Since booking in a few weeks ago, I had been looking forward to my first session like nothing else …the day finally came and was I actually going to do this & get my new cover up tattoos?
I surprised myself at how weird I felt about seeing some of my scars for the last time; sure they’d still be there but never in quite the same way again. There was also this lingering apprehension; would it hurt like crazy over scar tissue? Would I spend the whole time crying as I was so happy, or sad, or something? Would having the needle running over scars trigger old feelings especially as they’d be on show for one of the only times ever in public?
Those things I knew I could deal with .. but what if I hated the design??
I love tattoos, I love looking at them, I love thinking about what I want to get, I love researching artists, I love getting them! I’d thought long and hard about what I wanted but knowing that the kind of skin damage I had meant that my new cover up tattoos would need to be in a different style to what I’d otherwise be looking for… bolder, more defined lines & colour. Even though I’d shared loads of general ideas, some specific things that I wanted incorporated and the overall theme I was going for, I still felt very nervous about seeing it for the first time.
What if I hated it? It wouldn’t have really mattered as it could be changed, the main worry was around feeling disappointed in not getting started straight away. It felt almost like this was the first day of the rest of my life and it was a massive deal to me!
Of course as with most worries people carry around with them, it turned out to be completely irrelevant as I immediately loved what she had created for me and never had even a millisecond of doubt about going ahead.
Those stencil pens take ages to dry .. then a bit longer after you’ve smudged it trying to get comfy. During that time it didn’t even cross my mind any further about those few moments being the last time I would see my old scars as I was about to cover them with something so amazing.
The outline took a little while and by the time we were done I was sweating a bit as it was quite sore! I was expecting it to hurt, especially over scar tissue, the wrist bone and inside elbow … wrist and elbow yeah it hurt like hell, but over scarring it was much less painful than I feared it might be.
In some places I could barely feel it, damaged nerves perhaps. In others it nipped, stung and immediately swelled up.
Those thinner shading needles were a welcome relief, even going over the birds multiple times was a mere tickle in comparison to the lining!
I loved it from the minute I saw the design, through the stencil, the lining and I could see it all coming together with the shading. I absolutely love it!
Managed to do a bit of colour until the swelling meant we had to finish for the day. (About 5 hours from start to end with short lunch break)
I adore it, I can’t stop looking at it and it has covered the scars more so than I ever thought possible. Now just need to wait out the healing to continue with the fillers.
Check out my Instagram for further pictures of the work in progress.
Reflecting on pre-tattoo fears now it’s done …
- Would it hurt like crazy over scar tissue?
It wasn’t that bad. You will feel it when getting any tattoo, anywhere on your body. Some places hurt more than others. How much it will hurt will vary from person to person, from place to place and as I discovered, from scar to scar. No body can tell you how much it will hurt, how tolerable it will be, nor how many breaks you’ll need (don’t take too many, my arm swelled up like a bitch!) .. it will hurt, but once you’re going the faster it will be over and there will be something great at the end.
- Would I spend the whole time crying as I was so happy, or sad, or something? new cover up tattoos new cover up tattoos
No, none of those things although I was very happy and still am. I’m not sure that anybody else, no matter how hard I try to put it into words can truly appreciate what this means to me and how at ease I felt when getting it done.
- Would having the needle running over scars trigger old feelings? They’d be on show in public!
This crossed my mind, of course it did. Not really in a negative way though as I felt comfortable in the environment and also in being in such a different place in my life. People came to have a closer look at the work in progress, some people commented on how well it was going over scarring, others just had a good look lol
I’m sure people discussed it afterwards .. curiosity it natural and never something that on it’s own I allow to bother me as the worst that can come from it is that people realize I am just a normal person!