Walking across the lane, you might have seen that cool son of your neighbor with the tattoo on his neck. That girl in the dance competition had a small butterfly inked on her belly. Even your famous celebrity has a tattoo or many tattoos for that matter. Then what is holding you back from getting inked?

Tattoos are cool and add a lot to your personality. But getting tattooed is not similar to buying clothes. Once you get inked, it stays there forever and nobody wants to regret the decision in the future. Everyone has his/her own reason for getting tattooed. If you are unable to find your reason, let us help you.

The Most Common Reasons that People Give While Getting Tattooed are as Follows:

Art: Tattoo bearers are the true art lovers. They use their body as a canvas on which they get painted whatever they want to. Anyone who is inked is an artist at heart and considers tattooing as an art too. This gives the freedom of expressing your thoughts boldly. The coolest thing about these people is that they don’t care if other people like them or not because they do not live for the world but themselves.

Love/Passion: Tattoos are an outcome of your love or passion for someone or something. Maybe you are obsessed with your lover too much that you get him/her inked on your body. This reminds me of David Beckham who has got his wife Victoria Beckham’s tattoo on his arm. The crux is that any design that a person finalizes to get tattooed is related to his passion. It can be a movie character, lyrics of a song or any verse. It displays the belief of the person in that particular thing.

Tribute/Cause: Celebrities do it often to pay tribute to their closed ones. Travis Braker, Johnny Depp and many more celebrities have got their family members’ names inked on their body to pay tribute to them.

There are many celebrities who got tattooed for a cause. So, if you are fighting for a cause you can display it in this unique yet super cool manner. It can be for Breast Cancer, AIDS, Rape, or some other cause too.

Memories: “On my 18th birthday, we got matching tattoos” Katy Perry sung this because most of the people actually get tattoos to remember the special dates and occasions. It can be anything from a birthday to an anniversary. When you sit alone in the coming years, you will watch that tattoo and run down the memory lane. The tattoos are memories that can never fade away.

Pain: This might seem weird to you but many people find happiness in pain. The moment the needles form the tattoo on their skin, they find sheer pleasure in the whole activity. This can be addictive too because you would want to get tattooed again and again.

Tattoos define your identity which is why many people get their names inked too. Danny Trejo is known as the illustrated man because of the huge number of tattoos he has. While I would not suggest you to go into that many tattoos, if you are an artist you would love that small art piece on your body for sure. Travis Barker, when asked about the reason for his tattoos, said that he never wanted to do a normal job. The people who have tattoos are not meant for those monotonous and dull jobs.

The process of Tattooing

The one who has never experienced a tattoo might have many taboos in his mind. It is completely normal. People admit of being afraid of the injections but they become hunks while they talk about the tattoo needles. Instead of asking all of those rawgabbits, here is the complete process of tattooing explained to help you go through your first tattoo:

The right design: This is the most time-consuming task. Believe me, I took over a month to finalize the design of my tattoo, and eventually it was a Chinese saying. You cannot just go and select any design. This has to be an analyzed step because the tattoo is going to stay on your body forever.

The tattoo shops have pre-drawn designs which are called flash and you can choose from it. It is also available on the Internet, some for free and some are paid. The disadvantage, however, is that it will be common amongst people. If you want something unique on you, then you should ask the tattoo artist to create a unique design as per your need and choice. Many tattoo artists create patented tattoos too and that gives a sense of uniqueness to your identity. Not all the tattoo artists design a whole new design for you but the experienced can do it just like a child’s play.

Never compromise with the hygiene: Make sure that the place is safe and clean. The tattoos can land you in a serious problem if you don’t keep a check on the place where you get tattooed. Sterilization equipment should be the first thing to look for. The tattoo artist should have fresh needles and ink for each customer. His hands should be covered in gloves to avoid any sort of infection. If any of these is absent, just rush out to some other place. Because there are many of those tattoo dens which are a lot more safe and clean.

Getting it inked: First, you would need to have the skin area cleaned where you would have your tattoo. If it has hair, you must get is shaved first. After the removal of hair, the tattoo artist will put the outline of the tattoo on your skin using the temporary tattoos ink and paper. This is the last chance to change the place or the design of the tattoo.

Then begins the painful ride with the needles penetrating your skin. Using the tattoo machine, the tattoo artist will start making the tattoo. You will need to keep patience because if you move too much, you could regret it later. The needles work in motion just like a sewing machine. The needles might need to be changed in between depending upon your tattoo design. Normally, the outline of the tattoo is done first and then it is filled gradually using the colors that were selected by you. The time for completing the tattoo depends upon the complexity of the same. It can be a few hours or a couple of days. Yes, it can take couple of days too if it is large and too complex to be done within a day.

The pain: The first thing about getting a tattoo is that it is painful. But since nobody pushed you into this, you need to face it all by yourself. If you know that you cannot bear the pain yourself, take your strength with you. One of the girl’s I know took her boyfriend along so that she could bear the pain. People have their own pain killing remedies you see.

The intensity of pain a person feels is different from person to person. The bottom line is you cannot escape it. And if you are the one who finds pleasure in the pain, then you are going to get addicted to this process. Whatever is your limit, just inform your tattoo artist beforehand so that he can be careful throughout.

Oh it’s done: Finally, when it is done, you will see redness around the tattoo. Don’t panic it is normal to bleed a bit but it should not be consistent. The tattoo artist cleans the tattoo and then you can smile about all the pain you just went through.

After that, the tattoo is covered with a bandage. Your skin has undergone a beautiful art-making and that cannot be just exposed right away. The tattoo artist would give you a set of instructions which include applying ointment on it, staying away from sun and water, and may be using the products he recommends.

Getting inked would be one of the best decisions you made in your life. You might not agree with me now, but I am sure you would, once you get it.