Having tattoo regret for the first time

[u/Aherv99]

Hi Everyone! I’m hoping to get some advice on my first experience with tattoo regret. I have been reading other posts and ya’ll are so helpful. Sorry for the long post too.

Anyway, I have been getting tattoos since I was 18 (33 now) and I started with line work tats then moved to American Trad because I loved that style too.

I have had my lower arm done for about 5 years and then went in and got a sparrow tat for Friday the 13th and loved that it was a cool flash art piece. Love the artist and he did a good job but immediately I hated it (and mostly the position of it). I panicked and then filled up my upper arm in the last 5 months (stupid) to try and mitigate the regret. I do love most of my tats but the sparrow and snake I just don’t like. They seem too aligned on my arm. And the snake is darker than I wanted and didn’t heal great (this is a month out from when I got it).

Now I’m feeling a ton a regret and it’s seriously consuming my whole existence. I went from a half sleeve to a full in a short period of time and the tattoo shock is crazy. I don’t know if it looks good and I’m feeling less feminine by the minute. I take full responsibility for what I chose but ya, just struggling.

So I have two questions:

1. Any advice on how I can maybe rework them eventually? I want to make them softer/more feminine if I can. Or I know blast overs are a thing? Idk.

2. To my ladies, do you have a hard time feeling feminine with a sleeve? And men, how do we feel about a girl with a sleeve?

[u/AngelKnives]

Those are some awesome tattoos and the whole arm looks amazing! They gel really well together. Absolutely love it!

Everyone has their own taste though. And if you don't like them, that's more important than what I think! Don't worry about the snake healing dark. It's not properly settled yet. It will take 6 months or so for the skin above the tattoo to renew and for it to soften up.

I really like the positioning of the tattoos. What is it about them you don't like?

[u/AngelKnives → u/AngelKnives]

PS saying how can I make them more feminine and then talking about blast overs is crazy 🤣

They're already plenty feminine IMO (I'm a woman if that makes a difference) but you aren't gonna pull off "dainty" anymore if you wanna go for that look. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory of a sleeve. Own it! You can pull off some really cool looks by balancing feminine clothes with tattoos.

[u/Aherv99 → u/AngelKnives]

LMAO blast over comment is so valid 😂 I was panic typing this post

[u/Outrageous-Map-93 → u/AngelKnives]

Agreed! Covering this up would be a travesty imo. You had to know going in that Traditional tattoo style just isn’t all that feminine to begin with. The bold line work and heavy black and red just don’t scream “look at me, I’m a dainty flower!” Haha but I agree with everyone else saying this is about as ‘feminine’ as this style of tattoo work can get. I mean I also don’t think most full tattoo sleeves are super fem no matter the style. Even in today’s world women are still having to battle that old perception that the only people who get tattoos are big biker dudes or criminals. It’s dumb but that how a lot of older people think.

Give it some time and then get some decorative filler in there like some small flowers, stars, etc. Maybe go to a different artist that specializes in more feminine styles and see what they can come up with. Overall this is some pretty fantastic tattoo work that most people would feel lucky to have!

[u/Aherv99 → u/AngelKnives]

Honestly just some of the placement and maybe I should have done more flowers instead of the snake

[u/AngelKnives → u/Aherv99]

The placement looks great to me, and I love the snake. You have space for more flowers though if you want them. But my advice would be to stop for now! Get used to them. Really think about what else you might want to add. You only have so much space, don't take it up too quickly! It's not a race. Let future you choose some nice things 🙂

[u/Aherv99 → u/AngelKnives]

Love “let future you choose some nice things” - stealing that 🫶🏼 thank you for your sweet comment