Tattoo, My Experience
I have wanted a tattoo since my 40th birthday. In March, after a girls night out with my high school classmates one conversation moved to tattoos. I made arrangements to search for an artist and schedule with one of my classmates. My biggest dilemma was finding a good place with great reviews. The place with the best rating in the area was MainLine Tattooing. One of my friends gave it a thumbs up. I found a design on Pinterest and was all set for May 21st. I did it solo.
Now, I know a few people with tattoo and was prepared for the expected pain. I say this lightly because is it a real way to prepare for pain. I decided to get the tattoo on my back instead of my hip. The first step was making a copy of my design and applying to stencil. Next, he wiped down my back with alcohol and applied the stencil.
There is really no way to prepare for what comes next! As the artist was preparing the ink, I could feel a rush of heat! The sound of the needle to apply the ink sounds like a power drill.
If only there were earplugs to drown out the sound.
When the needle hit my skin it was way too late to get and run. The only thing I could think to do was to clutch my hands together.
I swear there are not enough cuss words to describe the intensity of pain as that needle went up and down on my back. Oh, and the real kicker is when the design is done and the artist says time for color. Don’t even begin to think it is like airbrushing! No, No and No. The color is the same pain level as the design. On a scale from 1 to 100, I would give it 101!
Some will say the pain is like childbirth and you quickly forget it. I totally disagree although I told my 9yo when she is old enough we can go to get matching tattoos. What in the world? If and only if I decide to do it again the next tattoo will be the tiniest design with to no detail. No, I beg to differ the pain is memorable. I wish I could provide a list of things to do better prepare but I’m lost for words.
Now what I can offer for a first tattoo are the following:
- Don’t go overboard with the design, KEEP IT SIMPLE!
- Pick a location for the tattoo with thicker skin. As stated, my tattoo is on my back. My theory is the wrist and foot are a bit more painful.
- Consult with the artist on design and the amount of time from start to finish. Some designs look beautiful, however, the time to complete may require hours if not days.
- Take someone for moral support
- Don’t consult with anyone who has over 5+ tattoos, they have no threshold of pain!
- Do have a great cocktail after you’re finished.
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Scott says
Aug 23, 2016 at 5:32 amHi, great post! I’ve been avoiding tattoos for a long time but when I have done one I got one point that custom made tattoo can be really cool. I still don’t understand how people can pick the tattoo from catalogue and become another twin from the crowd. What do you think about custom made tattoos? Thanks
AJ says
May 2, 2017 at 11:43 pmHi Scott, I did pick a tattoo design I found on Pinterest. My artist tweaked it a bit so I feel like it is unique to my initial request. Some artists are very particular about staying away from copying another design from an artist. A custom tattoo is cool if the artist is experienced with great vision. Thanks for stopping by my blog.