So you want to get a tattoo? While there are going to be hundreds of shops out there that are looking to take your money, there are a few simple steps that can follow that will lessen the chances of having a bad tattoo experience.
First of all, you should be listening to word of mouth. Most tattoo shops have artists that are very good on paper, so try to look past any flashy advertising they may be throwing out there. Work will speak for itself, so listen to what people have to say about a certain shop. If you see someone that has a tattoo that you like, ask them where they got it, and ask about the experience they had. If the work looks awesome but they felt uncomfortable in the shop, or if the artist was rude, be wary of that shop. The people that are about to work on your skin should be professional about it.
Once you find a shop to visit, you want to make sure that they are professional and clean. Even if you followed the rule above and are about to visit the shop that everyone in town loves, you want to remember that the general public doesn’t know too much about the mechanics of tattooing. When you walk in you should be greeted in a friendly manner, the shop should appear clean and in order, and it should have an overall pleasant atmosphere. Your gut will usually tell you in a few moments whether you want to get work there or not, and you should listen to it.
As soon as you find a person to ask questions of, ask away! Even if you don’t know the answer to the question, the people that work there should be able to supply you with any information that you need. Things you might want to ask are:
-May I see the shop and artist licenses (if applicable in your state)?
-May I see the work area?
-May I see your clean room or sterilization area?
-May I see your autoclave logs?
-May I see your spore test results?
-May I see way your needles are packaged?
-May I see your portfolios?
Now if you are paying attention (and you should be), you will notice that there is no mention of price above. Right now you’re just feeling the shop out, checking to see if it’s a winner or not. Don’t worry about your design, we’ll get to that.
So let’s assume that this shop is feeling pretty good to you, you like the people, everything seems to be in order and they do great work. The next step is to walk out! Unless this is the last shop in town you can check out, you’re going to want to shop around for quality. This shop may seem to do good work, but the one down the street may blow your mind.
Assuming that you find a shop that meets all of the above criteria, the next step is your design. You are going to want to bring in a few pictures of something similar to what you want, and have an idea of where you want the piece and how big you want it etc. The artist should be able to give you a rough idea of the price of your tattoo and the length of time involved if he or she has some reference material to work with. Most artists won’t work on visible skin (i.e. the hands or neck) until you have a large amount of tattoo work done already. If you bring in pictures of tattoos do not expect to get them replicated by a quality artist, as any artist worth his salt is going to have very large ethical problems with copying a tattoo. If they want to copy something that is already on someone else, turn and walk out the door or someone may be walking around with a copy of your tattoo in a few weeks!
At this point you will likely be impressed by the cost of your tattoo. This is normal, but if you want to maintain a good relationship with the artist DO NOT HAGGLE! It may work when you are buying a new car, but by trying to negotiate the price the artist will feel that you don’t think his work is worth what he is asking. If you like a tattoo artist’s work and don’t have the money to buy the piece, then save up money and get the piece done at a later date. It’s important to remember that this is on your skin forever and even if the piece is very expensive, if you divide the cost by the number of days you will wear it(the rest of your life), it will average out to fractions of pennies a day. The rule to go by is “Good tattoos aren’t cheap and cheap tattoos aren’t good”.
So you’re in the chair about to be tattooed. The artist should show you everything in it’s sterile pouches, and there are usually little marks that show that the equipment in the package is sterile. They should be wearing non-latex gloves to tattoo with, and they should prep the area with an anti-microbial solution before they put on your stencil or start drawing on you. While the artist is working on you, try and be as still as possible. I know it hurts, but it will only hurt for a bit and having a crappy tattoo is a lifetime commitment!  The artist may or may not want to talk while they tattoo, just kind of feel it out and do whatever they are more comfortable with. If at any time during the process you start to feel nauseated, lightheaded, or anything out of the ordinary, politely ask your artist if that is normal. Don’t try and tough it out; it’s a lot less embarrassing to take a break than it is to pass out or vomit in your artists booth!
Now that the tattoo is done the artist should bandage you up after you have had a chance to look at the piece. While this is happening he will probably give you aftercare instructions. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS! If you don’t take care of your tattoo per your artist’s instructions, he or she may charge you extra if it needs to be touched up after healing (most tattoos do). Follow the instructions to the letter, wear sun block over the tattoo after it heals out, and you will have a great looking piece of art for life!
