Five Pieces of Advice for Your First Tattoo

The entire stigma around tattoos has been completely flipped upside down over the past several years. While it used to be that tattoos were immediately the mark of an unprofessional person who was totally unhireable, that attitude is quickly becoming extinct, especially in more modern workspaces. This is because tattoos are actually starting to become recognized for what they really are: a beautiful form of self-expression and body art. 

 

As such, young professionals should feel a lot less fearful when thinking about getting a tattoo because they’re becoming much more widely accepted. This is a thematic shift in attitude across the entire workforce which focuses on a variety of different groups, and improving our overall ability to accept individuals for who they are without putting our personal biases on them. 

 

If you’ve been considering a tattoo, but just aren’t sure if you want to go ‘under the gun’, so to speak, keep reading and learn everything you need to know before committing to your first tattoo, including things like stocking up on numbing cream for tattoos. 

1. Research Tattoo Artists

When you’re starting to consider your very first tattoo, one good place to start is by researching local tattoo artists and shops in order to get an idea of what’s available to you in the immediate vicinity. This is important because tattooing truly is an artform, and different tattoo artists typically specialize in one style or another. 

 

For example, tattoo artists specifically focus on hyper-realistic body tattoos. They paint portraits with ink on skin, and do an incredible job of capturing someone’s intricacies accurately. Other tattoo artists, on the other hand, focus more on patterns, designs, and stylistic pieces. While others still have a more abstract take on the artform and play around with surrealism. 

 

There are truly endless sub-styles of tattoos and tattoo artists as well, so it’s vital to have an idea of the styles, textures, and designs you like so you can pick a tattoo artist skilled in that style.

2. Pick a Design

Once you’ve narrowed down a few different styles to consider, and have familiarized yourself with what’s already available on the market, you may want to start thinking about the actual design of the tattoo itself. 

 

While many tattoo shops will have a variety of books, templates, and pre-made tattoo designs that they can slap on your arm without much difficulty, tattoos can be extremely personalized, styled to your exact desire, and should feel unique to you as a person. This is why many tattoo artists actually prefer it when a customer comes to them with an idea in mind. Between the original idea, and the tattoo artist’s interpretation, you can end up with a stellar piece of unique art that truly tells a story.

3. Choose a Place on the Body

Sometimes the design will sort of dictate the tattoo’s placement on the body. For instance, if you want a portrait of a tigers head that’s 14’’ long and 6’’ across, you’re almost immediately restricted to either the chest or the back, as those are the only regions with enough continual space to make that design fit. 

 

However, for smaller designs, the options are endless. From the wrist, to the neck, to the shoulders and arms, the upper thigh, the calves, the ankles, or even your bum. Depending on the nature of the tattoo, you may want to put it somewhere easily hideable by clothing (upper arms, back, chest, bum, etc.). 

 

Again, this is a personal choice you should give some thought to before jumping in with both feet.

4. Proper Tattoo Aftercare

You’re also likely going to want to familiarize yourself with the proper tattoo aftercare techniques and practices. The full recovery process after getting tattooed can take around a full month, going through various stages. 

 

The first few stages will be when your skin is the most delicate and needs the most attention, though. In order to properly take care of your tattoo in the days and month that follow, you’re going to want to make sure you have tattoo aftercare soap for cleaning and tattoo aftercare cream to provide the proper amount of moisture to the traumatized skin. 

5. Planning Your Next Tattoo

After the first month of healing, you’ll want to use a tattoo sunscreen whenever the tattoo is in direct sunlight, and you may still want to use a bit of the tattoo aftercare cream just to keep the region moist. 

 

However, it’s mainly time to kick-back, enjoy the full glory of your tattoo, and maybe start planning your next ink session too. 

A few Last Words

Tattoo art is becoming more and more accepted among professional communities, and offers a way for people to truly be unique in their self-expression. The information above should give you just about everything you need to know before getting your first tattoo.