It was time to finally take that final step of my
traumatic past, I am now ready and that final step involves changing my second
tattoo that I got in Ethiopia 18 months ago.
I got the name of my ex-boyfriend, and I know, I can hear everyone
shudder and tut. I now know the number
one thing people should NEVER get tattooed is the names of people that aren’t
family members. At the time it didn’t
worry me getting Zeme’s name tattooed on me and I knew how crazy it was going
to look to other people. This tattoo was going to be with me till the day
I die, but in a way I couldn’t put into words why it felt so right, but it did
at the time and it was like it was my destiny which I know sounds corny but so
be it, it was how I felt and I had absolutely no second thoughts what so ever
as I got the name of some-one tattooed on my skin for life. Once I posted a picture of that tattoo on
Facebook there were a lot of positive comments and also a few reality comments
about putting a name on my skin, and my simple reply back was that if things
didn’t work out (it was never an option at the time) was that haven’t they all
seen LA Ink? I could get it changed into
something else should I need to, they can change tattoos to anything these
days, which at the time I didn’t even think I would EVER have to do and I LOVED
the tattoo when I got it. I loved the
font and what the tattoo meant at the time.
Needless to say, life runs its course and things never turn out the way
you planned and I now have an ex-boyfriends name tattooed on my arm and nearly
12 months on after we broke up, I am now ready to get it changed into something
else. It is now time to play my LA Ink
card and today was the day.
After I got my last 2 tattoos a few weeks ago, I showed
my Zeme tattoo to ‘my’ artist Abraham, and after he had playfully clipped me
over the head (for getting a name-which he said happens all the time) he took a
photo of the tattoo and also traced it onto a piece of plastic and he said to
give him a few weeks and he will have a new design. I said that I wasn’t too fussy as long as it
didn’t go too much bigger, it could be a design or a picture or another word
and that I wasn’t into dragons, witches or castles. I just wanted a design that would
incorporate/hide the Zeme tattoo, as it is currently a permanent reminder of
what was a pretty painful and shameful breakup for me and getting a fresh ink
on top of that one is the last step I need to truly leave that part of my life
behind and look toward the future ‘Zeme’ free.
I also feel like a goose when people ask me what all my tattoos are and
I can’t think of a single person that hasn’t looked at me with the ‘what were
you thinking’ look when I explain it is an ex-boyfriend’s name. To be honest people find it hard to read and
I could have just made up a story, but I am not that type of person and I KNOW
what it means and I want it changed.
The great thing getting it done today is that I get it
changed before I head out on my trip next week and that it will be changed
before I head back to Australia. Getting
it done today also gives it nearly 2 full weeks to heal and after getting a few
tattoos now, I know that there will be no complications, as my skin seems to
heal just nicely. I’ve had a lot of
people ask if it hurts getting a tattoo and I think it comes down to the pain
threshold of the individual and where you get the tattoo. The ‘bonier’ areas of the body are going to
be more painful as the needle hits the bone as the ink is applied. I have only had my tattoos applied to my
‘softer’ parts and to give you some idea it feels like a sunburn or someone
pinching you in one place for a period of time.
So how do tattoos really stay in the skin for a lifetime? Here it is in
layman's terms. The human skin is made up of two principal parts; the epidermis
and the dermis layer. The outer, thinner layer called the epidermis consists of
about four or five cell layers. This is the layer that is constantly shedding
and replacing itself. The inner layer, called the dermis, consists of two
portions; the upper papillary region and the reticular region. Tattoos are made by the tattoo needles pushing
ink into the deeper dermis layer of the skin.
The needle pushes ink into the skin depositing ink into the various
layers of skin. Most of the ink residing in the dermal layer is flushed out
leaving a layer of ink between the two layers of skin.
Tattoo application uses a mechanized needle to puncture
the skin and inject ink into the dermis or second layer of skin just below the
epidermis. Since the process involves damaging the skin, the body responds with
white blood cells which attempt to absorb the foreign particles and dispose of
them in the blood stream. The reason
pigment stays there is because the pigment particles are too big to be eaten by
the white cells, so they just sit there, keeping the tattoo for life. It sounds like a more painful process than it
is and probably going to make those of you who want a tattoo but scared of the
pain even more so.
Abraham had sent through a design late last week and
because of the shape of the existing tattoo, he suggested we stick to tribal
designs, which I was happy to run with, as I become more African as the months
turn and it would still mean something to me personally. I have always based my tattoos on personal
experiences and was not one to just pick something for the hell of it. This is the first one (and will be the only
one) where I have had to work with an existing
tattoo, but I was happy with the design that Abe had done and was
interested to see if he had anymore designs to show me when I turned up today. As it worked out he had done another one and
after some consultation the one I chose was a little softer and not as busier
as the other option, even though I did like it, It was a lot more darker and
afterwards, I am even more glad that I chose the one I did as it was dark
enough as it was.
So the carbon copy was imprinted on my wrist and with the
buzz of the needle it was time to remove the last of my Zeme saga from my
life. I was erasing the past and it felt
GREAT if not a little sad, but in a good way though.... As Zeme’s name disappeared under a sea of
black ink, it was becoming obvious that it was going to be a very dark tattoo
and this will be one that I will happy to see fade a little. It also hurt the most out of the 5 that I
have had done, as there was a lot more colouring in and Abe used a bigger
needle that had 3-4 needles working away covering up the old tattoo. I have to say in 90 minutes, Abe had done a
great job and with a bit of shading to soften the design a little we were
finished. Looking at the tattoo, unless
you look super close, and only because I know what was underneath, you can’t
even see the old tattoo, so if nothing else I got what I came for and it is
just the new shape and size that I will have to get used to over time. It is weird every time I look down; I think
it is just not seeing the original tattoo that throws me for a loop each
time. Nothing that time won’t fix. While I was here I also got Abe to touch up
my ‘hakuna matata’ symbol as we had missed a joining line when I had it done a
few weeks ago and it was driving me a little batty even though no one else
would have known.
I am happy.
I am happy that the Zeme tattoo is gone-it is a part of
my past that can now be left there-in the past.
I am happy with the design, even though it is super dark,
but it had to be for the cover-up to work.
I am HAPPY.
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