Questions for people with tattoos

So, I'm on track to hit one of my mini-goals later this month, and I promised that I would reward myself with a tattoo! Problem: I have never had a tattoo, and I'm not close friends with anybody who has a tattoo, but I've seen some cool ones in MFP photos. I have a few questions, and I know I should ask the tattoo artist, but I kind of don't want to embarrass myself with really stupid questions before I embarrass myself even more by crying or throwing up as soon as I see the needle/needles/whatever they do tattoos with. (Clearly, I am in the *very* preliminary stages of researching this.)

However, I have no fear of embarrassing myself in front of the website that already knows I had chocolate for dinner the other night. Questions!

1) The tattoo I want is in my boyfriend's handwriting. Do I just get him to write whatever I want clearly on a piece of paper and bring it along? Do I get him to write on my skin? Should I get him to write it on my skin anyway so I get a feel for the size and placement I want before I get it permanently drawn onto my body? (Yes, actually. I will do that last thing.) But again: do I bring a paper copy of my "design" with me?

*****Yes, bring a paper copy of what you want. My husband got my handwriting on him. We measured the spot on a piece of paper, and I wrote the "tattoo" into the allotted space. The artist traced it and did it perfectly.

2) For people with tattoos who've lost a lot of weight, has it affected the tattoo? I sort of want it near my hip but I'm worried it will get all distorted as I lose weight (or, god forbid, gain it back).
******I have one on my ribcage, I have fluctuated up and down about 5-10 pounds, but not enough to make a difference. I'd say it depends on where you get it.

3) If you've used one of those hand-held epilators before - the ones with the tiny little rotating tweezers - how does that compare to a tattoo? Similar sensation? More/less painful? What would you, personally, compare it to?
******I haven't used those, but I didn't find either of my tattoos painful. I thought on my ribs tickled, but from what I hear from other people, that's supposed to be a very painful spot. I was really nervous and thought I'd cry, but it ended up being fine for me. Just remember to BREATHE. Bring someone with you to talk to.

4) Subjective question: I'm tossing up between my hip, below one of my collarbones, or the back of my neck. Thoughts? Considerations? Is one of these places epically more painful than anywhere else (which is what I've heard about foot tattoos)?
******I want a collarbone one! Back of the neck is easily covered with hair. You'd be surprised how many jobs do not like tattoos to be shown.

Don't worry, I really will ask the actual tattoo artist all these things, I just wanted to not walk into the tattoo place feeling like a complete noob. Thanks in advance!

So, I'm on track to hit one of my mini-goals later this month, and I promised that I would reward myself with a tattoo! Problem: I have never had a tattoo, and I'm not close friends with anybody who has a tattoo, but I've seen some cool ones in MFP photos. I have a few questions, and I know I should ask the tattoo artist, but I kind of don't want to embarrass myself with really stupid questions before I embarrass myself even more by crying or throwing up as soon as I see the needle/needles/whatever they do tattoos with. (Clearly, I am in the *very* preliminary stages of researching this.)

However, I have no fear of embarrassing myself in front of the website that already knows I had chocolate for dinner the other night. Questions!

1) The tattoo I want is in my boyfriend's handwriting. Do I just get him to write whatever I want clearly on a piece of paper and bring it along? Do I get him to write on my skin? Should I get him to write it on my skin anyway so I get a feel for the size and placement I want before I get it permanently drawn onto my body? (Yes, actually. I will do that last thing.) But again: do I bring a paper copy of my "design" with me?

2) For people with tattoos who've lost a lot of weight, has it affected the tattoo? I sort of want it near my hip but I'm worried it will get all distorted as I lose weight (or, god forbid, gain it back).

3) If you've used one of those hand-held epilators before - the ones with the tiny little rotating tweezers - how does that compare to a tattoo? Similar sensation? More/less painful? What would you, personally, compare it to?

4) Subjective question: I'm tossing up between my hip, below one of my collarbones, or the back of my neck. Thoughts? Considerations? Is one of these places epically more painful than anywhere else (which is what I've heard about foot tattoos)?

Don't worry, I really will ask the actual tattoo artist all these things, I just wanted to not walk into the tattoo place feeling like a complete noob. Thanks in advance!

#1. Get it written on paper and have it written wherever you are getting it. If the artist doesn't want the writing already on he or she can just wash it off and use the paper. People who get autographs tattooed usually have their skin signed first, but it just depends on your artist's comfort zone.

#2 I've gained and I've lost with my tattoos. They have not changed one bit. They are still the same they were when I got them 3 years ago (of course, after healing). It depends on how your skin is and you the ink absorbed into your skin.

#3. You will feel your tattoo. It will either feel great or it will hurt. I got my first one on my forearm. It felt great, that is one of the best spots to get a tattoo for a beginner. It took about 4 hours, no break in between. Just an FYI if you're worried about pain get it in a comfortable spot.

#4. The back of your neck or your hip would be best of the places you are considering.

Don't psych yourself out. Remember, millions of people have gotten tattoos. If it was horrible, most of us wouldn't go through it over and over. And don't worry about "this is going to be with me forever." One day you will die, we all will. You only have one life and you might as well live it up. I haven't had a problem with my tattoos and I'll never get a non-visible one until I run out of room on my arms and legs. Perk of the military, I guess.

Good luck!

I have six tattoos: One on each hip, back of the neck, on top of my hand near my thumb, my right shoulder blade, and my right calf. My most painful was my shoulder blade because it's on the bone. Anything near on a bone hurts the worst (according to a tattooist that I know). I have shoulder length hair so the one on my neck doesn't show unless I wear my hair up. Tattoos have become more accepted but you still should watch your placement. I have a rule for myself and I know a lot of others that have tattoos that have the same rule....no names (unless its your children), and always be something personal. I don't think tattoos in general are low class anymore, but it's a matter of taste. I'm getting another for my girls, haven't decided what yet, but it is better for women, for some reason, to have them where they aren't usually seen. I will tell you this...my husband is an Officer in the Navy. We went to a dining out with other officers and the wives had more tattoos then the military men. Oh, if you like his handwriting have him write whatever it is on a piece of paper so the tattoo artist can get it on transfer paper. I always draw on myself when designing mine so that I can see size and placement. I have lost and gained weight over the years...i've had most of mine for eleven years now....and it hasn't effected my tattoos. I think if it was on my stomach, it probably would...but there isn't a lot of weight around the neck and collarbone, so you should be fine in those places.

The tattoo I want is in my boyfriend's handwriting.
Sweet idea

Do I just get him to write whatever I want clearly on a piece of paper and bring it along?
Yes, that's the easiest way of doing it and they'll want to refer to it a couple of times

Do I get him to write on my skin?
The tattoo artist may actually allow him to do the temporary part that they trace with his own hand so that they're just going over it themselves. It's as close to getting him to do the actual tattoo as possible without him holding the gun That's up to the artist though, some will do the tatt by sight and some will trace a temporary ink line.

Should I get him to write it on my skin anyway so I get a feel for the size and placement I want before I get it permanently drawn onto my body?
I would simply so that you can see how it would look. But keep in mind that it will end up looking slightly different anyway because the artist may say that the position you've got it on is too hard to do (over a tricky part of bone etc).

For people with tattoos who've lost a lot of weight, has it affected the tattoo?
It hasn't. I got mine on my upper shoulder when I was overweight and even the extra skin from having bat wings hasn't changed it. Location, location, location though. Hips, thighs, tummy, ribcage... They're all places that you're gambling with skin stretching.

If you've used one of those hand-held epilators before - the ones with the tiny little rotating tweezers - how does that compare to a tattoo? Similar sensation? More/less painful? What would you, personally, compare it to?
Honestly for me it felt like the tip of a piece of white hot wire being dragged over my skin. It hurt, but not more than I could cope with. I only had to ask him to stop once and that was when he was right over the top of the shoulder joint and very close to the bone. It was a relief when he went back to the other parts to finish up! Haha.


Subjective question: I'm tossing up between my hip, below one of my collarbones, or the back of my neck. Thoughts? Considerations?
I know someone that has one on her collarbone. It's a simple written tatt and quite pretty but she's getting laser removal because she can't hide it with a normal collar. She said she loves it, but it's got to go because of work.

Back of neck... Ugh. I don't know how to say this without offending people that have a neck tatt, but I look at neck tatts as the new age tramp stamp. They're the new 'it' place for young females who want a pretty design. I KNOW someone will take offense to that and to be honest I seriously don't mean to offend! It's just the most popular place for young women at the moment.

Hip? I think it's a nice idea if you want to be able to hide it, but at the same time if you wanted to be able to show it off it could be tough *chuckle*. Also potentially a darn painful place, depending on how much 'padding' you do have. I've known skinny girls with lots of padding there who it didn't bother, and larger girls who had none on their hips and found it extremely painful.

BUT when all is said and done, your body is YOUR body. Where you get it, what you get, how big, whether it's a skull and crossbones or a naughts and crosses grid... It's entirely up to you and no-one else's opinion should be a judging factor.

And my two cents worth. Just be aware that whether it's right or fair people will still judge you based on ink. And before the "It's more socially acceptable now... blah blah blah... People shouldn't judge me for my ink" brigade start up IT HAPPENS WHETHER WE WANT IT TO OR NOT.
It's not yet socially acceptable to be covered in ink, it's just not politically correct to say it! I'm in the military where the boss literally cannot say a darn thing about ink because it's just the culture. But you can be damn sure that the next tatt I get will be easily covered by long sleeves when I'm in service dress because I don't want your average civilian judging me for my tattoo and bringing judgement on myself or my service.
Is it right? No. But burying heads in the sand and pretending it doesn't happen won't change that it does.

Whoa, double post! Sorry about the wall of text folks! Hahaha.

You can just bring in the design on a piece of paper and they will trace it and copy it onto your body ! That's what I did with mine.

but yeah, you should have your bf draw it on you first just to see if you like the location, etc but don't have it drawn on there right before you go in !

When i got my first tat, i made a few rules for myself..
1. I had to like the design for at least a year before getting it
2. I had to get it in a place that I could cover up easily
3. It had to be meaningful to me.

good luck!! oh and I got mine on my foot and it didn't hurt at all.. but my friend also got one the same day, same tattoo artist on her foot and she said it hurt really bad. so I guess it's just how well you can tolerate pain

make sure you get something you love. never a name unless somebody thats passed, or a relative. the neck only hurt me, i have buddha, a big one, on the back when i had it sprayed with alcohol to clean it. that hurt so bad, i have one on my breast, only hurt near the bone, shoulders, again, towards the bone, lower back didnt hurt, one my ankles didnt reeally hurt that bad. also, the best thing you should do, is to get it somewhere you can cover. i have long hair so i can cover my neck, clothes hide my back, and socks or pants cover my ankles. also, make sure you tip your tattoo artist

i get mine in places people can't see - just personal preference. working in the beauty industry, i can't begin to tell you how many ladies tattoo's i got asked to hide on a daily basis.. these ladies range from all ages.

sure you wanna get something in your boyfriends handwriting?? ehhh! i wouldn't.

tattoos feel like an intense sharp massage to me, but i do have high pain tolerance. my sister says it's like a hot pencil digging into your skin.

all the best! xo

Hi!

As a heavily tattooed individual, I will offer you my advice. Getting one on your hip with stretch out with weight loss, gain, having children etc...I've seen some pretty bad results from all of those scenarios. I didnt read through all of the replies, but have your boyfriend write it out on a piece of paper and stress to the artist it must be just like his handwriting As a general rule of pain, the more muscular or boney, the more it hurts. I have found the least painful area to be the thigh and the most painful is the elbow. I have one on the entire inside of my foot and I didnt think it was that terrible. I think a lot of people pick the foot as their first tattoo and it seems overwhelmingly painful (hence, boney prominence) It all just depends on your pain tolerance. I'll leave you with this, getting your foot tattooed is less painful than getting the septum of your nose pierced.

Good Luck and Happy Tattooing!

When getting a tattoo no question is a stupid question. I have many from all over the country and even one from the Phillipines and i always make sure the environment is clean and the artist is good. I had a name once it was my husbands (we are still married) we had some issues not long after i inked his name i covered it up because i felt branded it was a mistake that i won't repeat now the only names i have are my kids. Even then i go for symbols. My weight goes up and down and the ones on my hips don't look bad at all they look worse from the sun then from the weight fluctuations remember its permanent so you can be a bit of a pain. Just be a nice pain you catch more flies with honey!

I like the idea...then again, I am partial to it because I got a tattoo of my mom's handwriting on my wrist (Sleep Tight). I just took the words she wrote from a note, cut them out, made a copy of it and gave it to the artist who then copied it onto my skin. That tattoo took all of 5 minutes or less and did not hurt a bit.

I have a large one on my back (song lyrics) and it took about 2 hours...I would say the pain is akin to having someone use a sewing machine on your back...ha, that makes it sound bad...but it was really just an incessant and annoying thing, like a constant poke of a sewing needle.

1) Get your bf to write it clearly on paper, the tattoo artist can trace it and then make a stencil, getting your bf to do a few practises on you with pen is a great idea, perfect for getting the right size, area etc

2) I asked my tattooist this question, he said as long as you dont gain (or lose) too quickly the tatt should retain its form.

3) i have a hand held epilator and it is more painful than that but it really depends on where you get it, on bone of areas like inside wrist are more painful, if you want less pain, go on an area with more padding. I have six tatts, back of neck wasnt too bad, inside wrist was torture. Its sore but its worth it. In the case of a stencil (what the artist willl make from you bf's writting) the outline is the worst, when they get to the colouring in its not so bad.


4) as mentioned before some places are more painful, ribs are really sore so i imagine on the hip itself would be too, across bone - ouch. the only thing i would suggest you consider (and these things might not be of any importance to you) but think about although right now you are happy to show off your tatt to the world but what about in the future, in certain settings? Picking up kids from school, wearing a wedding dress, at a job interview for your dream job, would you be happy to show if off then. If not, try and pick a place that can always be covered up if you need to, like a long sleeve or a collar on a shirt etc

hope this helps - tatts are great, dont let the though of a little short term pain put off something you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

I have a tattoo, and I enjoy it and do not regret it ONE BIT! It's been 20 years.

Just get the thing where you can cover it up easily with clothes.
Tattoos are a sign of low class - remember that.

Cool, sure, but low class, and forget ever getting a real important position if the interviewer can see it.
Tattoo people make great service workers but lousy executives for the most part.

Don't be offended - again, I HAVE ONE, and I love it!

Wow, classism. Nice.

most people advice has been spot on! but i will say this.........take your time deciding on a tattoo artist, make sure your not only comfortable with them but like their style as well ( its no good going to someone who specialises in skulls when you want flowers)
and that they are reputable!
when i got my tattoo i had so many people recommending me to their "amazing" tattooist, but when i saw their work it was very so-so!! so shop around!

when it comes to pain its hard to explain, it doesn't matter where you get it done, it will still hurt to a degree. my first ever tattoo covers my shoulder blade ( 8 hours of work!) I got it done in 2 sittings, the second sitting by far was the most painful but then again she was tattooing over a fresh tattoo!! it was a bearable pain, though i was pulling some seriously funny faces haha! take someone with you to distract you and I'm sure you'll be fine!


my advise........its going to hurt no matter what, don't let this dictate the size or positioning of your tattoo. I believe its better to go through a little bit of pain to get exactly what you want. make it count.