Tattoos are cool. Tattoos are creative. Tattoos are inspiring. Tattoos are reminders. And tattoos are permanent. When I was a young girl, my parents were very against tattoos and always considered them a sign of the devil; so growing up I didn’t have any interest in getting a tattoo. However, in my senior year of high school, I had a very close group of friends that I had practically grown up with. During our last two weeks of high school, we made an agreement that no matter where we ended up in the world, we would always be connected as the best of friends. It was during that time that we all agreed to make a tattoo design to permanently signify our friendship. From that point on, I was hooked on the idea of getting a tattoo!
Nearly three years later, all five of us finally reunited during spring break and decided to get our tattoos on the same day together. It was a process, but I am very happy with the design, placement, and size that I got. As a tattoo novice, I did a lot of thinking (three years to be exact) on what I would like my first tattoo to be like. So my blog to you is how to prepare for a first tattoo, based on my research and personal experience.
1) Choose a design you will be HAPPY with.
There are a-billion-and-one different ideas for tattoos out available for you, but why not create your own unique design? You can even look into multiple designs along the lines of what you have in mind and then combine ideas from various tattoos into one tattoo design. Google images and Pinterest are great places to start with, but my recommendation is the iPhone app “Tattoodo”. It is full of inspiration!
2) Decide size and location.
How large or how small do you want the tattoo? What about location? Most painful spot, least painful spot, visible, or not visible? There are lots of factors to consider, but thankfully that’s what tattoo consultations are for! A lot of tattoo artists will do free consultations where you can meet with them before you get the tattoo, show them the design, and ask for recommendations on the design, where it would look good placed, and how big or small can it be. Whenever you go in for your actual tattoo appointment, they put a temporary tattoo template on you with the design so you can see how the size and location of it look in the mirror before they begin the actual tattooing process. Always consider the factors of pain in the area you choose to have the tattoo and think about a professional level. Will your future job care about the large tattoo on your face or on the back of your hands? What will you look like as a grandma/grandpa? Tattoos can and will stretch and change shape with your body.
3) Tattoo artist.
This brings in the next, most important factor: who will be your tattoo artist? With my friends, we decided to find a tattoo place near us in Arlington, Texas. We did research on the top 4-star and higher parlors in the area, looked at location/proximity to us, and then researched into each individual place’s policy, cleanliness, and price. After we narrowed the places down, we looked into each tattoo shop’s artists and checked out their portfolios online to see the type of tattoo work each artist did. We wanted to find an artist whose style we could envision our tattoo to be formed as. A great resource to use is to ask friends and family who have tattoos and get advice from them on places with good reputations.
4) Lastly, prepare.
Tattoo pain varies based on the location, size, and if you choose color or shading. Some ideas that can prepare you for your first tattoo is take some pain killer pills at least 1 hour in advance of when you are going to get your tattoo. Do NOT take any alcohol of any kind before getting a tattoo because it can thin your blood and cause you to bleed more during the tattoo. Plus the artist will most likely reschedule your appointment due to intoxication and poor decision making, as you are about to get a permanent item on your body while not in a clear state of mind. The last thing I would recommend is go ahead and buy aftercare products prior to getting the tattoo. This way, you will already have them at home and ready to use as soon as your session ends. Always listen to the specific after care instructions your tattoo artist gives you, but common products they recommend for treatment are Aquaphor, a healing ointment for the tattoo and unscented, non-greasy lotion to (generously and continuously) put on your tattoo (even after it’s healed) to keep the your skin smooth and your tattoo sharp. Some lotions can be tattoo-specific, like After Inked or Billy Jealousy Tattoo Lotion, while others are more common, like Lubriderm or Aveeno. These are especially handy since they can come in smaller bottles to carry around in your purse and backpack throughout the day. Finally, soap is important! You will need to keep up with cleaning your tattoo, and this can be as simple as Dial Gold antibacterial hand soap, or tattoo-specific soaps, such as Tattoo Goo and H2Ocean blue green liquid soap.
All in all, a first tattoo for anyone is a BIG step! So just make sure you do your research and are prepared for a tattoo of a lifetime.