Five Questions to ask First Before Your First Tattoo

You've been thinking about getting your first tattoo.  It seems like you've been dreaming about this forever, but you're not sure where to go, or what design to get. The only thing you do know is you don't want your first tattoo experience to look like it was drawn on you with a "sharpie" marker.  So before you get a tattoo here are 5 questions to ask the tattoo artist first to avoid a bad tattoo experience.

1. What are your qualifications? Would you allow someone to perform surgery on you without knowing if he/she is a qualified surgeon? Okay, so the same should be true when selecting a tattoo artist. You may regard these two professions very differently, however they share important similarities - both involve the use of needles and both professionals must be knowledgeable and practice sterile technique when tattooing and sterilizing their equipment.

2. Do you guarantee your work? If the final design isn't exactly what you communicated, will it be fixed at no charge? What is the process if you are unhappy with the tattoo and think it is bad? Is there any type of refund policy? Very important points about the type of service provided after the artist has made the sale.

3. Can I see samples of your work or do you have references? In business, if you want to know about the quality of a product or someone's work, you ask to see examples and maybe even ask for customer references. The tattoo business is no different and you should ask to view the artist's portfolio, and ask him how many tattoos have they actually done.

4. How much will this cost? Before agreeing to a specific tattoo design, do yourself a huge favor and ask how much the tattoo design you are considering will cost. Don't be fooled by size, thinking the obvious larger tattoos are more expensive because they are bigger, as even the smallest tattoo designs can be surprisingly expensive too.

5. What is the likelihood of getting an infection? A professional tattoo artists should be comfortable disscussing the risk of infection associated with tattooing, as well as provide instruction on preventative aftercare to help avoid an infection, and what to do in the event one may be developing.

Now that you have taken the time to first ask a few tattoo questions, you are better prepared to go out and get your first tattoo and feel more comfortable about your experience.