Let’s say that you’ve considered all the effects of having tattoo.  You KNOW that it’ll be a lifelong commitment and is a permanent mark on the body, unless you have it surgically removed.  You know what type of design you’d like to have created.  You know exactly where on the body you’d like it imprinted.  Now, you’ve got to find a good place to have it done.

Think about it…one mistake by an ‘artist’ who got a little to drunk last night, and you’re sporting it for the rest of your life!

The first thing to do is some research.  Ask friends and family members who currently have tattoos where they got theirs done.  Find out what their experiences were like.  Ask if it was a clean environment, if it was comfortable and if the designs turned out to their satisfaction.  Many times, tattoo parlors will be able to refer names of customers who can recommend their services.

While word of mouth is typically the best advertisement, you can also simply try opening the phone book.  Locate local tattoo parlors and give them a call.  They should be more than willing to answer any questions you might have.  At best they should allow you to come and visit the facility to become comfortable with the surroundings prior to committing to becoming tattooed.

Allow you, HELL!  Go whether they suggest it or not!

During a tattoo parlor visit, first determine the cleanliness of the facility.  Make sure tools are sterilized between each customer and disposable and single use needles are indeed disposed of after each use.  General cleanliness is just as important; if care isn’t taken with building upkeep, then it can be believed that care won’t be taken elsewhere in the business.

Chat with the tattoo artists and the staff members.  If you don’t feel comfortable asking any questions or expressing concerns with them, chances are you won’t feel comfortable having them put a permanent mark on your body.  You should feel completely at ease as it’s possible that a large amount of time may be spent with them.

Check the designs of particular tattoo parlors.  One very helpful tip is to compare art with an actual tattoo to compare how closely the tattoo resembles the tattoo itself.  It’s wise to inspect what kind of design range the tattoo artist is capable of.  One might have a hundred different photos of skulls and crosses but it can be very different than having a butterfly, rose or a name tattooed on.  Be sure the artist is very flexible.

The Internet can be a very useful too when it comes to business searching.  Simply type in “tattoos” and the name of your geographical location into any search engine and you should be given a list of choices for places to check out.  The Internet can also prove helpful to get opinions on certain tattoo parlors through blogs, forums and chat rooms.  Information obtained from the Internet should always be double checked and checked again for confirmation as opinions will widely vary.

When finding a tattoo artist in your area, it’s important to always be comfortable with your decision.  While it is understood that the tattoo will be a permanent mark on the body and great thought should be put into the design and the location on the body in which it will be placed, it is also imperative to be sure you are completely comfortable with the tattoo artist.  After all, you’ll want to be positive that this lifelong design will be done accurately and correctly.

We’ve all seen tattoos of various designs, styles, sizes, shapes and colors.  Aside from the fact that tattoos can be removed by lasers, surgery and other methods, they are quite permanent.  Most people have very specific reasons for these lifelong marks and some even have stories behind each one.

One simple reason for a typical tattoo is just for looks.  The tattoo may be one that resembles one seen on a celebrity.  It may also be a design that is simply pleasing to the eye.  Perhaps the tattoo has bright colors or neat shapes that attract the eye.  Aesthetics are one common reason for many tattoos.

Another reason why one might get a tattoo is as a memorial.  Friends and family who have passed away are often memorialized through tattoos.  These memorials are also often created in the memory of a particular celebrity.  These might be designed with flowers, crosses or other shapes and dates of birth and death.  They might include special sayings that were important to the deceased.  They may also involve complicated tattoos that are copied off an actual photograph.

Children and relationships are a popular reason for getting a tattoo.  Millions will have tattoos designed incorporating a child’s, spouse’s or partner’s name.  Typically these will be accompanied by other designs such as flowers, butterflies, shapes and even likenesses.  Hearts, stars and script letters are often found on spouse or partner name tattoos.

Many people will have tattoos designed to commemorate special events experienced during their lifetimes.  Achievements, difficult times and other special events are often displayed as a lifetime reminder of an important time in one’s life.

Tattoos also represent spiritual status for many cultures.  They can also be a symbol for social ranking.  Some social groups are known for specific tattoos which would require a member to receive the same.  Others are known for having tattoos in general, regardless of their designs.

Expressing individuality and personality are often the most common reasons for getting a tattoo.  If a person likes butterflies, they might get a single tattoo or multiple tattoos flaunting butterflies.  If another enjoys a particular field in which they are employed, they might have tattoos representing what they do for a living.

There are other ways to look at expressing individuality through tattoos, however.  Many tattoos are designed to reflect heritage.  Ancient symbols that are associated with the history of many cultures are often displayed on those who are of a particular culture’s decent.  For example, someone of Irish decent may choose a tattoo depicting the Claddaugh design while another of Egyptian decent might prefer one similar to ancient ancestors.  On the other hand, many choose designs resembling certain cultures simply for aesthetics.

Regardless of where you want to have your tattoo applied on the body or where you have the procedure done, it’s important to comprehend why you really want the tattoo.  Tattoos are permanent.  Having a tattoo created for the right reasons, and reasons that are truly important to you will help increase the enjoyment of the design for years to come.

These days, it is not uncommon for tattoos to be associated with other forms of body art.  In many areas, especially larger cities, tattoo studios are no longer solely tattoo studios, as they also offer piercings.  In combining these two, two issues frequently arise.  First, while many people consider tasteful, well-done tattoos to be a legitimate form of self-expression through artwork, a large number in this category also consider body piercing to be unacceptable;  or, at the very least, undesirable.  It is difficult to communicate this to young people, especially teenagers, when an increasing number of tattoo studios also offer body piercing.  Kids will naturally assume that if artwork is acceptable, acquiring holes and rings in various parts of their anatomies should also be acceptable.

A second important issue regarding this subject is that while states generally have strict regulations surrounding tattoos, that is not always the case with body piercing.  Even when tattooing is strictly regulated to the extent that minors cannot be tattooed, or, in some states, requiring the parent’s consent for the process, it is becoming an increasing problem in some areas that body piercing carries no such requirements.

There are a couple of serious repercussions to this fact.  First, many parents rightfully consider it to be a violation of parental rights to find that “piercing artists” can undermine their parental authority by putting piercings in their under-aged kids, not only without a parent’s consent but without their knowledge in advance.

Second, in the areas where this can legally be done, there is also the issue of health standards.  While the general rule is that a person is presented with risk factors in writing prior to getting a tattoo, piercing artists often allow minors to sign health waivers;  although this is illegal, it is sometimes done anyway.

This opens up a whole “can of worms” with both legal and health issues.  Legally, minors cannot sign such forms;  but the health aspect of it is also worth noting.  As body piercing carries much higher and more frequent risks of infection than tattoos, in signing these health waivers the teenager is rarely aware of how significant these risk factors actually are.  While the risk of infection from body piercing is high enough in general, it can become even more so depending on the location of the piercing.  Having piercings done in areas that are normally exposed to saliva, or airborne dirt, is simply asking for trouble.  Yet piercing artists are often more concerned about making money than they are about the potential health repercussions to their young clients.

In addition to these factors, there is also the factor of social stigma.  While youngsters may be accurate in assuming that acquiring body piercings will impress their teenage or other immature friends, it is not likely that it will impress anyone else.  Even if they withstand parental objections, and ignore the dismay of school staff and employers, they have yet to see that body piercings generally do not go over very well in “the real world.”

Whether one is most concerned with the potential health risks of body piercing, or the general consensus of the American population, body piercing has a long way to go before it is considered an acceptable practice.  Tattoos carry some degree of valid purpose;  in the opinion of  most American adults, body piercing has no value other than for its owner to appear less than respectable.

There are nearly as many reasons for getting a tattoo as there are people who have them.  Each person has his or her own particular reason;  it may be a common reason or it may be unique, but it is nonetheless individual.

People who get a tattoo on impulse or a dare, while intoxicated, or to please someone else, are the ones who are usually less satisfied with the results.  Even while holding it out as a spur-of-the-moment mistake, a person who acquires a tattoo under these circumstances are rarely happy with having it on a longterm basis.  Unfortunately, these types of situations do comprise a fair percentage of the number of people who get tattoos–  and later regret it.  Most people who get tattoos primarily  as a means of rebellion are also dissatisfied in the long-run;  as they grow out of feeling the need to rebel, they grow out of enjoying the symbols of it.

For those who make an informed decision about getting a tattoo, whether they acknowledge it or not they are usually in either of two categories:  those who are identifying with a group, or those who are identifying themselves as individuals.  Both are using tattoos as a means of self-expression.  On the extreme end of the spectrum are inmates who belong to such groups as “the Aryan Brotherhood.”  A tattoo shows both members and non-members alike what group the inmate belongs to.  These tattoo designs are of various codes and other oddities which they assume people who are not likewise affiliated will not understand.  Most inner-city gangs also have coded tattoo designs for the same reason.  In these types of instances, tattoos serve a dual-purpose:  they are a means of bonding a person to a particular group, and they are a means of separating oneself from those who are outside of that group.

Some people get a tattoo simply because they want to have one.  Other than not putting much careful thought into its longterm implications, nor being very selective about what particular design they want, this is not necessarily negative.  For many, simply liking artwork on one’s skin is reason enough to visit a local tattoo studio, hand over a relatively-large sum of money, and have something etched into one’s skin that is intended to remain there for the rest of one’s life.  The most intricate design or the most plain one can be a matter of speaking to the entire world, or something which one chooses to keep solely to oneself.

Others use this form of self-expression in a manner similar to what generations past used to do with t-shirts:  to show the world what they wish to say.  They choose wording, or designs which symbolize something that is meaningful to them.  You can see everything from American flags and crosses to the names of who they love, and, occasionally, wording which pushes the limits of the First Amendment.  In the past, people wore what they believed, stood for, and cared about on their shirts;  these days tattoos often serve the same purpose.

Many people use tattoos as memorials.  Tattoos can be designed for remembrance of a deceased loved one, of course, but they can also be designed for the purpose of keeping in mind other places or situations which a person does not wish to forget.  When there is someone or something that you wish to hold close to your heart, a tattoo can be a beautiful way of doing it. Photographs and other souvenirs are not permanent–  tattoos are.

Why do people get tattoos?  The reasons are as varied as there are individuals.  Whether you yourself have a tattoo or not, if you know someone who does, it is important to realize that you do not know what that person’s reasons are, unless he or she decides to tell you.

All your friends have ‘em, and you see them peeking out from under all the hotties’ hoodies -

A bright, bold, flashy TAT!  Tribal tattoo, pinup tattoo, gun tattoo, retro tattoo, butterfly tattoo, celtic tattoo, cross tattoos, fairy tattoo, DRAGON tattoo, star tattoos, skull tattoos, lower back tattoos, and on and on.

And you know that all you have to do is go to the nearest shop/parlor/holding cell and pick a flasher off the wall..and BANG!

You got a super-tat all of your own, right?  Right?  RIGHT?!

WRONG.

You need to think about it (I know, I know, tattos are all about the moment, blah, blah, blah) because -

Unlike your Facebook page YOU CANNOT CHANGE OR ERASE IT LATER.  (Adding to it is not ‘changing it’)

OKAY, take a breath…………

We happen to have a book FOR FREE that has important inofmration that your tattoo artist may or may not tell you (and may or may not EVEN KNOW).

We suggest you get it.  Hey, it’s FREE.  And we aren’t going to slam  your email address.

Fill out the box over there ======>>

You’ll get instant access once you confirm your email (you click on a link, it’s easy).  You’ll also get a bonus, but we’re trying to keep it a secret.

Sign up or not, we wish you the best of luck with your tattoo experience,

Jim James
Tattoo College LLC