Should You Get a Tattoo?

Getting a Tattoo is a very personal decision that will require some thoughtfulness on your part.  This is because removing your ex’s name, that faddy Celtic thing or your imitation jailbird tattoo can get really expensive when you get older and decide that you can’t stand the look of it anymore. In fact currently, the last generation of punks, Goths, witchlets and tribal types account for a lot of surgical and laser tattoo removal and is a steadily growing business.

The first thing you need to realize about getting a tattoo is that not all tattoo artists is that great. If you want a really good one, then you need to spend some money. The first thing you should do is visit the tattoo parlor or tattoo studio and ask to see some photographs of the tattoo artists work. Ask if anyone there has one of the tattoo artist’s tattoo and take a good look at it. The reason you want to do this is because it is very common for tatooo artists to take pictures of tattoos on people and claim that they are the artist. There is not a lot of copyright protection when it comes to tattoo imagery unfortunately. Anybody can put a bunch of Poloroids in a binder and claim the work as their own.

The next thing you should look for is not whether or not it is a cool place to get a tattoo but whether or not it is a clean place. You should ask if they sterilize their needles in an auto clave-sterilizer as that is the best way.  All tools that are used in your tattooing process need to either be sterilized or disposable and disposed of after being used on each customer. A brand new sterile needle must be used to make marks on your body every time. Also your tattoo artist should not be dipping your needle into a jar of communal ink that is shared by the other tattoo artists. Your ink should be just for you and in individual jars. No matter how it is decorated the place should be as clean as your doctor’s office. This is because infected needles spread all kinds of diseases including HIV and AIDS.

The tattoo artist should be very comfortable communicating with you. If you feel intimidated, condescended to or ignored then leave and find another artist. You will never get what you want tattooed on your body dealing with an egotistical tattoo artist who does not want to hear what you have to say about the design you want on your body.

Yet another thing to realize about getting a tattoo is that it is not painless. The actual procedure often hurts (which is supposed to be part of the ritual of the whole thing.) There can also be itchiness, bruising and soreness for weeks after you get the tattoo.

Unfortunately too, when it comes to tattoos you get what you pay for. This means that the best tattoo artists might not fit into your budget. The hourly rate for custom tattoo work is fifty to three hundred dollars an hour.