It was just the bony bit that sticks out that really hurt, not the whole area. He'd be going along and then I'd suddenly get this stab when it went over the edge. Even when it's not hurting, I advise sort of concentrating and tensing yourself a little so that you don't leap out of your chair if you get a sudden pain. You don't want them to colour outside the lines, after all. But having said that, don't be overly tense. WHen it's hurting I find it better to try to relax rather than over-tensing. Just stare at something on the wall and try to sort of zone out.
As for breaks, they should let you take them when you want. You'll probably be paying by the hour, so no skin off their nose. But in my experience, it's more common to have a break after about an hour, both for you and for the artist, who is concentrating very hard throughout. I wouldn't advise asking for a break every five minutes ...
I don't know about any snacks though. You're not going to a movie! Unless you're going to be there for hours then I really wouldn't bother.
In terms of what to look for, the main thing is checking the artist's portfolio (and ideally a personal recommendation) and making sure they're good at what they do. And obviously you want the whole place to be looking fairly clean, artists putting on new gloves each time, etc. I can't say I've ever asked to inspect the autoclave (sterilising thingy) or anything. Basically if yo uget a sense of professionalism and confidence about the place, then that's a good sign. You should feel comfortable there. It should be an enjoyable experience, so make sure you enjoy it. It's quite an intense experience, with the enormous trust you're placing in this person and the pain and the anxiety over the result and the expectation and strangers wandering about while you're having what's almost a medical procedure in an environment that is probably unfamiliar to you. It all adds up to quite an emotional rollercoaster in some ways.
I don't think tattoos should need touching up for quite a few years. My oldest one is about five years old and it's still exactly as the day it was done. They should offer you a free touching up a couple of weeks after it's done though, in case once it's healed up there are any bits of shading that aren't as full as they should be. It may look fine when it's done butit'll look slightly different when the skin's healed so sometimes big blocks of shading have lighter areas that need fixing up. But you'll know as soon as it's healed; it's a different thing to long-term touching up, fading, etc. |
