healing process - what to expect

hi, i've never had a tattoo before - and am about to get one in a couple of weeks. I was wondering whether someone could describe the 'healing' process to me, what to expect, when etc. i will be getting a koi fish about the size of half a dollar bill on my lower leg, if that helps at all.... cheers!

Expect your new tattoo to feel like a minor sunburn for 1-3 days then your tattoo will go into an accellerated healing mode and usually will itch like crazy, do not scratch it! Just suffer ot out. The tattoo will start peeling in a few days this is normal. Expect a layer of shiny skin to develop. This is called milk skin. Depending on the skill of the artist and your body metabolismAND how you care for it tha milk skin will shed off in a few days to a couple of weeks. The most important thing for you to do is to follow the advice of your artist in aftercare for your tattoo! Hope this helps!

it does help! thanks. the only problem is, my tattoo artist will be japanese and doesn't really speak english. i guess i could get the aftercare info online?

it does help! thanks. the only problem is, my tattoo artist will be japanese and doesn't really speak english. i guess i could get the aftercare info online?

check out www.myspace.com/oliverpeck on his blog he has advice on how to take care of a new tattoo..

Why such a small Koi? I mean, to each his own, but why so small?

that is very small. I always advise people to size the tattoo to fit the body part... a tiny tattoo in a big piece of skin looks stupider than blank skin! Ha, I just said blank skin looks stupid... I think I take that back.

hm, that's an interesting point. how big should i get it then?

Any suggestions on what to put on the tattoo after? I've heard alot of stuff, [gels, creams, etc.] just wondering if there is one thing that is the best...

Whatever your artist tells you.