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Okay, you guys are gonna want to pass out when I tell you this. I went today and got a tattoo, two in fact. I got a fairy on my instep and a little heart between my thumb and first finger.
This is something I’ve been wanting to do for years and years but just never had the nerve to do it. Today there is a tattoo expo at the Marriott near me and all the proceeds go to Joe Dimaggio Childrens Hospital and another woman asked me if I wanted to go with her so I did…and I did! So now I’m a tattooed old grandma!
Actually, I am a fairly conservative person but I figured, what the heck, at 71+ years old, I don’t have a long time to live with it. :o) I had already had permanent eyeliner put on so I guess that was the next step. So, just let that be a lesson to you, they start you out small and it just leads you up to the hard stuff!!!!
for 18 years and when you wake up in the morning – half your face is on! As for the other – at your age, go for it! I think at your age Bon, it’s a lot smarter than a 17 year old getting inked. The 17 year olds have to remember make sure not to put a tat or piercing where a potential employer will be turned off by hiring them or when they have a child who is teased because mommy or daddy looks weird at third grade PTA meeting or when they themselves are older.
I’m one of those “holding at 39rs” who has always wanted a tattoo but never got up the nerve. I am not into these whole body ‘toos – especially don’t like those on the neck – but a couple small ones would be cool.
Bonbon, how was the experience? Any pain?
Good for you!it’s been decades, (and one doesn’t really remember pain), but yes, they are/can be a bit uncomfortable – especially where you decide to put them, the ankle, inside of thigh, boob, etc., all are tender skin areas.
If tat is going to be exposed to sun, the artist will put ink in deeper layers so as not to fade in sunlight. If you’ve had children or even dental work done, you can handle the pain of tat.
Also consirder placement for the art piece you are going ito do, so you can hide it while wearing clothing when you choose to.
You said small ones…remember as your skin ages, it changes and if you get it too small, it may just turn into a "speck" or unrecognizable blob instead of that rose and butterfly in years to come.
If you get permanent eye liner, it doesn’t hurt, it feels like they are grinding sand into your eye lids (top and bottom), even icing for three hours prior, but it doesn’t hurt.
Just be sure that you go to an artist, someone who has a reputation in your area, and you can see their work, all tattoo artists normally take a picture of their work. Even if you have to drive a few miles to get one with a well known reputation, don’t go to someone who just opened up a shop because they learned the trade in jail – you’d be surprised at how many of those there are.
Purhase your own needles, don’t use cleaned needles, make sure they use sterile drapes on the tattooing area and clean every thing around the chairs each and every time. Make sure they use an working autoclave for everything! And go get an aids test for three years (every six months) afterwards to make sure.
Enjoy your new tatto if ya get one!
However, I thought my eyeliner was more painful. The foot one was pretty uncomfortable at first but after a while it wasn’t so bad. It’s kind of tender today when I put my shoe on but I guess that’s to be expected. Like Pammy said, if you’ve had kids, this is a piece of cake.
Don’t wait as long as I did if you’ve truly decided that’s what you want. They are no longer just things on bikers, doctors and lawyers (and grandmans!) have them now. They don’t carry the stigma they used to.
My feeling is if you’re going to have one, it should be where people can see it otherwise why bother. JMO though.
That might make me swear off tattoos. I only know what I see in those LA INK shows. I’ve never heard of customers buying their own needles.
What kind of price range is there on this artwork? Some of these people are truly gifted.all it takes is one drop of blood, and there is blood when they are drilling into one’s skin with a high powered machine. The t.v. shows don’t show you that these people sign a waiver or sit for ten hours in the chair or come back time after time to have a piece finished – depending on what they’ve chose for their piece of work done. The show shows the tattoo being done in an hour, (along with all the "drama"), not the case.
The price depends on the intricacy of the art work – and possibly area too. You’d have to speak to the shop for price – all goes to what you want done, their time, the size, color, etc., of the piece. Yes, these folks are artists for sure.
And just be sure that you know that this is a forever thing, it doesn’t wash off…even when you are 110! So be very, very sure that the dragon you pick at 20 on your boobies will not be laying on your knees when you are that age! And that you like it forever…most people don’t even see their tattoo even when they look in a mirror after 20 years but then, I know a bunch of sailors in the Navy who "Je regrette que j’ai été assez stupide!" and a bunch of biker types too.
was vary valid years ago but tattooing has come into the mainstream and I think you don’t have to be so careful nowdays. Sure, there’s probably still the few who don’t take precautions or care but, on the whole, if they have a decent shop, have been there for a while and seem to have a good clientelle, I think you can feel safe. Ask them how long they’ve been tattooing, what’s the worst problem they’ve ever had, and anything else you want to know.
I found that it was pretty much as they show on LA Ink and what used to be Miami Ink on TV. What I didn’t know is that you have to stay out of water (showers don’t count) for two weeks, it scabs over, gets milky and eventually the top layer of skin peels off. Also, it’ll fade if exposed to sun a lot. They gave me a salve to put on 4 – 5 times a day for the first two weeks. Other than that, no surprises.
As far a needles go, they don’t reuse them anymore. You get a new, hermetically sealed needle now. I wouldn’t worry about HIV because you are not cross-contaminated with anybody else.
My fairy is about 3 x 4" and took about an hour to do. I got prices from $100 to $150 for it. I really expected more so was surprised at this price. It may have been less because it was done at the expo so there was a lot of competition but you can always shop around too. Shops tend to accumulate near each other so it shouldn’t be hard to do.
But I agree completely with Pammy when she says make sure you get what you want and will be happy with where it is, what it is, and remember that you’re going to have it for the rest of your life. They don’t come off easily…if at ALL.
So, now, go for it if that’s what you really want. I know I’m going to get a lot of flak from my friends but I really don’t care because it’s what I wanted and I’m the one that will live with it.
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