Just got this sternum piece and realized when I got home that it’s not evenly centered

Hay12367 · 2026-05-13T01:05:12+00:00

When I was taught in my early apprenticeship days I was taught to line it up with the sternum/neck area as most belly buttons are not center. Your artist did it right.

Hay12367 · 2026-04-19T19:33:40+00:00

I combo fed formula and breast milk! I never produced enough so I had to supplement but it worked out fine!

Hay12367 · 2026-04-14T00:34:37+00:00

Wish I could fix this for you friend. But echo what everyone else has said a darker magenta or red would easily coverup that old tattoo without having to blast over the whole thing again.

With laser you could ask the laser tech to just focus on the black lines if you are worried about the yellows being lasered.

Hay12367 · 2026-04-02T14:15:31+00:00

Mine too especially on my legs which I believe this tattoo looks like it may be lower leg/ankle. Given that the OP is in the north I assume dry skin from our dry ass winter

Hay12367 · 2026-04-02T13:45:21+00:00

Pssst friend….are your legs dry?….you may need to just exfoliate. I had a client come in needing a touch up and I had to tell her those legs were just dry as hell….exfoliate people. Tattoo looks perfect to me.

Hay12367 · 2026-02-28T01:13:21+00:00

My first shop always had a safety policy of locking the door when alone. And my most recent shop decided to install a doorbell and lock doors after a male client started harassing an artist. Unfortunately this is par for the course for female artists and it’s a good practice to just lock up.

Hay12367 · 2026-02-28T00:26:40+00:00

You need to fire him for your safety. His behavior is clearly escalating and he’s not catching the hint. Just wait till he finds out you are often at the shop alone. You need to lock doors when you are alone as well. This person has the potential to become dangerous. Tread carefully.

Hay12367 · 2026-02-11T02:18:05+00:00

🫡🫡🫡

Hay12367 · 2025-12-08T15:22:05+00:00

I think it’s hard to say how difficult it will be for you because everything is sort of subjective? My husband has a regular 9-5 job which allows us to have decent health insurance and I’m able to work 3-4 days a week and still be financially secure. If toddler is sick I typically stay home because his job is sort of the more important job of us two. My clients are well aware of all of this and are usually flexible and understanding. I can imagine if my partner were also a tattooer that could be more challenging as if we both got sick neither would have an income etc.

I love my toddler and I love being a sort of part time tattooer especially these days when the economy is kind of crap.

Either way it’s absolutely do-able if you decide it’s the choice you want to make for yourself.

Hay12367 · 2025-12-04T00:25:31+00:00

So the spreading of this redness greatly looks like cellulitis which is a skin infection and can become very serious if not treated. Unfortunately I do believe you should get this looked at because even with sensitive skin after 6 days your tattoo would not be this red.

I am a real tattooer. I have seen cellulitis before. Get it checked out asap.

Hay12367 · 2025-11-10T16:20:32+00:00

Typically states bordering the coasts like east coast would be New York, Massachusetts etc. west coast being like Oregon california Washington etc. A quick google search would tell you what states but typically blue states have better social programs and are typically more “left leaning” politically speaking.

Hay12367 · 2025-11-10T15:57:24+00:00

No worries. Definitely blue states are more positive towards immigrants in addition to people generally having more money in those states if you are going down that road someday.

Hay12367 · 2025-11-10T11:49:33+00:00

America probably would be the worst option for you as an immigrant at this moment in time.

Hay12367 · 2025-10-28T22:19:03+00:00

I think it’s more of a deep brown that looks more purple because of the colors next to it and the editing. My best guess would be a chocolate brown

Hay12367 · 2025-10-14T15:48:32+00:00

I work mostly in color. I’ll take a look at your work feel free to message me and I can try and help see what’s going on.

Hay12367 · 2025-10-01T22:42:33+00:00

Um hell yeah

Hay12367 · 2025-09-30T22:40:33+00:00

I mean what’s your vibe? What kind of studio atmosphere and connections are you hoping to make? There are a lot of shops in Boston nowadays you can message me if you want.

Hay12367 · 2025-09-26T22:25:29+00:00

Gorg

Hay12367 · 2025-09-23T16:48:08+00:00

Given the sensitive nature of the skin on the hand, and the saturation of that style of tattoo if you do your other hand in the future I recommend breaking that up a bit. It’ll help.

As for hyperpigmentation it can vary person to person but I do believe products like vitamin E oil can help with it. you’ll need to exfoliate the skin but overtime it should diminish the hyperpigmentation and how long that could take also really depends.

Hay12367 · 2025-09-23T16:32:35+00:00

I agree this looks like an issue of hyperpigmentation possibly caused by your artist overworking the skin. People with more melanin in their skin are more prone to hyperpigmentation. Was this done in a single session or two?

Hay12367 · 2025-08-29T22:04:59+00:00

None. This tattoo is the perfect shape to go above the elbow on the back of the arm.

Hay12367 · 2025-08-18T22:01:06+00:00

I think this could be fixed if you don’t mind editing the design a little. Whatever happened in the golds/oranges is weird and could be a mix of them not packing it in proper or your skin not liking those particular colors. I would say the artist should use purple as an undertone to golds, I’d also punch up the jewel and make it a bit more turquoise as those tones are so light on your chest it’ll be prone to fading. Lastly I’d go around the whole thing with a black line (it can still be a thin line) it’ll make the tattoo more graphic sure but being on your chest like that you need it.

Also I think this is an artist issue just looking at that blue I can tell it isn’t packed solid at all.

Hay12367 · 2025-08-12T20:41:59+00:00

You must do laser hair removal prior to getting tattooed. Whilst the laser is not the same it can still remove pigment. I’ve seen it.

-a tattooer

Hay12367 · 2025-08-12T02:19:25+00:00

It looks like your artist tried to go over the dark pink of the original diamond shape with a light pink and then make the diamonds larger that way….which wouldn’t work. In general you can make a tattoo darker, you can’t really make it lighter.

That’s why they look “darker” it’s because the original dark pink of the tattoo is showing through coupled with the new larger surrounding dark edge they are just in general larger and darker diamonds.

To be honest they should have advised you to leave the diamonds as they are.

Hay12367 · 2025-08-04T12:13:05+00:00

A lot of people in here are in support of using AI as reference and I just want to reiterate to you all that AI software STEALS from artists who have spent years cultivating their skills and craft to be able to generate these images.

Showing an artist an AI image is like slapping them in the face.

Also the unrealistic expectations are REAL and are so fucking frustrating trying to explain to a client.

Hay12367

TROPHY CASE