Got my big chest tattoo started!

ravzari

The line work and solid black went down on Monday, and I get it shaded and colored in November. If you want to see it so far, PM me and i can send a picture; I'm not super comfortable posting it publicly since it's my bare chest and all.

The strangest part was how the sensations over the numb areas worked.

My brain knows what tattooing pain is supposed to feel like as I have several other large pieces, including a full left sleeve, and, at first, I didn't feel much on the numb areas at first (which was nice, 'painless' tattooing!) but, after about an hour, a connection seemed to happen and I felt the correct pain sensations, just VERY slightly less than on 'normal' skin over the numb areas; it wasn't as fully intense as it was on areas that weren't affected by the BMX, but it was definitely there and definitely no longer numb.

Even over the nipple grafts, I only felt pressure at first then, my brain seemed to reconnect something, and I felt actual pain over that area that had been previously almost totally numb (the grafts could feel warm/cold/pressure, but not pain) to pain.

When I touch or press those areas now, sensation is almost fully normal; I think my brain remade a few connections which is both cool and, "Oh no, that means it'll hurt more in November!"

Still, that's kind of a nice side effect, to have a minor trauma like tattooing finally get my brain off of its butt and properly reconnect the last of the nerve sensations.

Around the scar line though, oh lord, that felt like being burned, and that was just with line work; shading and coloring over those areas is going to be intensely unpleasant, but at least it's a minority in terms of the area of the whole piece.

scaligirl

WI, good for you! I was thinking about tattoos over the weekend as I stared at my scars in the mirrors. I hope it all goes well!

ravzari

And it's finished after a 6 hour session today (and yes, I am exhausted!).

If you're curious to see, PM me and I'll send you a link.