Like a red hot razor cutting open your skin..!! (Body Tattoos in general)

Member Name: Emma1973

Product:	Body Tattoos in general
Date:	04/01/02 (209 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks nice, Can have personal meaning

Disadvantages: PAIN!!, Can be expensive, May not like it after a while and it is permanent

Ok maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it has also been compared to 3000 injections per second. It can make you naesous and even faint. It may stop you getting certain jobs and cause your parents to go mad!
What else can it be but a tattoo!! As we know once the domain of bikers and sailors, it seems now that everybody and their dog has one, except my mum of course,at least, I dont think she has!

I got my first tattoo at the tender age of 17, I dont think the tattooist was that bothered, he certainly didnt ask me my age. *The legal age to get a tattoo is 18, so remind your 16yr old of that nect time she asks for the Westlife logo again!
It was a name trailing off to a heart on my shoulder, oh my God did it ever hurt! I have to say I was totally unprepared for how much it was going to hurt!! As I later found out this particular tattooist is very heavy handed.
*Names are not a good idea to get unless its your kids, or mum or dad, this particular tattoo I've had changed once and am going to have to have changed again!

*Never let anyone tell you it doesnt hurt, they either have an extremely high pain threshold or extreme bravado. It does hurt, for heavens sake you are having something forced into your skin!

Needless to say I went on to have 8 more tattoos, in various places and I can honestly say the tattooist,type of tattoo and where you are having it makes the world of difference when it comes to where they are being placed. The most painful was on my collarbone at the front, it vibrates right up the back of your head and makes you feel sick. The least painful was the one going from my shoulder to waist, its a gothic nymph trailing into smoke and was done in black with a single needle. I also had 2 done on each arm, another on my back and then 5 years ago I went for my biggest one yet, my back piece!

My back piece is a copy of a piece by an artist called Chris Achilleos, it is out a book called Sirens and is
entitled Birth of a Vampire, its a huge Celtic Cross with a vampire (with not many clothes on) in front of it, with more tombstones, bats, clouds and a moon around. Up until then my chest had been the most painful, but I was not prepared for this! I had my ribs, spine and the small of my back tattooed in one session! COntrary to advice I went straight in the pub opposite and had a double brandy. Needless to say I went back twice more to get it finished!

Anyway thats all mine, so what is my humble opinions about getting a tattoo. FIRSTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY go to a reputable tattooist, yes that bloke in his flat that your mate went to may be fantastic but he wont be licensed, which means he isnt checked by Enviromental Health, he may be using needles more that once to save costs, his things may not be sterilised properly. A good tattoosit will always open a new needle in front of you, you should be able to see their sterilising equipment, the place should be clean and tidy, the tattooist should be wearing gloves which he should change each time. There is no evidence of a tattooist passing on HIV but that and other nasty bugs like Hepatitis should always be considered.

SECONDLY Check out other peoples tattoos, if they look good ask them were they were done and would they recommend the tattoosit, actually seeing the evidence is a good way to judge how good a tattooist is.

THIRDLY Think long and hard about what you want to get, NEVER go into the tattooists and just pick something off the wall, take time and pick something that you know you will still appreciate in 5 yrs time. If you do want a name of your beloved, have it done in Chinese, later you can pretend its says peace or something. As a little word of warning get a Chinese person or check out a translation website to make sure thats what it says, a woman last year was most embarressed when you found out her tattoo actually said Kung Fu Fighter!!

FOURTHLY Be aware of the cost,
tattoos are expensive but you are also paying for the whole thing, new needles etc, my backpiece which covers over a quarter of my back cost me a £100, in fact my 9 tattoos cost over £300.

FIFTHLY DOnt go for the teeniest tattoo you can find or as a tattooist to reduce one further, yes, you may be worried that your mum will see it, but if its too small you wont be able to see what it is from a distance, it will look like a black blob, or worse a squashed fly on your arm!

SIX Take notice of what the tattooist says about aftercare, keep it clean and pref open to the air when the bleeding has stopped. I use a product called Kamiloson, made from Camomile it is great for healing. Use sunblock on them in the summer, the area is more vulnerable to being burnt. If you do think there is a problem go to the doctors if your arm stays swollen, smells funny or there is pus coming from it. It could well be that you have an infection, it may not be the tattooists fault, this has happened to me also!

SEVEN Remamber how much it will cost you to get rid of it! It can covered up, some tattooists will attempt to use acid to get rid of it, but I hardly need to say how stupid it is. Tattoos can rarely be removed on the NHS and you will have to go to a reputable laser removal clinic (look in the Yellow Pages) But, beware this is extremely expensive, to have my back piece removed would cost me well over a £1000, if the tattoo has lots of colour that can be even more expensive!

AND FINALLY
When you have your tattoo enjoy showing it off, you just went through a damn painful procedure to get that!!

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