Expressing Yourself With Tattoos

Have you noticed that there are a lot of people that have Tattoos these days? In the past you may have only seen tattoos on people such as sailors, outlaws, and biker gangs but now tattoos are a very popular body decoration for many people. The types and styles of tattoos has also come a very long way. It is no longer crude pictures of pinup girls, skulls, and anchors. Tattoos have developed into very sophisticated art work ranging from Celtic crosses to very personalized symbols. People have found and created designs that express themselves in a very personal way.

What is a Tattoo?

Very simply a tattoo is a puncture wound made in the skin that is filled with ink. Although done differently today than in the past the technique is still somewhat similar. Today, tattoo artist use a tattoo gun that has one or more needles that penetrate the skin and delivery ink into the skin. Tattoos last a very long time due to the fact that the ink is placed deeply into the skin. The top layer of skins is called the epidermis and it is constantly shedding and being reproduced. If the ink from a tattoo was in this layer of skin it would not last very long. The layer of skin that the ink is injected to is called the dermis, which is a deeper layer of skin that is very stable and makes the tattoo stay visible almost permanently.
Tattoos in the past were done manually with a tool that they tapped on the skin to make the puncture wound and then the ink would be injected by hand. Most tattoo shops today have tattoo guns or machines to do this today, although you can still find areas around the world that still use the older style of tattooing. The tattoo guns make tattooing much more quickly today because the machine is able to deliver the ink into the skin as it is puncturing the skin. The tattoo artist can change the tip of the machine to contain one needle or group of needles depending on if they are drawing the outline of the design or shading part of the design. Most tattoo artist today are very skilled and know just how far to drive the needle into the skin to produce a good tattoo. Not going deep enough can result in ragged tattoo and going to deep can result in excessive bleeding, not to mention the pain would be much worse.

Does It Hurt?

Getting a tattoo can hurt and can take several hours or even days to complete depending on the size and design of the tattoo you are getting. The amount of pain can and will very depending on the location of the tattoo. Everyone has a different threshold to pain also. The art has a bit to do with it also. A good tattoo artist can provide less pain over a new or less experienced tattoo artist.

So you want a Tattoo!

First and foremost, if you are going to get a tattoo, get it done safely! Remember, a tattoo is a puncture wound that needs to be taken care of just like any other scrape or cut that you may get. By taking care of your tattoo you will be less likely to have it get infected. It may sound a little silly but you need to make sure that your immunizations are up to date. Tattoo shops today have implement steps to help you avoid infections and disease but it doesn't hurt to take an extra step for your own safety. Have a plan to get medical care if your tattoo does get infected. Some signs of infection are excessive redness, prolonged bleeding, pus or changes in your skin color around the tattoo.
If you have a prior or existing condition such as heart disease, allergies, diabetes or a condition that effects your immune systems by all means consult with your doctor. He may be able to recommend precautions that you can take before getting your tattoo.
Choosing the place to get your tattoo is very important. You want to be sure the tattoo shop is clean and safe. Things such as needles, gloves, mask should all be disposable and should never be used on more than one person. The guns themselves and other equipment that is not disposable should be sterilized after every use. You can contact your local government agencies(county, city, local health department) that can inform your on licensed tattoo shops, standards or complaints against a specific tattoo shop.
Here are some things to look for:
Does the tattoo shop you are looking at have an autoclave to sterilize equipment? An autoclave is a piece of equipment that uses steam, pressure and heat to sterilize with.
Is the shop licensed? You can check this through you local government agency and the tattoo shop you are looking at should be able to provide you with references.
Make sure the tattoo shop the regulations that outline procedures to be followed when dealing with bodily fluids that are provided by the Occupational Safely and Health Administration's Universal Procedures.
Just keep in mind, if the tattoo shop you are considering looks dirty or just doesn't feel right to you for any reason it would probably be best to find a tattoo shop you are more comfortable with.

What to expect

First of all you will need to find your design that you are wanting tattooed on your body. The tattoo shop you are going to will most likely have thousands of designs that you can look through. You may also be able to have the artist create a unique design for you. There are also may designs to choose from on the web. Once you have decided on a design you will need to decide on a location. You may already have a location in mind and be able to choose the tattoo you will be getting for that particular location. The tattoo artist will then clean and even shave if necessary to area getting tattooed and apply a type of stencil of the tattoo on that area and allow you to see it. This will give you a good idea of what it will look like. As the artist is getting the ink and gun ready they will explain things about the needles and the procedures in order for you to become more comfortable with the whole process. When you are both ready they will begin the outline. Once the outline is finished the tattoo artist will once again clean the tattoo area and most likely change the needles in the gun to do the shading or fill in. After finishing the tattoo the artist will again clean the tattoo area and apply some type of antibiotic ointment and then it will be covered with a bandage. Congratulations! You now have a new tattoo. It will take a few days to heal but soon you will be able to remove the bandage and show off your new art.

Tattoo Care

The last step you will need to follow in very important. That is taking care of your new tattoo until it is fully healed. The tattoo shop will give you instructions that you should follow and will most likely give you ointment to use on your tattoo. Just remember to contact your doctor if something about your tattoo seems out of the ordinary (as discussed earlier). Make sure that you keep your tattoo bandaged for the first 24 hours. This will help in the healing process greatly. You will want to avoid touching the new tattoo and picking at any scabs that may form. After all, it is a wound and will most likely form some scabs in places. When you wash it for the first time try to use an antibiotic soap and just pat it dry. Re-apply some antibiotic ointment and also re-bandage it. This will only help your tattoo to heal. You want to avoid getting your new tattoo wet(pools, hot tubs, long showers) until the tattoo has fully healed. The other important step is keeping your tattoo out of direct sunlight. Even after it is fully healed the sun can cause fading of your tattoo a great deal. So it is suggested to use a sun screen on your tattoo for quite some time so that your new tattoo does not begin to

The Eternal Search and 26 Tips of How to Find a Good Tattoo Artist

The eternal search and 26 tips of how to find a good tattoo artist:
There is nothing really new happening on the market, after I wrote about amputations and about magnet implants. The newest thing is called "Brain Piercing". Unfortunately I can't write about it at the moment since I'm still doing some research on the subject, this way I will be able to write an article worthy of all of you.
But, I thought that my latest experience was very interesting, not very extreme, but so far the most interesting tattoo I've got. Thinking about the few rejections that I had I thought that many people might go through the same problem. So I decided to make it public.
For the last few years I had this idea for beautiful a tattoo. It was supposed to be a line of mirrored phoenixes starting on my neck following down on my spine down to my tail bone.
Easier said than done I guess...
So a few months before my 34th birthday I started to look for an artist to do the work. As many people know, Brazil is a well known country in the tattoo industry. We have really great professionals down here.

So here I'm with the project, but because I'm very picky as to who will tattoo my body, I could only choose a hand full of professionals among hundreds. From many portfolios that I saw I thought that only those guys would be able to do a decent job out of my very full of micro details idea.
From those five ultra qualified professionals none wanted to do the tattoo. All of them told me that it was literally impossible. And the only one that was going to take the challenge, because I did agree to make the phoenixes a bit larger than what I wanted, had a family problem. 

Time passed, I became older and no tattoo. For my tattoo addicted friends and readers, I'm sure that I do not have to explain the feeling, but for the people that do not have the tattoo "bug", I can say that it is really frustrating. It feels more or less like you have spent months gathering the money to go your favorite group performance, and exactly on the show day the band decided to split up for good.
So here I was with the ticked and no show, or better saying with the drawing and no artist.

The other day while I was walking on the street I saw a small tattoo parlour. And being so devoted to get my body covered with phoenix images I thought about stopping there for a couple of minutes to check out his work.
The worst that could happen was I would meet another wannabe. Actually the market is full of them. Most of the tattoo artists around are not that great. After I finish this story I will add the guide of how to find gold between pebbles.

 Going back to the tale: I went inside the studio and there was this, let me please state the obvious, tattoo covered guy. His name is Flavio Vandroiy, I hadn't heard about him at all, but once I was there I decided to give him a shot, he had a client waiting, so our first contact was brief, but even though, to my surprise, he was very attentive.
Now, if you know a few renowned tattoo artists you will understand that more and more the pop star idea is truly affecting our fellas. Boy, most of the time it feels like they are part of the royalty and are doing you the favor of looking at your face, even if only for fivd minutes of their precious time. Please note that there are some exceptions, one of them is the lovely Pierre Chapelan, whom, many years ago, I had the pleasure to being tattooed by while I was living in Montreal. 

I checked out one of Fl�vio Vandroiy's portfolios on paper and after analyzed his work better through his website. The work looked pretty good. His tattoos were signed by steady and clear lines. Then I saw a picture of a tattoo that was very small and full of details, I analyzed it for about one hour looking at every single detail. After that I thought that he would probably be able to do a good job out of my drawing. I sent him an e-mail with the image of my phoenix attached, after a day he sent me an honest reply. He told me that the drawing was quite small, but he would take up the challenge.

So we got the image on my back and of course I complained about the position. He patiently erased the drawing and did it again. Even if I was pleased with the position, I thought about to complain just to see his reaction. But there was no need to do it; he told me that he could be changing it up until I was happy with the placement. So I kept quiet. I hate to push nice willing people. If he was a jerk I would probably had changed the position another couple of times. 

He did an amazing job, out of something that many thought to be impossible to accomplish. One of the nicest things about this guy is that he is humble enough to tell me that after we finish all the phoenixes we will have to go back and do some touch up on the images that he thought could be better done. I did agree with him, some of the birds' faces, if you look at a picture taken with the micrometric of a camera, are not identical.

 I have many tattoos, made by many hotshots in the industry, including my very special first tattoo that was made by Marco Leoni himself. Even if it is an old tattoo; I got it when I was a pre-tee and it did suffer quite a bit with stretch due my growth and the thousands of times that I put it through the monstrous process of leg waxing, it still here, not as pompous as it was once, but every time I look at it, I know that this old phoenix helped me to became who I am.

The truth is that I'm in love with this new tattoo; so far it is really the best quality small work that I've seen. If you look at it from far it looks like the finest and most delicate lace that you can buy.
Ok, after my narcissistic story I will, as promised, add a few tips on how to know when a tattoo artist is good or he is just another self proclaimed tattooer with the artist title. Notice that international prizes even if prestigious are judged not in the artist daily work. The prizes are given to artists based in only one work, done once during a competition. I considered it as very small sample to be worth of a prize, if you take in consideration that many tattoo artists do between three or four tattoos in studio a day.
1) Of course the studio must be clean and the material properly sterilized, the artist must wear gloves all the time, and the ink should be poured into small containers, avoiding contamination of the material.
2) Look at the artist's portfolio very carefully, not only to appreciate it; you will be searching for very small imperfections.
3) The lines on a tattoo have to be smooth, jagged lines and shaky lines are a big no go.
4) The color has to be well applied through the entire image, without leaving empty spots.
5) The way in which the artist uses and combines colors is also very important. Especially if you are looking for the water-color effect.
6) Big tattoos are easier to master than small tattoos. Even if the sleeves and the full backs get more attention, small tattoos are much more complicated to make. So while looking at the artist's portfolio, check out his small and more detailed work. A good hint is to look for some tattoos of birds and check out the feathers and the bird's face.
7) Also pay attention to the work that the person does when reproducing cartoon characters. This kind of reproduction is very complicated due the amount of details, the perfect thickness of the lines and the coloration.
8) If the price is an issue on the size or the type of the tattoo that you are getting, I suggest you wait and save some more money. It is better wait and to do exactly what you dreamed about than settle for less.
9) You have to get along with the artist and not feel intimidated by him. A good artist will allow you to give your input and will not feel offended by a comment or a suggestion. Remember it is your body and you want to enjoy every second of the experience.
10) Many people have the idea that the tattooer has to be crazy, always high and someone in line with a dark figure. It is a myth; many of those artists are lovely, sometimes married and often proud parents. If you suspect that the artist is under any substance influence, or has any addictions you should think before allowing him to work on you. It is a well known fact that alcoholics and junkies have problems with shaky hands.
11) Also respect it when the artist gives his honest opinion. If you don't agree just try to find another person to make the tattoo. This way you will avoid to feel like the work was not properly done due to personal reasons.
12) If you choose an image from a catalog, and want to do some changes on it, a good artist will do those changes with pleasure, and will not complain if you want more changes on it on when the sketch is already redone, of course you should know where to draw the line between some more changes and be unreasonable, don't forget this person makes a living out of making tattoos.
13) A good professional is not always the one that just makes a tattoo properly, to do a proper job is an obligation of a good professional. To me a good professional has to make the client aware of few details about tattoos.
14) If you are a woman, and want to have kids, a tattoo on your stomach or on the lateral of your waist line, no matter if horizontally or vertically, might not be a good idea; it will stretch due the pregnancy and loose some of its beauty.
15) Again if you are a woman, it might not be a good idea to get a tattoo during your period or while in the PMS process. Due some hormonal changes you will be more inclined to feel pain or worse, the healing process can be compromised.
16) Every tattoo when fresh looks great. The artist should remind you that what you see is what you get, for a while. The ink will fade away. Of course you can delay the process taking good care of it, but eventually, it will fade and partially lose some of its beauty.
17) The black ink after few years will become bluish. There is no way to avoid it. To fix the color you will have to retouch the tattoo. You can also try to understand that it is a part of your body and such as it has the right to age. In my case I do not retouch my tattoos. To me my tattoos are part of a moment lost in the past, and because they are memories they will tend to fade with time.
18) While big and bulky tattoos will only have the color fade problem, small and very detailed tattoos, will lose the sharpness on the details, and often will look like if they were poorly done.
19) It is a good idea to get a tattoo during winter. During the summer you will have problems with the plastic bandage; it will keep the tattoo constantly moist. The moist can delay the healing, opening a window for infections. The healing process will also be very, very itchy.
20) If you can't avoid getting a tattoo during the summer, be ready to use of antihistaminic pills. They will come handy.
21) If you must to scratch the tattoo, it is better if you pat yourself. Never use your nails.
22) Don't drink or use drugs before getting a tattoo, it won't ease the pain and alcohol can actually make you bleed more.
23) Depending on your line of work a visible tattoo can be a problem. Something that one day I hope will change, but so far, if you are one of those professionals, try to make a tattoo in a place that is easy to hide while you are wearing any kind of clothing.
24) The hardest thing to say is; never do a tattoo because it is fashionable, or because your idol has one. A tattoo is something personal. It will be with you every single day of your life. It is much more difficult to get rid of one than to get rid of an ex-spouse.
25) When choosing the image for a tattoo, choose something that means something to you. Sure a butterfly is lovely so are flowers, a cute star on your wrist is very sexy. But how will you feel about them when you are sixty?
26) And last but not the least. Never get a tattoo on impulse. There are many other things to do when you are bored, if you need a "quick fix" try to get a drastic hair change or buy some new clothes. Tattoos are something to really think about. Something to be seen and carried as art. If well thought and well chosen the process of getting a tattoo, can take years to happen, but it can definitely change your entire life.