Getting a first tattoo is pretty scary stuff, but here are a few tips for making your experience as easy as possible!
- Listen to your artist. This is absolutely the most important piece of advice on this list. Tattoo artists know their work better than you do. They know what they can and can’t do in their medium, as well as how a tattoo is going to age. When they tell you something, listen! Don’t listen to your friend who has a dozen tattoos, listen to the actual artist.
- Know what you want before needle hits flesh. It’s alright to wander into a tattoo shop without a clear idea of what you want- that’s part of the reason there are portfolios and tattoo examples everywhere. Once it’s time to actually apply the ink to your skin, though, you need to be absolutely sure what you want.
- Choose the location of your tattoo carefully.
-Don’t get a tiny tattoo in a large space. At least, don’t do it if you think you’re going to want more tattoos in that area. Pick a tattoo size proportional to the area you’re getting it.
-Don’t get a hand, neck, or face tattoo first. Seriously, don’t. Your first tattoo should be someplace a little less visible- not to mention that all three areas are going to hurt a lot. Also, hand tattoos fade badly with age, and don’t heal well unless you completely immobilize your hand for a couple of weeks after getting the tattoo.
-Stomach and rib tattoos should also be approached with caution- while not as visible as hand, neck, or face tattoos, they’re often highly painful. - Your tattoo will age over time. There are ways to keep them looking good in the long run, though.
- Avoid trendy tattoo styles. Go for an older style that has withstood the test of time. A lot of trendy tattoo styles age very badly, and quickly drop out of fashion because of it. Watercolor tattoos without outlines and excessively intricate line drawings without much space for skin are both examples of tattoo styles to avoid. (Another to avoid: That cool one you just saw on Instagram.)
- Color ink fades faster. Black tattoos last longer.
- Don’t bargain shop. You get what you pay for, and you want quality when it comes to tattoos. Many shops also have minimum prices- it’s not worth their time to do something for less than that.
- Don’t drink beforehand. Alcohol is a blood thinner. If you drink before you get your tattoo, you’ll bleed everywhere, and it will be much harder for the artist to do the tattoo- many will refuse entirely if they think you’ve been drinking. Plus, getting a tattoo while your judgment is impaired isn’t a great idea.
- Look for healed tattoo portfolios. Pictures of fresh tattoos are fine, but you want to see a portfolio showing healed tattoos, to know how your artist’s work lasts over time.
- Make sure to take proper aftercare of your tattoo. After getting a tattoo, you need to take good care of it during the healing process. If you don’t, it’s going to look pretty terrible after it finishes healing. Aftercare will vary from tattoo to tattoo, depending on tattoo location, type, and a few other factors. Keeping the area clean and not picking at the healing tattoo are fairly universal though. (It will itch like crazy during the healing process- don’t scratch it.)
- Cover-ups and tattoo removal are expensive and painful. Much, much more painful than getting the tattoo itself. Again- be sure of what you want before the needle hits flesh.
- ONLY get tattooed in a licensed professional shop. Under no circumstances get a tattoo in someone’s kitchen. Licensed shops keep to extremely stringent hygienic standards to prevent infection.
- Eat beforehand. You don’t want to get low blood sugar before getting a tattoo. Make sure to get some food in your stomach beforehand. (And don’t expect to eat during the tattooing process- it is a sterile environment.
- Will it hurt? Yes, but not as much as you think it will.
Special thanks to Jason Sweet and Mirkat Truant of Freaks and Geeks Tattoo in Portland for their assistance with this post. I originally wrote a version this article for Portland Community College's student newspaper The Bridge. I retain all rights to writing I did for The Bridge.