I have a confession to make.

I got a tattoo.

Now in all honesty it's not that big of a deal. It's almost a cultural norm to see someone with a tattoo now, even at my age. But at the same time, many people either don't know the process or don't understand what a tattoo truly is. Now I'm not claiming to be an expert but I do know quite a bit and I've obviously gone through the process myself. So I will share the knowledge I have with you. Let's begin.

First off, let's talk about the process of getting a tattoo.

If you are going to get a tattoo, don't be rash when deciding on the design, location, and size. Why? Because a tattoo is permanent, it is going on your skin and it's staying there. So you should be absolutely sure that you truly want to get it. Plus you need to be able to handle the size of the tattoo, because the bigger they are, the more they hurt. I spent a couple of years before I found one I truly loved, then I thought about it for another six months or so just to be sure.

Once you have a design chosen, you're going to need to find a tattoo shop and a tattoo artist. This can be a pretty difficult to do and it's very likely that you'll have to do your research. I personally suggest finding a tattoo shop that lets you have a short consultation with a tattoo artist. This allows not only to meet your tattoo artist before hand, but it allows you to get more information about your tattoo and what to do for the day of the tattoo. (Each tattoo store has slightly different requirements)

Now's the day you'll get you tattoo. Of course you'll need to follow what your tattoo artist advises you to do, but I also have some tips. First off, be mindful of what medicines you take before hand. Especially any kind of blood thinners if I remember correctly. And if your taking antibiotics at the time, you may not want to get your tattoo at that time. Antibiotics can easily mess up your tattoo as it heals. You can always ask your tattoo artist to be sure. Secondly, have at least a small snack before you go. Tattoos take hours, and you don't want to be sitting there getting a tattoo well your stomachs growling. I also suggest bringing a water bottle with you, just in case you start to get thirsty. Again, tattoos take hours to do.

That's the process of getting a tattoo. Or at least the one I went through. Now for some commonly asked questions.

How much did it hurt?

My tattoo is about the size of my forearm, and in all honesty it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. It felt a bit more painful than having someone roughly draw on your arm with a pen. Now granted I had an extremely good tattoo artist, but I don't have a very high pain tolerance either.

How long did it take?

My tattoo took about two hours. And that included the design time since I was paying my tattoo artist to make an original piece. (He drew it straight on my arm)

How much did it cost?

I ended up paying my tattoo artist $300. He charged me $125 an hour, and then I left him a $50 tip because I love my tattoo so much. He did a very good job after all.

Is that real?

No of course it's not real. I just waste thirty to forty minutes perfectly redrawing the same exact thing every single day. *sighs*

Why are you putting lotion on it?

If you didn't know, tattoos are technically open wounds with ink shoved into them. Therefore you have to take very good care of them till they're fully healed. Mine took about two weeks to heal.
Part of how you take of it is applying a thin layer of lotion so it doesn't dry out and get damaged. And yes the weird colored scabs are normal. Just leave them alone or you'll damage your tattoo.

Is that really permanent?

Yes my tattoo is permanent. Almost all tattoos are. But at the same time, I will need to get it touched up in the distant future as it fades over time.

That's my experience. I hope this helps if you ever consider getting a permanent piece of art on your skin.