When I was younger, I always wanted a tattoo but I knew that I was too big of a chicken to get one. I had watched my boyfriend get his first tattoo. Seeing a look of pain on his face confirmed the fact that I was too big of a wimp to get one. I was content on not having one, due to the pain factor, until my mother passed away. I went through a couple months of depression; medication, psychiatrists, the works. Then, in August of last year, I decided that part of my healing process would be to try things I had never tried before. This included getting a tattoo.
At A Glance Author paigeywithwings Contact paigebeasley@adelphia.net When A month ago Artist Ellie Studio Underground Ink Location Lexington, KY I went with all of my friends to a tattoo shop about 70 miles away. The ones around here are just nasty. My friends were going to get tattooed as well, but I had to go first. There was no way that I was going to watch someone sit through horrible pain and then volunteer myself afterwards. When the gun touched my skin I was relieved. I actually started laughing. I assured my friends that the pain wasn't anything like they thought it would be and relaxed. I knew from that moment that I would have many more.
Now, 3 tattoos later, I wanted a foot tattoo. After reading the stories on BME, and talking to my tattoo artist about the color fading, the pain factor, and the healing process, I wasn't so sure that getting a tattoo on my foot would be a good idea. Not only had several people written about the tremendous amount of pain they had suffered, the healing process generally did not seem to go well. They say that tattoos are addictive, and it was about time I had another "fix". I was going to do it. I was going to get my foot tattooed.
I showed up at the tattoo shop nervous, shaking, and about to vomit. I had been like this before I got my first tattoo. I was convinced that this one would hurt 100 times more than my others, just because of it's location. I brought the design I wanted with me, I am a firm believer in having a design picked before you go to the shop. Talked with the artist about some modifications to the design, and off she went to the back to prepare the temp outline. My friends had all come along, just to see my reaction to the pain. I tried to calm down by talking with them, but it didn't work.
Then it happened. She called my name and told me that she was ready for me to come to the back. I walked through the shop, breathing deeply, ready for the worse pain ever. The temp was placed on my foot and it looked so beautiful. However, I was still unsure about the pain level and asked her to do a dry run, without ink. My foot was shaking and I was having trouble breathing. When she touched the gun to the top of my foot I almost fainted. However, it wasn't from the amount of pain. It was from the lack of it. I took a deep breath and told her I was ready for her to begin with color.
Forty-five minutes later, I had a new bright tattoo on the top of my right foot. I couldn't believe how well done it was, due to the fact that my foot was shaking uncontrollably. I was bandaged up and sent on my way.
I had no problems with the healing process; of course I followed her instructions precisely. I was afraid to put on socks or shoes for about a week so I walked around in flip-flops, in the middle of January. The lovely shooting star has gotten much brighter since then, and I catch myself looking at it several times daily. I show everyone I know because they all think that your foot is the most painful place to get tattooed. Now I just can't wait until summer so I can wear sandals to show it off!
If you are thinking about getting a foot tattoo, you should definitely do some research first. If you have a very active lifestyle, such as work or play sports, the tattoo healing process may not go as smoothly as mine did. Make sure to find an artist that you trust and one that is able to answer all of your questions. Knowledge probably will not calm your fears, but you will feel better about it in the end. My last words of advice are; if you want a foot tattoo but are afraid of the pain, go for it. It is most likely not going to hurt as much as you think it is. It's definitely worth the aggravation of getting it done.