Guide to Getting Tattooed/Pierced
The APT and The APP are great places to start when doing your research for getting your first (or a new) tattoo/piercing. I'm also going to break it down a bit into more useful terms.
GENERAL
Shop around for professional and capable artists/piercers. Look through their portfolio and talk to them about what you want. Go to an artist that will be able to do your tattoo/piercing the best. (Some artists specialize in specific types of body modification/art/piercings).
VIBES if you get a bad vibe from ANY part of any shop you are in... LEAVE! Getting your first tattoo/piercing is stressing enough, don't over do it by going into a shop or getting tattooed/pierced by someone who makes you feel uneasy. If your artist is noticeably inebriated (drunk or high on ANY medication/drug)... leave. They shouldn't reek of pot or alcohol. Do you SERIOUSLY trust someone who is under the influence to stab you with a needle? If so you have more issues than I thought.
CLEANLINESS!!! The first thing you should do in any shop you walk into is observe the cleanliness. Look at the floor, the tables the shelves. Does anything have dirt/dust/smeared ink/etc all over it? (Dust is 80% dead skin cells). Do they allow smoking/pets inside? (They shouldn't, it's illegal to smoke in shops or allow any type of pet including working animals). A busy shop is going to have a semi dirty floor in the main areas of the shop during the day just from the amount of people walking around. But the rest of the shop should smell clean (almost like a hospital/doctor’s office) and should SPARKLE because it’s so clean.
If you can't spot licenses/certifications/etc right away; ASK. A GOOD shop will be more than happy to show things like this off and boast about how well maintained their artists and shop are. If you ask for them they HAVE to show you. If they don't... leave because they probably aren't licensed to tattoo nor have they been inspected by the health department recently. (Tattoo artists, apprentices AND piercers are required to have a license. The shop also has to have its own license along with possibly business license and health inspection certificates/first aid/cpr/blood borne pathogens and sterilization certificates).
Ask about their sterilization techniques and if you can SEE their clean room (you probably won't be allowed in it, but they can open the door and let you look. It should be organized and clean and they are REQUIRED BY LAW to have both an autoclave AND ultrasonic machine (google for pix). Ask how often they have their autoclave/ultrasonic machine tuned/updated/etc. (They are suppose to be maintained on a monthly basis).The more disposable products they use, the better! This means they are using a brand new never touched product every time they tattoo/pierce someone.
Petroleum jelly/vaseline/a&d. Most shops use these products and even sell them to you (tattoo goo, tattoo potion, etc). The problem comes from something you learned in sex ed in school. What happens when you put oil on a condom? It breaks it down. What are these products? OIL BASED. What is it that your artist wears to protect themselves and you? LATEX gloves. Get the point? If they won't stop using it or insist on using it, just tell them that you have a petroleum allergy. Surgilube is a bit better (water based lubrication) but not by much. Water, green soap and witch hazel should be all you need to lubricate the tattoo area/needle. Oil based products can break latex gloves down in less than 3 minutes and nitrile gloves in about 10 minutes. This makes the gloves useless for protecting against disease and all they do is keep the ink off the artists hands at that point.
TIP!!! Don't forget to tip your artist. The longer you are being tattooed/the bigger your piece is, the more you should tip. Most artists are happy with ANY tip because a lot of people DON'T know that you are suppose to tip tattoo artists AND piercers. Be professional about it the first time, give them cash. Once you get to know them though you can probably tip with their favorite food, piece of art work they like/etc instead. (This is NOT to be confused with PAYING for your tattoo).
You also have the basics. Make sure your artist washes his/her hands. They should open new needles and tools (grip/tube - the part of the machine that they hold, any piercing tools, etc). They should pour new ink into a small cap (NEVER reuse it). Everything should have plastic bags/wrap around it to protect it from blood splatter. (All bottles, the machine, the chair, the arm rest, etc). The artist should change his/her gloves several times during set up and tattooing/piercing and should generally practice cross contamination prevention.
Read through the waiver sheet and make sure you identify any infections/sicknesses/diseases you may have. This will help your artist better prepare for tattooing/piercing you and/or dealing with your medical needs should something happen. ALWAYS ask lots of questions, especially if you don't understand something. As a general rule most artists won't tattoo/pierce someone who is pregnant/nursing, diabetic, hiv positive, etc. ALWAYS talk to your artist IN DETAIL about EVERYTHING.
BRING YOUR ID!!! Most shops won't touch you without proper identification (name, birth date, etc). If you're not 18 yet, just suck it up and wait. You will be thankful. Other than legal issues and the mental immaturity of the average teenager, the biggest reasons most shops won't pierce or tattoo someone under 18 is growth. Teenagers bodies are still growing in all places and have constant unbalanced surges of hormones rushing through their bodies at any given time both of which can cause warping, migration and rejection of your new tattoo/piercing. It's better to wait until your body has matured and has had time to balance out & control the hormones/chemicals.
If you're pregnant and/or nursing, you're better off waiting. Other than the obvious risk of getting a disease/infection from a needle and passing it onto your child; A pregnant or mother who has just given birth body is undergoing some MAJOR changes with chemical/hormone surges and is also under a TON of stress. This alone can harm your child and make it near impossible to heal properly. You are better off waiting until your child is at least 2 months old so your body has had time to heal after the birth and you have established a healthy/regular breastfeeding relationship. (I personally would wait 6 months or longer after giving birth just to make sure my body is fully healed and has fully adapted to breastfeeding at that point). My personal health and the health of my child is more important than new body art.
Do NOT drink, do drugs or take medication before you get pierced or tattooed. Alcohol and drugs impair your thought and reason. If you take a blood thinner, ask your doctor if it's ok to skip a 1-3 days of your medication (the day before you get tattooed, the day of and the day after). If not, you might be better off just not getting body modifications, talk to your artist! Alcohol and most medications are BLOOD thinners which can make you bleed out very easily, they can prolong healing and even damage the new piercing/tattoo. All of these things can also make the piercing/tattoo hurt MORE than it originally would have if you had been sober. Just avoid this crap until AFTER you are pierced/tattooed (most of it should be avoided until after you are healed as well).
ALWAYS make sure you have eaten before getting pierced or tattooed. Bring a soda/juice and/or candy to keep your sugars up. Most people get MASSIVE adrenaline rushes from being pierced/tattooed which drains your body of sugars making you feel good. Sometimes it drains them so fast that you get light headed/dizzy/pass out/etc. This is normal, don’t feel stupid. Having a good meal in your tummy helps to combat this. (Avoid greasy fast food, this can make you sicker).
TATTOOS
Pick a design that YOU WANT. OR have an artist draw up what you want. (Most artists will either charge for drawing, not do it OR won't let you leave the shop with the artwork UNLESS you are getting tattooed by them). Who cares what someone else likes, this is YOUR tattoo. Flash in general sucks and usually just about every piece of flash you see, is probably tattooed on at least 5 other people - remember that. Custom is best. And don’t rip off someone else’s custom piece. Most artists will NOT tattoo someone else’s tattoo on you.
Do your research on inks. There are a TON of inks out there and only a few of them are good. If you have any skin allergies, make sure you discuss it with your tattoo artist before hand. There is a risk that ANY ink could cause an allergic reaction that's just part of the industry and reds tend to be worse than any other color. The good inks are Intenze (best), Kuro Sumi, Millennium’s/Mom's & Starbrite. Basically anything else is CRAP.
Another thing to remember about oil based products is that tattoo ink is water based. Vaseline is oil based. What happens when you mix water and oil!? It doesn't work. So why slather the tattoo/tattoo area with a product that REPELLS water when you're getting ready to apply a water based ink!? See my aftercare for more info on this.
Do your research on the meanings behind your tattoo; especially if you're getting something written in a different language. Over half of the population with kanji tattoos, THINK their tattoo says something like "LOVE/STRENGTH/HAPPINESS/etc" when in reality it says "BITCH/CUNT/DICK/etc". The same goes for symbols. There is a difference between sparrows and swallows (you'll have to look it up, I can't remember it off hand) and most things have dual meanings.
Good tattoos aren't cheap and Cheap tattoos aren't good. Live by that. For a small 4x4 tattoo expect to pay between $50-$100. You also have to consider the type of tattoo. If it's very intricate with LOTS of lines it's going to be more expensive than a simple cartoon style. Color jacks up the price as well as location. (Necks will be more expensive than shoulders for example. Be careful though because some artists are greedy and will charge you out the ass to get some tiny little thing tattooed.
Touch ups should be free, but if you use MY aftercare sheet you shouldn’t need any touch ups unless your artist sucks ass, or you have an allergic reaction to something. (Which is what we're trying to avoid here right?) I'll post it soon.
DO NOT LET THEM PUT PLASTIC WRAP ON YOU!!! OMG this is one of the WORST things that the tattoo industry has come up with. The idea behind it was to trick your body into thinking it already had a scab so it would heal faster from the outside in. Well all it does is trap bacteria and generally PISS your body off. The skin heals from the INSIDE out. It's science, you cannot change that or "trick it". I'll have to find the photos of my first tattoo (Taylor's name on my wrist) and show you what happened when I followed aftercare that told me to keep my tattoo wrapped in plastic wrap for a few days. (It was NOT pretty).
P.S. Don’t EVER call a tattoo machine a “tattoo gun”. By doing so, you have just proven your ignorance and lack of research and you will most likely get smacked.
PIERCINGS
Trust your piercer! A good piercer will know the proper and aesthetically pleasing placement of most if not all piercings and should evaluate the piercing area on your body for potential hazards and pierce accordingly.
Always do your research on the piercing(s) you are getting. Some are prone to reject/migrate while others heal without any problems what so ever. Most oral piercings can REALLY fuck up your teeth/gums. Other piercings, if done improperly can cause numbness or intense sensation.
NEVER EVER EVER EVER get pierced with a piercing gun!!!!! Absolutely NO piercing, not even ear lobes should be done with a gun!!!! The guns are impossible to sterilize (cannot be autoclaved) and only cause more damage than good. They are a horrible invention and are actually banned in most states. The body modification industry is trying to make piercing guns illegal.
Let me give you a clear picture of the difference between a gun and a needle. The gun FORCES a blunt piece of jewelry through your lobe, leaving behind jagged pieces of tissue and hurting 12938723423 times more than usual. A sharp needle makes a clean cut into the lobe, leaving behind a symmetrical wound that will heal evenly once jewelry is placed, it is also less painful. Take a piece of paper and punch one hole in it with a hole punch. Make another hole by pushing a pencil through it. See the difference? All of those jagged pieces of tissue left in your ear by a gun are just BEGGING for infection and irritation. While a needle cuts those pieces away leaving a clean area for your piercing to heal.
Check out this website for more info on why guns are bad! http://www.safepiercing.org/aftercare/faq/
GENERAL
Shop around for professional and capable artists/piercers. Look through their portfolio and talk to them about what you want. Go to an artist that will be able to do your tattoo/piercing the best. (Some artists specialize in specific types of body modification/art/piercings).
VIBES if you get a bad vibe from ANY part of any shop you are in... LEAVE! Getting your first tattoo/piercing is stressing enough, don't over do it by going into a shop or getting tattooed/pierced by someone who makes you feel uneasy. If your artist is noticeably inebriated (drunk or high on ANY medication/drug)... leave. They shouldn't reek of pot or alcohol. Do you SERIOUSLY trust someone who is under the influence to stab you with a needle? If so you have more issues than I thought.
CLEANLINESS!!! The first thing you should do in any shop you walk into is observe the cleanliness. Look at the floor, the tables the shelves. Does anything have dirt/dust/smeared ink/etc all over it? (Dust is 80% dead skin cells). Do they allow smoking/pets inside? (They shouldn't, it's illegal to smoke in shops or allow any type of pet including working animals). A busy shop is going to have a semi dirty floor in the main areas of the shop during the day just from the amount of people walking around. But the rest of the shop should smell clean (almost like a hospital/doctor’s office) and should SPARKLE because it’s so clean.
If you can't spot licenses/certifications/etc right away; ASK. A GOOD shop will be more than happy to show things like this off and boast about how well maintained their artists and shop are. If you ask for them they HAVE to show you. If they don't... leave because they probably aren't licensed to tattoo nor have they been inspected by the health department recently. (Tattoo artists, apprentices AND piercers are required to have a license. The shop also has to have its own license along with possibly business license and health inspection certificates/first aid/cpr/blood borne pathogens and sterilization certificates).
Ask about their sterilization techniques and if you can SEE their clean room (you probably won't be allowed in it, but they can open the door and let you look. It should be organized and clean and they are REQUIRED BY LAW to have both an autoclave AND ultrasonic machine (google for pix). Ask how often they have their autoclave/ultrasonic machine tuned/updated/etc. (They are suppose to be maintained on a monthly basis).The more disposable products they use, the better! This means they are using a brand new never touched product every time they tattoo/pierce someone.
Petroleum jelly/vaseline/a&d. Most shops use these products and even sell them to you (tattoo goo, tattoo potion, etc). The problem comes from something you learned in sex ed in school. What happens when you put oil on a condom? It breaks it down. What are these products? OIL BASED. What is it that your artist wears to protect themselves and you? LATEX gloves. Get the point? If they won't stop using it or insist on using it, just tell them that you have a petroleum allergy. Surgilube is a bit better (water based lubrication) but not by much. Water, green soap and witch hazel should be all you need to lubricate the tattoo area/needle. Oil based products can break latex gloves down in less than 3 minutes and nitrile gloves in about 10 minutes. This makes the gloves useless for protecting against disease and all they do is keep the ink off the artists hands at that point.
TIP!!! Don't forget to tip your artist. The longer you are being tattooed/the bigger your piece is, the more you should tip. Most artists are happy with ANY tip because a lot of people DON'T know that you are suppose to tip tattoo artists AND piercers. Be professional about it the first time, give them cash. Once you get to know them though you can probably tip with their favorite food, piece of art work they like/etc instead. (This is NOT to be confused with PAYING for your tattoo).
You also have the basics. Make sure your artist washes his/her hands. They should open new needles and tools (grip/tube - the part of the machine that they hold, any piercing tools, etc). They should pour new ink into a small cap (NEVER reuse it). Everything should have plastic bags/wrap around it to protect it from blood splatter. (All bottles, the machine, the chair, the arm rest, etc). The artist should change his/her gloves several times during set up and tattooing/piercing and should generally practice cross contamination prevention.
Read through the waiver sheet and make sure you identify any infections/sicknesses/diseases you may have. This will help your artist better prepare for tattooing/piercing you and/or dealing with your medical needs should something happen. ALWAYS ask lots of questions, especially if you don't understand something. As a general rule most artists won't tattoo/pierce someone who is pregnant/nursing, diabetic, hiv positive, etc. ALWAYS talk to your artist IN DETAIL about EVERYTHING.
BRING YOUR ID!!! Most shops won't touch you without proper identification (name, birth date, etc). If you're not 18 yet, just suck it up and wait. You will be thankful. Other than legal issues and the mental immaturity of the average teenager, the biggest reasons most shops won't pierce or tattoo someone under 18 is growth. Teenagers bodies are still growing in all places and have constant unbalanced surges of hormones rushing through their bodies at any given time both of which can cause warping, migration and rejection of your new tattoo/piercing. It's better to wait until your body has matured and has had time to balance out & control the hormones/chemicals.
If you're pregnant and/or nursing, you're better off waiting. Other than the obvious risk of getting a disease/infection from a needle and passing it onto your child; A pregnant or mother who has just given birth body is undergoing some MAJOR changes with chemical/hormone surges and is also under a TON of stress. This alone can harm your child and make it near impossible to heal properly. You are better off waiting until your child is at least 2 months old so your body has had time to heal after the birth and you have established a healthy/regular breastfeeding relationship. (I personally would wait 6 months or longer after giving birth just to make sure my body is fully healed and has fully adapted to breastfeeding at that point). My personal health and the health of my child is more important than new body art.
Do NOT drink, do drugs or take medication before you get pierced or tattooed. Alcohol and drugs impair your thought and reason. If you take a blood thinner, ask your doctor if it's ok to skip a 1-3 days of your medication (the day before you get tattooed, the day of and the day after). If not, you might be better off just not getting body modifications, talk to your artist! Alcohol and most medications are BLOOD thinners which can make you bleed out very easily, they can prolong healing and even damage the new piercing/tattoo. All of these things can also make the piercing/tattoo hurt MORE than it originally would have if you had been sober. Just avoid this crap until AFTER you are pierced/tattooed (most of it should be avoided until after you are healed as well).
ALWAYS make sure you have eaten before getting pierced or tattooed. Bring a soda/juice and/or candy to keep your sugars up. Most people get MASSIVE adrenaline rushes from being pierced/tattooed which drains your body of sugars making you feel good. Sometimes it drains them so fast that you get light headed/dizzy/pass out/etc. This is normal, don’t feel stupid. Having a good meal in your tummy helps to combat this. (Avoid greasy fast food, this can make you sicker).
TATTOOS
Pick a design that YOU WANT. OR have an artist draw up what you want. (Most artists will either charge for drawing, not do it OR won't let you leave the shop with the artwork UNLESS you are getting tattooed by them). Who cares what someone else likes, this is YOUR tattoo. Flash in general sucks and usually just about every piece of flash you see, is probably tattooed on at least 5 other people - remember that. Custom is best. And don’t rip off someone else’s custom piece. Most artists will NOT tattoo someone else’s tattoo on you.
Do your research on inks. There are a TON of inks out there and only a few of them are good. If you have any skin allergies, make sure you discuss it with your tattoo artist before hand. There is a risk that ANY ink could cause an allergic reaction that's just part of the industry and reds tend to be worse than any other color. The good inks are Intenze (best), Kuro Sumi, Millennium’s/Mom's & Starbrite. Basically anything else is CRAP.
Another thing to remember about oil based products is that tattoo ink is water based. Vaseline is oil based. What happens when you mix water and oil!? It doesn't work. So why slather the tattoo/tattoo area with a product that REPELLS water when you're getting ready to apply a water based ink!? See my aftercare for more info on this.
Do your research on the meanings behind your tattoo; especially if you're getting something written in a different language. Over half of the population with kanji tattoos, THINK their tattoo says something like "LOVE/STRENGTH/HAPPINESS/etc" when in reality it says "BITCH/CUNT/DICK/etc". The same goes for symbols. There is a difference between sparrows and swallows (you'll have to look it up, I can't remember it off hand) and most things have dual meanings.
Good tattoos aren't cheap and Cheap tattoos aren't good. Live by that. For a small 4x4 tattoo expect to pay between $50-$100. You also have to consider the type of tattoo. If it's very intricate with LOTS of lines it's going to be more expensive than a simple cartoon style. Color jacks up the price as well as location. (Necks will be more expensive than shoulders for example. Be careful though because some artists are greedy and will charge you out the ass to get some tiny little thing tattooed.
Touch ups should be free, but if you use MY aftercare sheet you shouldn’t need any touch ups unless your artist sucks ass, or you have an allergic reaction to something. (Which is what we're trying to avoid here right?) I'll post it soon.
DO NOT LET THEM PUT PLASTIC WRAP ON YOU!!! OMG this is one of the WORST things that the tattoo industry has come up with. The idea behind it was to trick your body into thinking it already had a scab so it would heal faster from the outside in. Well all it does is trap bacteria and generally PISS your body off. The skin heals from the INSIDE out. It's science, you cannot change that or "trick it". I'll have to find the photos of my first tattoo (Taylor's name on my wrist) and show you what happened when I followed aftercare that told me to keep my tattoo wrapped in plastic wrap for a few days. (It was NOT pretty).
P.S. Don’t EVER call a tattoo machine a “tattoo gun”. By doing so, you have just proven your ignorance and lack of research and you will most likely get smacked.
PIERCINGS
Trust your piercer! A good piercer will know the proper and aesthetically pleasing placement of most if not all piercings and should evaluate the piercing area on your body for potential hazards and pierce accordingly.
Always do your research on the piercing(s) you are getting. Some are prone to reject/migrate while others heal without any problems what so ever. Most oral piercings can REALLY fuck up your teeth/gums. Other piercings, if done improperly can cause numbness or intense sensation.
NEVER EVER EVER EVER get pierced with a piercing gun!!!!! Absolutely NO piercing, not even ear lobes should be done with a gun!!!! The guns are impossible to sterilize (cannot be autoclaved) and only cause more damage than good. They are a horrible invention and are actually banned in most states. The body modification industry is trying to make piercing guns illegal.
Let me give you a clear picture of the difference between a gun and a needle. The gun FORCES a blunt piece of jewelry through your lobe, leaving behind jagged pieces of tissue and hurting 12938723423 times more than usual. A sharp needle makes a clean cut into the lobe, leaving behind a symmetrical wound that will heal evenly once jewelry is placed, it is also less painful. Take a piece of paper and punch one hole in it with a hole punch. Make another hole by pushing a pencil through it. See the difference? All of those jagged pieces of tissue left in your ear by a gun are just BEGGING for infection and irritation. While a needle cuts those pieces away leaving a clean area for your piercing to heal.
Check out this website for more info on why guns are bad! http://www.safepiercing.org/aftercare/faq/