Just a quick hello to everyone here. I've been browsing around this site for a few weeks now and everyone is amazing! It's great to see a community that actually gives a shit and will voice their opinions openly (sometimes not respectfully )
I live in Ontario, Canada and am originally from Montreal. Like some of you, my first tattoo was created with a crude machine and guitar string! I've always been very artistic but stopped doing arts when I started doing renovation and interior design. So I'm a little rusty on the drawing/painting/coloring side.
None the less, I put myself together a nice kit and have been practicing with some drafting/fake skin and some real crappy ink (saving the good stuff) - of course my first project will be to cover up the guitar string tat (funny thing as it was done freehand by my brother, who is now a art director, and it's still in good shape, just not what I'd like - I'll post pictures one day to show you guys)

My daughter is a little artist herself and she's very good (15 yrs old), she took an immediate interest in tattooing and we're thinking to possibly start a small business together. A female based tattoo shop (nothing against the guys) - we know we have a looooooong road ahead and figure it'd be a year or more before this actually happens, but if we plant the seed now...
So, any suggestions are helpful. I've read at least a hundred or more posts about CC and safety. Not ready for an autoclave yet, but have plenty of disposables (needles/tubes/grips) - have an impact printer and lots of spirit paper and speed stick - lol.

I guess the main questions I'd have are:
1) How do you know your machine is perfectly adjusted? I've been winging it with the sound and notice that at certain adjustments the machine gets hot or not.
2) Aftercare...so many different opinions. If you don't use vasoline or A&D, what can you put directly on the tat so it doesn't stick to the guaze yet allows healing and keeps the ink in/sharp?
3) Can someone please share the "Black Book" with me - pleeeeease? dubelcom@hotmail.com

Sorry for the long introduction. Pleasure to meet y'all.


This post has been edited by lijasha: Aug 2 2009, 06:41 PM