Things to Expect Before, During and After Your Tattoo Appointment

Before Your Appointment

From the moment you confirm you appointment to when you get in the chair there are a number of things you can do to prepare to have the most comfortable experience.

 

What you can expect to happen after sending your deposit is:

  1. Receiving a follow up email confirming the deposit and date set

  2. Receiving a Google calendar invite which will include:

    • The date of your appointment

    • Details of your appointment

    • Pricing of your appointment

  3. You will be reminded of the upcoming date 1 week before, 1 day before and 1 hour before.

     

In the upcoming days prior to your appointment please consider:

  • Lightly exfoliating any dead skin

  • Lotioning your skin daily

  • Keeping well hydrated

  • Keeping well rested

     

The Day of Your Appointment

On the day of it is recommended to eat a hearty meal, drink a good amount of water and wear or bring a change of clothes with you that will give your artist easy access to the tattoo area.

If you happen to be fond of the clothing surrounding the area give a heads up to the artist so that they can arrange a bib or towel to keep ink from staining your clothes.

 

It’s the day of and you’ve done all your preparations and are ready now to get tattooed. Here’s what an ideal day of tattooing might look like:

  1. You get to the tattoo shop no earlier than 15 minutes allowing Anita to complete final preparations (sanitizing and setting up the station, preparing the stencil, getting a quick food/drink/washroom break before the appointment).

  2. Once you are through the door you will fill out an electronic waiver that:

    • Confirms your healthy and not exhibiting COVID symptoms

    • Of age to be tattooed

    • Consent to being tattooed

    • Consent to having your tattoo photographed and posted online

  3. With the e-waiver signed Anita will start placing and stencilling the design on your skin which might require:

    • Shaving down the area for hair baby hairs

    • Sanitizing the skin with alcohol

    • Applying Stencil Stuff to create an adherent

    • Applying the stencil to the skin with the Stencil Stuff

    • A photo/video opportunity

  4. During this period it is completely okay to ask your artist to move the stencil around - no tattooing will begin until the client is in agreement of the placement.

  5. After the stencil is applied and given an opportunity to dry (roughly 5+ min) the tattooing will begin in earnest!

 

As each client is different the tattooing schedule may look different for each individual but some things to note are:

  • You can stop at any time.

    Pain is not stigmatized at this shop. Every body reacts differently. Some days sessions might be easier, some days it might be harder. There are many variables that might affect your pain tolerance for the day (sleep, hunger, thirst, stress, underlying conditions etc). It is perfectly acceptable to ask to finish a session on another date if you have hit your limit for the day.

  • You can take breaks

    Whether you need to hydrate, stretch, take a smoke break, etc please feel free to ask. As long as you are mindful of the length of your appointment you can take as many breaks as you need.

  • You can ask questions

    A session can feel to go by pretty fast and a lot of information delivered during that period of time. If at any point you want something repeated or have a question about how something is done don’t hesitate to ask.

Once application is done your session will be ended with a few photos/videos and application and rundown of aftercare (either second skin or an absorbent bandage.

 

 After Your Appointment

Congratulations on your new tattoo!

Now that your appointment is complete you will be receiving a series of emails and check-ins to facilitate your healing journey which include:

  • An email after your appointment going through aftercare instructions, it can also be found under the FAQ or right here.

  • An email a month after checking in on healing progress, to potentially grab a healed photo and potentially book a touch up appointment if required.

All tattoos are covered for a free touchup within a year of application of the tattoo.

Following your touchup appointment, should you have one, another email will be sent out approximately a month after to check in on full healing.

 

Regardless of length of time from your appointment questions are always welcome through messaging or emails.

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