Everything You Need to Know Before Getting Your First Tattoo

Your first piercing may have been memorable. Your first tattoo will be memorable, too, as it is a permanent action. Before getting your first tattoo, you will probably have a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts. You may feel happy, nervous, or even a little impatient. For the majority of people, most tattoos have a story. However, there’s much more to the experience of getting a tattoo besides coming up with the design and taking care of it afterwards.  Here are a couple of helpful tips that you ought to know before getting yourself inked.

Pick your Design Wisely

Be as precise as possible about what you want. Know whether you want your tattoo with colour or not. It will be incredibly helpful to attach reference images to help your artist understand your vision even better. You can go ahead and let your artist know whether you want your tattoo large, medium, or small. While many people opt for pure illustration, you may want a script alongside an image or standalone. Figure out the kind of font you want, from typewriter to handwriting. Adobe Typekit is a great site to help look up-front styles. Be sure that you can live with your choice for the rest of your life.

Research About Your Tattoo Artist

Do your homework and research the shops, artists, design ideas, and any allergies concerning pigments you may have. If you react to hair dye or makeup, you may react to some of the pigments in some tattoo inks. Research also on reputable artists and studios. Nobody wants to go just anywhere to get a tattoo for the first time. Take your time to go through their portfolio before committing. Ensure their style fits yours, and you are happy and content with their work. Read reviews from other clients online through platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. This will go a long way in helping you make the final decision.

Healing Takes Time

It is unrealistic to expect immediate healing once you get tattooed since it is an open wound. To embed the ink on your skin, your artist uses needles leading to swelling and bleeding for some people as they are being tattooed. This translates to a few weeks of healing. Your artist will give you special healing care instructions to follow during this time. The instructions are meant to prevent infections due to the tattoo being an open wound and help to protect your tattoo from fading.

Listening to your artist is of utmost importance for your tattoo to stay in good shape. Also, note that a tattoo might scab heavily during totally normal healing. Avoid peeling the skin or removing the scabs in an attempt to speed up the healing process. Instead, let the healing occur naturally for a beautiful finish once it is completely healed. Remember, the healing process is different and may vary from one person to another.

A Tattoo is Permanent

While a tattoo is permanent, you can also get it covered up or removed. Both of the processes are painful and more costly. Therefore, as you think of getting inked, remember there is no easy way out. If unsure about getting a permanent tattoo, you can get temporary tattoos or hold on until you are set to make that permanent commitment. Understand the whole idea of permanence before you let that beautiful piece rest on your skin for the rest of your life.

Timing

Consider your timing in that water submersion and sun exposure can damage a new tattoo. It would be best to avoid direct sunlight on the area for a few weeks after having your tattoo until it is completely healed. Once it is healed, you can use sunblock on your tattoo since it needs a higher SPF than you would typically use on your skin. The sun fades out your tattoo with time which is why you need to protect your tattoo from the sunlight to keep it looking good at all times. It would be best if you avoided the sun and prepared for your tattoo appointment. Are you a beach bum?  If the answer is yes, you will want to avoid getting your new tattoo during summer.

Tattoo Placement

While many things to be considered when deciding on a tattoo to get, deciding on the body placement you want it to be is crucial. More importantly, consider your job if it requires any tattoos to be covered. If that’s the case, decide on a placement that can easily be covered with pants, shoes, or long sleeves.  Your current job may not be picky with visible tattoos, but it is also important to consider future employment.

Additionally, think about pain since different body locations are more painful than others. For instance, ribs or any direct placement over your bone will be more painful than a thigh, which is a fattier area. Also, your artist can help you come up with the best placement area for your tattoo. For smaller pieces, go for smaller areas such as the wrist, and for bigger pieces, go for larger areas such as the back. In preparation for your tattoo appointment, placement is an important decision that you have to make. Thus, give it the attention it needs

Getting a Tattoo is Painful

Many people are likely to tell you that they felt pain at some point. Your tattoo placement and pain tolerance will greatly determine how much pain you feel as you get tattooed for the first time. When thinking about the placement of your tattoo, bear in mind that certain locations on your body will hurt more than others. To curb the pain associated with tattoos, you can use pain sprays but consult your tattoo artist first. Additionally, you can take a pain reliever before your appointment. It would help if you also let your artist know you have taken a pain reliever beforehand. If the pain gets unbearable for you during your tattooing session, be open with your artist and let them know how much pain you are in at that moment.

Wrap up

You have to prepare your mind and skin before your first tattoo appointment since a lot goes into it. There is a pain to consider, designs to come up with, and more critical decisions to settle on. We hope this guide will help you prepare for your first ever tattoo appointment if you think of getting one.

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