Getting your first tattoo is exciting, but of course, stressful. Between deciding what you want on your body for the rest of your life and finding the right person to stab you with ink, the little things don’t cross your mind until you are sitting in the chair.
I recently got a tattoo of a quill pen and flowers on my forearm. My first tattoo. I am by no means an expert, but here are some tips and experiences that I have picked up along the way.
The Appointment
I followed the artist that I would be getting tattooed by for a number of years. One of my friends had gotten a thigh piece done by him, and I loved the style and artwork. It was a no brainer. I certainly recommend searching for an artist who’s artwork you vibe with rather than walking into a tattoo shop on the spot with an idea. It certainly gave me peace of mind knowing that I really could trust my artist completely based on his previous work.
When I arrived, the drawing of what would be tattooed on me was already finished. I just asked to have some extra flowers added on, and the tattooing began within 10 minutes of me arriving.
The entire appointment lasted just under two hours, which is actually amazing time for a piece as big as mine. Pain-wise it was totally bearable. As he grew closer to places with more bones like my wrist and elbow, it was more uncomfortable. The shading hurts more than the line work, but of course isn't unbearable. As for bleeding, I really thought that it would be more bloody. Besides losing some plasma during, I really didn’t bleed at all once I got home. While everyone has different pain tolerances, I would say that the forearm was a fairly comfortable place to be tattooed. For me, I would rate it a 5/10 at its worst.
I am also not a fan of needles, so that was a big concern for me. I have passed out on every occasion that I have had my blood drawn, so getting a tattoo was certainly a concern. While the pain is initially similar and it is a needle being poked into your skin, it feels totally different. First, it’s much more exciting than blood work. Second, the needle is constantly moving to different parts of your skin, never staying in one spot. Before you even have time to worry about one area, the artist is moving on to the next one.
At the end, he wrapped my tattoo and gave me a salve called Griffin Salve, to put on my new tat 3-4 times a day.
Don’t forget to tip! For my $250 tattoo and $10 salve, I gave him $60 as a tip: I loved the work and planned on going back for more tattoos. A big tip felt totally right for the situation, and I imagine this would be the case for many. This is going to be on your body forever, I would say that sparing some extra cash for your artist is worth it.
Aftercare
The first few nights will be the worst, pain-wise. I kept my arm raised on a pillow while I slept, keeping it open to let it heal and not irritate it. Every 4 or 6 hours I would apply my salve to keep it moisturized and I would wash it every few hours with Dove, unscented body wash.
By the end of the first week, it began to peel. It’s totally normal and healthy, just be sure to not scratch it or pick at the loose skin, this can cause the ink to be pulled.
It has been just over a week and I still keep my arm out on a pillow to heal it and add a little extra salve on it for the night to keep it moisturized.
The salve I use is from the tattoo shop that I went to, but Hustle Butter on Amazon is also a great and relatively cheap alternative, as well as Aquaphor, which you can get at any drug store.
Generally, my tattoo experience has been great. The pain was never unbearable and, while the peeling looked gross and itched, it was never too much to handle. Needless to say, I can’t wait to make my next tattoo appointment.
