Tips

Tip: Do They Hurt?

There is pain with a tattoo, but your brain manufactures endorphins to help you manage the pain. If the tattoo is close to the bone, it hurts more. Private areas hurt a lot.Upper thighs on the outside don´t hurt too bad, but the inside smarts. Anything close to knees and ankles really stings. After the tattoo is on your skin, it will feel like a sunburn for a day or two, and then it will itch.


Tip: Dull-looking Tattoo

In the winter months, sometimes tattoos take on a dull look. The skin that surrounds the tattoo is in need of moisturizing.


Tip: Follow Up Care

The tattoo artist or someone in the studio will tell you about follow up care. You will generally leave with a paper towel or absorbent paper covering the tattoo, to keep the air off it, and the blood in. After about 2 hours, gently take a shower and wash the tattoo off, then put on a good layer of antibacterial salve or bag balm. Keep it out of the sun, and after a couple of days, use moisturizing lotion.


Tip: Tribal Designs

Tribal designs are usually black tattoos, in a stylistic shape of an animal, spirit, face, weapon, or sometimes a shape. Designs can be small, like an arm band, or an entire back piece, and everything in between.


Tip: Flash

"Flash" is the designs on the walls of a tattoo shop with numbers next to them. It is a pre-done design. The artist transfers a copy to your skin, then tattoos following the design.


Tip: Preparation

If you want to get a tattoo, condition your skin with lotion before you go so it is in good condition, ready to absorb the ink. Do not have too dark a tan, since that will change your pigment temporarily, and your tattoo will look different when your skin fades. Look at a lot of tattoos before you decide what you want. Don´t be afraid to discuss your own ideas with the artist.