Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert! This is not the ultimate guide to tattoos, but rather the firsthand account of my own personal experience with getting a tattoo for the first time.
Studio: Memento Mori in Abbotsford, BC
Artist: Miranda
Rates: $160/hr
Vegan/cruelty free options: Yes!
Tattoo
Placement: Right side on ribs
Size: ~5 in tall, 2 in wide
Time: Just under an hour
Before
1. Long Wait
At least for the studio I went to, it was a long wait before I actually got the tattoo. It was a little under a month’s wait for a consultation, and then around the same amount of time to wait for the actual tattoo appointment. However, the studio had to reschedule me due to a personal emergency, and I had to wait two more months because I was only available weekends since I live in SFU residence, but the studio is in my hometown. It feels even longer when you’re excited about getting it.
2. People Scaring You
Everyone who knew I was going to be getting a tattoo would talk about how painful it was going to be. Both people who have gotten tattoos before, and people who have only heard about them expressed the fact (with a wince) that a rib tattoo, especially for the first time, was not going to be the most fun experience. This definitely left me a little, or maybe a lot, nervous.
3. Nerves
Well before the tattoo, I wasn’t nervous at all, but the day of and the day before I was. I was mostly nervous about money. Tattoos are expensive! At $160/hr, not including tax, tip or aftercare products, my biggest worry was that the tattoo would end up longer than expected. This worked to my advantage as I prepared for a 4 hr tattoo (30 minutes more than I was booked for and an hour more than the 3 hour estimate), but paid significantly less. It wasn’t until my friend and I left for the tattoo place that I started really getting nervous about the pain for the first time. I was having serious doubts when I walked up to the studio. Talking to a stranger for a long time also didn’t completely appeal to my introverted self. How was I supposed to hold a conversation for that long??
4. Be at Your Best and Eat and Drink Plenty (But Not Alcohol)
Your body is undergoing serious stress, so it’s important for you to be well rested and healthy. My studio made it clear that if I was sick, I would want to reschedule. Also, don’t drink alcohol the night before. Supposedly, this makes your body bleed easier. You’re also supposed to eat well and drink enough water to ensure your body is at its best, and you don’t know how long your tattoo will be so you want to make sure you won’t be getting hungry!
5. Don’t Take Aspirin
Aspirin, similar to alcohol, thins the blood and makes bleeding and bruising easier. During the tattoo, the artist uses a numbing type agent on the skin throughout your tattoo to help with the pain. I found that the pain for me was bearable with just this.
During
1. Pain
This was my second biggest worry, but it turned out to be the least of my problems. I regularly give blood, and when the process first started, it felt a little like when they put the needle in my arm, but it got less intense and over and over again. For anyone with a fear of needles, this is the only comparison I can think of, but to me it didn’t seem to resemble a needle otherwise. I couldn’t really see the gun, and it didn’t resemble a needle very much from what I did see.
The first little bit: I was aware of this sensation, but I eventually stopped noticing it. It honestly didn’t hurt for me very much at all. At the top and bottom of my tattoo where it was closest to the bone, it became more of a sharp sting, and felt hot at times, but even this was bearable and it was such a small portion of my tattoo that it wasn’t so bad at all. I will say, however, that my artist told me that my tattoo session was a lot shorter than she booked because sometimes people getting rib tattoos needed to take breaks. So the pain of it is very dependent on your own personal pain tolerance.
2. Uncomfortable
Depending on where your tattoo is, you may have to sit in an uncomfortable position. Because mine was on my ribs, I had to lie on my side with my right arm up and across my body. This was okay at first, but towards the end I was definitely getting a little sore because of how awkward it was. Lying in such an awkward position for so long also aggravated my lower back.
3. Movement is Chill
I know that one thing I was worried about was my breathing or talking during the tattoo due to the fact that it was on my ribs. I was afraid that it would make my artist mess up. I talked to her about this at the beginning and she let me know that slight movements like that don’t even make a difference. And judging by my tattoo, she was right. I even laughed a couple times and it still turned out fine.
4. Conversation Isn’t So Bad (And it Distracts From The Pain!)
I am a more introverted person, so the idea of potentially having to talk to a stranger for an extended period of time was in the least bit appealing. My tattoo artist didn’t try to force conversation though! She just let me be quiet and only engaged in serious conversation when I initiated it. Despite my lack of enthusiasm in conversation at first, we ended up talking anyway a lot of the time and it was really easy and laid back. And because I was talking to her, I didn’t really notice the sensation of the actual tattooing.
After
1. Tender
While it didn’t really hurt much during the tattoo, afterwards, it was extremely sore and tender. I couldn’t sleep on my right side for a while, which definitely interrupted my sleep because that’s the side I usually sleep on, and every time something brushed upon it it would hurt a little bit. It wasn’t until the fifth day (including the day of my tattoo as one of the days) that this started getting better.
2. Tight
It’s also really tight! This made the sore/tender experience even worse because every time I moved a lot it’d hurt, especially since it was on my ribs because that is a central area. Lifting my arms, stretching, everything I did seemed to irritate its tightness. I had to skip out on my yoga because of this. This too, started getting better by the fifth day.
3. Itchy
During the transition from tender and tightness, it started becoming itchy. This itchiness increased. It isn’t completely unbearable; it’s not like a mosquito bite kind of itchiness where you can’t help but itch. It’s more mildly irritating. I’m on day 10 now and the itching isn’t as bad as it was between now and the fifth day, but there is still a little itchiness. Moisturizer is your best friend here! But make sure its unscented!
4. Flaky
I started seeing some flaky dead skin bits after it stopped getting tender. It wasn’t too extreme, just a little bit. When flakes came off, some colour came with them, but that is supposed to be normal and my tattoo still looks the same. The peeling dead skin has remained at the same level of intensity except for on the end of day 7. In the morning when I washed and moisturized (you’re supposed to do this twice a day) there was hardly any skin. I was surprised to find in the evening, that my tattoo had become completely covered in a layer of dustbunny-like dead skin. It was a rather gross and shocking discovery since it had been hardly like that in the morning. I felt like I was a molting lizard. When I brushed the tattoo, flakes would fall off like dust. This completely cleared up by the morning of the 8th day.
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/woman-nail-polish-nails-polish-1209590/