I have a tattoo on my back, so I can weigh in on that (also don’t worry about the pain, as others have said it doesn’t really hurt and isn’t much like a needle at all).
Pros re: back tat.
1)Larger canvas
2)relativly painless area (in the shoulderblade section. I am told lower down hurts like a bitch.)
3) looks cool when you want to show it off, but easily covered when you don’t
Cons:
You really won’t see it much. I frequently forget exactly what mine looks like. I know generally, but I go so long between seeing it that I don’t remember the details of it well. On the upside it delights me every time I do see it. (It always looks better than I remembered).
It is a pain to show to people in normal social settings. Hardly anyone other than my wife and people who have gone swimming with me have seen that tattoo. People ask, but frequently getting to it is a huge pain due to undershirts and what not.
After care is a bitch because it is hard to reach (to apply topicals) and your shirt will rub up on it all day long.
Personally I don’t like the look of the shoulder/upper arm tat. I like shoulder caps, but just an image on the upper arm, I don’t care for. But that’s me.
I know what I want, but I can’t draw worth crap. Can an artist sketch out what I’m thinking about?
How much do they cost? I know the costs depend on size and intricacy. Do you tip afterward?
I’m waiting for doctor’s clearance (my surgeon said yes, but he said wait until chemo doctor says yes) before I visit the tattoo parlor. Once I have an estimate of how much it will cost, I’ll start putting money aside for it.
I have a piece which covers my entire back, loads of color. It took around 30 hours, and most of it hurt like hell. I would describe it as having a warm razor blade carving into your skin. Don’t get drunk, as others have said: a reputable artist will refuse to tattoo you, you’ll bleed like a stuck pig, the pain sobers you up fast and you’ll have a splitting headache. It’s not the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, but it does hurt and there’s not really much you can do about it. You can talk to the artist a bit or bring someone to talk to if he/she doesn’t mind, that helps a bit.
I also have a black and grey piece on my arm, with lots of shading. I barely felt that one. Partially because there wasn’t any colors (black ink doesn’t have to go as deep, I was told), and partially because your arm’s not that sensitive compared to other places on your body. Still, don’t pick a piece or location because of how painful you think it’s going to be. If you’re going to do that, get a temporary tattoo. Just suck it up and take it.
To reiterate some of the things others have said (because it’s worth repeating):
Do NOT expose your tattoo to sunlight for at least a month. Not for an hour, not for 15 minutes. Even after a couple months, try not to expose it to the sun any more than necessary, and if you do go shirtless to the beach or wherever, get the strongest sunblock you can and apply it to the tattooed area.
Do not scratch or pick at your tattoo. If it scabs, you’re not keeping it moist enough. Don’t let it scab or it will blur and look like shit. I’ve seen people whose tats scabbed and they looked terrible.
Do not bandage your tattoo or cover it with anything except your shirt. When possible (sitting at home, for example) take your shirt off.
Some advice from my regimen:
Week one: Bag Balm or A & D Ointment (AKA Diaper rash ointment) for a week. Note: That’s A & D ointment, not the cream. Generic A & D works fine. As I recall, I went through about 2-3 tubes a week on my back. Both A & D and Bag Balm should be available in any drugstore. If you go back/shoulder piece, your shirt is going to rub against it constantly and you’re going to need to reapply it every couple hours. It’s also going to leave a big permanent grease spot on your shirts. Wear old t-shirts or buy some cheap ones. If you get showers, do not spray water directly on your tattooed area. Spray the water on nearby skin and let that run into the tattooed area. Be gentle with the soap, but do clean the area. I would gently wash the area with a soapy washrag.
Do not use Vaseline. DO NOT USE NEOSPORIN. My tattooist (he’s old school, been in the business for 30+ years) has said Neosporin heals too fast or something like that. OK, I don’t remember exactly, but he was very specific about not using Neosporin.
Week two:
Get a good moisturizing lotion and apply it about the same number of times per day as you did the ointment in week one. Keep it moist! I found small tubes of eucerin (not sure on the spelling), that I could carry around in my pocket, and got a bigger container for home/work. The good thing is, the moisturizer won’t leave grease stains on your shirt, so at least you’re done with that bit.
Week three and four:
You will want to apply some moisturizer maybe once or twice a day, or whenever your skin in the tattooed area starts to feel a little dry. It should be mostly or completely healed by now, mind the rule about sunlight though.
Also: If you’re out somewhere and you forget to bring your ointment/moisturizer with you, stop and get some. Yeah, it’s that important. Don’t ever go more than 3-4 hours without reapplying some during the first few weeks or you will have problems. Be religious about keeping your tattoo moist. Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass. I’ve had my back done in about 7 or 8 different sessions, and worked as a programmer. I had to go into a bathroom stall at my office, take my shirt off, and apply the stuff. To my entire back. About 10 times a day. But believe me, it’s worth it. I made sure I always took good care of my tattoo while it was healing, and it still looks fantastic, much better than some people’s tats that are only 5-10 years old.
Design is no problem. You can bring in a picture or you can generally describe what you want and the artist can draw up a few designs for you. He/She is an artist after all and many usually modify any picture you bring, unless you specifically ask him/her not to.
Cost? Most charge about $100/hour. That figure may vary depending on reputation, experience, availability, etc. My tattooist charge me about $100 per hour on the estimate but the final cost was around $75/hr. However, if you go with someone famous like Kat Von D or the guys from Miami Ink the price will likely be higher. If you go with a local artist you’ll usually get a deal after the first one. My wife has three tats now, two done by the same guy. He was the one who is doing the portrait I linked to. He is charging her about $350 for the whole piece but it will probably take at least 6-8 hours (a considerable discount, he could easily have charged her around $500 or $600).
Do what Apocalypso said and another he/she didn’t mention, and so far no one else has either (maybe they didn’t have this experience), but it will itch like a mad motherfucker while its healing. DON’T SCRATCH IT!!! That has been mentioned. You’ll want to scratch, you’ll sell your soul to be able to scratch, you’ll sell your children for the pleasure but you must resist. Lightly, veeerrryyy lightly rub or pat it (as a last resort if you must) or use a little extra moisturizer, the itch will pass.
Helpful hints from Fountains of Wayne:[ol]
[li]Drink down a lot of Basil Hayden[/li][li]Get a .38 Special CD collection[/li][li]Bactine to prevent infection[/li][li]In case you get queasy: a photo of Easy Rider[/li][/ol]
I might be able to help with the design; I am an artist. You can PM me or post what you want here. Here is my design*, and hereis some of my artwork.
Apocalypso and Illuminatiprimus (et al.), I thank you for your advice, and my wife guarantees it will be followed. She personally seconded the tips. Her tattoo never scabbed over, and I know she’ll make sure I do all that it takes to make sure mine is perfect. I know what “permanent” means and I ain’t pussyfooting around about it.
And blondebear, none of that made any sense.
Advil or something like that wouldn’t help, would it? Advil is a blood thinner, so would actually make it worse, right? I’m not going to drink, and smoking anything is bad, mmmkay?
What about after?
*: Like I said, don’t expect me to accept any advice or criticism of my design.
One more thing from me. Don’t try to prepare for the pain, you’ll go nuts worrying about it. The worst part for me is the time between saying “Hi, I’d like a tattoo” and about three seconds after the needle hits my skin. It’s the anticipation that’ll kill you. It’s going to hurt whether or not you think about it, so you’re better off not thinking about it.
That shark design is very cool and I am jealous! That would look great on a shoulder blade.
Advil might help afterwards. Something that light (if that shark one is your final design) shouldn’t be that big of a deal and I don’t think you’d need it. It only bleeds when you’re actually getting stuck with the needle though. The artist will bandage it and might tell you to tape some saran wrap on it when you go to sleep the first night. This is because you’ll get some blood and ink leakage, it’s perfectly normal.
Redfrost, I forgot about the itching! Yes, it will itch like crazy especially after the soreness goes away. Rub it very lightly if you must, but no scratching! I only have a few pics of my back, but they’re not decent quality. I’ll see if I can get my sister to take one and post it somewhere.
That’s where one of mine is, and I love it there. It’s almost a dog version of gary’s kinda sorta but not really. I think that would be a great place for it.
No criticism or advice here; I really dig the shark design. I’ve seen a shark while snorkeling, but I’ve still never gotten to SCUBA dive. One day, when I have more money to spend, I’m totally going to do it. And I hope to see many more sharks.
I almost fell asleep during my last tat. then the artist zapped me in the back of my arm, that woke me right the hell up (no ink) location does dictate the pain level but if you cant handle the pain from a tat you are pretty much certified pussy. I mean teen aged girls get tats man!!!
I was expecting that somewhere in the thread, but not so soon…
To the OP, they’re really not that painful, and they’re not ‘needles’ like the dentist or injections. It’s like taking a pin and scraping your flesh with it - not great but not too bad. The worst part tbh is the monotony of it.
Like Olives, I have a small tattoo on my wrist that took ten minutes, but I have a large dragon on my upper arm and shoulder that took about five hours (it’s in my profile pic if you want to have a look). It was sore but copeable. I’d do it again no probs. Congrats on your decision, hope you have years of pleasure from your tat.
