I had had my first tattoo done not too long before I decided to get my second one done. My first one hurt and scared me a little on getting my next one, but I over came my fear and went for it.
At A Glance Author Samantha Contact Samantha@bme.anon IAM EnemySiren When A month ago Artist Dont know his name Studio Dago's Little Italy Location Houston, Tx. As with the first one, the challenge of deciding where to put my second one took up a lot of my time. I had to have it in a place that could be covered and also shown if I had wanted it to. It finally came down to two choices, my inner forearm and back of neck. I went with the inner forearm because the back of my neck was a little too visible for me, especially since I wear my hair up constantly because it is so thick and curly, and really unmanageable.
Next thing I had to determine was the type of tattoo I wanted. I finally settled on something tribal and a little bit feminine. I had always been fascinated with tribal tattoos because they were so simple yet so different and unique. It is kind of hard to explain, but I bet you have an idea of what I am talking about.
Then off to the tattoo shop I went. I went to a new place because my sister talked me into it. I wanted to go to my regular tattoo/piercer because I knew the place and felt really comfortable there and that is the most important thing, is to feel comfortable. But she kept bugging me and saying, "They are cheaper and blah blah blah," okay wrong I know, but I tuned her out. (Hey, she talks a lot) So, she talked me into it.
We drove a long way and through tons of traffic and finally we got there. The place was off the interstate and was on the bad side of town, but I did not dismiss it right off hand.
So I walked in and looked around and selected my tattoo. A tribal design that was swirly and very feminine. I loved it.
What the mistake was instead of leaving, I stayed. The reason I say that is because the tattoo artists were ignoring everything I said and the woman behind the counter was rude totally ignored me as well and when she wrote down what I wanted, she over charged me on it to. The price I was quoted by the dismissive tattoo artist was way less than what she wrote down.
Before going back, I find out that they have this if you get a tattoo worth thirty-five dollars or more, you get a free tattoo from one of the patterns on the wall behind the cashier. I was so happy to see an Ankh which is something I had always wanted, so I chose that because, it is free after all and I immediately decided to put it on my nape.
I get back there and he could not find the pattern and that worried me a little, but I placed my faith in his drawing ability (which I had no idea what it was) but I did nevertheless. I followed him into this open room with three tattoo artists just going to town on other people and I sat down and proceeded to show him where I wanted it. He then drew it on free hand and got the materials ready to tattoo me with.
What really made me mad was when he had me sign the package that the needle came from. I did not mind that, however when I asked him if there was a specific place to sign it at, he says. "Did I say where," and that really got my back up. I mean, what if I was to sign it in a certain place and I signed it somewhere else. It was just a simple non-obvious question. (Sorry, but that bothered me, and again I say, do not be pierced by someone you do not feel comfortable with)
I digress. So it was really painful and kind of hard to sit still, but I did because I was by myself and I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it without a friend holding my hand. (Which I find is not a bad thing at all. I encourage taking a friend or family member with you; it really does help a lot.)
When finished, I turned around and he did my Ankh on the back of my neck. He asked me where did I want it and since he had no mirror with which to see it, I guessed. It turned out to be actually lower than I would have liked, but I now love its position because I can add to the top of it, which I plan on doing.
I did not actually pay until I got to the back and because they he was very rude to me, I counted the over charge as a tip.
They are now about a month and a half old and they healed fabulously. I cleaned them twice a day with a gentle anti-bacterial soap using only my fingertips and I applied A&D ointment whenever dry for four days, then fragrance-free dye-free moisturizing soap after that whenever dry and especially after a shower because water dries out your skin.
For anyone contemplating a tattoo, get it, it is not as bad as you think it will be and the pain is only temporary, but the tattoo is for a lifetime.