My tattoo experience

Picture from tumblr

Hello hello,

I thought I would make this a bit of a more informative blog today for something different.
At the end of last year I got my first tattoo. Before I went, I did quite a bit of googling and youtubing to find out what I was in for. Now that I have been through the process I guess I can tell you all about it and any tips I have.

I think the important first step is deciding where you would be willing to get it. Because that can then lead to sizes and designs. What is your plan for your future career? Because if you want to be a business person or something similar, visible tattoos may make it difficult for you to get hired. Also, when choosing a position, keep in mind that some spots are a lot more painful then others. But to be honest, it is going to hurt no matter what haha.

I knew that I wanted to get a quote of some description. And I was completely set on getting 'Let it be'. And then silly me decided I should ask my family what they thought. And they crushed the whole idea. So my advice is to keep it within close friends. Because one, it is your choice and your friends probably have similar tastes to you. And two, friends aren't as thought crushing as family can be haha.

So I started researching for new ideas. I know they say you shouldn't do that because you should be 100% on what you want blah blah. But that's what I did and if people say they didn't do that then they are lying lol. One day it just clicked. I knew what I wanted. 'In Omnia Paratus' - 'prepared for all things'. It is the saying of a fictitious group called the life and death brigade whose main aim is to take part in scary stunts to remind themselves they are alive. Now although I don't take part in scary stunts, the general message was good enough for me haha. It is also connected to my favourite tv show ;)

So I then started playing around with fonts and I also googled to see if any other people had this tattoo and what they did with it.

So I decided on what font I wanted and went into the tattoo shop. Now the particular lady who came to the front desk to help me was not at all helpful to be honest. And she obviously didn't feel like being at work that day. But the rest of the staff were very nice :) I asked a few questions about if the tattoo would stretch if I had kids or how long after I could go swimming (I was a swimming teacher at the time) and the price she would estimate it would cost. In answer to the above questions, no the tattoo would not stretch if I had kids, I think it was a month until I could go swimming and it would cost me $150.

I came home that day really annoyed that she was so rude. And it kinda put a dampener on my experience. So I thought screw it and I rang to make an appointment to get it done. The guy on the phone said I had to put a deposit down though...so I had to make my way back and give them the money. I made the appointment quite a while in advance. Just because I was pretty excited. But you really don't have to do that if it is as small as mine is. Now if you are getting a life size eagle on your back, you might want to book in advance :P

From tumblr

So the wait started to kill me...but I got there eventually. In case you are wondering, you discuss the actual design with the tattoo artist on the day. You tell them roughly what you want when you book it so they know how long to put aside for you. But other than that it is all on the day. So I brought my sheet of paper in, said this is exactly what I want and where I want it. He printed it out and we were ready to go. I lifted my shirt up and stood really straight so that he could stick the stencil on me. Then I was able to lie down and get reasonably comfortable. It was summer at the time so I was sweating from the heat and from nerves lol. He said that we were about to start and that if I felt faint to let him know.

I am not going to lie to you. It hurts. And it hurts a lot. Yes, we all have different pain thresholds. But if you say it doesn't hurt you are a liar. Also, time slows down. When you think it is done. It is not. Now the spot I chose is a particularly painful one so I am told, I shall show a picture at the end. But the main thing is to keep breathing and bring someone with you to talk you through it. I personally didn't bleed, but I know it happens. The pain afterwards is perfectly fine. It just feels like a sunburn. And like a sunburn, it can get a bit itchy. But they advise you of creams to buy to put on it that make it feel better.

This is a really long blog...comment below if you have any questions about it that I didn't answer. Hope you enjoyed this one. Have a lovely day! xx

Me :)