Like many new experiences, the first time you get a tattoo it can be a bit intimidating. Tattoo studios tend to be busy, raucous and full of people who all seem to be covered with tattoos and quite comfortable with the whole experience. You may feel that you should be acting in a certain way [...]

Shaving the Tattoo Area Before beginning your tattoo, the tattooer must first shave the skin area where the design will be applied. Make sure that you see the tattooer remove a new clean razor to do this. The reason for shaving the area is that human hair can carry many micro organisms like bacteria and [...]

When you go in to get your tattoo, you will most likely be taken to the tattooers individual workstation. This will usually consist of a tattoo chair (or table if you are getting work done that requires lying down) an equipment bench, a movable overhead-light, a waste bin, a wash basin with automatic sensor, and [...]

The first step in inking in the tattoo from the stencil is to go over the outline. The tattooer will use a machine that has been tuned specifically for outlining and will use a fine needle cluster for thin lines. Before ‘drawing’ an area of the tattoo with the machine he / she will apply [...]

Once the outline has been ‘drawn’ on, the tattooer can begin to fill-in and / or shade the rest of the tattoo. They will most likely use a different machine or set of machines for this task as the different needle clusters provide different ‘brushes’ to apply the ink with. How long this takes depends [...]