The process of coloring in the skin has been around since the 1800s.
So how much pain should you expect when getting a tattoo? How long will it take, and what the heck happens behind those curtains? You can prepare yourself by being informed. Here's how the process works. 1. Once you have picked out the design that is right for you, a professional tattooist will schedule an appointment for the actual inking. Helpful hint: Don't take any aspirin or other blood-thinning medication prior to the procedure. 2. When you arrive at the tattoo studio, you will be shown a stencil created for your design. This is your last chance to change your mind before the work gets under way, so talk it over with the artist before committing to the ink. 3. Paperwork and payment must be completed before the art can begin on your skin. You will be seated in a tattoo chair, usually in a private booth or room. 4. Once you’re in the chair, the tattoo artist shaves the area that will become his or her canvas and cleans it with rubbing alcohol. When placement is confirmed, a blueish outline of the design is transferred to your skin as a guide. That's when the needle comes out of the autoclave, sterilized and ready to go. How much the needle will hurt and for how long depends on the person and the tattoo but also where you are having it placed on your body. For men, the most painful areas are the spine, stomach and chest. For women, the spine, ribcage and ankles cause the most teeth clenching. The least painful areas for men are arms, back and buttocks. For women, the least painful areas are shoulders, thighs, stomach and buttocks. INKING IT IN 5. Now to the creation! Tattoo ink is injected by an electrical tattoo machine that rapidly moves a solid needle up and down to puncture the skin. It looks and sounds like a dentist's drill, punching 50 to 3,000 times per minute. A drop of insoluble ink is deposited about a millimeter into the skin with each punch of the needle, a process that has been around since the 1800s. Inventor Samuel O'Reilly based his machine on the workings of an autographic printer, which was invented by Thomas Edison to ink solid surfaces. The needle is operated by a foot peddle, which controls the vertical movement of the needle, pushing the ink into the dermis, the second layer of skin. The dermis is much more stable than the epidermis, the layer that burns and flakes away. The black work, or outlining of the art, is done with a single-tipped needle using thin ink. 6. After cleaning the finished outline with soap and water, a thicker ink in a variety of different-size needles is used to make the lines more solid. This is essential in getting sharp details and contrasts in the finished product. 7. For the color work, the tattoo is cleaned again. Colors overlap to ensure even hues with no blank areas in between as your skin stretches or shrinks. 8. When finished, the tattoo is covered with a sterile bandage to staunch any bleeding, similar to what happens when you give blood at a doctor's office, only with many more punctures. The bandage can come off after about two hours. 9. After removing the bandage, wash the area with cool or lukewarm water and an antibacterial soap. Pat — don't rub — dry. Work a small amount of antibacterial ointment into the skin, but be aware that too much could cause the color to fade. Don't soak your tattoo in water or let the shower spray directly onto it. Use ice packs for swelling and don't pick at any scabs that form. While the healing process is different for everyone, most tattooed areas won't be fully healed — and color and design completely set — for about three months. You can still show it off, just be sure to keep up with the maintenance and protect your artwork from the sun!
