General Information About Tattoos

The most important thing you can do to ensure you will have a tattoo that looks good and pleases you is to make sure that you go to a LICENSED Tattoo Studio. Do not go to some "dude" that your friend knows who works out of his kitchen. As proper sterilization and sterile procedures are important to prevent the spread of diseases such as hepititus, dipping needles in Clorox™ or alcohol does not cut it. ASK about sterilization and if the guy says"What?" or refuses to show you his autoclave - LEAVE.

A GOOD Tattoo isn't CHEAP
A CHEAP Tattoo isn't GOOD
Don't ask for a deal. We are not the pawn shop.
Don't bring your children. We are not babysitters.
DO NOT get tattooed while you are drunk or on drugs.
You are more likely to pass out, act like a jerk, show bad judgement,
and not get the tattoo you want.
You may check out the Alliance of Professional Tattooers FAQ section here for more detailed information.

Your First Tattoo??

Things to Consider & Ask Yourself In General:

How much of a budget can you commit to your tattoo? A cheap tattoo isn’t good and a good tattoo isn’t cheap. It is better to save up your money and get the tattoo you really want than to settle for something else for immediate gratification. Sometimes you can break the tattoo up into a couple of sessions, outline in one session and shading/coloring in another. Talk to an artist about the pros and cons of this option. ADI offers Gift Cards which can work like a savings plan. If you afraid you are going to spend those dollars and have a hard time saving them under your mattress, put them into a gift card which can be added on to. Then when you are ready to get that Tattoo the card works like a pre-paid credit card. Friends and family can add onto it for you too. The card is good up to a year.
How long have you wanted a tattoo? Have you wanted a tattoo for sometime or is this just a spur-of-the-moment thing that your friends have pressured you into?
Why do you want a tattoo? Is this tattoo to mark an event in your life, an expression of a statement you would like to make, or is it rebellion for no defined reason ?
Are you willing to commit to care for your tattoo? Are you willing to pay attention to your artist’s instructions for after-care and are you willing to follow them? Do not listen to your friends, they do not know what is good for your tattoo. Any questions, ask your artist. Follow his instructions

What Kind of Tattoo??

How much time to you spend in the sun/tanning bed? Tanning beds and sun definitely fade lighter colors. Over-tanned skin does not take ink well because capillaries are nearer the surface which causes more bleeding which pushes the ink out.
Skin color/tone - Light, pale skin usually takes a full range of colors better than darker skin. That is not to say that darker skin won’t take any color. Skin color also varies on different parts of the body, depending on how exposed to the sun it is. The inside of a wrist or the middle of your lower back may be lighter than your upper arm. Dark skin may not take yellow and white well but reds and greens may show just fine. Talk to an artist, they will be able to advise what will work best for you.
Negative/positive subject matter - Consider who, what and where you will be in 20 years. The naked lady or the demonic animal ripping out of your skin may not be what your future spouse is going to want to be confronted with. Don’t count on being able to cover it up with whatever you want at a later date. It’s going to be with you forever and in five years your attitude towards life in general may change. A well thought out tattoo will go and grow with you through out the years and life’s experiences.
It should say something about YOU - Your tattoo should say something about you, not just every other person in the world. Don’t be afraid to alter designs to suit you.
No racist/gang/satanic - ADI will not tattoo any racist, gang related or blatantly satanic designs.
DO Not put names of husbands/wives/lovers on you - parents/kids/dogs ok -If you do, consider the cover-up feasibility.

Where to put it??

Things to Consider: For starters, ADI does not tattoo hands or faces for many reasons.

Job/military - the kid without the tattoo on his neck will get the job before you do if you have one. The safest rule for the military is to keep your tattoos under your dress uniform.
Future pregnancy - Tattoos on the stomach will stretch considerably during pregnancy and will look awful after the stomach goes back down after a pregnancy.
Scars, moles etc - A scar must be at least two years old before any tattooing can be done over it and under no circumstances should a mole ever be tattooed over.
Wear & tear - How much wear and tear is the area of your tattoo going to receive? Can you keep it protected during the healing process and will it get banged up a lot afterwards?
Size - the more detailed the larger it needs to be - Too many lines too close together may run together in ten years and look like a blob.
Does it fit the anatomy - Do the lines of the design follow the lines of your anatomy?
Might you want to add on to it later - Is your design one that you might want to add on to at some later date, if so have you picked a place with enough room to do so?
Hair - A lot of hair growing in the area of your tattoo will obscure detail, if you have a lot of dark hair on your lower arm you may want to choose something bold and simpler.
Size should be proportional to your size - A tiny little initial on the upper arm of a guy with 18 inch biceps is going to look lost and a huge lower back piece may wrap around the waist of a girl who wears a size 2 in jeans.

Does it Hurt?? Yes, No, Maybe

Everyone is different. What you feel and how you feel it depends on a number of things. Some parts of the body are more sensitive than others. Stubbing your toe hurts worse, it throbs and has residual pain associated with it. When the artist stops, the “pain” stops. Most people find that “pain” associated with tattooing is more irritating that painful, more like running your fingernails over a sunburn and not like getting a shot. Some places it feels like pinching, or hot or very cold, or pressure or a lot of vibration. Everyone is different and feels different things in different areas. Just about everyone is amazed that it turns out to be nothing like they had built up in their minds. At the beginning your artist will run a couple of short small lines to let you know what it is going to feel like. The key is to relax. If you are getting the tattoo design that you have always really wanted what ever discomfort is involved will certainly be tolerable and you will have something worthwhile to show for it. ADI does not use topicals to numb the skin as they are vasal constrictors and can interfere with the healing process. When you come to get your tattoo make sure you have not taken aspirin or blood thinners and have not consumed alcohol. You should have eaten your regular meal so that you are not hungry and your blood sugar level is normal. You are better off not begging a prescription pain killer from a friend because what works on the deep seated pain of a broken bone may not effect the area of the brain that controls the surface discomfort of a tattoo. Not only is it illegal, but your reaction to the drug may be counter-productive to tattooing. If you feel like you must take something, you can take a couple of Ibuprofen which is an anti-inflammatory and will not hinder the healing process .