To many people, tattoos are a great addition to someone’s body, especially when they look amazing and have some form of deeper meaning. . As such, these people look forward to the day they get their first tattoo with great excitement. On the other hand, some believe that tattoos are just lines on the body and the whole, painful process of getting one just isn’t worth it. Personally, I am on both sides of the argument.
Before I got my tattoo, I got some feedback from my parents. When I asked my dad, I was left pretty surprised since he actually gave me permission to go ahead. He also mentioned that my grandfather had one too which I didn’t know. However, when I went to consult with my mom, he became upset and mad; as well as confused as to why I would get one. Disregarding her decision, I still got one. I got my first tattoo in December 2020, I realized that there is more to just paying it, getting it, and leaving. Now don’t forget that I have Asian parents and stereotypically, Asian parents are extremely against their children getting a tattoo or dyeing their hair. They don’t like it due to their culture.
As I was getting my tattoo, it hurt a LOT and was far beyond my initial impressions. A 10cm tatoo doesn’t seem big, but for the amount of pain I went through, it felt like I was getting a whole sleeve. I have come to think about the experience as having a wasp sting you a million times on a first degree sunburn. Now, experiencing that once is painful enough, but imagine actually getting two at the same time (which I did). After going through hell various times over, the tattoo artist wrapped the tattoo with some plastic and told me to follow some steps to keep your skin and the tattoo healthy and moisturized, so the trouble doesn’t end there and then.
After going through this experience, I will give you some tips that will greatly help you if you decide to get a tattoo. If you’re planning to get one on your arm, purchase a body cream,some sort of plastic to wrap around your tattoo, and long sleeved clothes (if you don’t have any) BEFOREHAND. After getting the tattoo and leaving the shop, you wanna head home DIRECTLY and remove the plastic wrap , apply body cream to the arm, wash the plastic with soap and water, and wrap it around your arm again. It will be bloody for a while so don’t freak out. The washing, applying body cream, and wrapping AGAIN will happen for a few days. Another thing to note is that you do not want to expose it to the sun for around 4 to 5 weeks. Then after those 5 weeks. You will still want to apply some body cream on it for 3 months. The tattoo artist advised me to get vaseline and apply it to the tattoo. However, I have spoken to a friend and he suggested to NOT DO THAT because when he applied vaseline on his first tattoos, he said that they faded and ruined his skin. Tattoos aren’t as simple as they seem to be. There are so many steps you have to follow to keep your tattoo and your skin healthy and moisturized. If not, your tattoo is most likely to fade and not heal properly.
