So last week I finally pulled the trigger on getting an Egyptian piece done, specifically the Eye of Ra. I'd been eyeballing it for ages, ever since that Cairo trip a couple years back. Those ancient symbols just stuck with me, you know? Plus my arm's looking kinda bare after that dragon shoulder piece healed.
Digging Up Tattoo Ideas
Started like always – doomscrolling Instagram and Pinterest. Man, there's a ton of eye designs out there. I saw all kinds:
- Hyper-realistic ones with insane shading
Super minimalist line drawings
Weird color combos like neon green & purple (hard pass)
Full pharaoh portraits wrapping around calves
Wasn't feeling any of those exact vibes though. Wanted my own twist.
Hunting the Right Tattoo Parlor
Took me two whole weekends hitting up shops downtown. My rules were simple:
- No dude tattooing in flip-flops (saw this… twice)
- Must have done legit Egyptian stuff before – showed my phone gallery of references
- Portfolio shouldn't look like clipart
Ended finding this tiny spot near the old record store. Artist’s name was Max, showed me this dope Cleopatra thigh piece in his book. Had the geometry nailed.
Thrashing Out the Design
Sat with Max for like an hour Tuesday night. We sketched right on my arm with purple marker:
- Kept the classic pyramid shape for the eye
- Added sun rays curling out like the old temple carvings
- Threw in Ankh symbols flowing downward
- Strictly black & gray – told him no gold leaf nonsense
My wife texted halfway through like "Dinner’s cold" – oops.
Needle Time Baby
Booked the session for Friday afternoon. Honestly? Hurt way worse than the dragon did. That wrist bone is NO JOKE. Things I remember:
- Cold blue gel wipe smell when he cleaned the stencil
- Weird buzzing vibrating my teeth when he hit tendons
- Staring at cobra stickers on his toolbox for distraction
- Doing shaky breaths through the thick bits
Took just under three hours. Paid cash plus a big tip cause damn.
Aftercare Chronicles
First three days sucked royal. Woke up with ink juice on sheets twice. Routine was:
- Washing gently with scent-free soap before work
- Blotting dry with paper towels – don’t rub!
- Thin layer of ointment every few hours
- Zero sun exposure – wore hoodies in July heat 😅
Had mad itching last weekend but slapped myself instead of scratching.
Update today: Scabs finally fell off yesterday. Lines healed crispy clean, no blowouts! Colors settled way darker than I expected though – makes the rays pop harder than the sketches. Catch myself constantly twisting my arm to stare at it. My manager gave me weird looks this morning… totally worth it.
