TATTOOING GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS
Congratulations! You have decided to take the leap of faith and have your very first tattoo! By this time, I assume you have already found your artist and made sure their style fits the tattoo you had in mind (you wouldn’t order a wedding cake from a bread bakery with no cake expertise, even when both do baking, right? So, choose an artist who naturally does the tattoos and the styles you want to have on your skin. A well chosen artist is better and cheaper than cover up tattoos or laser treatments)
Here’s a little guide for you to help your journey from the beginning to healed tattoo; from a tattooed woman who has also worked in a tattoo shop.
- I recommend moisturizing the about-to-get-tattooed area daily for a week. Healthy, moisture skin absorbs ink better and is easier for the tattooer to work with. When tattoo heals, it will dry your skin anyway, so it’s nice if the skin already has some head start with the daily moisturizing.
- Be healthy! If you are sick, do not go to get a tattoo. Contact your tattooer and change your appointment. This includes hangovers.
- For ladies on periods, I recommend not to go get your first tattoo just before periods, when your skin is sensitive. It is possible (been there, done that), but it hurts far less without this extra hormonal burden. Of course, not all women get these symptoms and you know your body the best, so if your periods are easy ones, you might not hurt any more extra whilst getting tattooed on this time.
- Take a shower! Seriously, go wash yourself.
- Shave the tattooed area. Tattoo shops can do this for you but it’s faster if you do it yourself.
- Eat well before tattooing if possible. It is important to keep your blood sugar levels good.
- If you didn’t shower or shave the previous day, do it now.
- Take, if possible, ibuprofen before you sit under the needle. Ibuprofen prevents swelling, which makes you feel more comfortable, helps the tattooer’s work and also helps with the pain and healing afterwards.
- Put on comfortable clothes, which can be easily removed from the tattooed area. You can pack with you clothes which you change into when you get into the tattoo shop. The longer the tattooing takes, the more comfortable you want to be in your clothes. No one’s there to rate your looks, and if they are, the place is full of jerks.
- Take sugary snacks and drink with you! Very important! Your body will naturally react to the pain with a panic, which causes jumps in your blood sugar. Have sips and bites of your snack whenever you start to feel uncomfortable, dizzy or nauseous, as it is the first sign your body needs some sweet help. Fruit juices, baby smoothies, energy bars and chocolate work wonders.
- It’s OK to bring some entertainment with you, like a book, a tablet, comics or a handheld console. Would you prefer to watch a movie while your tattooer works on your tattoo, go ahead!
- Let your tattooer know if you are prone to nausea or dizziness when you feel pain or are nervous. It is OK to admit this! The tattooer knows then to keep an eye on you and take breaks with you if needed. Your tattooer is there to serve you, not to judge or mock you (and if they judge and mock, they are an asshole and should have their tattooing machine pushed sideways up to their rectum)
- Would you get shaky while being tattooed, eat & drink something. If this doesn’t help know that it is most likely just your anxiousness/nervousness/fear leaving your body, as you have now faced the fear and are starting to relax. (Would you for some start to shake heavily while feeling really, really bad, inform your tattooer about it.)
- Speak honestly about your tattoo to your tattooer! If you don’t like the tattoo size or its placement, inform your tattooer about it before you start inking. The place and the size can be fixed as many times as needed. There’s rarely need for more than tiny adjustments with a good tattooer, but if you want adjustments, ask for them. Remember, your tattooer is there for you.
- Follow the instructions you get from your tattooer and contact them immediately if something seems to be wrong. Would you get a full-blown infection (you need to be super uncaring and sloppy to get this), go first to doctor to get medication for it.
- Wash your tattoo with a mild soap as often as instructed. I prefer organic baby soaps, as they are mild and often contains 100% or almost 100% natural ingredients only.
- After washing, tap your tattoo dry. I prefer to let my tattoo air dry a little before I put on lotion. For lotion, I recommend Tattoo Goo’s products. Tattoo Goo salve is especially good for dry skin, but it takes time to apply it. Tattoo Goo products are available in multiple countries.
- When you tattoo starts to itch a lot, you may apply pure 100% coconut oil on it. Coconut oil is antibacterial and very good for dry skins, like mine. But first 3 days or so I always use a proper tattoo salve.
- If itching gets really bad, take allergy medication. It helps some people. Would you tattoo itch a lot and be clearly infected, go to doctor.
- Your fresh tattoo will sting and burn after you remove its cover. It is normal. Small redness with slight warmness is also normal. Below is a fresh tattoo of mine, taken yesterday. Notice the swelling and redness around left side of the pic. The area is also swollen from liquids.
- Tattoos gather liquid around them, especially in legs. Your leg/arm might get swollen due this (the bigger the tattoo, the greater the natural swelling) and the leg tattoos tend to hurt when you stand up and go to walk. This is normal, too, and will go away from a few days to a few weeks. We all heal differently.
- It is OK to take pain killer if the tattoo aches a lot afterwards.
- LET YOUR TATTOO BE FREE WITHOUT ANY CLOTHING AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. Oxygen really does miracles for healing. Just avoid bumping your tattoo on different surfaces to avoid infection. Wash often. You can sleep without covers, too. I would recommend changing sheets before, though, especially if you have a big tattoo which comes easily in contact with the linen.
- Avoid excessive drinking, smoking etc. if possible, as healthy life style -> a healthy body -> your tattoo healing faster.
Yes. It will. But I’d say mostly for the first 5-10 minutes. After that, your body’s natural alarm reaction goes off and at least gets more quiet. It’s like “OMG WE’RE GETTING KILLED WHY DON’T YOU DO ANYTHING OH NEVER MIND IT’S NOTHING”.
How much it hurts depends on the area, your personal pain endurance and are you are a man or a woman (and for ladies your hormonal cycle). For some reason, men tend to hurt more while getting tattooed. Sensitive areas for men are neck, chest, back, stomach and sides, for some also back of legs. For women, there are generally no super sensitive areas aside the areas which are already sensitive naturally, like crook of arms, neck or groins. This is probably due childbirth’s evolution.
Does it hurt also depends where the tattoo will be located. I have big piece done on outer side of my right leg, running from knee to ankle. I almost fell asleep while getting it done! However, the tattoo I showed you above is at the back of my leg, near angle, and it was a lot more painful!
Good areas for a first tattoo are legs (esp. lower legs and outer thighs), arms (esp. lower arm and outer upper arm), shoulders and upper back if you are unsure of the pain.
When people, who take big tattoos like a sleeve, say that they can’t take tattooing any more but need to stop, it’s mostly not because it hurts but because it feels annoying. Like, ANNOYING. Like a sound which first alarms you, then you get used to it but eventually it starts to annoy you so much that you just want it to shut up. It is personal how long you can take tattooing before the annoyance gets too irritating. My first annoyance is after 3h, so I think I might survive to 4h-4,5h mark only. My friend can sit for 6-7 hours. It is OK to let your tattooer know if your limit has been reached or if you’d want to have your big piece done in multiple shorter sessions.
I saw someone comparing tattooing to a really tight and strong clothespin pinching you with only a tiny piece of your skin in between its hold, and I find that rather accurate. Stinging also happens.
I wouldn’t compare tattoo needle to any needles, not to doctor&nurse needles, not to vaccination needles, not even to piercing needles. It is really a feeling of its own!
HAPPY TATTOOING AND REMARK MY WORDS; YOU GET ONE AND AFTER THAT, YOU WANT TO GET 10 MORE :D
