I have taken every precaution. I thought about this tattoo for years before I did it. I consulted with my friends. I made sure she had all the right certifications. I met with her in person and she is very down to earth and personable. It’s not going to cost me a fortune.
And yet, it’s tonight, and I have a growing feeling of nervousness. I am actually rather glad she took a $20 (refundable) deposit; if she hadn’t, I might have chickened out.
It is a small (about one inch square) tattoo on the inside of my wrist. I am afraid it will hurt. I want it, no doubt about it, but I hang with a fair amount of conservative people, my family is conservative, my SO is conservative (though tentatively supportive*), and his family is conservative. With the knowledge that they all disapprove of tattoos in general, if not in my case, I am feeling more than a bit tense.
*Meaning, while he is not thrilled about it, and would never get it, wants me to do whatever makes me happy, and even offered to come with me tonight, which I am OK with him not coming.
Why not get it in a less visible place? It sounds like you’re concerned about the reactions of people close to you. No matter how beautiful your tattoo is, you’re not going to change their mind and will have to deal with their disapproval.
It won’t be a big deal, Mika. You’ll be happy once it’s done and you’re past the nervousness, and anyone who has a problem with it should be invited to bite you. Politely, of course.
(Whew, maybe that is just what I needed! a chance to defend it…)Because this is where I want it and really, their opinions don’t matter that much. Like I said, I thought about both the item (an Om) and the location for years.
As a test, I did one of those fake tattoos several times, about the shape and size, for weeks at a time, on the inside of my wrist. No one noticed it. If I went without a watch, occasionally people noticed it but rarely commented on it. I can cover almost the whole thing with my watch.
The thing is, it really is for me and not for display, so I want it where I can see it all the time. And they would have disapproved of my nose piercing somewhat, too, but I have worn it so long and it’s so subtle people sometimes don’t even notice that.
Yeah, why on your inner wrist? Why not on the front of your hip or even above one of your breasts or something? A place where you can see it but that would be covered up in polite company.
And that is a painful place for your first. My friend got a solid black hand or cross or something on his forearm as his first. It was huge. I thought it was stupid but he also is a bit of a pain freak.
ETA: You snuck a post in before I finished my post. The whole idea of a tattoo…that’s NBD, you have that worked out. The design, also NBD. Pain will be intense but it’ll end so NBD. And since you say it won’t be noticed because you tried it already - well looks like you’re all in the clear!!
It will hurt, but if it’s only one inch square, it’s not going to take long (twenty minutes or a half hour maybe) and the pain is gone literally the second the needle stops. Even when they stop to re-ink, you’ll be pain free.
I agree with filmore. Right or wrong (mostly wrong), many people will judge you unfairly for having a visible tattoo. If you can handle that for the rest of your life, then go ahead. If you don’t want to put up with it, then find a more discreet location. Although many people’s attitudes have changed over the years and will no doubt continue to do so, a tattoo is still considered a cultural taboo by a not-insignificant percentage of the population.
Oh, here’s the important thing - this is not just the first tattoo. This is the ONLY tattoo. So it has to be where I want it, exactly, as I will never get another one.
And really, I can tell you for sure, it is easily hidden with a watch or bracelets.
I’ve considered this long, and I know I am not making a hasty decision, and feel better just talking it out. Seriously, I get myself all wrought up over things. I was scared to death of getting my nose pierced and it’s now…eighteen years later and I still have it and I still love it. Obviously I am used to judgy people, so that won’t be new.
If you want it and you’ve thought about it, think of yourself as an ambassador for changing people’s stereotypes and preconceptions.
Or, if you’re nervous, think about how un-involved most people are with other people, and realize that 80% of the people you interact with will NEVER notice it (or like my tattoo, notice it after about 3 years “oh, is that a new tattoo?” “Nope. Not anymore.” :rolleyes: )
If a friend of your’s started wearing a really good/bad/mediocre shirt, every day for the rest of his/her life, what would say? If you were polite and say nothing does it negate any opinion you have?
In that respect, remember when they put on the temporary purple outline first. The one with the special paper and Speedstick. That’s going to be it’s final resting place, so feel free to say “No, can you move it up a little” or “It doesn’t look straight” It’s a lot easier to wipe it off and reposition it now that it will be afterwords.
IIRC we discussed that in another thread and she was pretty adamant she wasn’t going to get another.
But other then that, yeah, then tends to be a pretty universal rule. I believe it comes from getting so worked up (as seen in this and the other thread) and then afterwords thinking “well, that wasn’t really such a big deal” and without the nervousness to hold you back…
Getting a tattoo hurts a bit, but not for very long, and it doesn’t sound like yours will take that much time to do. The soreness doesn’t last very long either. The itching is kind of annoying but that doesn’t last either. What does last is a piece of art that you’ve put a lot of thought into and that has a lot of meaning for you personally. There aren’t a lot of guarantees in life but this sounds like something you’ll be able to enjoy whenever you look at it for the rest of your life. That’s worth 45 minutes of discomfort or a couple of weeks of occasional itchiness, isn’t it? Good luck!
It’s prolly gonna hurt a little as she is doing the tattoo, but it’s more of a slow burning sensation than anything else. It won’t feel like you gave blood a million times or got stabbed over and over.
Follow her instructions on after care to the letter! You’ll be happy later that you resisted the temptation to look at it or leave it uncovered for the first few days to a week.
And then, once you can uncover it and look at it, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that you’ll spend an inordinate amount of time looking at it and yourself in the mirror, noting that you’ve changed and smiling at how you initiated the change yourself! It’ll feel good to look at and always make you smile to know that you look just how you want, not just how you happened.
This is how it starts. One day a 1" tat on the wrist. The next day - sleeved out with skulls and dragons. Then body piercing. Then body “modification”. The horror! Just kidding of course. If you like it, go for it.
9 years ago I got my first and only tattoo, on my left wrist. Easily covered for work by bracelets or sleeves. I have since been hired for two high-level finance jobs, regularly attend Board meetings and do all manner of corporate-type things and either nobody knows or nobody cares. The only person who has ever sniffed at it was a clerk in Walgreens in Joplin Mo.
I love it, wouldn’t change it, and wouldn’t get another. Like you, I thought about it for some time (I was 40 when I got it - hardly a youthful impulse) and do not now nor ever anticipate regret getting it. It has a lot of personal meaning to me and my husband.
to repeat what was said above, enjoy your art.
ETA: the only place it hurt when I had mine done was the bit right on top of the wrist bone - other than that it was a little annoying but not really ouchsome.
Is that what they do now? On mine, they always guazed it up then told me to take it off after a couple of hours and not re-bandage it. From there, the directions differed a bit, but I was never told to keep it covered. And of course the standard DON’T PICK AT THE SCAB
Originally I was told to use Neosporin or triple-antibiotic, but apparently there was a formula change and the new version was drawing the ink out of tattoos. More recently, they just told me to use unscented/colored lotion (Curel) on it for the first few days/weeks while it’s healing and keep it clean. Of course the tattoo parlors I went to weren’t the type that covered them with saran wrap either. I haven’t had a tattoo since that started, but I always assumed that was more about showing it off then anything else. Covering a fresh wound with saran wrap always seemed really uncomfortable and hot/sweaty. Is that standard practice or is that a douche bag thing? No way I’m jeopordizing a tattoo for the rest of my life just to show it off today…you can see it tomorrow, don’t worry it’ll still be nice and raw (I always think they look their best when they’re raw, it makes the ink really bright).
