Tattoo Charlie's

There is no substitute for experience. Voted best in Louisville by Leo Readers 2012, 2013, & 2014. Established in 1973, Tattoo Charlie’s has been doing quality tattoos at a reasonable price for nearly 4 decades. Whether you want a portrait, traditional, or any other style of tattooing we have an artist to fit your needs. We also have a fully trained staff of piercers. Please browse our artist portfolios and Facebook pages for examples of their work. All of our artists love to do custom work, if you have a design or just an idea come in and we can make it a reality - While -U- Wait!

[tattoocharlies]

2016 Tattoos Against Cancer

You all are amazing! With your help, we raised over $8,000 this year at our Tattoos Against Cancer benefit for Meghan's Mountain. Sadly, Meghan is no longer with us but I believe she would be very proud of the work we did this weekend to help children fighting cancer.

Thank you all so much for your support!

^Buddy Wheeler

Owner

[tattoocharlies]

The world can always use a little more peace. Tattoo by Pike.

[tattoocharlies]

Here's a great article on daith piercings and migraines, it's a really informative read.

[tattoocharlies]

Nothing makes me long for summer like a mason jar full of sweet iced tea. Tattoo by ASA in my Lexington studio.

[tattoocharlies]

Fresh conch piercing by MOY, custom anodized to match the rocking hair color. Jewelry by Anatometal.

[tattoocharlies]

Remodeling!

 Over the last few months we've been making some small changes to the studio that are adding up to a big change. On Derby Day we installed our new front counter made of all reclaimed materials from Honest Home on Market St. This has allowed the artists considerably more room for their daily work and some space to breathe. We've also completely revamped our storage areas in the hallway leading to the back room. 

 Over the next few months we have more changes coming; new museum items will cover the walls, a new paint scheme, and a remodeled piercing room are all on the schedule for this year.  

 If if you haven't been in lately, stop in here at Preston Hwy soon and check it out! 

[tattoocharlies]

Remodeling!

Over the last few months we've been making some small changes to the studio that are adding up to a big change. On Derby Day we installed our new front counter made of all reclaimed materials from Honest Home on Market St. This has allowed the artists considerably more room for their daily work and some space to breathe. We've also completely revamped our storage areas in the hallway leading to the back room. 

 Over the next few months we have more changes coming; new museum items will cover the walls, a new paint scheme, and a remodeled piercing room are all on the schedule for this year.  

 If if you haven't been in lately, stop in here at Preston Hwy soon and check it out! 

[vaughnbodyarts]

The importance of downsizing your cartilage piercing jewelry

So you have likely heard reputable piercers cover a lot of things when it comes to the healing of your body piercing. Aftercare, jewelry quality, etc. 

An often overlooked step that is critical to the overall healing of your piercing is downsizing.  For this writing, let’s focus on cartilage piercings as this is an issue that pops up frequently.

Not all, but most piercings initially require jewelry that is longer in length or wider in diameter in order to accommodate for the swelling. While some may find this longer length annoying, it’s a necessary precaution to prevent jewelry from embedding into tissue once swelling takes place.  Here’s an example of a freshly pierced tragus:

You may think that jewelry looks awfully long, right? Well after 2-3 weeks that flatback was sitting perfectly flush to either side of this client’s tragus due to the swelling that occurs with cartilage piercings.  So we need room for swelling, but excessively long jewelry is problematic as well. Jewelry that is too long will get caught and snagged much easier, causing irritation and a longer dragged out healing time. This is another reason why going to a reputable piercer is so important. 

With most cartilage piercings, longer jewelry being left in for too long can cause the piercing channel to shift its angle. The two most critical (and popular) piercings that come to mind are helix and forward helix piercings.

Here is another example: 

At first glance you would probably just assume the top two piercings were done crooked. While that’s possible, for this writing we will assume they were pierced correctly and perpendicular to the tissue (straight).  See that bump on the second from top cartilage piercing? That’s not an infection, or keloid, or scar. That’s an irritation bump that is most likely there due to the extreme angle the piercing has taken. That angle places pressure on the piercing channel, causing the dreaded cartilage bump.

There are many factors that could explain the top two cartilage piercings having such extreme angles. Sleeping on the piercing at night, catching and snagging it, etc. These things are all the more problematic with jewelry that has been left long for too long (not downsized soon enough).  You’ll find quite a few piercers who have been piercing for many years aren’t big fans of using really thin jewelry in cartilage piercings. And rightfully so. While thicker jewelry can still angle if not downsized, they generally tend to be a little more forgiving as the slightly thicker gauge can provide a bit more stability.  With the growing common practice of 18g jewelry being used in cartilage piercings, having regular checkups with your piercer is crucial so snug fitting jewelry can be put in as soon as the piercing is ready.  Here’s an example of a client who had a forward helix piercing done with longer jewelry, then later stopped in for a snugger fitting piece as the swelling had gone away at this point.

So how soon after getting your piercing can you get a snugger fitting piece of jewelry put in? That’s the tough part. It can vary greatly from one client/piercing to the other. After a few weeks, some people are ready. For others it can take well over a month or two.   Missing that open window when swelling has come down can be problematic. Now that longer jewelry may get caught or snagged on something, causing you to have to go through a period of swelling all over again (and delaying you in being able to downsize). This is exactly why frequent follow ups with your piercer is essential to make sure you don’t waste your money on a quality piercing with quality jewelry only to have it angle so bad you no longer find it aesthetically pleasing. And one last thing, because this comes up all the time: When you come in for a shorter piece of jewelry, of course you have to pay for it. Jewelry is never free. Please say it with me: “I understand I will have to pay for jewelry when I am requesting new jewelry.” Okay. I feel better now. I hope some of you piercing enthusiasts find this information helpful! 

Cody Vaughn vaughnbodyarts

[tattoocharlies]

#lovewins Today is a beautiful day!

[tattoocharlies]

Piercing Education

 This week I (Buddy) am in Las Vegas for the Association of Professional Piercers educational conference. It is a week of classes where piercers and business owners in our industry come together to share knowledge and help each other succeed. 

I'm really excited to be here and look forward to continue to improve what we do. Over the years we've continuously made changes to stay at the top of the industry standards. What was high quality jewelry 20 years ago is now the very bottom end. 

We also change our aftercare based on current understanding of how the body heals. 

When I get back we will be implementing some changes to make your piercing experience better. Modifications to aftercare, changes to procedures, etc. 

I want my studio to be the one you trust for all of your tattoo and piercing needs. 

Thanks,

Buddy Wheeler

[instead-of-a-hug]

I’d say that the picture speaks for itself. This is two generations of jewelry that we used to use at @calmbodymodification (top and center) and the kind that we use now (bottom). #calmbodymod #calmbodymodification #piercingstockholm #stockholmpiercing #anatometal #jewelry #legitbodyjewelry #safepiercing #qualitybeforequantity #itsnotexpensiveifitsworthit (på/i CALM Bodymod - Piercings and Modifications)

[piercingbywhitney]

Triple Nape surface piercings using a freehand wound shaping technique with  flat bottom titanium surface bars with hot pink opals from ANATOMETAL This was a little tricky considering i’ve never performed even a double nap surface piercing before but im happy with the end result 

[tattoocharlies]

By Whitney at Tattoo Charlie's Lexington.

[tattoocharlies]

An original Ralph Johnstone painting that belonged to Amund Dietzel at one point. On display as part of our museum collection at the Preston Hwy studio. #tattoo #tattoos #tattoocharlies #prestonhwy #louisville #kentucky #professionaltattoo #louisvilletattoo #louisvilletattoos #eternalink #thinkyourink #tattooartistmag #inked #tatted #tattedup #tattoooftheday #yestattoo #superbtattoos #cooltattoos #inkfreakz #tattooartistshirtclub #donttrythisathome #keeplouisvilleweird #explorelouisville #sharelouisville #leoweekly #bestoflouisville #whileyouwait #tattoohistory #tattoomuseum @americanatattoos

[louisvilleloveapp]

Annie May’s Sweet Cafe is gluten, soy and nut free. Check out their IG and these awesome cupcakes. Tag photos to #EatLoveLouisville #Repost @anniemayssweetcafe ・・・
I ain’t afraid of no ghost. #80s #cupcakes #birthday #ghostbusters #pacman #ivegotpacmanfever #glutenfree #vegan #neon #iwantmymtv #iwearmysunglassesatnight #tastylou #igerslouisville #louisvillelocal #louisvillelove #louisvilleeats #sharelouisville #louisville #eats #foodies #foodlovers by eatlovelouisville http://ift.tt/1Hdc7hv

[tattoocharlies]

Mandala tattoo by PIKE

[tattoocharlies]

Beautiful gold jewelry from @leroifinebodyjewelry is here! We have a great selection of these 14k fancy hearts in white and yellow gold, stop in soon! #leroibodyjewelry #legitbodypiercing #daithpiercing #tattoo #tattoos #tattoocharlies #prestonhwy #louisville #kentucky #professionaltattoo #louisvilletattoo #louisvilletattoos #eternalink #thinkyourink #tattooartistmag #inked #tatted #tattedup #tattoooftheday #yestattoo #superbtattoos #cooltattoos #inkfreakz #tattooartistshirtclub #donttrythisathome #keeplouisvilleweird #explorelouisville #leoweekly #bestoflouisville #whileyouwait

[tattoocharlies]

Tattoo repair by LUCKY - The original tattoo wasn't a bad one, it just didn't pop the way she wanted it to. Lucky was able to work with the original design and make it into something really beautiful.