So I'd been tattooed a fair number of times before, halfway through a full sleeve and a few small pieces strewn about....some had hurt, but all had healed quickly and flawlessly. I'd also been tattooed by Albie Rock multiple times; in fact, he was working on the aforementioned sleeve. So why was I so nervous?
At A Glance Author xchakax Contact xchakax@bme.anon Artist Albie Rock Studio Tattoo International Location Wallingford, CT Most likely, because my more heavily covered compatriots had been warning me that the back of my neck would be one of the most painful spots on my body to get tattooed. In addition, this would be my first completely uncoverable tattoo. Sure, my dreadlocks hang down over that spot, and I have no reason or inclination to cover any of my body art, but it seemed a big step nonetheless. Part of my nervousness came from the decision being somewhat spur-of-the-moment; I'd had the idea of what I wanted, but had counted on finishing my sleeve before considering it. In light of that, I felt a little unprepared.
Fearing the worst (though knowing full well the worst would still be worth it) I put on some comforable clothes and headed down to Tattoo International in Wallingford, CT, where Albie works. He was working on a friend of mine when I got there; afterward, we discussed colors, background, and the other technical aspects one might worry about when getting the back of one's neck tattooed. The tattoo was to be the severed head of a pig with a tear in its eye and a banner that read "herbivore," and I was very excited.
Albie's claim to fame is his amazing color work; he usually works between 10-14 different color inks into each tattoo, blending each into skin and each other to create many different tones and gradations. I was confident that the final result would be amazing, and he in turn was confident that I would trust him to choose a beautiful color scheme and that I would sit well. Soon enough, it was my turn.
Since there was no comfortable way to sit in the larger chairs normally used for tattooing, I sat backward in a smaller chair with my forehead in a pillow on the armrest of the larger chair. We held my hair out of the way with a combination of a headband and a bandanna, and I turned my button-up shirt around backward so Albie could access the areas below my collar that would be covered. Needless to say, I was nervous, despite knowing that he was rather quick and not particularly heavy-handed. I don't particularly like getting an outline and then, after healing, having it colored, so we were to do the whole piece in one sitting. I'd taken some Alleve, I'd been shaved, I was ready.
The first 5 minutes were, of course, painful. The bone at the base of my neck turned out to be a rather sensitive spot, and outlining always trumps shading. It wasn't the agony I'd expected, though, and in 15 minutes I was surprised to realize that parts of my inner tricep had hurt far worse. At one point, when Al was coloring one of the pig's ears (which ran right up into my hairline), I found myself covered in goosebumps....almost a pleasant feeling. By the time he switched back to the liner near the end of the process, to add some white highlights, I felt silly for being so nervous. We'd talked and joked the whole time, me sipping soda through a straw. After 2 hours or so, I was holding a cold, wet paper towel on it and waiting for Albie to set up his camera, happy as a clam.
I didn't leave it covered for particularly long, being such an uncomfortable place to wrap. I'm fairly meticulous about aftercare; for the first three days, 3 times a day, I coat the fresh tattoo with a very thin layer of A&D ointment (the original stuff, not with zinc oxide) mixed with an herbal comfrey cream...exactly 72 hours after the tattoo, which is almost always the point where I begin to peel, I switch to a lanolin/petrolatum based moisturizer (without much alcohol) and apply twice a day until the tattoo is no longer peeling or tender.
Using this same system, which has worked beautifully for all my other tattoos, yielded great results here as well; being that it's the beginning of summer, and between the tickly ends of dreadlocks and the collars of my shirts, it itched a bit more than usual, though not enough to drive me too crazy. I didn't lose any ink, I didn't scab at all, and the finished product is all I'd hoped for. Albie has always done a fantastic job, and my body appears to like tattoos a lot more than it liked piercings (almost all of which I've had to remove, being that my immne system almost constantly rejects them, even for years...I'm down to nothing more than a pair of 7/16" lobe plugs). I felt comfortable throughout the whole experience and know that I can ask whatever questions I feel pertinent, however silly or paranoid they might sound. I will definitely go back for more...I do have plenty of space left.
The worst part? It's in a spot I can only admire with a pair of mirrors. :)
--jeff
Albie Rock: crucialalbierock@yahoo.com