NOW WHAT?
A short guide to prepare you for a wonderful tattoo session
So you just made your tattoo appointment.. now what?
Okay so first of all, congratulations! Getting tattooed is both exciting and life changing,
which means it can also be anxiety producing.
Let me tell you a couple of things to help you prepare your mind and your body so you can walk into your tattoo appointment feeling a little more confident.
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First; whether or not this is a 1 hour tattoo or a 8 hour tattoo, preparation matters.
Let’s go over the basics:
First and foremost, make sure you’re walking in to the shop healthy. That means no viruses, no chest congestion, no stomach viruses, and anything else that you associate with being sick. I know you have probably been waiting for months and months and there’s no way you’re missing this appointment right? Well, I kind of would prefer if you did. Just let me know, I’ll reschedule you. There’s a couple reasons for this, first of all, your pain tolerance and your patience for being still is way lower, which means my job gets way harder. Also your immune system is already on overdrive and getting a tattoo during this time is, well - overdoing it.
Another great reason is me and my coworkers. We don't get sick days, or paid time off. I schedule two sick days a month that always seem to get taken up by a client who needs a reschedule. It's obviously not the best way to handle it but its where
Keep us healthy by coming in healthy, easy as that.
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Okay, that's covered, what else?
Stay hydrated.
This doesn’t even necessarily mean just the day of either. I’m talking about drinking at least 70-100 oz of water per day for two weeks leading up to your appointment. Drink up, your skin will thank you.
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While we are on skin health, another factor is exfoliating and hydrating. Exfoliate the dead skin off and hydrate that skin with lotion. All this goes a long way when actually tattooing. Quick to irritate skin means more redness, more swelling and a tougher time applying the tattoo.
The next point goes for my clients whose appointments are in the summer or who frequent beaches.
Use sunscreen please, even before getting the tattoo. It will look so much more vibrant when it’s not on crispy tan skin.
Also it's important to note that I will not tattoo you if you are burnt/peeling/or it looks like you just came back from Cancun. It’s not healthy to put your skin through that much damage, if you’re going to take the time and wait to get a beautiful piece, and invest countless hours and dollars, just make an extra effort to put some sunscreen on the area we are tattooing.
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Another way to ensure you’ll make it through your session is getting a proper nights sleep. This one is a no brainer, we function better with a solid 8 hours under our belt.
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Once you’re fully rested, get a big substantial meal in before your session is a really great idea. Low blood sugar leads to passing out, feeling faint, blacking out, sweating, and extra skin sensitivity. A good way to combat low blood sugar is to bring plenty of snacks! I always bring lunch and will eat it through out the day, but we don't take long breaks because it's tough to start back up so bring food. It's best if you bring something with electrolytes and sugar, this is your chance to eat your favorite candy you've been avoiding. Staying nourished has been known to help clients feel more resilient when they have been getting tattooed for 3 or more hours.
This next one could be obvious, but it's worth mentioning. Please try not to drink the night before. Alcohol thins blood, so as I’m tattooing you trying to put ink into your skin, your blood is pushing it right back out, which means your tattoo may heal lighter and not as saturated than it is intended to.
One of the biggest factors in tattooing is you, obviously. You’re the client, this would never happen if you didn’t decide to be here. I'm truly so honored to be a part of your tattoo journey and I cannot wait to see what we create together. My goal is to give you a perfectly executed tattoo, which means we need to work together when we are tattooing. One of the hardest parts of getting tattooed is laying still on a bed. I know it, you know it, it's tough. We are in a go go go culture and staying still for hours on end is not really something we practice. You are allowed to move, stretch, etc just give me a heads up first, that way I can make sure I don't have the needle in your skin when you do it.
Okay now my favorite part of it- the Mental Preparation.
Let’s get one thing straight, tattoos hurt. You can say whatever you want about the subject but I have over 150 hours of tattoo time over half my body. Every tattoo hurts, you don’t have control over that. What you do have control over is how you think about that pain.
Getting tattooed is a great way to build your mental strength and your pain threshold. You know exactly when the pain will start and stop (queue me tattooing you), which is so rare when considering other ways you tend to experience pain. You even know the source of it, and where it will be! Compartmentalizing that pain and understanding its part of the process is e. Learning how to do this successfully will extend your threshold and your mental strength will transcend into other aspects of your life. Applying that to working out may get you that next personal best lift, or a faster 5k; Applying that patience to your work life could get you that promotion, there is endless potential when working on mental strength.
So we know it won’t kill you, but that doesn't stop the searing burning sensation that floods your brain. How do you become the ideal client?
Try to not resist the pain, breathe into it instead..
Relaxing your body and saving your energy for this mental battle with yourself is the way to get through anything. Think of it as almost meditative state. Don’t flex your muscles, don’t kick your legs, don’t hold your breath, just breathe deep into your belly and let the feeling take over. Accept that feeling for what it is, and know it will not last forever. Take ownership over that feeling, and tell yourself that this feeling is only temporary. Relax your limbs, relax your mind and tell yourself that this is just the next step to being who you want to be. A super rad tattooed person! And when the pain feels like hot, hot fire, breathe and laugh about how ridiculous it is we choose to do these things to ourselves, then take pride in the effort you put forth. You are stronger than you think.
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Some last minute tips:
It’s totally okay to be nervous, anxious and/or scared! Feel free to talk to me about it, I won't judge you. I've been in your shoes more times than I can count. I'll help get you through it. Everyone gets the tattoo jitters, it’s totally normal, but don’t let yourself get psyched out. Bring whatever makes you comfortable, this includes your clothes! Make sure you dress in layers just incase you get too hot or too cold, or both! (bodies are weird). Feel free to listen to your favorite albums or binge the latest season of whatever on Netflix! Bring headphones or your iPad or a book. Stay busy, it's going to be a couple hours:)