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 fade to soon.

Rick Watson

Find out more about tattoos and other body modification at http://www.tatsandthings.blogspot.com where you will find related information on tattoos and piercings with links and more showing you where you can go to get tattoo designs and body jewelry.

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How to Prepare Yourself Before Getting Your Tattoo

Getting a tattoo is not as simple as giving permission to an artist to draw and prick their needles into your skin. A tattoo is a permanent mark in you skin that you will be wearing for a long time and you should do some serious thinking before getting your tattoo. Although there are procedures now to erase a tattoo, it is expensive and painful and of course you have to avoid going through this process as much as possible.

Getting a tattoo is a life-long decision and you should avoid rushing yourself to get one and then later on regret wearing a tattoo that you don't like. Here are some tips that you need to know before getting your tattoo.

Reason for getting a tattoo. Before subjecting yourself under the needles, think why you want to get a tattoo. You will wear this mark for a long time or maybe for lifetime and you need to know the reason and the message you want to express before getting your tattoo.

Legal age. You must be of legal age before getting your tattoo and you must comply into this to avoid getting into trouble with the law. The legal age is usually 18 years old, but still check with your country or state before getting your tattoo.

Safety. Before getting your tattoo, you need to consider your safety. Make sure someone tattooing you is using sterilized needles to avoid catching infectious diseases. You should be physically fit to withstand the pains of tattooing. Take vitamin C and zinc to increase your immune system. Bring a friend or someone you trust to give you moral support.

Budget. You should know the total tattoo cost before getting your tattoo. It is important to prepare your budget or work within your budget to avoid disappointment and surprises.

Get a professional artist. It is important that your tattoo will be done by a professional tattoo artist who is qualified to do the job. Find out about the reputation of the tattoo parlor before getting your tattoo. Find a tattoo parlor which abides with the law about tattooing and who cares more about your safety than your money. Word of mouth; is one way to know if customers are satisfied and happy with their tattoos.

Placement of tattoo. Before getting your tattoo, decide where you want to place your tattoo. Placement of tattoo is a critical decision and you should know the pros and cons of tattoo placement before getting your tattoo. For instance, tattoo on hands and feet are more painful, prone to infections and easily get dirty since we usually use our hands and feet for our daily tasks. Getting a tattoo on your stomach need a lot of thinking for women, imagine how your tattoo would look like after pregnancy, a tattoo over stretch marks is unsightly. You also need to consider your profession and job before getting your tattoo, it is important that you can easily conceal your tattoo if needed. There are a lot of factors that you need to consider about the placement of your tattoo.

Choosing the best tattoo design. Of course you need to choose the best design before getting your tattoo. You don't have to rush about the design. Give yourself time to shop around, look at other tattoos or carefully work with a tattoo artist about the best tattoo design for you. Remember that a tattoo is a definition of who you are and the feelings you have and you have to carefully choose the best tattoo that will convey the message that you want the world to know about you.

Do you want to find and select the right tattoo design for you and avoid regrets? Do you want to have an access to unlimited tattoo designs? Chopper Tattoo provides you with the largest selection of award winning tattoo designs. Search through our database to find thousands of tattoo designs! Visit Chopper-Tattoo-Huge Tattoo Gallery [http://www.squidoo.com/your-tattoo-gallery]

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including How to Prepare Yourself Before Getting Your Tattoo. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

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