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Probably the most Frequently asked Question is: "Does It
Hurt?"
Answer: You've got nerve endings don't you?
Pain is relative. To someone who has never experienced much pain, a little
discomfort is excruciating. Tattooing is usually done with no anesthetics. I
say usually, because there are things out there that can "take the edge
off", that tattoo artists are allowed to use. (Since we're not Medical
Doctors working in a hospital environment, we can't use anything stronger
than a topical creme.) I don't use a topical creme unless you really can't
continue without some help. Even then, a topical creme such as Emla* is only
going to be effective for about 25 minutes, and then you'll still be in the
middle of it when it starts to wear off and your nerve endings come back on,
and you have not come up with your own endorphins** yet. Owwie. I've tried
getting tattooed with Emla, and found that experience was very weird. I
expect to feel something when getting tattooed. The weirdness of feeling the
subsurface vibration but not the surface pain was so unfamiliar that I
realized that I prefer to just feel it and deal with it.
I would like to say that overall, the pain involved in getting a tattoo is
tolerable, and usually has more to do with where on the body you are getting
it. For example, I have found from personal experience that the inside of the
wrist is just a nutty place to get inked. Why? It's not the skin being poked
that is giving you pain, it's the sheath of tendon plus those two ropelike
tendons underneath that, that are so sensitive. Same goes for the area close
to the armpit where the arm joins the torso. Different people are going to
experience the discomfort of getting a tattoo differently. Place that I've
seen people have the most trouble, and I'll not work in those areas without
warning a person, are as follows: the elbow ditch, ribcage, the foot, the hand, the inguinal
crease, the hip, the anklebone and Achilles tendon, the spine. Places that
are quite tolerable to most are on the outer part of the arm and leg, and the
upper shoulder. Tolerable means that one is able to hold a conversation while
having the experience. It's not going to make you cry. Until you run out of
endorphins. And then it's time to stop for the day and let the work heal.
Most people's tolerance is 3-5 hours.
Overall, I would say, it's damned annoying. Sometimes it's even damned
F*&%ing annoying. But I still think that hitting your toe on the iron
frame of your bed at night while fumbling in the dark trying to find your way
to the bathroom hurts more than a tattoo ever will.
* -Emla Creme is available by prescription only. If you're that unsettled, talk
to your Doctor tell her you want to get tattooed, and ask for a prescription
of Emla.
-**Endorphins are the natural opiates that your brain secretes to deaden the
pains and aches of everyday life. Runners and bicyclists have the experience
of getting an "endorphin rush" from getting their second wind. This
is why people can get addicted to exercise. During the first ten minutes or
so of getting a tattoo, it feels a little sharp, but then the brain starts
sending out the endorphins, and then one has the experience of the tattoo
"going numb".
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OTHER COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Do you do piercing?
A: No, I don't pierce. I don't know how. Tattooing and piercing are not one
and the same; piercing is also a specialized skill which takes at least a
year's apprenticeship. I dont have the time or the interest to take it up.
Q: Do you ever re-use needles?
A: Never. Any needle that touches your skin has never been used on anyone
else, and will never be used again. Needles, after use, are placed in a
puncture proof sharps container.
Q: How do you sterilize your equipment?
A: I use a spore-tested autoclave. With every use of the autoclave, a
chemical integrator test is used as well. Needles and tubes are packaged in
a virus and bacteria proof pouch that will keep the instrument sterile
after autoclaving, until the package is opened. Barrier film is also used on
any item that I have to touch, or that may touch you, while doing your
tattoo. I always wear latex gloves, for your protection as well as mine.
‘’
Q: Will you come to my house to tattoo my friends at a
party?
A: No. I
have to tattoo in a controlled environment. A well thought out tattoo done
with my full concentration on your skin is impossible (for me) to do while
surrounded by people drinking and
smoking, loud music, etc.
Sanitary conditions are questionable at best, at a party. Furthermore, I need my tattoo chair and good lighting, access to reference material,computer, copier, and stencil printer- I can't carry all this to your house! Come to my shop, where
I have spent much time and effort to arrange the perfect situation for you
to be tattooed in a safe environment. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A TATTOO PARTY, WHY NOT HAVE IT HERE? Call me at (315)292-1125 and we can talk about it.
Q: Can I get a tattoo with white ink only?
A: Yes, you can, but if you are light skinned, it will be a very low
contrast tattoo and thus very hard to see. If an extremely subtle effect is
what you want, I would say, why not? But, then, why do you want to spend
the money and endure the process and go through the healing time for a
tattoo that will be barely visible? If you have some color in your skin,
the white will soon be hard to see as it becomes covered over with your
skin's own pigment. White is more visible when seen alongside color in a
tattoo.
Q: I'm very dark-skinned and I want a brightly colored tattoo. How will
that look in my skin once it's healed?
A: Everyones skin is different. In general terms, a colorful tattoo with
look fantastic in very dark skin for the first two weeks or so. After that,
as a new layer of your own skin with its native pigment starts to grow over
the tattoo, the colors will get harder and harder to see. Blues and purples
may turn very dull. Yellow and white may disappear completely. Colors mixed
with white may get hard to see, and color effects achieved by layering may
scar. Non-Caucasian skin is very sensitive- more than the slightest amount
of color layering may cause the skin to develop keloids, which may in turn
draw more natural pigment into the keloid, turning a color-layered tattoo area
very dark- and that could ruin the tattoo. If you are very dark skinned,
the safest and best looking tattoo to get will use only black or red inks.
And the red will not look the same as when it comes out of the bottle. It
will be changed by the color in your own skin.
Q: I’m medium toned. Will any color look good in my tattoo?
A: No two people have skin that is exactly alike. Some brown-skinned people
get tattoos with every color, and they heal and stay perfect, but someone
else who's skin appears to be the same tone, will have the problems that I
described as being peculiar to non-Caucasian skin. So, in the end, I will
use the colors that you want me to use, but not without telling you what
possibly could happen.
Q: Do you do tattoos that glow in the dark?
A: No.
Q: Do you do tattoo removal?
A: That would be tantamount to joining the ranks of Satan himself. Im not a
laser surgeon. No. But- an old or badly done tattoo can often be repaired
or covered up. See some of the Cover-ups presented on this site, and take
heart.
Q: If I change my mind about the tattoo in a few years, can I get rid of
it?
A: Tattoo removal is very expensive- it is also more painful than getting a
tattoo, and takes multiple sessions if you want to minimize scarring. And
there will be a scar. Please be very sure that a tattoo is what you really
want before making that kind of commitment.
Q: I’m 17, but my Mom says its OK for me to get a tattoo. So will you
tattoo me?
A: Sorry, but you'll have to wait until youre at least 18 before I will
tattoo you, and I'll need to see a government issued photo ID such as a
drivers license or passport if you look younger than 35. Dont complain- if
I dont ask to see your ID, it means you're looking a little haggard!
Q: How long do the colors last?
A: I could give you an educated guess of about fifteen to twenty years
before you would need the color touched up, but really, I cannot truthfully
answer that question. Inks today are different than they were 20 years ago,
and it is thought by many that the modern inks will hold up better with
time- but how can we really know that until 20 more years have passed?
Everyone's skin is different, and lifestyles are different too. If you are
very pale, and you avoid the sun, it is much more likely that your colors
will stay bright indefinitely than if you are prone to catch a tan and love
being out in the sun.
Q: What is tattoo ink made of?
A: Most tattoo inks are generally speaking, composed of powdered pigment of
the same type that is used in makeup, in other words, non-toxic pigment,
water, alcohol, witch hazel, and glycerin. Some brands contain propelyne
glycol and use synthetic polymer dyes instead of natural pigments. These
latter are the newer inks which are brighter and believed to be longer
lasting than the older formulas. I use both, but can stick to the so-called
natural inks upon request. TATTOO INKS HAVE NOT BEEN FDA TESTED, nor have
they been tested on animals. Theyve been tested on the tried and true-
people- for many years and have been found to be harmless (as far as we can tell in 2006) through the use
of these "scientific" methods!
Q: Will my tattoo fade?
A: Yes, your tattoo over time will get faded, but it will never fade out
completely. Tattoos fade with age because the particles of pigment that
compose your tattoo get shifted around in the skin as the skin ages. Your
body is always sending old and dying cells up to the surface, and when the
cells are dead, they get shed- and gradually, particles of ink will get
shed along with them. Skin cells are also getting reabsorbed back into the
body, and sent out of the body eventually as waste- so too do particles of
ink, gradually and imperceptibly. Over the passage of years, a crisp clean
tattoo line will become fuzzy looking with age. I wouldnt let this fact
stop you from getting tattooed. Your tattoo may be a bit blurry and faded
by the time youre 85, but the rest of you will be too! Thats Life!
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