Tattoo FAQ

[Violet Grimm]

Tattoo FAQ sticky by Goddess Kali

Hopefully I’ll cover everything, but I welcome any suggestions or additions. And my apologies if this sounds like an 'idiots' guide' I'm assuming you know *nothing"

I really, really want a tattoo!

If you are under 18, read these now.
*this* and *this!*

Where do I go…?

If you see someone in a pub or club and admire their tattoos, ask them who ‘maimed them for life.’ Be prepared for nastiness from surly people and help and advice from the rest of us. There are many tattooists working in the Glasgow area – a few of them are listed at the bottom of the FAQ.

The pictures displayed on walls, or in folders in tattoo parlours are not necessarily the work of the ‘artist’. Many artists will have their own web pages (again, listed below the FAQ) or display photographs of their own work. Ask questions! You are the paying customer and deserve to be treated with respect as such. If you feel uncomfortable or intimidated, leave.

Tattooists are governed by strict health and safety regulations. You should look for a clean workspace. The tattooist should set up their equipment in front of you and needles, grips should be fresh from an autoclave. Sometimes it is recommended that the tattooist break their needles in front of you when they are done, but this event is after the fact, so it’s not like you’d know anyway . It goes without saying that they wear gloves. Even if you don’t have anything nasty, blood-borne and contagious, your tattooist may have!

When do I go..?

If you want something simple, or something from the flash-wall, you may be able to walk off of the street and get an appointment. In my opinion, the best tattooists have waiting lists. If you’ve waited this long a few more weeks won’t hurt? Right?

Oh, and! The sun is shining! It’s a beautiful day and you really want to show off your new tattoo in that cute little vest? Please, don’t! New tattoos (and old tattoos!) and the sun do not mix! More about your aftercare later, but the very best time of year to contemplate a new tattoo is late autumn, through winter. It’s a very quiet time of year for the profession and you may well get an appointment sooner than you anticipated.

I don’t know what to get!

bmezine (click!)

Or ask us! Think about your body shape. I personally believe that there are few people who can’t be improved by a tattoo. Big brawny men carry big brawny tattoos better than fine lined little characters. I personally believe that tattoos should sit well on your body – elfin wee girlies can (arguably) get away with murder! You do have to live with your body (hopefully) for a VERY long time. Don’t make a rash decision, PLEASE don’t get someone’s name put on you (personal opinion here!) You can commemorate a person by tattoos other than a name in a heart.

How much does it cost?

How much do you want to spend..? The ‘going rate’ for an hour of work is around £40 - £50. The tattooist or receptionist will be able to advise you on price. You are changing your body for life – it’s not like a haircut or a new pair of boots. This is you. Be prepared to invest in yourself. Do not haggle. It’s very rude!

Right! I’m ready!

Do NOT drink the night/morning before you go! Alcohol thins the blood – you will bleed like a stuck pig and it will be very very messy. Like the prom in ‘Carrie’. Have a light breakfast or lunch and contemplate a small bar of chocolate and a sugary drink on the way to the tattoo studio. Personal recommendation – a mars bar and lucozade. If you are feeling very wussy, do not take aspirin – again it’s a blood thinner. Paracetomol is OK, but basically a placebo. Ibuprofen apparently rocks.

Does it hurt?

Oh, yes.

Isn’t that the point…?

But everyone has a different degree of pain threshold and even the same tattoo placed on the same area of skin will affect two different people differently. Generally, fleshy areas (tops of arms, backs of shoulders etc) will hurt less than areas which travel over bone or muscle (spine, elbows, wrists, ankles...) Your tattooist should start small, ask if you are OK and let you know that it is OK to ask him or her to stop.

Try to relax. Tensing your body or clenching your fists will not help! Relaxation techniques such as repeating times tables over and over and over in your head, playing with a ‘stress ball’ (as long as it doesn’t interfere with your muscle control) or techniques learned from self hypnosis tapes all help. Personally, I occasionally imagine counting myself down the stairs in my mothers’ house and walking around the garden naming the plants and flowers! Thinking about other things distracts from the pain.

Additionally, your body has a natural line of defence against pain, and if you are being tattooed for a appreciable period of time, the endorphins will kick in. Every thing will be fine!

Aftercare

Tattooists and tattooees differ in their advice regarding the aftercare of a fresh tattoo and your tattooist should give you an aftercare leaflet. Debates rage between people who declare that Cling-film should be left on the tattoo for 24 hours to those who advocate ‘heat-searing’ by immersing the fresh tattoo in the hottest water you can stand as soon as possible. All I can advise is what I do. I remove the clingfilm or paper towel as soon as possible (I have done this in various pub and cinema toilets!) and wash in anti-bacterial soap. Apply the merest smidge of savlon. Wash as normal, being gentle and apply savlon twice a day, or when you remember. There is a school of thought that advises using ‘lasonil’ on purely black work. ) You’ll need to go to a good pharmacist for this! Boots do not stock it and do not get it mixed up with the athlete’s foot cream! Some people also advocate using ‘preparation-H’ haemorrhoid cream. Personally I have no requirement for it’s traditional use, so wouldn’t put it on my skin! Other good things – ‘Drapolene’ nappy crème – a very, VERY light pink cream used for spotty baby bots.

Take a multi vitamin every day. Drink lot’s of water and ‘don’t do drugs kids’ (sanctimonious cow!)

DO NOT pick! Tattooists can spot a picker from a mile off on a foggy day! Usually your tattooist will repair any patches in your new tattoo for free – it is normal for occasional patchiness in the natural curve of the skin ( eg: inner elbows) This is different to picking – how ever tempting it may be, your tattooist can tell! Don’t expect free fill-ins for your own weakness! J

Oh. My. God!(ess...) What have I done…?

So, you ignored my advice..? huh…? *sigh*

Most tattoos can be covered with bigger and better tattoos. This might not be the way forward for everyone. The alternative is long sleeves for the rest of your life and getting undressed in the dark. Or lazer surgery. Apparently this hurts much, much more than the original tattoo (and to an extent, covering your old tattoo can hurt more than the original because you are dealing with scar tissue. Depending to the quality of work that your original tattooist/scratcher, you may have raised skin…This happens with a more heavy handed tattooist…)

Hope this helps…

Tattooists

Tribe tribe(click!)

Southside ink –62, Battlefield Rd
Glasgow Lanarkshire
G42 9QF website

Tel: 0141 632 5372

Terry’s
23, Chisholm St
Glasgow Lanarkshire
G1 5HA
0141 552 5740

website

Irezumi 25, Dowanhill St Partick
Glasgow Lanarkshire
G11 5QR

Tel: 0141 342 4008

website

Body Line Tatoo's & Piercings Studio

5, Dixon St
Glasgow Lanarkshire
G1 4AL

Tel: 0141 248 4966

custom inc

1060 Argyle St, Glasgow, G3 8LY
Tel: 0141-249 9949

website

[sinister]

Cool!

I'll just add a few links to the altnation gallery + a few other sites i like:

http://www.alternativenation.net/pho...ry.php?cat=541
http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/bme-tatt.html
http://www.tattoostudioguide.com/
http://www.tattoo-nightliner.de/galerie/
http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/image..._galleries.htm
http://www.blackmagic.de/index1.htm
http://www.graphictribe.com/enarchv.html
http://www.steve-a.co.uk/main/tattoos.html
http://reverndbunny.sphosting.com/symbols.html
http://www.tattoodaily.com/morepics.html
http://tattoos.com/
http://www.tattoo-studio-gandalf.com.../galleries.htm

And a couple for fonts:

http://www.fontseek.com/
http://www.themeworld.com/fonts/index09.shtml

[sinister]

And another site with incredible stuff in the gallery is Urban primitive

Amazing "energy wave" tribal stuff like:

[Connor O'Bain]

So you want a tattoo? But not just any tattoo, you want something special, something unique. But you cant draw and want one designed, well to help speed things along here’s a few questions that will help out the designer, the more you can answer the easier it will be and chances are closer to that picture you have in your head

and yes i did this to combat my pet peeve of "I want a tattoo but I dont know what I want."

Tattoo design FAQ

1.What’s the subject?
(what are you wanting tattooed)

2.Any particular style?
(traditional, tribal, oriental, manga, etc)

3.Do you want it in full colour or black/white/grey?

4.Whereabouts on your body is it going?

5.What size do you want it to be?
(height and breadth)

6.Any particular shape?
(circler, triangle, etc)

[Connor O'Bain]

Admittedly cover ups are rarely asked about on this forum. To which I attribute to the fact that the general populace here take a lot of time and effort in deciding their tattoo. Unfortunately not everyone can claim the same.

I want my tattoo covered, what should I do?
First off talk to a few tattoo artists. Most will be able to advise you in the best course of action and offer up some possible solutions.

What can and can’t be covered?
There are lots of factors that contribute to what can and can’t be covered, size, age, how well it has aged. For instance a 10 year old small tattoo that has aged badly will be a lot easier to cover than a large year old tattoo that still looks fresh.

What can I cover it with?
Again it depends on the tattoo. Generally it will have to be larger than the original tattoo, to what extent depends on exactly what design you are going to cover it with. Colours will tend to be on the darker end of the spectrum (dark blues and purples) but this does not mean that the whole tattoo has to be as such just the part that is doing the cover up, for example if say a dragon design was being used as the covering design, using darker colours in the wings to cover the original tattoo, leaving the rest of the dragons body to be coloured in any fashion you wish.

Also designs with a large amount of detail (i.e. fish/snake scales) can also be helpful. By shading the scales darker than normal and using the outlines of the scales to disguise the original tattoo.

Ok, what cant I cover it with?
Generally a cover up will have to be bigger than the original tattoo so obviously a smaller tattoo will not do the job. This would appear to be common sense but you would be amazed by the amount of people who thing that sticking a 2 pence piece sized tattoo over a 50 pence sized one that the rest of the original tattoo magically disappears. Either that or they don’t care if a bit of the original “peeks out”, in that case why bother getting a cover up if you only want it half done.

Colour wise, lighter colours than your original tattoo will not cover it. Picking a light blue dolphin to go over a dark purple rose will not work (not just in colour but by design as well)

Right I have taken all that on board, now what?
Ok stop and think about it. When you got your original tattoo you probably loved it. You need to be sure you are happy with the tattoo that you are getting to cover it with. You don’t want to be in the same position a couple of years down the line with an even bigger tattoo than you originally had. Learn from the past. Don’t just stick anything on so you can get rid of the original.

Anything else?
Be prepared to be flexible with what you want, your options are limited as to what you can get as a cover up but any tattooist will give you as wide a range as possible but they still have a job to do in covering it up. Don’t make it harder for them by being stubborn in your expectations; they can only work within the confines of their skills. They also may have to change the design slightly while tattooing it, this isn’t just for the sake of it, and it will have been done for a reason, that reason being to better cover your tattoo.


Any other advice?
The best piece of advice is to give plenty of thought to the first tattoo and thus hopefully you won’t have to get it covered in the future



Just a general FAQ. whats covered here is not the be all and end all. hopefully none of you will have to read it.

[Violet Grimm]

also - some cover ups can be made a lot easier, particularly if they're very dark, with a couple of shots of lazer treatment - that will expand your choices in what you want your new tattoo to be like. Bigger cover-ups than the original tattoo is spot on, it's easier to divert the eye from a darker part of the tattoo to disguise where the original offending tattoo was.

nice sticky, Barry....

[joe1]

just in case you missed it heres the new bodyline site

www.bodylinetattoo.com check it out nothing like the old site

[fallen_nemesis]

just a wee post to say the Irezumi website's down at the minute as the domain name has expired. There doesn't seem to be an alt. site on the go for it either, just had a quick wee google search to see.

[Russell Bhoy]

I'm getting my first tattoo in a few days, the FAQ really helped me thanks for taking the time to do it. Just want to clarify tho - Ibuprofen is fine to take? Thanks

[Jaemi]

Do not haggle. It’s very rude!

I like this, basically it means "We charge Xamount, if you don't like it, fuck off."

[Connor O'Bain]

Originally Posted by Russell Bhoy

I'm getting my first tattoo in a few days, the FAQ really helped me thanks for taking the time to do it. Just want to clarify tho - Ibuprofen is fine to take? Thanks

Glad we could help and welcome to the forum.

Ibuprofen? are you meaning to dull the pain of getting the tattoo? i know that other pain killers thin your blood (ie.aspirin) and thus are not a good idea and as far as i am aware Ibuprofen doesnt but i still would be hesetent to take any form of pain killer before getting tattooed.

i should also stress that i am a not pharmisist and it may be something you wish to discuss with one.

[Russell Bhoy]

Originally Posted by Goddess_Kali

If you are feeling very wussy, do not take aspirin – again it’s a blood thinner. Paracetomol is OK, but basically a placebo. Ibuprofen apparently rocks.

Thanks for the info, i just read this line and figured i should ask for more info, anyone know this from experience?. Thanks for your time

[fallen_nemesis]

Originally Posted by Russell Bhoy

Thanks for the info, i just read this line and figured i should ask for more info, anyone know this from experience?. Thanks for your time

every time I've filled in the consent form for a piercing or tattoo this has been one of the questions. - "Have you taken any aspirin based medication in the last 24 hours". It's a known blood thinner which means you're likely to bleed far more than normal if you've taken any. Dentists and the like ask this too before they haul your teeth out

It's just one of those things like don't booze before it and go in with alcohol still in your blood stream. It's not to say that people haven't done this before and been fine, but it's common sense to limit the risks where possible.

[Strider C.R.U.X.]

Originally Posted by Jaemi

I like this, basically it means "We charge Xamount, if you don't like it, fuck off."

I dont agree entirely, sometime haggleing is entirely worthwhile, but id say only for custom or self designed jobs, stuff off the wall is priced and they almost certainly dont shift, depends on the artists attitude, you can generally tell if negotiation is an option

[Connor O'Bain]

Originally Posted by Strider C.R.U.X.

I dont agree entirely, sometime haggleing is entirely worthwhile, but id say only for custom or self designed jobs, stuff off the wall is priced and they almost certainly dont shift, depends on the artists attitude, you can generally tell if negotiation is an option

and i must say i disagree with this, espessially with custom work (draw by studio). true if you are working to a budget then the price should be at least discussed before hand but its incredibly difficult to price a tattoo before its has actually been drawn.

a customer can say how big they want the tattoo
a customer can say where they want the tattoo
but they cant tell you what price its going to be