Happy Birthday Meh Ink For IRKs 2023

@gr8mick1 nice!

@djslack Nakome is my convert I’ll get her in here in the morning

@djslack @gr8mick1

You forgot MEEEEEEE!

/giphy me!

@djslack @gr8mick1

Oops got that wrong I’m in the list.
Apologies

But I like the giphy so I’ll leave it.

@f00l
That’s you? You’re so cute!

@Kyeh

Just adorable arent I?

@djslack I’m waiting for daylight to photograph mine!

@djslack thank you

Oldies we haven’t seen today… @raptorgorawr @themeerkat who else am I forgetting?

@djslack @booogerbrain, but I’m not sure we will see him. I’m really hoping he will appear.

@sammydog01 the precise alignment of waistband to flask top is a nice touch to let us know the tattoo is level and aligned, not just slapdash somewhere hard to photograph.

Here’s a newer gooey bandage shot

@f00l

@f00l

2 tattoos, so 2 IRKs!!!

Right???

@f00l Fine with me. Let me know how that works out for you.

@f00l Wow, the flask seeped a lot!

@Barney

/giphy “foolish optimism”

@Kyeh

It’s my tattoo’s punk-rock phase.

@f00l Looks kinda Goth!

@f00l @Kyeh Yikes on your flask!!! Your first photo it really looked nice. Reading about it it looks like they call what happened a blow out. Apparently it happens more often if your skin is thin and/or if the tattoo artist puts the ink in too deep. Mine is blurring but so far the lines are still sharp, it is just light black fuzzy in the skin around it. Of course you got yours 2 days before I got mine so mine might end up looking like that too. Sorry that happened to you.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh

I showed it when it look like this to the artist and he said no problem

Some people skin seeps more ink and other intracellular fluid some other peoples

I’m pulling the bandage off probably on Sunday and then I have a bunch of washing and care instructions

And once I pull the bandage off, I’ll be able to wash all the fluid away

The flask one that’s all black is getting more blurry by the minute apparently because I keep moving around and doing things or the bandage keeps getting slightly squished which spreads the fluids out

I hope this isn’t too gross for people

To me, it’s all just a curiosity I’ve never had a tattoo before

@f00l @Kyeh I am glad to hear that. I hope he is right. It would be sad if your flask was wrecked. Keep us posted about that. I have never had one before either and so have no idea what they look like when healing other than my kid had some raised scabs on her first one.

Mine didn’t have a waterproof bandage put over it because of where it is. As a result I don’t think the growing light black in the background of mine is due to seeping fluid with ink in it (although the thick bandage thing they did put there had some blood on it when I took it off). Looking at images I think mine would fall under the blow out category. Hopefully it won’t get any worse.They put a padded strip around my toe and told me to take that off in 3 hours, put a bandaid on and re-wrap the self stick thing on it (what they put around your arm when you get your blood drawn) to help keep the bandaid on. I was careful to walk around very little after the tattoo was done hoping not to irritate it while it was really fresh.

@f00l

bunch of washing and care instructions

So what were you told? My guy said unscented antibacterial soap & unscented lotion; not sure what soap I should use. Did you get anything more specific than that?

@Kyeh

Unscented antibacterial soap 3 times a day at least.

Gently!

Then Aquaphor ointment or lotion
(Lightly applied)

/image aquaphor

Walmart has it.

@f00l @Kyeh Mine said nothing with Vaseline in it because that is too waterproof and would slow down healing. Sounds like there is a range of recommendations. Based on what my guy said, vs the sheet I was given which had far less info, you don’t want it let it dry out as that makes itching worse, you need to very gently wash it frequently because it is an open wound and you don’t want it to get infected. You don’t rub it dry, rather you pat it dry.

@f00l Oh, thanks! I actually have some of that already. What soap do you have?

BTW, I looked back at @cbiliak’s reveal photos last year and hers seeped a lot too
(I kind of remembered that.)
https://meh.com/forum/topics/birthday-tattoos-1#62cc89e76314e65e8f1806e9

@f00l @Kyeh Her’s looks much nicer below than it looked in your link. That’s encouraging that the seeping goes away. I didn’t even think to ask about that as I didn’t realize they did that.

@f00l @Kidsandliz
Yeah, hers looks fantastic!
Oops, spelled her name wrong, @cbilyak!

@f00l @Kidsandliz @Kyeh I was recommended udderly smooth hand cream for mine, and it worked out well. Also cheap because you can get it at the dolla twenty five tree.

@djslack @f00l @Kidsandliz @Kyeh sup guys! Tattooing is my profession, and yes everything you all said is on par. There’s absolutely no specific way to heal tattoos and luckily these are all pretty small and should heal easily. Always wash your hands before applying moisturizer and keep bedsheets and clothes clean and free of pet hair especially. I do want updates on the toe one though that spot is gnarly and I would almost guess it’s more just bruising than blowout.

@baddestrobot @djslack @f00l @Kyeh I hope you are right it is just bruising. I’ll let you know. Not purple yet though, just light black and one section did bleed. Of course it is less than 24 hours old (done yesterday around 3pm). I was warned that doing it there risked a blow out. I wanted one that was very small and in a place that almost never would be seen. I was also warned being on the underside of my foot it may fade more quickly although that toe is slightly curled when standing on it so that part doesn’t touch my shoe or the ground so maybe not.

@Kidsandliz it’s a unique spot for sure!

@f00l I have had tats that looked like this before i took the bandage off and it was just excess ink seeping from my skin. They were fine after bandage removal and cleaning.

@baddestrobot @djslack @f00l @Kidsandliz

keep bedsheets and clothes clean and free of pet hair especially.

Uh oh. That’s nearly impossible since my cat sheds a lot …

@Kyeh my dogs shed and sleep in the bed, didn’t have a problem. But I’d not heard that part. Just gentle washing (used dial bar soap) and it puts the lotion on its skin and good to go.

@djslack Good to know, thanks!

@djslack @Kyeh

Re bedsheets etc

I thought I would cover them at night with those enormous bandages (applied gently) for a week or two to keep them v clean.

Once the saniderm comes off, I’ll do the washing etc snd keep them uncovered doting the day. With short sleeves.

These are my aftercare instructions

@djslack @f00l Wow, very thorough. I didn’t get any paperwork, just brief spoken instructions.

@f00l @Kidsandliz @Kyeh thanx! Yeah, it was a mess for a bit but I absolutely LOVE mine now

@cbilyak @f00l @Kyeh How long did it take to get rid of all the bleeding ink?

@f00l @Kidsandliz @Kyeh after I changed the 1st bandage, there was a tiny bit more. I’d say 4 days or so before it stopped.

@cbilyak @f00l @Kyeh Then did the weeping ink all wash off or did you have to wait for the surface stain to go away?

@f00l @Kidsandliz @Kyeh it all washed off and looked great!!

@cbilyak @f00l @Kyeh well cool.

@bady In case anyone is wondering why the watch says 2 days ago, well I haven’t had it on as it normally sits right next to and sometimes over the flask. Got 12 days before wearing it there again.

@cbilyak OH MY GOD THEY TATTOOED GLEN!!!

@Pony You’ve got company in the Irk Club now! (die13lda and me!) I think yours is still the best looking, though.

@Bretterson This is great!

@gogrrl Well thanks

@melanie413
The lavender fill-in is so pretty!

@Mandamm ummm, cool?

@Mandamm thanks for keeping us in the loop.

/giphy shenanigans

@djslack I’ll give it a star for the time and effort.

@djslack @sammydog01

Yes, these shenanigans are impressive

Mine (in the past) only involved a leaky, BIC pen, and crudest possible artistic effort

But hey, it was April 1 and I am a @f00l

So my shenanigans matched my persona

@GzBiH That’s some pretty impressive work!

@GzBiH don’t @ me bro

@HBPirates it’s very, err, luminous!

/giphy shenanigans again

@djslack @HBPirates Trace it in sharpie and I’ll give you a star too.

@djslack @HBPirates @sammydog01 They don’t want stars, they want IRKs! Stars might be better, though.

@HBPirates
User name checks out!
Admirable pirate tactics, very creative.

@HBPirates @Kyeh

Even more impressive

Now carve it with a lightsaber

/giphy lightsaber tattoo

Such a different way to experience a Mehrathon…!

@Kyeh I am really enjoying NOT having to lurk at my computer in desperate hopes of catching that elusive IRK.

spends too much of beautiful day at computer anyway

OK, I am LOGGING OFF.

@brainmist @Kyeh

Noticed that effect. : )

@brainmist Hahaha - exactly the same here. It’s just kind of fun to experience this novel sense of freedom!
Have a good non-digital rest of your day!

@flourlover the cartoon says who ate the middles out of the Daddy Long Legs you gotta love The Far Side

@die13lda Turn it sideways and the photo button shows up.

@die13lda @sammydog01

You have to turn your phone to landscape before you start creating a post.

When you put your phone in landscape you get the “desktop-type box to create a post.

Then hit the button that kinda looks like a mountain (circled in red) and a dialog will start to allow you to upload a photo.

@f00l @sammydog01 Thanks for the tips y’all!

@mbersiam I’m glad your foot is not actually on fire.

@die13lda Hey, that guy looks familiar…

@ExtraMedium Thanks!

Do you know overall, even if they haven’t posted, how many people have qualifying tattoos?

@Kidsandliz We don’t have a current tally that I know of. I can try to get a count later today and probably should have a list with comparison art set aside for the future, but I know a few folks don’t come around anymore. I’ll have to go back through some of the older posts to see what I can find and I’ll post if I get what I think is a definitive number.

@ExtraMedium

@ExtraMedium Thank you so much!

@ExtraMedium Thanks for doing the work as the point person on this this time around.

@ExtraMedium thank you. It is much appreciated