Ghosts of Tattoos Past, Present and Future

Pretty Christmassy sounding post right? Sorry to get your hopes up, I can't imagine a festive post of inked christmas trees and reindeer would be of any use to anyone, so instead i'm going to offer some useful advice to stop your tattoos coming back to haunt you!

Incase you haven't noticed, I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to tattoos, and I'm pretty good at voicing the ones I think are rather dodgy. The fact is however, as long as you adore it, then who cares what anyone else's opinion is! So, speaking as a person who loves their own tattoos, here's some helpful tips to make sure you end up loving yours

• Make it special - If the design has hidden meaning and perhaps a significant personal meaning, you're far lessmlikely to end up loathing it. I know many people (including myself) that have memorial tattoos in a subtle design, and it's never something i'll look at and regret.
• Do your research - Many people opt for simple symbols, such as chinese or ones of religious importance, whatever you do, look it up, you could have no idea what it means! 
• Look up artists - Go to a reputable tattoo studio, so research ones in your area. I'm from Aberdeen and I'd personally recommend Draconian Tattoo on George Street. Talk to the tattooists, get some ideas! They have award winning artists and phenomenal customer service, something guaranteed to relax nervous first timers! (Oh, and please refrain from those drunken tattoos in a foreign land!)
• Ban yourself! - I know that after that first tattoo it can become a little addictive, and I also know friends that love tattoos and yet are scared they change their minds. Simple: set yourself a ban. From deciding on my design I make myself wait of roughly six months both allowing me to save the cash and deciding if I still want it. If I do, great it's off to the studio, if not, shopping spree.
• DO NOT CONSUME ALCOHOL - I cannot stress this enough, and no, I'm not trying to be all medical professional but the more you drink the thinner your blood, the thinner your blood the less successful the healing will be.
• Dry run - upon doing some research I actually learned you can visit your local parlour for a test tattoo. This process basically involves the lubing and stretching of skin, and the drawing of a few lines without any ink, an incredibly helpful non permanent way of finding out if you can deal with the pain, or if you're a bleeder!
• Draw it on! - You may be terrible at drawing but hey, why not grab a biro and sketch it on yourself! This will give you an idea of how it looks and what sort of size you want it. Alternatively if you saw it online, print it, cut it out and do the same.
• Don't get fashionable tattoos, they're called that for a reason. Everyone has 'em, fashion changes, everyone hates 'em, *outspoken opinion alert* e.g dream catchers, and candy skulls.
• Picture ready - Upon booking an appointment with your tattooist, bring some pictures. It gives them a far better idea of the sorts of things you are looking for, even if its just fonts!

I actually received an amazing early Christmas present from my friend Louise, a book named "1000 Tattoos" by art historian Burkhard Riemschneider and Henk Schiffmacher who runs his own tattoo museum. Inside it has incredible glossy pictures of worldwide ideas as well as the history of tattoos, a great idea for researching ancient designs if that's your thing! (and a christmas gift!)

So hopefully these hints and tips helped and you love your new addition. Just remember, easy on the booze, go nuts on the Bepanthen and DO NOT SCRATCH!

Lauren x