Tattoo related goals

Be a tattooed bride

Be featured in a tattoo Magazine

Become a tattoo/alternative model

Check out the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum

Cover One Full Body Part With Tattoos / Cover your whole body with tattoos

Follow a course to learn the art of tattooing

Get 1/5/10/20... tattoos

Get a spine tattoo / neck tattoo / sleeve / wings / ---

Get a tattoo on a specific body part

Get two tattoos on different body parts at one time

Get a word tattoo (saying something meaningful)

Get a quote tattoo

Get a tattoo for a medical condition/ribbon/illness/something similar

Get a --- tattoo

Get a tattoo by ---

Get a tattoo at ---

Get a tattoo with --- /sibling / child / lover / friend /...

Get a tattoo in the memory of --- / child / ancestor / parent / grandparent / spouse...

See someone get a tattoo

Get tattooed in a different country / on a trip

Get a small tattoo

Get a large tattoo

Get a tattoo in different language / script / invented language like Kryptonian, Elvish, Klingon...

Get an UV tattoo / white ink tattoo

A lot of people want a tattoo.

Things to think about

* tattoo is to be considered "for ever". Don't get a tattoo just because you want one, or because someone else has one, or because it's "cool" or you want goals on your list.
(Or do. Your business)

* Start with something small in a place that isn't very visible or painful.

PAINFUL PLACES TO GET TATTOOED
- TOES AND FINGERS
- BACK OF THE KNEE AND INSIDE OF THE ELBOW
- ARM PITS
- RIBS
- NIPPLES AND GENITAL AREA/GROINS
- FACE

The whole head and neck, hands and feet, stomach, sides and chest and inside or arms, knees and elbows, and along the spine are not easy places either.

Start with buttocks, thighs and calfs or shoulders and outside of arms, or the little triangle between shoulderblades.
Don't start with a toe, a finger or an earlobe.

After a small thing, you can choose to get something bigger or be satisfied with that.

* Remember that a tattoo is damaging your skin. A tattoo is dozens if not hundreds of small cuts, and must be kept clean and dry for as long as it heals.
Consider how to keep yourself clean, and try to time the tattoo to spring or autumn, when it's not too cold so that you need to use a lot of clothes that might irritate the tattoo, or not so hot that you want to go swimming or expose your skin for sun.
Also, you won't be able to shave that area for several weeks, or use any hair removal creams. Get your tattoo on an area that doesn't need to be shaved.
Also, see that you have had your hepatitis and tetanus shots.
If you have any medical concerns, talk about it with your tattoo artist. He/she should know.
Also, if you don't heal well or get spread scarring, you might not get a tattoo, because the risk of it not healing right is big.

* You might be allergic to tattoo inks. Some of the dyes are also used in make-up, so test some eye shadows and lipsticks, and if you are the least uncertain, go to a dermatologist to run some tests beforehand to know if you are allergic to dyes and which dyes.

* Cheap is not a good thing when it comes to tattoos. You want someone professional to do the job so that you can trust the safety measurements, cleanliness of the tattoo parlour, that the tattoo artist knows what he/she is doing, that he/she IS an artist and can adjust your design to fit your body and wishes, etc.
Ask how they sterilize the equipment. They should have an autoclave. (That's a high-pressure desinficting machine.)
Check the practicing licence and ask for references.
Make sure that you see what he/she has done previously.
It would be best if you can get a recommendation and see his/her tattoo on a person. Find out as much as you can about the artist.
If you want a tattoo by a certain artist, remember that the more famous an artist is, the more expensive and harder it is to get an appointment.

* Do not tattoo a girl/boy friend's name on your body, unless you are in a marriage severity relationship. Having been together for a year is not steady enough. World is full of people who have been forced to remove or disguise a name that once was the most beautiful in the world but isn't anymore.

Get plenty of examples of what you want.
Get examples of the font you want to be used, if you want something written.
Listen to your tattooist. He/she actually does know best what will look good and as you like.
Nevertheless, if there are any details you don't like, ask it be changed. You will be the one carrying the image on your skin the rest of your life, you won't like getting irritated by the detail you didn't change when you still had time.
If the artist gets upset, irritated, defensive, unwilling to change the detail or starts arquing about it, don't go through it. Don't let him/her talk you over to accept something you don't really like.

Also, know that if you have seen it on the internet, thousands of others have also seen it, and there will be a lot of people with the exact same tattoo.

* Give yourself a temporary tattoo of the kind you want and wear it for a week. You can also have a henna tattoo or draw it with a roller point pen, to know if that is something you won't regret.

* When you have made up your mind, go through it, as soon as possible.

* Get some rash cream or antibiotic ointment you can use to care the tattoo with, so that it won't develop into something nasty and painful.
Follow the care instructions. Ask to get them on paper, if you are the least uncertain of what is meant.
Don't use alcohol, peroxide or petroleum jelly on the tattooed area. Clean it with soap, pat it dry, don't pick any scabs, don't scratch it, don't rub it.
Don't go bathing or swimming as the tattoo heals. No hot tubs, bath tubs, pools or lakes.

* Take it easy. It's not as bad as you imagine.
Also, take a buddy with you.

* Ask questions. It's better to ask too many times than too few. If there's ANYTHING you want to know, ask. Make sure you know what's happening and what is being applied on you or what instrument is being used on you. It's your skin, you have the right to know.
Make sure that the tattoo artists washes his/her hands first, and desinfect your skin in the area where the tattoo is supposed to come.
The needles should be single-use and you should see how the artist opens the package.
The artist should be using new ink for you. You don't want him/her to dip the needle in ink that's already been used on someone else.
The cloth the blood is cleaned during the tattoo should be clean in the beginning.
When finished, the tattoo will be cleaned once again and bandaged.

* Tip your artist. 15-30% is nice.

* Go back for a touch-up. It's better to do too little than too much, so it's possible that the tattooist has been a bit too careful. That is a good thing. If you notice that the tattoo isn't quite as good as you thought, after it has healed, it's OK to expect that the tattoo artist touches the work up. He/she will also want the best possible result. After all, you will be a walking advertisement for his/her work.

* Prepare for the social consequenses. Some people see tattoos as very flammable subject and cannot let it be your business. Just remember that you don't owe any explanations to anyone.

Read this:
Beginner's Guide to Getting a Tattoo

This isn't really tattoo related...