Questions

The night before the session, get a good night’s sleep to minimize the negative impact on your body. On the day of getting the tattoo, it’s important to eat well before the session. A tattoo is a stress for the skin and body, and if you do it on an empty stomach, your blood sugar may drop, causing dizziness and fainting. If you ate before the session and feel uncomfortable or weak during the tattooing, stop the session and eat a snack.

Preparing for a tattoo is the work of both the artist and the client. This symbiosis will ensure the best result.

The day before the session, thoroughly clean and scrub the area of skin where the tattoo will be. Apply a moisturizing cream before going to bed. If your skin is very dry and dehydrated, it’s better to repeat this routine every evening, starting 3-5 days before the session. This will help the tattoo heal better.

Do not drink alcohol, take drugs, or any blood-thinning medications the day before and on the day of the session. This will complicate the artist’s work, and the healing result will not please you.

Tattoo touch-up is the correction of the design in areas where the pigment has “fallen out” of the skin. This often happens and does not depend on the artist’s skills but more on the skin area and care during healing.

A touch-up is not always necessary, but in some cases, it is unavoidable.

For example, touch-ups will be needed in areas such as the hands, fingers, calves, feet, neck, and areas near the bends of the elbows and knees. These are the most mobile parts of the body, and the pigment may “fall out.” This is absolutely normal. In such cases, several touch-ups may be needed. Colored tattoos also often need touch-ups, as these pigments are thicker and not as well accepted by the skin. They also tend to fade more quickly and severely from sunlight, so they need to be refreshed more often.

Usually, the cost of a touch-up is 50% of the original tattoo price.

Since the artist inserts pigment into the skin with needles during the session, contraindications for tattoos can be both temporary and permanent. Permanent contraindications for tattoos include: HIV infection, hepatitis C and B virus, any malignant skin formations, cancer, epilepsy, pregnancy and breastfeeding, diabetes, heart and circulatory system diseases, poor blood clotting, skin mycosis, chronic autoimmune diseases, colds, flu, angina, and pigment allergies.

All of these are absolute NO for a tattoo session.

Partial contraindications for tattoos include psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and any inflammation in the body.

If you have skin problems but want a tattoo, you should consult a doctor, not a tattoo artist, about the possibility of having a session.

Tattoo aftercare may depend on the technique used. For example, special healing films are often used for mini-tattoos or outline work, while disposable pads are used for large and extensive works.

Remember: tattoo aftercare is entirely your responsibility, and it also depends on how the healed work will look. 

In the first case, the artist covers the tattoo with a special film after the session. This film should not be wrapped with food wrap or pierced; the skin needs to “breathe,” but dust and bacteria from outside should not get on it. In the first days after the session, a little lymph mixed with pigment will be released; a small amount is normal.

You need to keep the film on for 3-5 days.

Remove it in the shower, slightly steaming the skin. Peel it off with smooth, pulling movements. Then wash the area with antibacterial soap and apply healing cream for tattoos. For 14-35 days after the session, apply the cream in a thin layer.

With pads, the algorithm is almost the same, but for the first 3 days, you need to remove the pad with clean hands 3-4 times a day, wash the tattoo with soap, apply healing cream, and cover it with a clean pad again. After that, follow the same steps as in the first case.

The cost of a tattoo depends on many factors. The main one is the minimum price for a tattoo in the country where you are getting it.

In Ukraine, the starting price for a mini-tattoo is 1500-2000 UAH, depending on the city.

The artist then adds the cost of the sketch, materials, studio rent, the complexity of the design, and the area where the design will be done.

The cost of a tattoo also depends on the artist’s style, experience, and workload. Remember that colored tattoos are more expensive than black and white ones.