Thinking of getting a tattoo?
It seems inevitable when I meet someone for the first time, that it's only a matter of time before the subject of my tattoos comes up. Now for those of you that haven't met me, I'm not completely covered, I have a full sleeve on my right arm, half sleeve on my left arm, my back, calf, and chest have ink as well. I'm by no means a tattoo expert or authority on the subject. Okay, with the disclaimers out of the way...back to business. When people bring up the tattoo discussion, it typically starts with small talk and people saying they always wanted one but never could think of anything they liked that much, etc... etc... Then the conversation inevitably gets to the same comment every time that goes something like "What are you going to do when you're {INSERT AGE HERE} old". To which I always say the same thing... "Well tattoos aren't for everyone. But when I'm {INSERT AGE HERE} old I will be worried about a lot more than my tattoos...like when's my next diaper change. Besides I put a lot of thought into my tattoos, so when I'm {INSERT AGE HERE} old ideally these should all still mean something to me, they are my history roadmap...representations of points in my life. I don't have any stupid Band name tattoos, or anything that doesn't directly relate to who I am as a person.
Again "TATTOOS AREN'T FOR EVERYONE".
Then that question is usually followed by Does it hurt?Hell yeah it hurts!!, they all hurt.. no doubt. Anyone that says different is full-a-shit. Having said that I will say that depending on the size and location, there is a point where your body realizes its being hurt and kicks up the endorphins and adrenaline..for a small bit of time. So if your tattoo is fairly small in nature you may be about finished up by the time the adrenaline starts to wear off. So about the time the pain starts kicking back in its all over. Tolerance for pain is just that... tolerance. How long you will tolerate the pain, just means you have a higher threshold before its unbearable...doesn't mean that it hurts any less or that you somehow have any less feeling. Some people can just deal with the pain longer than others. Cut off anyone's finger and the pain threshold has been reached... no matter who you are...still hurts the same regardless of tolerance.
Another thing is that the outline is typically done with a single or double needle so it has a much different feeling, more cutting. The color or shading uses a 2-5 needle gun in a lot of cases (sometimes more but then its just ridiculous). So the shading has a different, vibrating feeling. And if the tattoo is small it will be numb in the shading area for a short time. There are also more sensitive areas than others to get tattooed for sure. The one on my calf was a breeze...my back sucked...my elbow sucked even more, and the wrist area is pretty tender too, and I'm not really looking forward to the pain of getting my ribs worked on... but no pain no gain I guess 
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As for the pain, again it depends. The best example I have heard for the outline is this:
Have you ever had a cat scratch or small razor cut then poured peroxide on it...that burning feeling... yeah that's what it feels like. But the pain is quick...not lasting. once the tattoo is done, it feels like a bad sunburn for a few days or so and that about it. Hell taking the damn tape off the next morning hurts as much as the tattoo.
For me tattoos are a form of artistic expression, and individuality. They make me NOT like the other guy, they are personal to me. Every tattoo is somehow a look into who I am, what I believe, what my life is about. And TATTOOS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE. Its sheik right now, TV has helped spark new interest. My advice (for what its worth)Â is as follows, and in this order:
1. Take your time, make sure you WANT it... make sure you NEED it, and make sure it’s all you think about before you do it.
2. VERY IMPORTANT!! - Find an ARTIST, not a guy/girl who knows how to use a tattoo gun. There are true artists who tattoo, find one and go talk with them
3. Don’t go in with the exact tattoo designed, you cut the artists out of the mix completely. The tattoo artist has no soul in the project now. Think about how excited you are to do work for someone who just wants you to take their design (no matter how crappy or good it may be) and make a site out of it. You have no part in the process really, your just hired labor at that point, your treated like a robot...completely ignoring your expertise. Instead go talk with the artist, take in some reference material and explain your idea, then let him/her take a shot at creating something for you based on that. If you have followed my previous advise and found an artist and not just a tattoo guy, you will be much happier involving them in the process, it becomes their work now, they will take more pride in it. No artist likes to be handcuffed creatively...allow your artist to explore their vision of your idea. You always have the right to say you don't like it, they will show you the drawing before they do anything. A collaboration rather than dictation will yield a better result.
4. After the tattoo, follow what your artist tells you to do to the letter. Don't pick at your tattoo Follow the directions...don't listen to what your friends tell you or advise from anyone but your artist.
keep it out of direct sunlight until its healed
keep lotion with no dyes or perfumes handy and on your tattoo at all times
etc...
etc...
5. Go back for more Just kidding on this one, but it will happen. People who like their first tattoo get the addiction and usually come back for more.
Tattoos aren't for everyone... to each his/her own...express your individuality however you so choose.
Hope that helps, if not... oh well just my opinion anyway 
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June 30th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
your opinions blow!
j/k . . .
as always wise and knowledgable
July 6th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
What’s your experience and opinion on girlfriend and boyfriend names as tat’s. Mine insists it will jinx the relationship. I almost tend to agree. sometimes I think its pretty lame, others I think it is kinda cool, if done in a subliminal way.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:05 am
@Kurt – personally I think its a personal preference and how you look at what the tattoo means to you. I (personally) would agree that its stupid to tattoo the name of your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other/wife/husband IF the time you have spent together is relatively short. A long term relationship (whatever that means these days) I don’t see it as much of a problem.
The way I see it if you share your life with someone for a long period of time, that person becomes partly responsible for your past, your future, and who you have become. They are a part of your history at that point, a piece to the puzzle of who you are and have helped shape your life (for better or worse). Granted this is all very philosophical I admit, however I view my tattoos as an artistic expression of who I am. I happen to have my wife’s name and face tattooed on my arm, and yeah many will call that stupid… that fine, its not on their body. However she is and always will be the mother to my children and has been in my life since 8th grade (nearly 20 years). So whether we’re together or not, she will always be someone who largely contributed to who I am.
Again, sorry for the philosophical diatribe, but that my view on the subject
July 14th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
I think that tattooing a spouses name on you is definitely a personal preference. My husband finally tattooed my name on him after 13 years of being together. I never pressured him to put my name on him but it was something he wanted to do as well as our children’s names. I do however think that putting a boyfriend or girlfriend’s name on you is just plain stupid! But hey, it’s not my body. A friend of mine just got her first tattoo and it of course was her boyfriend’s (of not even a year) name. The only name I would ever consider putting on my body would be my kids names, that’s something in your life that will never change.
As far as tattoos in general, I love them. Even though my tattoos are nothing major, they all have a lot of meaning behind them.
July 20th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
Just having come back from a 5 hour sitting with my artist…I’ve thought of little else than tattoos…
Absolutely…wanting names of spouses, significant others, children, pets etc. is a personal preference…and as mentioned already…if it’s important to have it included because it’s part of your story…then it’s no one elses concern…but just like any tattoo…make sure you want it forever and won’t have regret…
Now…as we know with the 50% divorce rate…relationships aren’t as permananet as the tattoos they can become…
I always figured I already know the names of my loved ones (past or present) I don’t need it written on my body to remember…what seems to make much more sense…is tattooing something that symbolizes them…and if someone asks you why you have it, it’s the perfect segue way to explaining the significance of that person in your life…and if you don’t want to share that…don’t…it’s your own story to tell…
August 2nd, 2006 at 10:50 pm
My husband and I recently went and got tattoo’s on our wrists. Our daughter’s name on the top and each other’s on the inside of the wrist. Names are definitely not for everyone. Just think of it this way…Are you going to want to be with that person in 20 years? Are you going to want to see their name everyday?
September 10th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
thanks that actually did help alot.
October 4th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Why would someone use a 13 needle gun to shade a tattoo.
October 4th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
B – Not sure why they would, I think my comment was a 2-5 needle gun for shading and didnt see in any of the comments a mention of a 13 needle gun. But hey I’m no tattoo artist, so I suppose you’d need to ask the tattoo guy that uses a 13 needle gun to get your answer on that one.
October 5th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
The reason I ask is that a friend of my gf said his arm was burning and it was due to the artist using a 13-needle gun to do the shading/filling-in. Wasn’t sure if he was talking BS or not. I was kind of skeptical since I can’t imagine someone using a 13-needle gun or needing to use a 13-needle gun.
October 5th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
B- Ahh gotcha I thought you were asking me why. I know you can get tubes that allow 18 needles for shading and such, but again I’m not a tattoo artist so there could be tubes that go higher than that. Thats a lot of cutting, I imagine it would hurt like hell. I prefer a bit more detail than what an 18 needle tube would allow for myself, but I guess if you were doing a huge block of color it would make it easier and faster on the artist, but would suck for the guy in the chair I think.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
I’ve realized that some people get tattoos because they think its cool and they get one after another back to back to back until there body is covered in them and only a couple might have some meaning behind them. And then there are people who get a tattoo because it means something and everytime they see it they will remember a point in their life or someone in their life. As to the tattooing of spousal names on you, I don’t agree because its permanent and if something happens…., however my fiance drew up a picture for me that I really liked and so I went to my tattoo artist and we changed some things to put his vision into it and I got it put on my lower back, so that I have something from my fiance with me always. I am currently working on something for him as he asked me to that he can get tattooed, I think it works better than the name thing.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I like what you have to say, i have a tattoo on my arm, vines from my sholder to elbow, with an ovarian cancer ribbon and my aunts anitials. also a large tattoo on my leg of a psychadellic cloud with purple rain. i designed them all myself and have been a painter since childhood. my tattoos are beautiful. peple often confront me with the “what will you do when your whatever years old” i like how u feel about that, i think i will love my tattoos all the same, the now beautiful vines on my are will just have to be described as….hanging vines.
June 21st, 2007 at 3:03 am
If you think you want a tattoo I suggest waiting a few months before getting it. Try to visualize your life in the future, will this design still be something you want, does it fit into your lifestyle. If you still want it after this waiting period and you can live with it for life than go get it. While it’s nice to be impulsive sometimes, you shouldn’t be about something that’s going to be on your body for life. Yeah, and make sure the tattoo has a special meaning to you, you’ll have more pride in it.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Unless you are a sailor or biker, tattoos are best if seen on others. I am waiting for the next fad, NO TATTOOS ! Soon, young people will be wearing sleeveless shirts to show off their clean, un-mutilated skin. Those with tattoos will realize that what looked pretty and fresh when new, turns into an unrecognizable blob as both the tattoo and the person ages, gains weight, looses weight etc. Yes, tattoos are permanent, but they only look good for a few years and then they become less and less recognizable. If you are thinking about getting one, just keep thinking about and don’t do it. I was a sailor once, I know what I am talking about.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
@Brooklyn I wouldn’t stereotype anyone or pigeon-hole anyone and say tattoos are only for Sailors and/or bikers. I have plenty of friends who have awesome artwork on their bodies who have never been a sailor and don’t own a motorcycle. I agree there is a large trendy movement right now but that will come and go. People who are doing it because they are wanting to be part of a trend aren’t looking for advice on an artist anyway. They’ll go down to the local shop, pick some tribal armband or a name of their favorite band and that’ll be that. However people who are serious about expressing themselves in this way are a different breed and shouldn’t have to own a motorcycle or have spent time on a boat to gain anyone’s approval. With that being said, those same types of people wouldn’t give a crap about anyone’s approval anyway. And that’s what makes this country great, I can decorate my body how I see fit and don’t have to answer to anyone for it. Too each his/her own… you don’t have to like tattoos, and tattooed people don’t have to be sailors and/or bikers.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
wow thanks, thats helped me alot, as im pretty young, very young, and im allowed one, im kinda worried about having something on my body that would last forever but i might not like in the future, but thanks so much for a good piece of advice.
x
March 11th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I stumbled across this “rant” as i was researching a presentation for a college class…I have 2 tattoos myself and am in the process of acquiring a new one. i just wanted to say that this was very informative. I dont completely agree with getting a boyfriend/girlfriend tattoo, but would never judge someone on it, which is the point of my rant. I have two small children and go to college full time, i dont own a motorcycle, nor do i want one and i am definitely not a sailor, lol…i chose to tattoo my kids names on my forearm in a band going around it, but chose to use a unique language that symbolized myself, when people see it they usually ask what it says and what language it is…i nearly always choose not to tell them, it wasnt something i had done for anyone else, but a symbol of what matters most to me for me…so when you see someone with a tattoo, dont judge them first, it is their own choice and they (we) are the ones who choose to live with it…i dont judge you for not getting one
August 26th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Very useful advice. Thinking about getting one but perhaps I should wait longer to make sure its not a phase I’m going through. I am almost 25, and I think it would signify a time in my life when I’m finally starting to feel like an adult. Also, it would definitly be something, a phrase for example, that means something deeply to me, not just a star sign or a butterfly, or something else equally meaningless. I know it would shock my family, but then its a little part of the point, that I’m not a little girl anymore, and its my body. I have read those who judge, will judge you anyway, so this way you filter out the judgemental so called ‘conservative’ people. I think conservatism is just an excuse to judge others.