What to Know Before Your First Tattoo — From the Artist's Chair

Pick Your Placement Carefully

This is the first thing most people get wrong. You fall in love with a design on Pinterest or Instagram, and you want it exactly where the photo shows it. But every body is different. A design that looks incredible on someone's inner forearm might not work on yours if your arm is shorter, wider, or has different muscle definition.

My advice:Come in with a general idea of where you want it, but let your artist place it. We spend years learning how designs flow with the body. When I place a stencil on your skin and ask you to move your arm around, I'm checking how the design looks from every angle — not just the one you see in the mirror.

Also, first tattoos on ribs, spine, feet, and inner elbows are bold choices. Those areas hurt significantly more than arms, thighs, or calves. If you're nervous about pain, start somewhere with more muscle and less bone. You can always work your way to the spicier spots later.

Size Matters More Than You Think

The number one request I get: "Can you make it smaller?" And the honest answer is sometimes no — not if you want it to look good in 10 years. Small tattoos with fine detail blur together over time as your skin ages. What looks like a delicate, intricate design on day one can look like a smudge in five years.

Bold lines, adequate spacing, and appropriate sizing are what make a tattoo last. That doesn't mean everything needs to be huge — it means the design needs to match the size. A simple symbol can be small. A detailed portrait of your dog needs to be bigger than a playing card or the details will be lost.

Trust your artist on sizing.If we say it needs to be bigger, it's not because we want to charge more. It's because we're thinking about how it'll look in 2036, not just today.

How to Prep the Day Before

Getting tattooed is physical. Your body is going to be working to heal while the tattoo is happening. You want to show up in the best possible condition:

What to Actually Expect During the Session

You'll walk in, we'll look at the design together, make any last adjustments, and then I'll place the stencil on your skin. This is your chance to look in the mirror, check the placement, and ask for changes. Once we start tattooing, moving the design isn't really an option — so speak up during stencil placement.

The pain:It's not what most people expect. The outline (line work) feels like a sharp, scratching sensation — like a cat scratch that keeps going. Shading feels more like a vibrating burn. Color packing can feel intense in some spots. But here's the truth: most people handle it way better than they thought they would. The anticipation is worse than the actual experience.

It's totally fine to bring headphones, watch something on your phone, or just talk to me. Some people zone out and barely notice the pain. Others need breaks every 30 minutes. Both are completely normal and neither one bothers your artist.

What NOT to do during:Don't move suddenly. Don't grab the artist's arm. If you need a break, say "I need a break" — don't just jerk away. And please don't bring your entire friend group. One support person is fine. Five people hovering makes the room chaotic and the artist's job harder.

The First 24 Hours After

Your tattoo will be wrapped when you leave. Follow your artist's specific instructions — every artist has a slightly different aftercare routine, and we know what works best with our technique and ink. But the universal basics:

Leave the wrap on for the time your artist tells you (usually 2-4 hours, or overnight if it's a second-skin bandage like Saniderm). When you remove it, wash gently with warm water and fragrance-free soap. Pat dry — don't rub. Apply a thin layer of unscented moisturizer (Aquaphor, CeraVe, or whatever your artist recommends). Thin layer. Not a glob.

For the next 2-3 weeks: no swimming, no soaking in baths or hot tubs, no direct sunlight, no picking or scratching when it peels (it WILL peel — that's normal), and keep it moisturized. Treat it like a sunburn that you really care about.

The One Thing Nobody Tells You

Your tattoo will look different at different stages. Right after: bright, vivid, slightly swollen. Days 2-4: a little dull, possibly red around the edges. Week 1-2: peeling, flaky, looks faded. Week 3-4: fully healed, colors settle in, lines look clean.

The peeling stage freaks out every first-timer. You'll think something went wrong. It didn't. Your skin is just healing. Don't pick at it, keep moisturizing, and by week three you'll have a tattoo you love for life.