Pain and beauty: what you need to know before getting a tattoo

Tattoos have long ceased to be an accessory exclusively for sailors and prisoners. They are worn by completely different people to express themselves, to emphasize some part of the body, or, conversely, to hide a scar. Just for beauty, after all. But in addition to well-known facts (pain, the importance of sanitary conditions during application), there are a lot of speculations about the art of tattooing. And information that is not obvious to most.

Size matters

A small tattoo is rarely good. If it is a tightly packed black circle with a diameter of 2 centimeters, it’s all right, but the more details (contours, color transitions, etc.) in the drawing, the larger it should be.

This is important not only for aesthetics. A thin contour (less than a couple of millimeters) holds up worse and will begin to “float” over time. If the tattoo is black, it can't be fixed.

The size of the drawing, in turn, dictates the place of application, and there are styles that, with all the desire, cannot be done finely. If you want a realistic portrait, prepare your shoulder, back, or other large area.

Masters choose by portfolio

Pain and beauty: what you need to know before getting a tattoo

Tattoo artists, like designers or illustrators, almost always specialize in a particular style. It's worth using. Your familiar tattoo artist may give a discount, but this is a drawing for life. If you need a Japanese dragon, look for a master who works in this particular style and makes it amazing.

It will hurt, the question is - how much

The pain threshold is different for everyone. There are people who howl from the first injection, and some can lie under a typewriter for three hours, write SMS and watch movies from a tablet, without even frowning. Both are exceptions. In general, a tattoo is painfulbut usually tolerant process.

The strength of sensations is influenced by the time of the session (the longer, the more painful), the presence or absence of anesthesia (anesthetic creams are used), the individual characteristics of the person and the location of the pattern. There are places where it will be especially unpleasant. And on others, beating a tattoo is simply pointless, and it's not even a matter of pain. It's just that the skin there changes too quickly, and the drawing will soon turn into a mess.

What you need to know before getting a tattoo

A good tattoo is expensive

The cost of a tattoo is usually measured in hours of work by the artist, and the price fork is very wide. The final figure is influenced by the experience of the master, his fame and workload, the location of the salon, the size and complexity of the pattern, the cost of materials. Occasionally, masters can get a tattoo for free (or at a discount), if their hands are itching to fill in a particular sketch, but you need to look for such, and this is rather a rarity.

On average, good Moscow craftsmen charge from 3,000 to 6,000 rubles per hour.

It will take time

The time that the master will call is an approximate time clean work in ideal circumstances … How long a tattoo will take in reality - no one will say. You may need to take a break to rest and gain strength for a new dash. You may feel bad. Maybe you have skin that is very hard to beat (this happens) or on which the color does not fit well (this too).

Here's a rough (very rough) guideline:

"Sleeve" (covering from the top

point of shoulder to wrist)

6 sessions of 4 hours each (minimum)

Shoulder / scapula

6 o'clock

Forearm

4 hours (anchor with a rose),

6 hours (skull with clock)

Getting a tattoo is only half the job

When they say that “this is for life,” it's not just about the drawing itself. A tattoo is a part of your body behind which also need to look after.

Your main enemy is the sun. The tattoo must be protected from it with either clothing or sunscreen (SPF 50+). Otherwise, the drawing (especially color) will quickly fade.

The second enemy is your own laziness. A good master will give you a set of instructions for caring for the "new thing". Follow them strictly because the first two weeks are decisive … Consider this as a postoperative period. Will you ride a bike with an unhealed leg? Rest assured, a tattoo is a trauma. Thousands of injections per minute, piercing the epidermis and placing pigment in the dermis. Once you've made up your mind, it's best to take the matter seriously.

On a note

Skin is living tissue. It changes and stretches. Even with perfect care, the tattoo needs to be renewed. about once every 3-5 years … It will cost the same as filling a new one. And it will hurt the same way.
When applying a tattoo, moles are bypassed and hidden in the drawing.
Hair continues to grow at the site of the tattoo.
If you have a scar or scar, it should pass at least a year after injury, before this place can be closed with something.
You need to come to the session sober, well-fed and slept … On the eve, you can't drink either: it will hurt more, bleeding will intensify, the healing process will slow down.
A mild fever and dizziness after a tattoo session is normal, and this is the only side effect (apart from pain and swelling) that is possible if all sanitary conditions and care rules are followed.
Between sessions on the same zone (for example, if you are doing a "sleeve"), at least two weeks.
A tattoo can be reduced by 90–95% with a laser. This will more painful, longer and more expensivethan the tattoo itself.

Mini style guide

Ornamental ethnic style (Oceania, Borneo, etc.)

Ornamental and ethnic style from Dmitry Babakhin

Old school

Traditional American tattoos with dense contours and a limited palette of colors (typical images: Native American motifs, pin-ups, anchors, mermaids, roses, eagles).

Old School by Dmitry Rechny's studio

Neotrad (itional)

Evolution of the previous style. Loose designs, more colors. New School is another version of the old school development, but it uses more references to comics and graffiti.

Neotrad from Ksenia Voskresenskaya

Neotrad by Vitaly Morozov

Oriental (Japanese style)

The legacy of traditional yakuza tattoos. Special style of painting: the dragon in Neotraditional will look completely different from the Japanese dragon.

Oriental by Maxim Kislitsyn

Realism

Realism from Andrey Barkov

Trash Polka

A young but increasingly popular style created by. Very dynamic and angry. Two-dimensional images are intertwined with three-dimensional ones into a kind of collage. Drawings often have deep ideological or philosophical overtones. Colors: black, gray, white, red, but there are others.

Trash Polka by Lisa Che

Dotwork

This is a style defining technique. Dotwork literally means dotwork: the tattoo is applied to the body one dot at a time. Dotwork tattoos cannot be confused with anything, and drawings with absolutely straight lines in a different style simply cannot be done.