So you Wanna get a Tattoo? Trivia Quiz

Answer: All of these

Every single one of these factors is important to consider before you decide to get a tattoo, as tattoos come on very easily, but are a lot harder (and more expensive) to remove.

Firstly, when you're young and life is a ball, it may seem like a wonderful idea to get a tattoo. After all, all your friends have got one, right? But you really should consider whether you'll want the tattoo in 15, or even 30 years time. Your tattoo may not look that good anymore once you start to get wrinkles and your attitude towards tattoos may have changed by then.

The next very important factor to consider is whether or not your chosen career, or the career that you hope to enter into, will allow for tattoos. Some conservative careers, such as banking or law, may not appreciate, or take seriously, someone who has a smiley face tattooed onto their arm, and may regard you as being "unprofessional."

The last (but CERTAINLY not least) thing you should consider is whether you have the time to care for your newly inked tattoo. Things such as leaving the bandage on for the required time, moisturising the tattoo with unscented cream, and not going into direct sunlight for the first month or so after getting the tattoo? Consider these before you ink.

Another factor to possibly consider is the pain factor of getting a tattoo. Pain may not be such a big deal for some, but for others, it is. I myself do not like to get hurt. Can you handle the blood, the needles, and the fact that you are having ink pumped into you (sort of)?

If you have considered all off these factors VERY carefully, and you are sure that the idea of getting a tattoo is not just a whim or a phase, then proceed and get your tattoo, but proceed with caution.

Answer: Get a temporary tattoo, such as henna or a stick on, see how it feels and looks, and then decide after that

If you are still not entirely convinced that getting a tattoo is a really good idea, give it a test run, by either getting a henna tattoo, or a stick-on and peel-off temporary tattoo. This will give you an idea of how the real thing might look, and may also give you some idea as to how others (such as your boss) might react to you having a tattoo. And the best thing is, it will be temporary, so if you decide that getting a tattoo is actually not the thing for you, you can just wash it off or wait for it to go away by itself.

If, after having the temporary tattoo for a while, and you enjoyed it, you can start considering the possibility of getting a real tattoo.

Answer: The name of your boyfriend/ girlfriend

This can be risky, as relationships may not last and even marriages end in divorce far too often. Lovers will come and go, but tattoos are there to stay. You'll feel like a real fool if you get your lover's name inked in the middle of a giant heart on your arm, and then you break up, or get divorced, three months later. Really, it may seem like a good idea and a way of showing your love for them at the time, but it is really not worth the risk of the two of you not being together in a few years time.

On another note, you should never get a tattoo of a foreign language symbol tattooed onto you unless you are absolutely positive of its meaning. It would be a good idea to bring up the urban legend of the girl who thought she was getting her year of birth according to the Chinese calendar tattooed onto herself, but ended up with a sign saying "This chicken dish cheap, but tasty." You'll feel like an idiot, and again, getting it off is a painful and expensive process.

Answer: Your inner ankle

Ask different people about their various tattoos, and each of them will have a different answer for you as to which were the most painful.

However, in studies taken on tattoos, it has been proven that areas that are closer to the bone and areas that don't have as much fatty tissue are likely to hurt a heck of a lot more than those areas that do.

Other areas that are likely to hurt are your inner arms, your shoulder, your lower back and your neck. The least painful places to get tattoos are places which have some muscle and/or fatty tissue surrounding the bone, such as upper arms, chests, calves and stomachs.

Answer: All of these reasons

All of these reasons are why you should definitely NOT get a tattoo while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The first, and most obvious reason, is that the more alcohol you drink, it will thin your blood a lot. Sure, maybe it'll seem like a good idea, as you'll think that the alcohol will "numb" the pain, but, if anything, it will make it worse. Due to the thinning of the blood, you will bleed a lot more than you would had you been sober.

Secondly, most people become slightly reckless when they're drunk, and cannot always be responsible for their actions. When you're drunk, you may decide to get something completely ridiculous tattooed onto yourself, such as a bowtie on your neck, or a rude sign on your arm. Getting tattooed while drunk is likely to cause you some embarrassment.

Thirdly, an ethical tattoo artist will NEVER give you a tattoo if you are quite clearly not yourself. Tattoo artists (at least the licensed ones) are very aware of the dangers of giving someone a tattoo while that person is under the influence, and if they do, they are, in a way, taking advantage of you and your money.

Answer: The tattoo artist reuses needles

You NEVER go to a tattoo artist who reuses needles. NEVER! While this may seem like an "obvious" question, there are plenty of people who are unaware that this should be done. The reasons include the fact that the needle may give you an infection if it has been used on somebody else before, as well as the fact that we have so many blood diseases floating around in this day and age, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, etc.

Remember, the needle is not just brushing along the top of your skin. It is actually entering your skin between speeds of 50 and 300 times a minute, injecting the pigment in order to create your tattoo, and it IS going to draw blood, making an infection or blood disease a possibility.

The tattoo parlour should be scrupulously clean. The tattoo artists should all be using rubber gloves, and EVERYTHING should have gone through a sterilisation process, and look and be meticulously clean. Also, when the tattoo artist is applying your tattoo, everything else they touch should be covered in plastic or with a disinfectant to prevent an infection, as when your tattoo is being applied is when your skin will be at its most vulnerable.

Answer: They meet all of these "requirements"

When meeting the person who is going to ink on your tattoo for you, they should be all of these things. They should have a board up of their work next to their booth, or in a portfolio on a nearby table. They should also be prepared to sit down with you, and discuss at length EXACTLY what you would like your tattoo to be like, as well as giving you tips and healthcare advice for the aftercare of your tattoo.

Unfortunately, there are some tattoo artists out there who are only interested in getting your money, and these types of "artists" are to be avoided at all costs.

Answer: No

Absolutely not. Some tattoo artists have taken to recommending this due to the fact that many people unwrap the bandage to their tattoo too soon in order to either admire it, or to show others. However, this is probably one of the worst things that you could do for your tattoo.

Firstly, it will create a nearly impenetrable barrier between your skin and oxygen. Your skin (and especially after getting a tattoo) will need to be able to breathe in order for the tattoo to start the healing process.

Secondly, it will hold all the moisture against your skin, which can get up to very high temperatures, and this will become like a dream come true for some forms of bacteria, which will start breeding like mad, and may infect your tattoo.

Lastly, people bleed after receiving a tattoo. Blood IS going to leak out of your newly inked tattoo, and yes, people may be able to see your tattoo through the plastic, but after a while, all they'll be able to see is a bloody mess. Also, having the excess blood along with the other moisture against skin which is already unable to breathe may, again, cause infection.

While bandaging will not allow you to show off your tattoo minutes after it's been done, it will allow your skin to breathe, and may well be able to prevent an infection.

Answer: Keeping it moisturised until it stops feeling tender when not moisturised

Interestingly enough, there are no recommendations regarding your alcohol intake, or your diet, for the healing of your tattoo. Obviously the healing time of your tattoo will depend on a number of factors, including diet, alcohol consumption, age, physical condition and medication. However, tattoo artists do not recommend stopping intake of alcohol, or stopping the eating of red meat.

However, according to tattoo artists, http://www.luckyfish.com/tattoocare.html, and various other sources, you should NOT rebandage your tattoo once you have taken the initial bandage off. The first bandage is important, as it will prevent infection when your skin is at its most sensitive, and some recommend that it be kept on for only the first 2-3 hours, some recommend for it to be kept on overnight. Once you have removed this bandage, you should wash your tattoo with a fragrance free, antibacterial soap, and from then on, it is your job to keep the tattoo moisturised, by rubbing either Vitamin A and D, or another (preferably water based moisturiser, between about 3 and 5 times a day). Some tattoo artists may recommend Vaseline for moisturisation, but according to other sources, this should be avoided, as it is made out of Petroleum, and will clog the pores, meaning that your skin will not be able to breathe. Never apply any moisturiser on too thickly, as this will also prevent your skin from being able to breathe. Once the skin no longer feels tender when it is not moisturised, you can stop applying the moisturiser. Depending on the person, this can take from one week to a couple of months.

DO NOT pick at any peeling and flakes on your tattoo, as doing this could jeopardise the future look and appearance of your tattoo.

The next very important tattoo aftercare step is to keep it CLEAN! Touch your healing tattoo as little as possible (and bite off the hand of any other person who tries to touch it)! Treat the tattoo as you would treat pretty much any other wound, in that if it is touched with something dirty (i.e. most things) and is not cleaned, there is a very good chance that it will get infected.

Other tips for the healing of your tattoo include not exposing the tattoo to direct sunlight (it is recommended that you ALWAYS use sunscreen with an SPF between 36 and 50, no matter how long you've had the tattoo, as it will preserve the colouring and the general appearance of the tattoo). Don't swim, or bathe in a jacuzzi whilst your tattoo is healing. When you shower, try to keep your tattoo away from the water as much as possible, as it may pull off premature scabs. It is also suggested that you do not wear clothes that are in very close contact with the tattoo (e.g. nylon stockings, socks, etc.)

These are general instructions regarding your tattoo. The artist will have their own set of instructions for the care of your tattoo, and you should also try and follow the ones that they give you as closely as possible.

Answer: Cheloidal process

Yep, the cheloidal process is in fact not a process at all (as far as I'm aware). A cheloid is actually the raised growth of scar tissue, particularly around an infected or injured area. Basically, it's just a really large and prominent scar, generally quite pink in colour. Cheloids are actually a problem which can sometimes be caused by the actual tattoo removal. Not very nice at all.

Laser treatments are both a lengthy and an expensive process. Basically, laser treatments will lighten your tattoos and/or remove them by using lasers to break down the pigmentation in the skin. Removing your tattoo with laser treatments may take several weeks, or even a few months. However, there are several drawbacks to laser treatment. Some poor souls who decided to have their tattoos removed experienced hypopigmentation, in which their natural skin where the tattoo was will actually be changed to a lighter shade than it was before, thus becoming a lighter shade than the rest of the body. Another negative is that, because some tattoo artists use different kinds of inks with different types of pigment, without knowing the chemical composition of the ink, the laser, instead of getting rid of the tattoo, may just change the pigment to another (and often less attractive or desirable) shade. Adding to all this, there have also been some reports of infection, due to the laser treatment causing some allergenic substances that were in the ink to be released into the body.

A dermabrasion process is whereby your skin is abraded (scraped, or eroded away,) most commonly with a wire brush. This is first and foremost a painful process (possibly even more so than actually GETTING a tattoo) and leaves scars a lot of the time.

The camouflaging process is a process where new pigments are injected into your skin where the tattoo is, in an attempt to turn the tattoo the same colour as the rest of your skin. However, this process does not always give the best results, as the pigment used will very often tend not to look natural.

There are several other processes one can go through to remove tattoos, including surgical removal, scarification and salabrasion.

Thanks for taking my quiz. While I myself have nothing personal against tattoos, I just think that it is a wise idea to consider ALL these things before getting one.

So remember, think before you ink!