How To Prepare For A Tattoo

Read how the team at Ink Nurse recommend you prepare yourself for your first tattoo! It's exciting and scary at the same time, trust me, I've been there - and I was nervous as all hell! Fear not though, we will help you prepare and plan for your first tattoo session, it's not as daunting as you may think. 

Rules For Getting A Tattoo

The first rule in the tattoo club, is there are no rules... Just kidding, the only rule to understand is that without proper care, you won't be left with a very good looking piece of life long body art. Always ensure proper pre and aftercare is taken.

Once you have decided on your design and your artist is happy to do the work, there are a few things you can do before heading to the studio for your appointment, i'll discuss below. 

What You Need To Know Before Getting A Tattoo

1) Plenty of rest! Ensure you have had sufficient sleep the night before. You don't want to go in irritated and grumpy first of all, secondly your body will experience some slight 'trauma' from the tattoo process, so it's best to keep your body rested and ready for what's ahead. Oh I nearly forgot, you'll be less prone to twitching! You don't want crooked lines or mistakes do you?!

2) Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. Your body will probably sweat quite a lot and react to the tattooing, so you want to make sure your body and skin are well hydrated. Avoid alcohol! Some artists say that it can affect the skin's intake of the ink and affect the healing process, other's just don't want to tattoo anyone that's hungover or drunk as it makes the job harder. Both are good reasons to avoid alcohol and stay hydrated.

3) This is for all you hairy beasts out there: If the area you are getting tattooed looks like a jungle, please do the courtesy of shaving or trimming the area so your tattoo artists don’t need to spend time mowing through that dense forest of yours. It saves time at the appointment and is generally common courtesy. Artists don't really like to spend time doing that kind of thing. (Can you blame them?!) 

4) Make sure you eat a good hearty meal before your appointment. Your body is going to need the energy, especially when your instinct is going to be to tense up during the painful parts of the tattoo. Can't recommend this enough!

5) Wear the appropriate clothing. If you're being tattooed on your chest or torso, perhaps bring a spare, loose fitting tee to change into afterwards. If you are getting a leg tattoo, don't wear tight jeans, instead opt for loose shorts or pants. Also don't wear your most expensive and best items, there's a chance of ink and seepage that will tarnish your garments. Common sense should prevail here. 

6) Make sure your phone or tablet is charged and you have something to entertain yourself and take your mind off the pain. This often helps quite a lot.

Taking Care Of Your First Tattoo

We have written extensively on how to take care of your tattoos, so instead of sounding too repetitive, here's a few links to articles on how to care for your first tattoo and tattoo aftercare in general.

https://ink-nurse.com/blogs/tattoo-info/how-long-will-it-take-for-my-tattoo-to-heal

https://ink-nurse.com/pages/tattoo-aftercare

Thank You and Good Luck, You'll be just fine 🥰

- J, Founder + CEO xo