5 Things You Should Know Before Your First Tattoo

While getting your first tattoo may be memorable and exciting, it can be scary, mainly from pain and risk perspectives. Whether there's...

While getting your first tattoo may be memorable and exciting, it can be scary, mainly from pain and risk perspectives. Whether there's a story behind getting inked, research can help you prepare better, know what to expect, and learn how to heal your tattoo. This article outlines five things you should know before your first tattoo.

1. Understand tattoo pain

Getting inked involves the skin's top layer being repeatedly pierced with sharp needles covered with pigment, causing pain. While getting tattoos is generally painful, different people experience varying pain levels. Biologically male persons usually experience and cope with pain differently than biologically female ones. Various body parts also experience different levels of pain during the tattooing process, which may may vary based on pain threshold, sex, and age.

With the help of a tattoo pain chart, you can identify the most painful parts to get a tattoo, including the spine, shins, fingers, and ribs, and the least painful ones, like the outer thighs, stomach, and forearms. With this knowledge, choosing a tattoo spot on your body becomes easier. Regardless of where you decide to be inked, a tattoo numbing cream can help avoid pain in sensitive body parts, prevent extended periods of pain and suffering, and make the inking experience more enjoyable.

2. Understand tattoo risks and precautions

Tattooing involves breaching the skin, which increases the risk of skin infections and complications, such as allergic reactions, blood-borne diseases, MRI complications, and other skin problems like granuloma and keloid. Before getting the tattoo, ensure you're ready and doing it under pressure. Exercise safety precautions by ensuring that the tattoo artist wears gloves, uses the right equipment, and sterilizes non-disposables.

3. Familiarize yourself with tattoo styles

Tattoos come in various, unique styles. Old school and traditional, neo-traditional, fine line, tribal, watercolor, blackwork, realism, Japanese, trash polka, geometric, black and gray, aesthetic, anime, abstract, and 3D are among the tattoo styles to consider. Familiarizing yourself with these styles and their meaning makes it easy to choose. You should also consider the look and feel you're looking for. Consult your artist for guidance if you're unsure of the tattoo style to choose.

4. Know your colors

While a tattoo style often directs the color palette, you can modify the design to achieve what you want. Skin tone is a significant consideration regarding how individual colors hold. A dark skin tone is likely to hold dark colors well, and fair skin may work better with white ink. With the help of a tattoo color guide, picking the right ink colors becomes easier.

5. Choose the right tattoo artist

Finding the right tattoo artist means an enjoyable inking experience, professional services, and the best outcome. Getting a recommendation from a loved one with excellent ink could be the simplest and potentially the best way to find advice about getting a tattoo artist you’ll be comfortable with.

The best tattoo artist should have the right skills to bring out your preferred design exactly how you want it. Online research can help you find skilled artists with great portfolios and reviews. Ensure they have a positive reputation and consider how they handle negative feedback. Look at their social media profiles to see what past clients say about them.

Endnote

Getting your first tattoo can be exciting and scary. However, familiarizing yourself with things you should know before getting a tattoo can help you prepare better.