10 Tips to follow when choosing your first tattoo

So, you’ve hopefully thought long and hard about this, the advantages and disadvantages and whatnot. You’ve decided to enter the world of permanent body art and get your first tattoo.

Below are some pointers that you might want to consider on your road to choosing that first design.

1. Do not ever, ever, just walk into a tattoo parlour and choose out a design on a whim.
 This is asking for trouble. Do your research first and BE SURE of what you want before going anywhere. There are more than enough online tattoo galleries available now. You have it all at your fingertips. That perfect tattoo is just a click away. It's estimated that 35% of people regret the choice for their first tattoo. Don’t be one of them.

2. If you want an intricate design with a lot of colour its worth considering going for a larger piece. Too much going on in a smaller design will make it complicated and it will not stand out as well.

3. Want it to last forever?
 Consider sticking to simpler designs with blacks or greys. The colours in tattoos will fade over time, Especially after a few years and suntans! My case in point, I have a half sleeve of Japanese dragons that I have been collecting for 10 years. Some of the colours are now fading and need re inking. On the flip side I have a tribal design coloured purely in black. Looks as good today as it did 10 years ago.

4. Where on your body should you put it?
 Looks cool having a tattoo on the neck doesn’t it? Or behind the ear, on the wrist, hands or anywhere else highly visible. Think about what you might be doing in 5, 10 or 20 years time. Could it effect your job prospects? If your career plan is to be in a rock band this might not be a consideration but have you seen many newsreaders on the TV with Skulls tattooed on their necks?

5. Peoples names.
 You love your partner and want their name emblazoned on your forearm. But what if you split in the future? The best way to avoid this embarrassing mistake is to compromise. Sure, go for a name but why not have it is a different language? There are loads of fancy languages and scripts that look incredibly arty and fancy in design and if it doesn’t work out with your partner, it just looks like some fancy writing which you can say represents someone/something else. Chinese symbols are a great way of doing this.

6. Try to avoid the latest film/musician/fad.
 Ok, so you’re a Harry Potter fan and have decided to have Hogwarts emblazoned all over your back. Might look cool now but as the film series is about to finish it might be seriously uncool in the next 5 years. Remember this tattoo is for life. If you're going for a film icon pick a subject with some mileage, James Dean for example. Musicians, you won't go far wrong with Jimi Hendrix or Elvis Presley if that’s your thing as their influence are solid, but a Justin Bieber portrait? Think about it.

7. Consider your pain threshold.
Ok, this is not the most important consideration as it has to be said that it's worth the pain if you really know what you want. But please consider your pain threshold. If you really cannot handle the pain there is no point in going straight in for a full back portrait that is going to take 10 hours plus to finish. If you can’t finish what you started you will be left with an incomplete art piece. Go for a smaller design if this is going to be an issue.

8. Be individual.
 Ok so your best friend has just got a really cool tribal dragon on his bicep and you think its neat. Don’t be tempted to get the exact same design. Firstly your friends choice may have been deeply personal and to copy it like for like may offend them. If you really like the tribal dragon style just go for one with a different design/different size/different location. There are plenty of choices out there in the online galleries and the parlours.

9. Research your tattooist.
 You may already know a tattoo artist and be more than familiar with his/her work and if that is the case then great. If not, you need to think carefully about who you want to tattoo you. Do some research on the internet, most artists have websites and evidence/testimonials of their work, There are plenty of studios about and you wont have to travel far to find one but if the better artist is further out, make the effort to go there. You won’t regret it in the long run.

10. Don’t skimp on the cost.
 If the tattoo you really want is unaffordable, then save up. Don’t go into a studio and say “well I only have X amount so I’ll settle for that one instead. Again it will be a tattoo that you didn’t really want and you will be in that 35% again.