Questions To Ask Your Tattoo Artist Before Your First Session
When you walk into a tattoo studio to get inked for the first time, you'll likely be experiencing a combination of excitement and nervousness. While it's always a good idea to give plenty of thought to your first tattoo, rather than rush into it, you don't 100 percent have to have your mind made up when you step through the doors in advance of your scheduled appointment. Instead, it's important to remain flexible as you ask your tattoo artist a series of questions that may end up influencing how you proceed with the ink. Here are some questions you may want to ask.
Is There A Better Place For It?
While you might be pretty sure that you want a particular tattoo on a certain part of your body, it never hurts to get a professional's feedback. Some tattoos work better in certain places. For example, if you're getting a tattoo on your abdomen and you're a young woman who expects to have children, the tattoo may distort in appearance as you get pregnant and then lose the weight afterward. You can count on the tattoo artist giving you some alternative placement suggestions if he or she can think of a better idea.
How Do We Minimize Discomfort? Perhaps the biggest concern of a first-time tattoo client is how much the procedure will hurt. While there are some people who are largely comfortable while getting tattooed, others find the process difficult at times. There are certain subtle changes that your tattoo artist can suggest to minimize the discomfort for you. For example, tattooing directly over bone can sometimes be painful; if you're open to moving the tattoo location slightly, the session may be more pleasant for you.
Can We Break This Into Two Sittings?
Generally, a tattoo artist will give you a rough idea of how long your tattoo will take. As you get started, you may feel that you'd rather have the tattoo done in two different sessions. This can be a common sentiment if you're noticing some discomfort, for example. It's a good idea to ask the artist about the potential of breaking the tattoo into two different sittings. Discussing this idea up front is important because it will give the artist a logical place to stop. For example, if he or she is mixing colors for a particular part of the tattoo, the artist will typically want to do this work in one go.
For more information, contact your local tattoo shop.