My First Tattoo

When you walk into a studio for your tattoo the artist takes you into their workroom and you sign a form to show you understand the terms to getting a tattoo and that you agree to follow the care methods. After, the artist sets you up in a particular chair (depending on where you are getting your “tat” you need to sit in different types of chairs). Next the artist puts on gloves and gets his or her equipment prepared. Each set of needles is individually wrapped and only used on one person. The artist will then clean the area being tattooed with rubbing alcohol and in some cases the hair is shaved away as well. A stencil is then applied to damp skin, the reason for this is so that the artist can trace it with ease and make sure the “tat” is straight and in correct position. Then it begins. The size of the tattoo determines how long it will take. When the artist is finished they wipe away the area, apply A&D Ointment, and wrap the design up in gauze. During the following weeks it is the customers responsibility to care for the tattoo by applying A&D a few times ago. The idea is to not let the tat get too dry. On the morning of my 18th birthday I walked into the shop and went up to my boss and said, “Dozer today is the day.” He laughed and asked me who I wanted to do it. Andre has been tattooing for longer than I’ve been alive and his work is simply outstanding. When I sat down in the chair he laughed and said I wasn’t ready. I had picked out a nautical star but after seeing the stencil I had no desire to put it on my body. So he used his marker and drew, freehand, five shooting stars on my right ankle. Before he began he warned me, “tattoos are addicting, they hurt at first but you always come back for more.” The stars go in order from smallest to biggest and the first and last are black. The middle three are purple, green, and blue. Surrounding the stars is little dots that I like to call “pixie” dust in pink, purple, and green. My first tattoo took twenty minutes.