely used.

The Filipino alphabet has under gone a number of changes over the years. The last major one was in 1987, when the letters ch, ll and rr were removed. The version of the alphabet shown below is the 1987 one.
http://www.omniglot.com/images/writing/filipino.gif

If its Tagalog (and not truly Filipino) that your after then you can get that here: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tagalog.htm)

[Relentless]

:scratch: I don't see what was funny at all. If you took "pennies" to mean the lowest plural form of penny (ie. 2) you're stretching that figure of speech ("pennies a day") pretty far to make a joke.

if it's MORE than 2 pennies a day, then Plastik's life expectancy is even shorter

but you already don't really seem to 'get it' so I guess explaining in more detail won't help

I guess I'll just have to stick with worrying about what _I_ think is funny rather than trying to keep _you_ amused. :)

[HighExpectation]

thanks. I got it done last night. $25. Looks *a little* jailhouse like, but at least I got it done professionally. Doing the typical a&d ointment right now.

While were on the subject of tattoos, anyone have any idea where I can find filipino tattoo symbols? I would opt for the chinese symbols, but I am mostly filipino.

Thanks again


What are you searching? Take a look at Ali bata, the ancient script of the philippines... let me know if you need any more help