How to Make the Tattoo Decision

1. Think It Through

Don’t just make a sudden decision that you want a tattoo. Yes, they have become very popular and yes a lot of people have them, but it doesn’t mean that you need to have one too.

Ask yourself do you really want a tattoo. It is something that will stay on your skin forever. Sure you can remove it, but have in mind that removal hurts a hell lot more than the tattooing itself and you never really remove the tattoo completely.

Give yourself some time to think, and make a decision. You don’t need to do that right away. Once you decide that you want it, give yourself a couple of months for that decision to settle down in your mind. If after that time you still want to get a tattoo – go and get it.

2. Decide on the Place

There are lots of different places you can tattoo. Make a decision on the place both according to how visible you want your tattoo to be, and on how much do you want it to hurt. Also think about the time and the fact that tattoos on certain parts of your body could really change over years.

The best places to get a tattoo are your back, your upper arms and your calves. These places are usually the ones that are most tolerable towards pain and the ones that will look the same over the years.

Don’t tattoo your belly, because that tattoo will stretch once you get pregnant and will look really bad after that. Tattooing lower arms, thighs, inner arms and legs and torso hurts a lot. Make sure that a visible tattoo will not cost you your job.

3. Decide on the Design

Don’t ever tattoo the name or portrait of your boyfriend or husband. You never know how things may end up between the two of you and you don’t want to be stuck with a name of a cheating bastard forever tattooed on your skin.

Your tattoo should mean something to you. Don’t just go and choose a design you like. After a while you’ll ask yourself “why the hell did I do that”. Sure it could be a really pretty tattoo, but if it doesn’t mean anything to you, you’ll get tired of it.

You can mark important milestones in your life with a tattoo. I got my first one when I enrolled in college and my second one as a present from my boyfriend when I graduated from college. I’m doing the third one to mark the 10 years of our relationship very soon. Yeah – it’s true – no one really gets only one tattoo.

4. Color or Black and Grey

This greatly depends on your preferences. I personally prefer black and grey tattoos and don’t even think about getting one in color, but some people prefer colorful tattoos. It also depends on the design you choose and it’s a good idea to talk about it with your tattoo artist.

Have in mind that colors do fade, and after 10 years a black and grey tattoo will look a lot better than a color tattoo. Avoid having a lot of whites in your tattoo, because white is not really a color. It’s more like a bleach that fades your natural skin tone and after a while it’s not white any more. Use whites only for highlights of your tattoo. White is also a color that people usually get an allergic reaction too. Talk to your artist if you’re prone to allergies.

5. Find a Good Artist

Always have in mind that good tattoo costs good money. Don’t let the financial aspect be the main thing in your tattoo decision. Rather pay a little more than regret a bad tattoo. Of course, don’t let someone rip you off. Ask in a couple of tattoo shops and take a look at your artist’s work.

Pay very close attention to the hygiene in the shop you’ll be getting your tattoo from. You need to see the artist open the new tattooing needle in front of you and pour the colors in new sterile cups. They also need to wear plastic disposable gloves. Don’t joke with this; you may end up with serious diseases like hepatitis or even HIV. Make sure you only get a tattoo, not an infection as well.

Now that you know how to make a tattoo decision, tell me, what are you getting tattooed?