Forums » Smalltalk » Who has a tattoo?

Hey guys!
I am very seriously considering getting a tattoo, and I wanted to hear from anyone who's already had the experience! I was initially planning to do my finger but it sounds like those fade really badly, so I'm leaning towards the inside of my wrist. As far as what to get, I have a couple ideas that I've been thinking of as potentials for a couple years now, but I want to hear from you guys; what should I know about getting a tattoo? Any advice on my choosing where and what?
Thanks!

I have one on my leg in honor of my late best friend. The things to look out for in tattoos is not just the design and placement, but also the tattoo artist.

1. Shop around for someone whose portfolio matches what you have in mind. Different tattoo artists specialize in different things. You want someone who can work with your idea.

2. Go check out their shop. Ask them about their hygiene practices. Not every shop practices proper hygiene, all tools must be properly sterilized, your skin needs to be sterilized and you need to be informed of how to properly care for your tattoo while it heals up. If you have a bad feeling about the shop's cleanliness, or the person assisting you is being sketchy or dismissive, I strongly recommend following your gut instinct and getting out of there. Find someone else.

3. Be sure you know their terms and payment options. Some tattoo artists can screw you over by making you pay for a deposit before finalizing the design, and if you're unhappy with it you can't get the design or your money back. This can be costly and sometimes it's a tool to pressure you into getting a larger tattoo than what you want. It happens sometimes and knowing clearly up front what you're getting into is a must.

4. Before you get your tattoo, make sure you had a proper night's rest, you're properly hydrated and you had a good meal. Lacking in any of these things is going to increase the chances of feeling bad during the tattooing, which can lead to vomiting and/or passing out. Bring a snack with you for afterwards as well! If you make sure you're rested and had good meal and a drink, it's very unlikely you'll have any issues.

5. Nobody can tell you if it will hurt, how it will hurt or how it will fade because this is different for each individual and depends on how deep the tattoo artist inks you. A tattoo is more likely to fade if the skin penetration is shallow, which isn't necessarily related to the area. Almost all tattoos will need touching up and maintenance for life, every couple of years, to keep them looking good. Sun exposure can also cause fading over time, which means you need touch ups more frequently. Pain is also dependent on your own pain tolerance and just because it hurt for me to be tattooed close to my shin doesn't mean it will hurt for you. There's no real way to know this until you've tried it.

6. Be sure to be meticulous about the aftercare. Use the proper topical ointments (bepanthen was recommended to me by my tattoo artist and it worked splendidly, so see if you can find an alternative similar to this or ask your tattoo artist what they recommend) and leave the cling film on for a while to avoid getting dirt into the tattoo. You basically have millions of tiny wounds in your skin which need to close up and heal and an infection is going to give you a bad time.

7. Where and what is highly personal and I don't think anyone but you can choose this. Based on the above information that pain and long-lastingness varies per person, it's really hard to make a call on this. I do know the following: pick something that you're solid on for a while. This is a lifetime commitment, and if you get something that you're not 100% sure of will be something that will last for you until you die, you're going to regret it. You also need to make sure you're 500% happy with the finalized design from the tattoo artist. If you don't feel fully confident, NEVER go "Oh well I guess this will do" and let them decide for you - it's your body, your lifetime commitment, not theirs, no matter how awesome they think it is.

That said, I think tattoos are an amazing art form that can boost your confidence and improve the quality of your life. I'm looking to get at least 2 more tattoos myself, and am currently restricted by funds, but if money wasn't a concern I'd be all over getting more. The pain for me was minimal, more of a nagging irritation-like toothache than a 'Omg my leg is being cut off' pain. Mostly annoying, not painful. I made sure to sleep, eat and drink properly and suffered some minor dizziness which was fixed with another snack during the break. I got mine done in a single session, but bigger or more complex tattoos would need more than just 2 hours.

If you have any questions for me about my experience let me know.

One. Butterfly:)

"Tramp stamp"

Thank you SO much, Sanne, that all definitely helped! I've been seriously considering getting one for a while now, but likewise, funds were always a problem. Now that I've got a job, I have some money to be able to use for it. I have been doing some research, and I'm only considering places that have gotten great reviews from other customers.

@Michonne; Heehee! Awesome

Wooops. Im a moron! Uhhhh if you need any eXtra advice gimme a shout and..

Quid pro pro tip. Don't show your friends till it's fully healed. They will set it and it does hurt

Thanks!

I have a bunch of tattoos. Most of both of my arms, a couple on my wrists, and a particularly large, painful piece on my ribs/sternum/stomach.

Aside of choosing a tattoo you think you won't dislike or regret later - because that's totally up to you, you know yourself better than we do -, I have a few words of advice.

1.) Don't go cheap on tattoos. If the shop doesn't have a minimum of around $100, don't go there. You really get what you pay for with ink. If it's cheap, it'll look cheap.
2.) Look into artists very well. Do your research. What style of tattoo are you looking to get? Do you want a custom piece or flash? Do they have a good portfolio that shows off their skills? Do they do linework well? Coloring? For custom pieces, are they balanced? Do they know how to fit a tattoo well on different parts of people's bodies? There's a lot to consider with artists.
3.) Don't show up on an empty stomach or intoxicated. Don't eat right before either if you're prone to nausea or a very pukey person, haha.

As for finger tattoos, I've seen them done very well. My hands are the next spot that'll be tatted up and I'm honestly super excited. I know a lot of people who've gotten them at reputable shops and with proper aftercare, applying sunblock and things like that, they haven't faded or warped. The ages of these tattoos are between 2 years and 15, so it's possible to have a good finger tattoo - just try to do the tops of your fingers rather than the sides. You want minimal friction, so try and avoid rings on those fingers, too.

That said, any spot where the tattoo machine will be over bone is going to hurt. Other painful spots are the inside of your upper arms, sensitive places like your stomach, arm pits, uhh... But I mean that's subjective. I don't think tattoos hurt in a bad way. It just feels kind of hot and pokey to me. I also have a ridiculous pain tolerance though, so there's that.

What should you know? All of the above, how to care for your ink properly, and make sure you find a shop with good hygiene practices and stuff like that. My artists all use new needles and open them in front of me. They also make their clients sign a bunch of paperwork and disclose their HIV/Hepatitis status and keep it for future reference.

And be aware you'll probably want more after you get the first one.

I have a turtle licking an icecream come on my inner ankle....don't ask. Its probably worst than anything else on here....considering I did it myself.


NEVER EVER do your own tattoo.....one Its horrible looking, two you can get sick. Lucky I didn't get sick so ....yay. Plus I was like...thirteen and for ahold of my friends brothers lot.....stupid stupid stupid of me.

Thank you!
The shop I'm looking at currently says that they generally price based on how long you spend in the chair. From what I've seen so far in my research, it seems like a pretty clean facility. I can probably ask them straight out about cleanliness and hygiene during a meet-up


Lol yeah I am definitely NOT doing my own tattoo. That would be way too terrifying for me!

I actually have friends who felt no pain whatsoever over bone or in the stomach area. Some people fall asleep. Others need frequent breaks. There's really no telling how it will feel for anyone until they've gone through the experience, and even then your pain tolerance can change over time, so I think it's always a little bit of a surprise.

@Sanne: Interesting! My first tattoo was a large, colored piece over my sternum. I briefly mentioned it to my artist and he laughed at me and said something along the lines of "good luck". It was, by far, the most painful tattoo I've ever gotten. Every other one I've at least briefly fallen asleep during, but that might just be the result of sitting for several hours... haha. But yeah, the pain is definitely a subjective thing!

@Celestina: Sounds like you've got the situation handled. I hope it turns out to be what you wanted!

@PhantomDrama: I have a friend who does stick-and-poke tattoos. If you do them right they can turn out really well, but doing it right is incredibly difficult and time-consuming

Personally i'd say fingers to wrist are a no go, due to their position and how often they parts come into friction they fade rather quicky, plus it can hinder any future job posibilities apparently.

By that, i'm inked from wrist to foot, and I must say my most painful was between forearm and bicep, for some odd reason it was far more sensitive than my thigh or back. ;

Also, I strongly recommend that you save up and find a recommended artist rather than one who is cheap and cheerful, both your design and artist are extremely important, remember you are stuck with this bad boy for life!

Each to their own however, i wish you best of luck lovely, i hope your piece is everything you'd hope for once you eventually it. ♡ ^^

I have two. One of them I'm going to get covered up and redone to be more grammatically correct old Norse, but I gotta go to Alaska so Sarah Frary can do it ... I basically wanna be totally covered in ink someday.

Hi guys,
Thanks so much for all the tips! I found out that my neighbor got a tattoo at the place I was looking at. Hers looks great, and she had great things to say about them. I'm also more solidly set on a design and area. Thank you all!

At present I have four, but two are set.

Most of the advice I have to offer, has been said, but I do have a couple snippets:

While public acceptance of tattoos is growing, many jobs still place restrictions on visible tattoos. This is something you should factor into the placement decision. The subject matter as well. Ex: on your forearm, a name goes over a lot better then say a pinup girl.

Try to avoid large blocks of black. Its hard to cover up if you should ever need to.

Aquaphor healing ointment for the aftercare. It's pretty much the standard of everyone I know.

While content is entirely personal, I would avoid names that are not permanently tied to you. Like I love my wife, but I won't get her name permanently written on me. Its bad luck. My kid's names I'll do. Or I also do memorial pieces for dead family. But then, that's just my opinion.

I have a phrase on my inner left wrist, and it didn't really hurt to me--but like Sanne said, everyone is different! My "sister" got a tattoo on her shoulder and it hurt so bad for her she had to take breaks. My friend only paid $60 for mine and it hasn't faded or anything like that. Of course, it's not artwork, just a couple words. Hope your tattoo turns out awesome!

I don't have any tattoos. I really do like tattoos, but I'm very likely to be allergic to the ink and I'm also terribly afraid of needles! But if I could get a tattoo, I would probably get an owl or a cat sitting on a pile of books.

It's very common to have tattoos in my family. After my uncle passed, my cousins and my aunt got tattoos that related to him in different ways. Two of them had a tattoo made on the "outside" of the hand, just beneath the base of the little finger. I haven't seen my aunt's tattoo lately, but I know that my cousin's tattoo faded within a month or two because of wear and tear, I suppose. Where you place your tattoo is of course up to you, but I would recommend that you don't get it somewhere that could be exposed to a lot of wear - feet and hands, probably. I don't know what you plan to do with your future, but I would think to maybe place my tattoo somewhere that could be covered up for professional reasons.

Broke the news to my mother today. She's kind of against tattoos so her reaction was as I expected. 'It's painful, it's needles, it's permanent' and 'sixty years later it'll be all saggy and gross'. She wants me to put the design on myself in marker for a couple weeks before making a decision.
I have a consultation meeting set for Tuesday, I didn't have the heart to tell her. I love and respect my mom, but I'm also a graduated adult. Have you guys ever had this problem when getting a tattoo? If so, how did you handle it?

My dad literally smacked me over the head when I told him I got a tattoo and showed it to him. He's heavily against them as well lol.

But I just got one and broke the news after it couldn't be changed. I was 100% confident it's what I wanted and got it, and at the time I was 24. Ultimately it's my body, and while parents mean well, they no longer get to decide that kind of thing. Just because they would never get a tattoo doesn't mean you shouldn't. You're not your parents after all, you're your own person, and you're a grown adult.

The marker thing is both a bad and a good idea. Bad, because the marker never looks like it will in tattoo form so it's really not a good way to gauge anything other than location. Good, because it gives you some way to find out which location you'd prefer. I recall someone using custom temporary tattoos to see if she's fully committed to the idea of a tattoo before considering getting an actual tattoo of the design. That's about the only thing I fully approve of parents recommending because if it's something like NASA's logo, it's easy to do and not permanent while giving you the time to decide on location and design to see if you can live with that!

Otherwise, just remember you're doing this for you. Nobody else has any control over your body anymore, and the sagging thing.... well, take a look at this:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisoncaporimo/24-reasons-to-never-get-a-tattoo?utm_term=.mogMgapxP#.wixLvMa38

I'm in the Navy. Oddly they really are not big fans of tattoos. Or weren't. Anytime we get a new CNO or such the tattoo policy gets revised. So we just started a "don't really care" phase.

But technically I and everyone else were supposed to request things before we got them. Down to size, content and placement. I never did. No one ever did.

The one time I actually looked into it, I got the best advice from one of my higher ups. "What are they going to do? Tell you to take it off?"

My wife doesn't care. Her view is its my body. She just requests I get colorful pieces done vise black and white.

So, I guess my suggestion here is to own your decision. If you feel you are adult enough to make the decision, and you respect your mom, seems to me you should be mature enough to tell her directly. Instead of sneaking around about it. My mother would be more upset I lied.

Edit: to soften the reveal, show her like really good tattoos. Many people of previous generations have no idea how far tattooing has come over the years.