WHAT ADVICE IS HELPFUL FOR THOSE NEW TO TATTOOS?
When a person is just entering the wonderful world of tattoos, some good sound advice might be just what they need to be prepared and informed. With all the misinformation floating around in society, literally about everything, it’s good to get true and accurate information. We’ll do our best to share informative and helpful tips for the novice tattoo client.
PLANNING AND PREPARATION
One great piece of advice we can certainly emphasize is to plan out your tattoo aspirations. Are you only getting one tattoo in your entire life? Do you have plans to fill out a full sleeve, either right away or in the future? Look ahead at what you see yourself getting over time, and plan out your tattoos accordingly. If you have plans for a full Norse sleeve, don’t make the mistake of putting some non-Norse type of tattoo on that arm. It will only make it difficult to incorporate or you may need a cover-up.
Also during the planning stage, the advice we give is to have a clear vision of your tattoo desires and expectations. Carefully choosing the right artist for you is an important step in your plan. See which artist best suits the style you are looking to get. Once you’ve found the artist for you, book a consultation and meet with your artist so that you both can discuss your tattoo ideas and come up with a game plan on how to move forward. Click on the button below to read our article about choosing your artist.
Another major piece of advice is to be open minded regarding your tattoo. Your artist will want a degree of artistic freedom in order to create something unique just for you. This is 100% beneficial to you as the client. Your artist will definitely do their best work if they are into the tattoo they are doing.
Now that you’ve met with your artist and you have a solid plan, the next bit of advice is for you to prepare. It’s not as ominous as it sounds, so don’t worry. Preparation largely involves having your finances in order to pay for your session(s), and making sure you are ready on the days for your tattoos.
Being able to pay for each of your sessions is very important. You don’t want to be financially liable for a service rendered and you are unable to pay for it. That could land you into legal trouble. Make sure you have the money to pay for your session well ahead of time. If financing is something that appeals to you so that you can spread out your payments more on your personal schedule, Lucky Bamboo Tattoo also offers that service through Finturf.
When it comes down to physical preparation, it’s quite simple and easy. First, avoid getting sunburns or other skin injuries on the area that is going to be getting tattooed. If your skin isn’t able to get tattooed due to something of that nature, you will likely get denied your session, and you will lose your deposit due to personal negligence. Our advice is to just do whatever you can do to avoid any possibility of having any of these issues before the day of your tattoo.
Discuss beforehand with your artist, or call the studio so that we can ask the artist for you, in regards if they want you to shave the area or if the artist prefers to do it. Often, the artist prefers to do it to help avoid any nicks that could occur. It’s best to ask ahead of time and not just assume.
More advice regarding skin care is to use lotion for all the days leading up to the day of your appointment(s), but not on the day of. Having healthy, hydrated, and elastic skin will make the tattooing process go better for both you and the artist. Having a healthy ‘canvas’ is better than working on a dried out one.
It is highly inadvisable to use any sort of numbing cream. Numbing creams can alter the skin texture, the capillaries, and how your skin reacts. If your skin is behaving even slightly different than normal, there is a good chance your tattoo will be distorted once the cream wears off. Speaking of wearing off, if a numbing cream wears off way too soon, the pain will likely feel amplified because your skin wasn’t feeling the initial normal tattoo feel. You are better off just dealing with it and using other non-chemical means of pain management.
On the day of each of your sessions, make sure you eat something substantial before you come in. It’s best to have eaten between 1/2 hour to 1 hour before your session is supposed to begin to insure that you’ve absorbed some sugars and carbs. The adrenaline that often kicks in at the start of getting a tattoo will burn up sugars fast, so it’s good to have a reserve in your body to avoid feeling ‘off’. Also, it’s good advice to have something to drink with you, preferably water or sports drinks.
ON THE DAY OF YOUR SESSION
As previously mentioned, make sure you have food in your stomach and something to drink to bring with you, especially if you have a longer session. Regardless if you have a 1 hour or a full day, having refreshment on hand is always good advice.
Often, your artist is more than happy to engage in conversation to both distract from any possible discomfort you may feel, and to pass the time. Sometimes, your artist may want to focus on what they’re doing and can’t really get too much into talking because they want to make sure your tattoo comes out right. If you aren’t particularly chatty, or you need something to pass the time during non-conversation moments, make sure you have either your phone charged up to entertain you, or read a book. Alternately, you are always welcome to bring one guest in with you to sit in on the session.
Distractions like conversation, watching stuff on your phone or tablet, or having company are a great form of non-chemical discomfort sedation. Another great method to take your mind off any pain you may feel is using breathing exercises. It’s a surprisingly effective method that’s been used for centuries. It keeps you focused on something else. To learn more about pain management, watch the video on our Youtube channel by clicking the link below.
AFTERCARE
After your session is complete, it’s a great idea to listen to the advice of your artist on your aftercare procedures. They’ve been doing this for quite a while, most likely, and know what should and should not be done in regards to taking care of your brand new tattoo.
Your artist will advise you on how you should remove your first bandage and when, and teach you how to put on the second bandage and how long that one should remain on as well. They’ll tell you what you shouldn’t do, the care you should take during the time the bandage is on, and continual care during the healing process once all the bandages have been removed. It’s very important to follow these instructions if you want to avoid complications.
AFTER YOU ARE HEALED
After you are completely healed up, you may want to look over your tattoo to see if you may want a follow up for any touch ups that may need to happen. No, not all tattoos need this service, but sometimes they do. If you happen to have scabbed and accidentally scratched it off, it’s possible you suffered a little ink loss. Also, sometimes a section of the tattoo, or a line, just didn’t take the ink as it should have during that first round. Everybody’s skin is different.
A follow up appointment isn’t free. It’s based off the artists hourly rate accordingly. Most follow ups are only about an hour, sometimes two depending on the tattoo and what needs to be done to it. It’s rare to require a follow up any longer than that.
It’s our advice that you get a follow up for any touch ups that may need to happen so that your tattoo looks how you and the artist intend it to, and so that you can be even happier with the results.
ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR FIRST OR NEXT TATTOO?
If you’re ready to get your next tattoo done, schedule an appointment with an award-winning tattoo parlor. Here at Lucky Bamboo Tattoo, we have some of the best and most experienced tattoo artists in Utah and the Salt Lake City area. We can tattoo any style you’d like, and our artists can even design your next piece as well.
Come see why we have been voted “The Best Tattoo Studio In Utah” for several years in a row.
Lucky Bamboo Tattoo understands that tattoo collectors searching for the best tattoo shop in Utah comes with a big responsibility and we here at LBT are ready to fulfill your tattoo needs.