How to Pick Your First Tattoo

One of the most popular questions regarding tattoos is "What should I get for my first tattoo?"

Other questions may include:

• How do I care for a tattoo? Tattoo Aftercare Tips
  
• Will it hurt? Depends on the placement and you pain tolerance, but yes, at least a little.
• Where should I get my tattoo? Personal preference; it's up to you where you want your tattoo, as no one can tell you where to get a tattoo, only give you suggestions. But, if you don't like them, it's all your choice. It's your body.

But, as for what should you get for your first tattoo, that's going to be your decision to make. It's best that your tattoo, especially your first one, is going to be well thought out. When deciding on the perfect design for your first tattoo, make sure that you consider everything, especially if you don't already have a specific design or idea in mind, because you want your tattoo to mean something to you. You never want to regret a tattoo.

Below, you'll find a few tips that should help you decide what you want your first tatto. Just remember that with any design, you should always try to put your own twist to it, making it your own.

You can pick one of the thousands of pictures that may appear on the walls, you can design your own, or you can alter one of the pictures you found at the tattoo shop or online, making it more unique and personal.

You can choose from one of the main categories of tattoos:

• Tribal Tattoos
• Celtic Tattoos
• Animal Tattoos
• Sci-Fi Tattoos
• Geek Tattoos
• Portrait Tattoos

You could even decide upon a black light UV tattoo, which is only prominent under black light.

Some of the more common first tattoos may include:

• Stars
• Wings
• Kanji
• Crosses
• Names/Words
• Dragons
• Butterflies
• Skulls

But, when it comes down to it... Your first tattoo, and what it should be depends on you...

When choosing a tattoo, you want to consider a few things.

1. Why do you want the tattoo?

• Your first tattoo should be meaningful. It should be to express a time, thing, or experience in your life that you felt made an change or impact on you.
• Never get your first tattoo because of someone else or because you're finally of age to get one without permission from a parent or guardian.
• Consider every possible reason as to why you think you want a tattoo before actually getting one?

2. How will the tattoo placement affect your job?

3. The design.

• Did you or someone else you know, love, and care about, design the tattoo?
• Did you pick the tattoo from a picture?
• Is the design meaningful to you?
• Is the design perfect? (To you)

4. The placement.

• Do you want it visible daily?
• Do you want the tattoo to stay hidden?
• Do you want the tattoo to be partially visible, or visible at certain times (seasonal)?
• Consider your body with its own curves.

5. Choose the right artist.

• Some artists specialize in a style of tattoo.
• Get recommendations.
• Consider prices.
• The experience of the artist.

If you're thinking about getting a tattoo, there is one very important thing you have to keep in mind: getting it done safely. Although it might look a whole lot cooler than a big scab, a new tattoo is, also, a wound. Like any other slice, scrape, puncture, cut, or penetration to your skin, a tattoo is at risk for infections.

Make sure that you are up to date on your immunizations, and go ahead and plan where you'll get medical care in case your tattoo becomes infected.

If you have a medical problem such as heart disease, allergies, diabetes, skin disorders, a condition that affects your immune system, or other infections, or if you are pregnant, ask your doctor if there are any special concerns you should have or precautions you should take before getting a tattoo.

If you're prone to getting keloids it's probably best to avoid getting a tattoo.

It's important to make sure the tattoo studio is clean and safe, and that all if the equipment is disposable and sterilized. You may want to ask for recommendations on licensed tattoo shops, or check for any complaints about a particular tattoo shop.

Professional tattoo shops usually take pride in their cleanliness. Here are some things to check for:

• An autoclave- a device that uses steam, pressure, and heat for sterilization procedures.
• Check that the tattoo artist is licensed. If so, the tattoo artist should be able to provide you with references.
• Be sure that the tattoo shop follows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Universal Precautions.

If the studio looks unclean, if anything looks out of the ordinary, or if you feel in any way uncomfortable, find another shop to get your tattoo.

One of the things that may be holding you back from getting your first tattoo is the permanence of the ink in your skin.

Tattoos last forever unless you can afford laser tattoo removal or other tattoo removal methods, such as Tat-B-Gone.

So, when choosing a tattoo, make sure that it's what you really want to express and how you want to express it.

Make sure that your first tattoo is something that you don't regret.

By taking into consideration the above thoughts, you should be able to make the decision without regrets. Just make sure that you make your first tattoo meaningful to you and not just picture on a wall.