I’ve been talking about adding another tattoo for a while and it seemed as if I was just going to talk about it rather than do it. I had some hesitations as the location is known to be one of the most painful places to put a tattoo, and another friend who has done quite a bit of ink work on his body strongly recommended that I reconsider.
During lockdown in Tokyo, I started to look at tattoo artists on Instagram as I pondered.
I knew that I wanted a red dragon as I’ve wanted to enhance my second one that was meant to have a clear red dragon in it.
I also knew that I wanted to put the chakras with the dragon as yoga introduced me to the idea of energy spots in the body and they guide me in my meditation practice.
When we decided to move to France, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to decide on the ink job as I don’t speak French well enough and don’t know the process well. However, when a new friend mentioned that her mom had gotten a tattoo for a recent birthday, I decided to look into it. So, I started to follow the artist online and look into the studio.
Thanks to Instagram messenger, Google translate, and a bit of globalization that has led to people learning English in formal school, we were able to communicate. It did require a bit of faith in her skills as I didn’t see the actual design until the day of, but when I did I knew that I was in the right place!
Every time I look at it, I see it differently and appreciate it more. Some have asked what the chakras are and others have questioned why I would want a dragon on my body or why it is red rather than the more expected black outlined style. My answer to all of that is – why not?
Still, I will attempt to explain a bit what it all means and what I am learning from it.
First, I was born in the year of the dragon – or at least that is what I believe according to paperwork. The year of 1976 is said to be with the fire element. If you believe in these things, a fire (red) dragon is meant to be the least ideal for an Asian girl to be born under. When I consider my own personality, I find it clicks with me quite well.
So, the type of dragon was a bit important to me as I did not want the typical Asian-style dragon that one sees on many shoulder or Ukiyo-e style tattoos. As a woman, I also wanted it to have a slightly feminine aspect to it – or as much as a dragon can have. Therefore, this standing up version is great.
Also, to include the chakras, I wasn’t sure if they would be swirling colors interrupting the body shape, but the artist has cleverly put them inside the body, which follows some story tales where a dragon would protect gems/jewels in its scales. So, the chakras being placed along the tummy of the body in this case suits my love of tales and an image of it as a protector of the chakra energies.
Even though the west has somehow demonized the dragon, the east has held it in a kind of awe. The reason why women born in the year of the dragon are not desirable is because they are powerful, wise, and knowledgeable which are not traditionally considered to be the “perfect matchmaking” qualities. As a woman of the modern world, I fully embrace the Asian side of me that encompasses the strength of a dragon. Further, I am happy to identify with the qualities of a fire dragon as:
The Fire Dragon
The Fire Dragon represents transmutation, energy and mastery. As your power animal, he lends you enthusiasm, courage vitality. Your inner fires will ignite. He will help you handle and overcome obstacles. He is a strong protector and will offer you leadership and mastery. He will assist you by giving you greater strength as you achieve your goals.
https://www.spiritanimal.info/dragon-spirit-animal/
So, that is why I have this marking on my body.
In terms of the process itself, well, it took about eight hours with a 40 minute lunch break included. I only really struggled with the pain the last 40 minutes when not only was my right side starting to get sore from lying still on it for so long, but also the going over again with the red ink was starting to wear. Still, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as I had expected based on advice. My pain threshold is rather high and further proved by this. The artist was absolutely amazing with her technique and kindness. She expressed her love of the art well in the process. I did, also, distract myself with Netflix. π
It takes about a month to heal in full, so I’m now just about two weeks. I’ve taken a picture most days to follow the healing process, but after the initial scabbing there hasn’t been much discomfort. I’ve used some foam cleanser called Derma Tattoo for the first week or so, but then keep it moisturized with coconut oil. With my sensitive skin, there has been a bit of a reaction when I use anything too soon over the Derma Tattoo, so I have stopped using it during the past week and just applied the coconut oil, which seems to be effective enough.
Below is my 1-second-a-day video so far of the process. π
Truth be told, I’m already considering another one, but it’ll be a while…. π
~T π
