5 Key Points To Know Before You Get A Tattoo

Published Thursday January 14 2010

Are you thinking about getting your first tattoo? So, what's the next step? It's not really advisable to rush to the nearest tattoo shop, choose a random design and get your tattoo done.

Before you proceed, the five most vital points to consider are discussed in the following.

(i) Ask yourself if you really need a tattoo

A tattoo is not a temporary thing but a permanent impression for a lifetime. So, first of all, you must be absolutely sure to have one. At present, you may be thinking it to be the biggest thing of your life, but think about how you will feel after 10, 20, or 50 years hence.

Even though tattoo removal technology is improving these days, it is very expensive, painful, and most importantly time consuming. So when you think about a tattoo, decide to have it for a lifetime.

(ii) The design of the tattoo

When you've finally decided to have a tattoo, the second step is to decide upon the design you want. There are, in fact, innumerable categories of tattoo designs to choose from, such as flower, butterfly, dragon, angel, sun, etc. There are endless choices.

Most of the tattoos are done using predesigned templates. It's absolutely up to you which design you choose and take it to your tattoo artist; there are some designs available for free and others may cost up to around 20 USD.

So make an extensive research on tattoo-related websites, look at some tattoo design books and decide on the type of design you'd like. After selecting the category, go for the actual design.

Otherwise, if you are unable to find the particular design of your choice anywhere, or you want some unique tattoo design, then you can hire a tattoo artist to design a custom tattoo solely for you.

This option will be expensive and it might cost you around 200-300 USD or more for the design, depending on size and complexity of the design. Although, most of the mainstream designs work out cheaper as majority of the tattoo artists have lot of experience to design them. But your tattoo will be unique and you will be proud to have a tattoo for the lifetime that no one else will have.

Remember that a good tattoo is never cheap, and a cheap tattoo can never be good.

And one more thing, be extra careful to choose a design which you will never be tired of looking at, unless you want to place the tattoo on a part of your body that is not easily visible, e.g. your back. The worst case is to have a new tattoo placed on a part quite visible and you start hating to see the design after a few months.

You should go for a design that never loses its relevance with respect to you as time passes. This is particularly relevant in cases when you decide to have a name as your tattoo.

Some people include the names of their children to their tattoo. This is particularly a safe option as your children's names will remain the same throughout their life. But when you decide to have the name of your partner or spouse to your tattoo, think carefully. What will happen if you both get separated in future? If you have a new partner, will that partner be happy to see the name of your ex partner on your body?

(iii) Do you want your tattoo totally black or in color?

Whether you want your tattoo in black or in color is another important consideration. This choice again depends mostly on the type of design you choose.

But remember that black tattoos normally have more definition. Due to the contrast with your skin color, they're more noticeable compared to color tattoos which fade with time due to smoothing effect. Comparatively color tattoos are much richer add more characters to your design, but they are also more costly.

(iv) Where do you want to place your tattoo?

Before deciding upon which part of your body you want to place the tattoo, three points should be considered. First, consider the size of the design. If you want to go for a large design, then your hands or ankles etc. won't be perfect as there won't be enough space. You should select back, chest, stomach, or shoulders for this purpose.

Secondly, how visible should your tattoo be? You need to consider whether you want it to be visible publicly most of the time, or you want to keep it covered. Then you have to remember your normal style of dress.

Also bear in mind that certain professions (e.g. police) do not allow any tattoos on the lower arms. So in such cases, you should first check with your employers as well.

Thirdly, some areas will be more painful to put a tattoo than others. In general, the less fleshy areas of your body, such as your head, ankles, and lower back, tend to be more painful while tattooing. The shoulders, chest, upper arm and upper back are some less painful areas of your body. And the more intimate areas of your body would be very sensitive due to the involvement of a large number of nerve endings.

(v) Size of the tattoo

The size of the tattoo will mostly be determined by the location where you want it on your body. For example, a design measuring 12 inches square cannot be fitted on the back of your hand. A large tattoo will take more time to complete, will be more noticeable, and will cost more.

But all these do not mean that a small tattoo can be done easily without much concern. A similar level of commitment is necessary for a small tattoo as a larger one.

It is a major decision to get any tattoo, so take your time to decide upon everything that are discussed above before going any further.

Neil Jones

Most people that have more than one tattoo can always a point out a tattoo that they may regret, thanks to many recent innovations in the tattoo removal industry, having you tattoo removed is now easier and less painful than ever, with many different methods available, it is mostly down to choice and the depth of your wallet, many people choose Rate this Article: