Jezebel Tuesday

Lifestyle, travel + beauty

Friday 20 February 2015

Tattoos - What you need to know

Tattoos - Mine // Photographer - Nic Sullivan (Click here for blog)

I personally love tattoos, I think they look beautiful when they're done properly. I love the process of finding the right design, planning it and then getting it done.
But there are important things you need to remember before and after the tattoo :)

Find a reputable tattoo artist:

Nowadays there are tattoo shops everywhere. That would be great if they were all good but some of them aren't.

Don't rush things, make sure you do your research before getting a tattoo, you might be really eager and want a design you've loved for years but a tattoo is for life and if you go to the wrong place your  dream design might not turn out how you want it to.

Talk to the tattooist, find out if they know what they're doing! You can buy tattoo guns on eBay now, make sure your tattooist isn't an amateur. 

Look them up, find them on social media, look at their tagged photo's. If you don't like what you see, don't go there, find someone who's art and tattoos you love.

Make sure the tattoo shop is clean (v. important). If you go in and it's not the cleanest of places, do not go! Tattoos are very easy to get wrong, a dirty needle or glove is all it takes for you to get an infection or worse.

Original design:

If you’ve found a tattoo design you love, don’t take a copy straight to your tattooist and get it exactly the same.

Make it original, ask your tattooist to redesign it, add to it so it’s more unique and individual!
Who wants a tattoo that hundreds of other people have? And it's not fair on the person who initially designed it for you to go and get it done elsewhere or fair for the person who the piece was designed for.

Also get what you want, not what others want you to have, you have to love it with all your heart. You're going to look at it everyday for the rest of your life, not them :)

Eat before you go:

I always struggled to eat before because when I'm nervous I can't face food, but I forced myself to have something, whether it's just a banana or toast, please eat.
If you don’t eat your likely to feel nauseous, light headed, you'll bleed more (sugar from food thickens the blood causing less bleeding) and generally you'll have a worse time.
And take snacks, I always take a bag of sweets, fizzy drink and sandwich.

Pain:

The pain isn’t actually that bad (for me), of course it depends on the persons pain threshold and area you're having tattooed :)
From what I heard from a lot of people is that it's the worst pain ever, it's really not.
For me it feels like little electric shocks/bee stings, except for boney bits such as elbows.. that did hurt.
But if you’re not good with pain, don’t have a massive tattoo as your first, find out how much pain you can take.
If you’re uncomfortable getting it done, fidget a lot and tense up it actually hurts more, so relaxing is the best thing you can do :) I nearly fell asleep having one of mine done and I'm a wuss!

Also fidgeting from pain will give your tattooist a tougher time tattooing you, you don’t want wobbly lines do you?

If you do need a break, tell the tattoo artist. Get some fresh air, have a drink/snack and then get comfy and carry on, your tattooist will be happy to stop, don't be embarrassed about it :) 

Healing:

Make sure you keep it clean and moisturised, do not clean it with soap or shower gel. Use something mild, unscented
and antibacterial. 
I personally just tried to avoid any type of soap on the tattooed skin and preferred just using lukewarm water on it's own.

Really gently rub over the tattoo using your hands, removing blood and other bits left there and then pat it dry with a paper tissue (do not rub) and then let it air dry if it's still damp. Once dry put a small amount of cream on it, not a thick layer but so it only has a slight shine to it from the cream. 
I personally use Bepanthen because it's unscented and gentle but if your tattooist has recommended something different, do as they say. 
There are a lot of creams out there:

etc.

Keep applying it 4-5 times a day so your tattoo doesn't dry out.

After a few days your tattoo will start to peel (completely normal) don't panic. It looks like the colour is peeling from the tattoo but it doesn't remove colour/ink at all. 

When its peeling do not, I repeat do not, pick or peel! 
Let it peel naturally and without your help.

It also gets really itchy during the healing process, don't scratch the itch, just pat it gently.

Avoid soaking the tattoo in baths 
Avoid the sun
Avoid doing anything too physical such as working out with the body part you have tattooed
Avoid touching it too much
Avoid clingy clothes/covering it too much

If anything goes wrong, call your tattooist

Work:

Think, would your dream career allow tattoos?
If you have your career sorted and you know its acceptable to have tattoos on show, fine, but a lot of work places do not allow tattoos.
Make sure you talk to your employer first and get it in a place you can cover. I have my full arm done and I have to cover mine for work, which I don't mind but if you don't like to be fully covered in summer on a hot day think about where you want the tattoo and what your job will say :)

So just remember, think before you ink as they say!
Research, relax, eat and enjoy!

Hope you like it and sorry for people who aren't interested in tattoos

x



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9 comments

  1. Thanks for this guide! I have a tattoo and I'm looking to get another one. ^^ Much love, Sjoukje
    www.lemontierres.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like it!
      Thanks for reading

      x

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    2. And good luck with your next tattoo!

      x

      Delete
  2. Personal question but what tattoo's have you had?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've got 7 on one arm, but they look like 1 whole piece, 1 on my other arm, rose on my shoulder and rose/eye on the back of my neck :)

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  3. Agree with eating before you go! I've found the worst parts to get tattoed are the 'flabby' parts and I actually don't mind the needles going against my skinnier parts, like my wrist for example. Loved this post :) Rebecca | www.rebeccamariee.blogspot.com xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah wrists are quite tender, I found my elbow the worst, but I think as long as you're relaxed and comfortable the pain isn't that bad!
      Thanks for reading my post, glad you liked it :)

      x

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  4. this is so interesting and informative! im way too much of a wuss to actually get a tattoo done, so i actually just draw my designs on with pen! love your tattoos also, especially the sleeve! x

    illustrated-wardrobe.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :)
      I'm a wuss but I really wanted a tattoo so I just booked it and went! It was scary but really once you're there in the chair it's all fine :) piercings are worse than tattoos!
      Thanks for reading and commenting

      Will check out your blog

      x

      Delete

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