What to Expect When Getting Full Sleeve Tattoos with Color and Line Work

So you want full sleeve tattoos with curvaceous designs, colors and intricate line work – the whole nine yards, huh? I’ve got a large part of my body tattooed, including two full sleeves and my entire back, and have spent well over 200 hours under the gun in the process of doing so. My full sleeve tattoos were done using the freehand method with points of reference that were marked on my arms and back prior to the needle hitting the skin; something that very few tattoo artists offer these days, as many use stencils. If you ever wondered what to expect when getting full sleeve tattoos, take a look at this article—as I will offer you some simple insight on the process that is involved.
Take Your Time Choosing Your Design & Artist
I can’t emphasize this enough. You are getting something that will be on your body forever, especially full sleeves, which are pretty much impossible to cover up. It’s permanent artwork, and your skin is the canvas. So be absolutely certain that you know what you want before you get started. I spent a good three months pondering what to put on my arms before even sitting down in the chair, and you should take plenty of time deciding as well. For that matter, take your time choosing a tattoo artist. Look around at various shops, check out their portfolio, and take some mental notes. In this manner, you will find an awesome tattoo artist that can deliver the artwork you desire.
Prepare for Some Pain – Color Almost Always Hurts More
If you plan on getting color, it generally will hurt a bit more than line work, grey wash or black ink. This is because they use a wider gauge needle to really pack the ink into the skin. Many tattoo artists have told me that color is finicky and does not set or take nearly as well as black or grey. I had to have various portions of my skin touched up several times because the skin rejected the color ink. Anyone who tells you that tattoos do not hurt either has a really high pain threshold, had an area done that did not hurt that much, or is lying. It hurts. They are injecting ink into your skin using a needle that penetrates the dermal folds countless times per second. So be prepared for a bit of pain, and be prepared for color to hurt even more than line work, grey wash or black ink. You can also take some toothache ointment and massage it into the area that you plan on having worked on during that session; it contains numbing agents that will help to dull the pain.
The Healing Process
There are numerous different healing creams that you can opt for after getting portions of your full sleeve tattoos inked on your arms. While people swear up and down on various different costly name brands, the reality is that good old Walgreens or CVS brand A & D ointment will do the trick, and will cost you about half the price, too. You should never pick at the peeling skin from a tattoo, as you can also take out ink that is still setting by ripping off even small pieces of the skin. It you must, trim gnarly and annoying peeling skin pieces using medical scissors; this will vastly reduce blotching and spotting. If you got your ditch done (the inside pit of the elbow on the arm), an old trick to not messing it up when you sleep involves tying the arm that was worked on to your bedpost, so that you don’t roll over on the ditch of your arm while snoozing and mess up the ink work. Be patient and diligent while healing, and after about 5-7 days your tat will be good to go.
While a totally cheesy and overused anecdote, it rings apparently true when it comes to getting full sleeve tattoos with color: “No Pain; No Gain!