I got another tattoo yesterday by Nille at Salvation Tattoo, a serotonin molecule.
Serotonin is both a classical neurotransmitter and a signaling molecule. To simplify things, it is a brain chemical that also can be found throughout the body (primarily in the digestive system). Its functions are among other things to help control happiness, sleep, aggression, impulsiveness, appetite, sexual lust, body temperature and metabolism. Due to a condition of mine, I have lower serotonin levels than most people. To fix that, I decided to add some of my own. 
I have stylized the molecule by replacing the letters HO, HN and NH2 with rings. Aside from that, I have thickened the lines and changed the angles on the inner parts slightly. If this should be entirely correct, I should replace the corners with rings as well, as they in this case represent carbon. But I chose style over substance, everything is still explainable and it looks much better this way. Big thanks to Micke Lind for the input on the molecule design!
Tattooing the elbow is probably the most painful ink i’ve done so far. The hearts on my inner upper arms did hurt a lot (and longer), but there were more twitching involved when doing the elbow.
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- Nille placing the template on my arm
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- Checking the position of the template
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- More template checking
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- First needles
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- Doing the tattoo outlines
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- Ouch
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- Tattooing the elbow does hurt quite a bit
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- Changing the position
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- Still working on the outlines
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- Now lying down
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- Tattoo outlines all done!
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- Anybody wanna arm wrestle?
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- Now started with the filling
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- Bleeding during a short break
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- Blood on the floor
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- Tattoo bleeding
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- Tattoo your elbow and suit yourself
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- Somtimes you have to bend…
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- All positions are not comfortable
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- Hello, Luv
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![My Serotonin Tatto [1/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070408-170x100.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [1/5]")
- My Serotonin Tatto [1/5]
![My Serotonin Tatto [1/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070408.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [1/5]")
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![My Serotonin Tatto [2/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070409-170x100.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [2/5]")
- My Serotonin Tatto [2/5]
![My Serotonin Tatto [2/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070409.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [2/5]")
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![My Serotonin Tatto [3/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070410-170x100.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [3/5]")
- My Serotonin Tatto [3/5]
![My Serotonin Tatto [3/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070410.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [3/5]")
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![My Serotonin Tatto [4/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070412-170x100.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [4/5]")
- My Serotonin Tatto [4/5]
![My Serotonin Tatto [4/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070412.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [4/5]")
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![My Serotonin Tatto [5/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070413-170x100.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [5/5]")
- My Serotonin Tatto [5/5]
![My Serotonin Tatto [5/5]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070413.jpg "My Serotonin Tatto [5/5]")
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- Afterwards I took Marianne for some thai food
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![Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [1/2]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070416-170x100.jpg "Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [1/2]")
- Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [1/2]
![Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [1/2]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070416.jpg "Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [1/2]")
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![Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [2/2]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070417-170x100.jpg "Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [2/2]")
- Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [2/2]
![Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [2/2]](http://www.frankjohansson.com/blog/files/2009/04/p1070417.jpg "Plastic wrapped around the tattoo a few hours later [2/2]")
Way to mess it up. You replaced the three chemical groups with rings…the same rings at that..and then on top of it changed the angles. Sorry dude thats no longer serotonin, its not actually any molecule known to man. Good try on being creatie, failure at a this “I should have taken chemistry in college” tattoo.
As I stated in the text; “I have stylized the molecule by replacing the letters HO, HN and NH2 with rings. Aside from that, I have thickened the lines and changed the angles on the inner parts slightly”.
By changing the angles, I merely changed the design of the inner lines from |____| (imagine the top line) to /____\, so nothing regarding the structure of the molecule is changed.
Writing the letters inside the circles would make it fully comprehendible (even thought that is not how you typically do it).