INKED Inc. - a community for the counterculture

Touch-ups

I haven't had many touch ups done, just one on my sleeve to make everything have the same depth and blend everything else together well. I will be getting another touch-up done on my latest piece as the the colors look abit weird. I expected that and was warned by my artist that the colors might look weird as am dark skinned.

Do most of you need touch up done on your piece or are you happy with what you get the first time?

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Permalink Reply by Marisa_DiMattia on August 27, 2007 at 11:11am: There are a bunch of factors involved in touch-ups. It often depends on how the tattoo healed. You can generally tell when someone picked a scab on a flat area of black and that could call for a touch-up. Feet generally get touched up because sometimes the ink doesn't stay as well. Lots of different things.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Elfling on August 30, 2007 at 11:25pm: I've needed a touchup on both my larger, custom pieces. The heavy black areas just have a hard time taking perfectly with me. I'd recommend going back to your artist even if you don't see anything, they may see something that needs to be touched up. You won't regret it, and it will make the tattoo look so much better in the end.

Don't put it off, either- I still need some touchups on my shoulder piece, and somehow it's been two years now, heh.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jude on September 8, 2007 at 9:04am: my husband's artist has a policy that he will do any touch up for free on his work. Which is a nice thing to offer.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aldisimo on April 26, 2008 at 9:19pm: So ... do we have to look forward to a lifetime of annual touch-ups, or does a touch-up overcome 'once and for all' the problems of fading ink, uneven healing, picked-at skin, and whatever else?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gordon B. on April 27, 2008 at 7:45am: I figure at some point I'm going to have to get a touch-up because I'm kind of a sun-worshiper and am not as careful as I should be about sunscreen -- I'm guessing eventually the colors will fade & I'll want to have it "brightened up." But other than that, I'm really happy with my ink & I wouldn't be doing it to "fix anything."; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Deborah on April 27, 2008 at 12:12pm: I’ve had a couple of colors that didn’t come out as bright as the artist would like so we touched them up, which came out great. I’m also sure as time goes on that my colors will need some touch ups.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris on April 27, 2008 at 12:44pm: I've gotten one touch up so far on my chest. But that's because it was mainly the outline and the guy that didn't did not do a very good job, so the other artist in the shop (the one that does all my stuff now) basically redid the entire tattoo for free

So far I haven't really needed any touch-ups aside from that.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by tracy j. on April 29, 2008 at 9:08pm: I've had 2 touch-ups. I find that when line-work has to be gone over, it's difficult to get it exactly right the 2nd time over; I can always see the spots that were "re-done". Kind of like with pencil drawing or in my calligraphy business - it looks re-done so I never go over anything. That said, it probably depends on the artist too.

My shading/color touch up was fine.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jess on April 30, 2008 at 10:51am: Like with Jude's hubby, the shops in my town all guarantee their work for life (with a few exceptions: for example, anything below sock line isn't guaranteed as it WILL need mulitple touch-ups over the lifetime). I've had many touch-ups, for various reasons. The music notes on my ankle/foot have been reworked 100% once, as neither me nor the artist were 100% pleased with the end result after healing (she didn't charge me for it even though she probalby should have). I had a shoulder cap reworked by another artist, as the first artist just did a generally crappy job. Then I've had a couple touch-ups on some stuff that just flat didn't heal right (I've learned how to better care for my tattoos now). I hate touch-ups, they hurt more than the original as it's scar tissue now, but won't shy away when needed as the integrity of the piece is more important than anything, IMO.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Resident Leg Humper on April 30, 2008 at 5:44pm: Given my oldest tattoo is only a little over 2 years, I haven't really felt the need for touch-ups because I'm a quick healer and all looks well so far...my artist also doesn't charge anything so if need be it on my sleeve in a few years, I think I'm going to just to make sure everything stays the way it is intended to be!; ▶ Reply to This