Things to know:
What to do to prepare for your tattoo:
For me particularly, the most important thing I can tell you is to stay out of the sun or keep covered up before your appointment. If you get sunburned or are peeling you cannot get tattooed until your skin has healed and you will lose your deposit. It is up to you to take care of your skin before your appointment. This is extremely important if you are here on vacation as you will not be able to be rescheduled.
Do not drink alcohol or take unprescribed blood thinners within 24 hours of your appointment.
Come to your appointment sober. I will not work on you if you are high or intoxicated.
Drink plenty of water at least in the 24 hrs before your appointment.
Use lotion for at least a week ( or more if your skin is rough or dried out) on the area intended to be tattooed on.
Get plenty of sleep the night before.
Try to shower and come clean to your session.
Have a good meal before you come in and bring some drinks and snacks in case you need them during your session.
Wear comfortable and appropriate clothing for access to the tattoo location.
Bring headphones in case you want to use your phone or tablet for music, games, or movies. (this is especially important if you don’t want to listen to my horrible singing lol)
Don’t make important plans for other activities the day of your tattoo. I cannot guarantee what time we will be done.
If you choose to use any products not recommended and/or not provided by the studio and its artists it is at your own risk and Little Shop of Colors and its associates cannot be held responsible for any negative outcomes.
Consult Process:
Designing different tattoos for every individual can be a difficult task. Every person is unique and my artwork is driven by your ideas.
My consults are usually very direct with specific questions to help me begin to formulate a design plan specifically for you. I do this because every person thinks differently from one to the next so this information is important for me. Some ideas take a little longer to form and we may have to toss ideas around for a little bit till we are both satisfied.
Consults can take as little as 15 minutes to as long as an hour to conclude. Once we are both satisfied with what we have discussed we will book your tattoo appointment.
Color fading:
All products used to apply color to anything (car, house, watercolor, acrylic, oil paints, tattoo ink etc) are all effected by light fastness ratings. Meaning how long they will hold up against the Sun and UV exposure. Most products used on inanimate objects can have a UV protectant applied to protect it from sun damage.
In the case of tattoo ink it is up to the person wearing the tattoo to take care of it afterward over the years to prolong the color brightness. Here in Florida sun exposure is particularly damaging and your tattoos will fade within a matter of years if you yourself do not protect it over time. Most people do not follow through with UV protection and therefore will either need a touch up or reworking of their tattoos over the years.
The sun and UV exposure is also very damaging to the skin. It can dry out the skin and make it tougher to tattoo and not an ideal canvas for brighter colors, pastel colors or even fine line work. Sometimes your expectations of the design or style may not be met depending on your skin texture before and after you receive your tattoo.
You will also have to take in consideration if you are prone to keloid or dark coloration scarring when you heal from a scrape or wound your own bodies natural defenses can effect the final product especially on lighter colors if your skin heals darker.
No matter how good a Tattoo Artist is or how expensive a brand of ink may be, at the end of the day, if you don’t protect your work and keep it out of the sun then it WILL fade over the years.
Numbing creams:
I have experiences with numbing products for well over 15 years and I do not condone the use of pre-numbing creams during my tattoo sessions. Most creams require a 60-90 minute soak time and it can cause discoloration to pigments and uneven saturation due to the fluid build up already in the skin. In many cases the skin stays red and irritated looking where the cream was applied throughout most of the tattoo session. They do not last as long as claimed (if even at all for some people) usually about 1-2 hours and most clients tap shortly after.
I do however use numbing sprays and/or soaps that offer relief to take the edge off in the final stages of the tattoo session once the skin has been opened up.
Another issue with the cream is timing, especially for your first session which may require extra time to finish your artwork preparation. If you sit too long with it absorbing into your skin you can potentially have negative side effects not only to your tattoo but to your health. Please Google “Lidocaine side effects, skin rash and overdose” for more information.
Saniderm and other self adhearing bandages:
I do not use any of these products due to the potential of permanent scaring, skin discoloration, ink migration, infections and allergic reactions to the products.