9545 Reseda Blvd. unit 2, Northridge, CA (818) 700-2818

Overworking the skin?

I was just curious about some opinions or tips with doing color pieces. I have not had any trouble before but my last 2 months I have been struggling with my colour pieces. They leave looking great but my clients have been scabbing up lately. I don't know I I am over working the area or have my needles out too far but it just seems writes that it only started happening the last 2 months.

I have spoken with my mentor and I have tried changing my technique with magnums (curved) from tight concentric circles to a scrubbing forward motion like my mentor does. I try to get in and get out but the healing process has been tough. Any thoughts would help!

I am using and eikon EMS 400 with a neotat 4.2 machine for colour. I Han the needle out approx the thickness of a nickel and I run my machine around 8.5. I think my hand speed is slower than my mentors but I have tried to speed it up and i still get the same results.


Replies:

RE:Overworking the skin?

My experience is when i do color Work, its so really fucking important that the person takes good care of the tattoo. I apply color tattoo with different and much harder hitting machines than my b/g Works. And if my clients dont take the proper care of the tattoo it will scab more. if your client is retardet and over cream the tattoo it will scab,

I tell my clients to wash the tattoo minimum 4 times a day and apply a thin layer of cream until the skin starts to shed, and then they can just cream it. But seriusly, those first cupple of days are so important, and if the client dont take the proper care, and if the peel of the scabs them self, Jesus!!!! some people just dont listen to what you tell on how they should take care for the tattoo and its crap.

i know this beacause ive seen my Work healed up on the persons i tattoo, and i can see witch ones are taken proper care of, and witch once hasnt...

Ofcause you can see if you overwork the skin and its your own fault

Take care :-)
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RE:Overworking the skin?

I was dealing with this with a few of my color pieces and have switched a few things up. First I would use a non petroleum lube, like redemption or hustle butter, while tattooing instead of A&D. I'm not crazy about them for aftercare, I like h2ocean foam and aquatat personally. I used to paint alla prima style and when I started tattooing I had that mentality. Like finish an area and move on, but its actually the opposite. I like to do my mid to lighter tones with a single pass of each color over the whole piece so you open up the pores, not worrying too much about full saturation. Then as I make my way around the tattoo, I wait for the skin to cool down so I can see how it was taking the color, and then make another pass to build up my tones. Hand motion weather scrubbing or circular doesn't matter as much as how deep and how fast your working. Both methods work, and on big pieces you might get bored and switch it up. Check your needles, get a good stretch, work slow if need be, just don't lose confidence in yourself. I agree with havin client was it 3-4 times a day, never letting plasma or and fluids dry on the skin. That's why I like h20cean foam, it's pricey but cleans the tattoo very well. I even like to tattoo with it and just send the battle with the customer. It helps with swelling and is better than green soap. Also keep track of how many passes you make in each area. I prefer large mags for most of my work because I get smoother blends, but some people only like round mags....whatever works for you bro!
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RE:Overworking the skin?

Thank you so much Loki and Søren Thomas. That definitely helps. I hate to blame the clients in the event it is something that I can adjust, but also nice to hear and reiterate my conclusions. I am definitely going to try moving through out the piece with medium/light tones with single passes and then coming back to build up the tones. I am curious to see how it works for me.

The shop I am at sells the H2Ocean line and we primarily sell the lotion. I have been giving clients sample packs of the Aquatat and I am waiting to see if that works during the plasma cycle. I am hoping to start pushing the boxed packages we get from H2Ocean with the foam soap, lotion and the moisturizing foam.

Once again, I really appreciate your help.
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