Adam’s Declassified Tattoo Survival Guide

-Choosing and Designing your Tattoo-

You did it. You agonised over the perfect tattoo idea, scoured the internet for source material and even drew a shoddy sketch of what you want. But how do you get that tattoo? What do you say? How do you find the right artist? I was tasked by Kevin to write up something that could be of assistance to anyone who was thinking about or has recently booked a tattoo and wanted to know how to prepare. So after racking up my 12th tattoo recently, I cast my mind back to my first tattoo and I can almost remember every step of the way.

Before we start talking about what to bring in your snack pack for the day, let's talk about how you even make the first step on getting a tattoo. Whether you think that you just wanna let rip and get some sick ink on your skin because it's cool or you have some sentimental value to a tattoo; it may even be to cover up a medical scar so something a lot more personal in the reasoning. Either way, all are acceptable but all will have slightly different paths on how you get there.

Deciding on a tattoo can take the form of the old school approach, you build up the courage and you walk into the shop, pick a piece off the wall and a place to put it. It could be an idea you’ve had since you’re 25 and now you’re 40 you’re thinking well let's get it done finally. The most important thing I always say is trust and listen to your tattoo artist. The majority of tattoo artists are people who have been training or practicing putting permanent ink on skin for a while before they get to you. You can be assured that they want the best finish for a piece but this also takes into account sizing, composition, colour, healing theory and also some hidden tattoo rules you may not know about. Being difficult and refusing to listen to your artist can be quite a vexing process when they are trying to collaborate with you on getting your tattoo idea complete. I always think about it like requesting a builder to do work in my house. I can tell them what I want to be built, but they will give feedback on the issues and problems they can foresee and how to best solve it. 

Obviously it's your tattoo and your decision and if you press hard enough I’m sure an artist will give into your requests but then time will tell whether the artist was right, as they plan for how the tattoo will heal, not how it will look fresh. Something you can only gain with experience I guess.

Social media is almost directly linked to the tattoo industry so there are more than enough artists online and local (depending how remote you live) and it's possible to build up an idea of who might be the artist for you. I would always advise trying to see more of a person's portfolio and their recent work before choosing your artist for your first tattoo. It's important that you find an artist who you like personally, this person is gonna be stabbing you with a needle for a few hours, the conversation really helps!

 

 

-Making the Appointment - 

Most modern tattoo shops will have a great social media presence and a website where you can book in your tattoo slots and access the availability of the artist via their calendar (Like this one). This being said, I believe that going in and meeting the artist you want to work with is always a great idea for a first timer and allowing them to meet you will also allow them to dismiss fears or misconceptions. By doing this, you can get that personal interaction that you may not get from watching social media posts. However, both are perfectly acceptable and available at most studios. 

Sometimes tattoos aren't always as simple as the next. Some people may have scarring or medical issues that could prevent them from sitting for prolonged periods and covering up tattoos can often change the approach the artist has to use. If you are one of these people or you have an issue that you think may be a concern, meet and discuss this with your artist before your tattoo. Especially cover ups! 

-The Night Before Your Tattoo-

Imagine you’re gonna run a marathon tomorrow. You consciously know that it's going to be a mental and physical battle that will test you. Now a tattoo is similar in the sense that your body is going to undergo physical trauma, you know you want the cool tattoo; your brain doesn't. So it can be quite a taxing process on your body and mental fortitude as you get further and further into a tattoo. So just like you would run an actual marathon, prep your body as best possible.  Here comes the parental advice; get a good night's sleep, no alcohol, have plenty of water and a big meal like you’re carb loading for a marathon.

For your first tattoo, you’ll most probably get a reasonably sized piece, but this advice is good for every size of tattoo.

-The Morning of Your Tattoo- 

You’ve woken up and today is the day. I’m not gonna give you an hour by hour morning routine but it's good to try and go into the process as calmly as you can, maybe don’t go do that gym session before getting a tattoo. Get a good well balanced breakfast and hydrate yourself. Make sure you’ve packed your bag for your session! Also depending how well you know the studio and the location, Kevin's hot tip is to bring change for the parking meters and extra snacks, you never know!

-Getting the Tattoo/What to Bring- 

You’re gonna be at the studio for anywhere from 1-3 hours usually for a first tattoo (3+ hours for your first one is impressive). Your artist is well occupied and I’m sure they’d be just as happy to get lost in their little mind palaces, you however will be aware of what's happening every second it's happening, so it's really useful if you can bring something to help distract you. You could bring entertainment like music and videos or even games consoles like a Nintendo. Books are often a good choice as well but for me personally, I love to chat (how I ended up here writing these blog posts every month) so I always like to make sure the artist is ready for me to mine them for all their conversational dopamine.

-Aftercare: second skin Vs clingfilm-

You did it! You survived the tattoo session and the artist has given you the final wipe down. Now to look after it until it's fully healed. This is one of the few pieces of advice I’ll almost demand everyone does without discussion. Please, listen and follow your artists aftercare instructions. Imagine you spent hours (painfully) getting tattooed, to not treat the large open wound you have on your body with respect. Clean it, dry it, apply the cream or balm recommended by the artist. Do these things people! But every artist will give you instructions on how to do this.(You can find our aftercare instructions here)

Aftercare might have slightly changed over the years and as a non tattooed person you may not have noticed. Still to this day some artists will wrap freshly finished tattoos with cling film. This does and has worked as a solution for protecting tattoos but in recent years the advent of ‘Second Skin’ products have become much more popular, these essentially work like a big plaster. These adhesive dressings have some particular rules that you need to follow vs cling film. Clingfilm offers short term protection (to get you home) and then you begin your aftercare from there whereas the adhesive dressing products give you slighter longer protection staying glued to your skin for 3-5 days whilst the initial healing process begins.

For more detailed information from Kevin himself check out this page which covers advice for tattoo aftercare.

-The Recap-

When writing this I didn't want to give you just a boring bullet point list for you to read as a blog post, however I do not dispute the functionality of a checklist. So here I’ll recap some of the main takeaway points for you to remember nice and clear in your head.

• Try and find an artist who you think has both the artistic skill and the stylistic abilities to convey your tattoo- social media!

• If you can, visit the shop where you want to get tattooed and ideally meet the artist

• Either make an appointment in studio or check out online calendars if they are available, artists availability can differ so check out if they have a waiting list.

• Pack a bag ready for your tattoo maybe the day before so you don't have to rush around.

           -Entertainment: headphones, phone, tablet, books, hand held games console

           - Food: filling snacks like breads/sandwiches, jelly sweets and chocolates.

           - Extras: stress balls or something to fidget with

• Eat a good meal the night before, no alcohol, plenty of water and a good night's rest!

• Try to go to the studio refreshed, calm and well fed from breakfast

• Follow your tattoo artists aftercare rules diligently, this may include coming back to show how the tattoo is healing to your artist.

I hope this will guide you with a touch of personal experience on your journey to getting your first tattoo. At times it may seem scary, as a new experience this is normal, but with the guidance and experience from the professional artist you will come out with a sick piece of art on your skin.