Preparing for a session
Moisturize area to be tattooed once a day for 1—2 weeks leading up to appointment. You can shave the day of the appointment to save downtime during the tattoo session, however this is not required. If you do shave, you cannot damage the skin with cuts or severe irritation so take care
Get good rest. Stay hydrated. Make sure to eat before your tattoo (your body will have a small adrenaline response and on an empty stomach this will cause nausea). Consider bringing clothing to be tattooed in (sometimes clothing can get stained). Consider bringing something to stay warm or cool (Inkindle provides single use blankets and underwear, however some studios do not). Consider bringing water and snacks (Inkindle provides drinks/snacks but some studios do not)
Consider bringing something to distract yourself. Getting tattooed can be boring, especially for the person you bring with you (they may end up sitting in the lobby for many hours). Inkindle provides WiFi as well as an ipad with headphones, however some studios do not
You can bring friends and loved ones, however they may be required to remain in the lobby during the procedure for safety reasons. This can be a brutally long and boring waiting process for them, so make sure they are informed
Tattoo appointments are extremely unpredictable with time, this is why artists are hesitant to give you a fixed time. As a rule, never make plans for after a tattoo appointment. You need time to rest and the stress of being on a time crunch is bad for the client and artist both. Too often we see our clients attempting to make a dinner or a flight, and becoming extremely stressed due to the appointment running long, which can happen frequently. It’s a collaboration, and this is the factor we cannot account for. The time it takes to work together
Make sure to rest after the appointment. Things like sweating, drinking, and swimming with a fresh tattoo (even while bandaged) can lead to complications with the healing process. Make sure to follow your artists aftercare instructions