New white ink tattoo
New ink yesterday! My new tattoo was done entirely in white ink. At one day old, they’re still red and puffy and look a little bit like burns. I’ll have them gone over at least once more, maybe twice, to insure that the white is nice and uniform, so they won’t really be finished for another month or two. I’m really happy with them so far though, I think they’re going to look great once they’re finished.
They’re on my forearms, a couple inches below my elbows. This is my first tattoo that’s visible when I’m just wearing a t-shirt. Technically my back piece is visible because it goes a little higher than a typical t-shirt collar, but something like that is not as noticeable as a forearm piece, even if these, being white, are going to be pretty subtle. I had to consider this one for a while; for years I made sure that all my work could be hidden easily in as little as a t-shirt and pants (my calf piece is visible when I wear shorts, but I don’t normally wear shorts to work so that doesn’t really count). But I think that we — American society as a whole — have finally moved past the point where tattoos are considered a big deal. Visible tattoos are commonplace these days, on all sorts of people in all walks of life, so I don’t expect these to be a problem for me. Especially in the IT industry, appearance is generally not as important as it is in some other areas.
Update
I’ve posted a picture of how they look three years later.
About the artist
This work was done by Levon Leeds at Five Star Tattoo just outside of Portland, Oregon. You can see more of his work on his MySpace photo gallery.
Posted in White Ink Tattoos 14 Comments
April 26th, 2004 at 9:56 am
first thing I thought was:
“kenn used to be a frat boi!???”
then realized what it was…hurrrrrr.
Someone donated 56 bucks to my birthday tattoo fund, and I need to figure out something to get inked :>
April 26th, 2004 at 10:00 am
WooHoo! Yay for new ink! With all the redness, they almost look like brands.
April 26th, 2004 at 10:01 am
Very nice! I’ve been considering getting some whitework done for a couple years now, but need to finish my works in progress first.
I definitely want to see pix of them fully healed!
September 4th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I like them alot!! the brand look is working for ya..i want some toooo.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Hey there..they look like they’re work perfect in the long run with your skin type! Where did you go/who tattooed you??.. I’ve been on the search for awhile now and can’t find anyone skilled who does “only white” tats..help!
September 9th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Three years later they still look pretty good. I haven’t had any of the fading that sometimes happens with white ink.
They were done by Levon Leeds, formerly in the Los Angeles area and now just outside of Portland, Oregon, at Five-Star Tattoo Co.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:05 am
These are awesome. I’m getting some white letters on my wrists this week. I’ve read so many negative things from white ink naysayers, but you’ve inspired me! I’m super pale, too, so I hope that will help. :D
November 9th, 2007 at 10:06 am
How long did it take for them to heal/look less pink?
November 9th, 2007 at 10:06 am
The same as most any tattoo, they were pretty well healed after about six weeks.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:08 am
I looked at some white people with the white ink. It doesn’t look right on white people, I would think it would look better on tanned people? darker skin, but apparantly it does not hold up too well on darker skin. Which is ashamed becaue white ink looks silly on white people. I can’t even see it on whites?
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Dude! Answer this for me! What ink did they use AND did they use a transfer? I want a white ink tattoo on my wrist but I keep reading that you need a certain white ink and to avoid bad artists who use certain kind of transfers because I’ll end up with a blue/ gray tattoo!
June 18th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
hey I was looking for someone to do a white tattoo on me but i was told that on the long run it fades or changes color to like a yellow or orange or somethings like that…. is this true and did it happen to yours?
June 18th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
EL: No, mine aren’t discolored at all. Here’s a picture of them after three years.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:05 am
[...] medlemmar. Administratören Ken Christ berättar i ett inlägg, daterat 3 oktober 2007, att han bloggade om sina vita tatueringar redan 2004. Hösten 2007 genererar inlägget plötsligt massvis med trafik. Någonting har [...]