Properly preparing for your tattoo appointment is just as important as your tattoo aftercare. Your body is a canvas for our tattoo artists and the better the canvas, the better the end result.
#1. Rest and sleep well
This may be easier said than done. Being excited or nervous for your tattoo appointment can definitely hinder your sleep. The best thing to do though is to make sure you are well rested, this is something that will make the experience 100x better for you and make sure your body and mind are ready for your appointment.
#2 Eating and Staying Hydrated
The nervousness or excitement you may have might make eating a bit more of a task than usual. Please make sure you are eating properly the days leading up to your appointment. Make sure you eat a full meal before your tattoo appointment, you can also feel free to bring snacks along with you if you have a longer appointment. Stay hydrated, we cannot say this enough. Please make sure you are staying well hydrated the days before and day of your tattoo appointment.
Staying Hydrated and eating/making sure your body has the proper nutrients is key in having 1. A good experience during the tattoo and 2. A Faster more easy healing period.
Eating keeps your blood sugars up, reducing the chances of not feeling well during your tattoo appointment.
Staying hydrated is great because it means your skin is hydrated! Hydrated skin will hold ink way better than someone who doesn't have hydrated skin and it also means your skin will heal out the best tattoos.
#3 Avoid heavy training
We advise not beating your personal records at the gym the day before or after your tattoo appointment. Your body needs to be fully rested, and ready for the new tattoo. Keep in mind if you are sore the day of your tattoo that sitting in the tattoo chair will definitely be more uncomfortable for you.
As of not going to the gym right afterwards, this is just because excess sweat mixed with a healing tattoo just isn't the best combination.
#4 No Partying, Alcohol or Drugs
This goes with out saying. Being hung over SUCKS. Having a splitting headache and feeling nauseous is one thing. You would probably just want to lay in bed the entire day and not want to move a muscle, and just hope that the world stops spinning. Now I want you to picture this scene but add in someone poking you with needles for hours. Welcome to a whole new circle of hell.
With this being said, Partying before your tattoo is not recommended. We recommend not drinking or doing drugs for 7 days before your tattoo appointment and 7 days after your tattoo appointment. This is because drinking will dehydrate you, thin your blood and make you not feel the best. All of these things can affect your tattoo or the appointment and not in any good ways.
#5. No Tanning
It is Crucial to keep the amount of melanin (Natural Pigment) in your skin as low as possible, especially if we are talking color tattoos. Tattoo ink is injected into a deeper layer of skin than the melanin is situated, so the melanin will almost put like a brown tinted glass over your tattoo, and this can result in your new tattoo looking muddy. Regarding that we STRONGLY advise to avoid direct sunlight, and to avoid getting a sun burn. You can achieve this by protecting your skin with clothing, applying sunscreen (50 spf), or doing your best to stay out of the sun.
Please do not use self tanning creams or lotion before your appointment.
If you come to your appointment with a sun burn we will unfortunately not tattoo you that day.
P.s Being in the sun can also cause you to not be as hydrated.
#6 No scrubbing or shaving
When showering please don't exfoliate your skin. Exfoliating makes skin renew itself and the new skin is fragile, making it harder to tattoo. This of course does not mean you shouldn't wash yourself, just don't scrub your skin too much. Please also don't shave the area the tattoo is going, leave that up to the artist.
#7 Moisturizing is key.
The skin is a tricky canvas, and tattooing a dry, non-elastic canvas isn’t any easier. But by taking care of the elasticity of your skin will help the tattoo artist a ton. we recommend applying moisturizing lotion/cream/coconut oil on the to be tattooed area for one week before the appointment. Don’t moisturize day of appointment.
#8 Shower before your tattoo appointment
This one might be obvious, but we wanted to mention it just in case. You should be showering, but please remember to do so before your appointment. You want to keep your skin as clean as possible since tattooing creates small cuts and opens the skin up. Do not show up after a hard gym session or after a game of basketball. Not only will your skin not be clean, but your poor artist will have to sit through the smell of sweat and dirt as they get up and close to your skin.
#9 Dress for your session
You want to be as comfortable as possible during your tattoo and that means wearing a comfortable outfit. You don’t want to be wearing restrictive jeans or a dress shirt while you’re getting tattooed. Loose clothing will help make sure that you aren’t randomly getting itchy, overheated and it will allow you to easily re-adjust your positioning in case you become uncomfortable. Lastly, it will allow your artist easy access to the area you are getting tattooed