Things You Need to Know Before You get Your Tattoo - Sin On Skin

Below you will find some VERY useful information you should read prior to making your tattoo appointment.

"To prevent the spread of illness and to keep everyone healthy we ask you to please stay home until you feel better!"

If you are sick or have  a cold or flu you should wait to get your tattoo done.  If your body is run down then how can you expect it to perform at 100%? You can't!  If your sick it WILL EFFECT your healing time as well as the outcome of your tattoo.

• Diabetes - can slow down the healing time of your tattoo.  Keep doing the aftercare longer, take extra care of yourself and be patient.

• Steroid Medication - Use can slow down your heal time.

• In-Vitro Fertilization - can really cause issues with the heal time, quality of healing and the end result of the tattoo appearance.  It's recommended to wait until the medication is out of your system before you consider any tattoo work to ensure the best results.

• Extreme cold or heat can cause issues with healing.  (Excessive sweating & really dry skin).

• Tight clothing or shoes cause chaffing which can rub against the tattoo causing colour loss, spotting in the tattoo or cause a blow-out effect.

Why can't I use vitamin E on my tattoos?
Vitamin E is meant to remove impurities in the skin, to your body the ink is an impurity.  The vitamin E can actually remove the ink from your skin causing spots and damage.  Many added vitamins can do damage to your new tattoo so be careful and listen to your tattoo artist.

Do tattoos hurt?
Certain areas hurt more then others; for example ribs, feet, inner arm and solar plexus.  Anywhere that has very little fat and has nerves that are close to the surface. You may also have heard stories about people passing out or crying from the intense pain but people usually pass out because their blood sugar drops from not eating or they allow themselves to get too worked up and their own fears knock them out. Pain is usually not the reason a client faints during a tattoo.  There are some clients that find the pain too much to bear, but they are few and far between.

If you have a fear of needles (very common) or blood I would like you know that a tattoo needle does not enter the skin very far, as many fear, it's only going in about 1/16 of an inch. The damage to your skin (when done by a professional) is so minimal that many people don't bleed at all  and if they do it's very minimal. Excessive bleeding usually only results when the patron has been drinking alcohol or taking some kind of blood thinner (like aspirin).

Hand / Foot / Finger Tattoo Issues
Due to the nature of the skin on your hands (it sheds constantly) it's almost impossible to keep a good solid tattoo. Some people will see white spots during the healing process of their tattoo (within days of it being done) that's how fast you can lose color in these areas. Most pictures you see online or in magazines are of fresh tattoos that are not a year or two after they have been done. When getting a foot/hand or finger tattoo you will be looking at a lifetime of touch ups  at your expense.  
Foot Tattoos, much like your hands, also sheds constantly during your lifetime.  Which effects how the tattoo will take in your skin, how the color stays and how the over all design will heal.  

How does Pregnancy/ Breastfeeding affect tattoos?
Once pregnant we will not tattoo you, as your unborn child will feel and go through the whole experience with you, the vibration from the tattoo machine will be felt through the whole body. If you have just had a baby we ask you to wait 6 months after the birth.  We do this to ensure your body has had time to recuperate and heal.  Tattooing right after your baby has been born is too much on your body so we ask you wait for a few months.  It also gives your body time to go back in it's pre pregnancy shape. Breastfeeding can slow heal times and/or cause colour loss.  Also because your child is getting what you put in your body, we feel it's better to wait.

Once your baby is born we have only 1 question...
Are you breastfeeding? If the answer is YES, then you must wait 3 months after you finish breastfeeding before we will tattoo you.  You're body has gone through so many changes that we find you need to wait to allow your body to go back to it's pre pregnancy state.  If you're run down from the pregnancy & breastfeeding, your tattoo will not heal properly and we also worry about placement shifting, so we ask you wait to give yourself time to heal.

Skin Conditions - Eczema / Psoriasis
Some clients (a very small percent that have a bad case of either skin condition) find that the tattoo process can trigger an eczema/psoriasis outbreak around the spot being tattooed.  If you are  in the middle of an outbreak please wait until it has passed, so we don't cause any more discomfort or reaction in that area. If you develop spots after your tattoo, don't be alarmed its' the skin's normal response to any irritation.

Things to watch out for in the first 2 weeks
Swimming, tanning, shaving.
Stay away!!!! (for at least 2 weeks) The sun will fade your new tattoo, especially if it's fresh, so wait 2 weeks or until you have no shiny spots left to go into the sun.  No tanning in tanning beds for 2 weeks either, it will damage your tattoo just as the sun will.  You also have to remember the heat we've generated within the skin is still there for awhile and if you go out into the sun you can actually give yourself a nasty burn. Keep all razors away for at least 2 weeks or until no shiny spots remain - you don't want to cause any damage during the healing phase.

Guarantees at our Discretion
Our studio will ‘touch up' areas where you may have issues due to the work we have carried out.  However, If you have burnt your tattoo after it was done and it has now faded, then that is on you. If it's a few years old and has naturally faded, then again, that is on you. If you pick, scratch, or disregard any of our aftercare instructions we will not guarantee it. If you've followed our aftercare instructions and still have a problem, then we will be more than happy to correct any issues.