By mid-August your tattoo has survived beach trips, patio hangs, and probably more direct sun than it saw all spring.…
Somewhere around day five to seven, your brand-new tattoo stops looking like art and starts looking like a sunburn that…
You post a design in a tattoo Facebook group asking for a price estimate and get answers ranging from $150…
Somewhere around week six, after the peeling and the itching and the weird shiny stage, you look at your new…
By mid-August your tattoo has survived beach trips, patio hangs, and probably more direct sun than it saw all spring. If it’s looking a little flat or washed out compared to the day you left the shop, that’s not your imagination. Ink fades, and summer sun is the single biggest reason why, faster and more…
Somewhere around day five to seven, your brand-new tattoo stops looking like art and starts looking like a sunburn that got into a fight with a snake. Flakes everywhere. Dry, papery skin lifting off in little translucent scraps, sometimes taking a hint of color with it. Cue the panic texts to your artist: “is this…
You post a design in a tattoo Facebook group asking for a price estimate and get answers ranging from $150 to $900. Nobody’s lying to you. Tattoo pricing is genuinely all over the place, and once you understand why, the numbers start making a lot more sense. Most shops price one of two ways: hourly…
Somewhere around week six, after the peeling and the itching and the weird shiny stage, you look at your new tattoo under good light and think: wait, is that patch supposed to look like that? Maybe there’s a spot where the black looks grey. Maybe a line has a gap in it like the needle…
It’s mid-August, the water’s still warm, and you just got tattooed two weeks ago. Every fiber of your being wants to jump in that lake, pool, or ocean before summer packs up and leaves. Here’s the annoying truth: your artist wasn’t just being dramatic when they told you to stay dry. Fresh ink and standing…
Everyone says “check their portfolio” like that settles it. But scrolling through a grid of pretty photos and actually evaluating whether someone should put a needle in your arm are two very different skills. Most people look at 20 tattoos, decide the vibe is cool, and book. Then they’re surprised when their own piece doesn’t…
