Pre tattoo advice…
Well, I wrote this Monday evening, ready to post Tuesday, it’s now Wednesday…
Honestly last week was pretty rubbish. I wrote it off as a week of rest. I did nothing productive, no writing, no drawing, no running, nothing outside of work. I had a nice working week, I watched a lot of TV at home, I think I needed it. And it is possible the first week ever where I’ve done that and not felt guilty.
Today I am in Chelmsford, getting tattooed myself, excited isn’t the word… I’m looking forward to catching up with my friends but not the tattooing part. I had every intention of replying to emails in my hotel room on Monday but checked into the hotel and fell asleep, so the emails will be Wednesdays priority. I’d also planned to sort out my business cards and banner for the upcoming convention season but that’s gone out of the window too. Wednesday is going to be a busy day.
Thinking about my own tattoo appointment I have some advice… I try to travel to my tattoo appointments (depending on where they are) the day before so that I can be well rested for tattoo day, it’s really important to sleep well the night before your tattoo. Trust me. Having been both heartbroken and hungover for tattoo days I’d definitely say you’ll sit better having not been awake all night crying or drinking. Get some rest. It’s also important to eat a good breakfast before a tattoo appointment, low blood sugar can lead to fainting, even if you don’t usually eat breakfast try to eat something before your appointment. Tattoo days are not days to be dieting. Depending on how long your appointment is, it’s also important to eat lunch half way through the day and make sure you have a good dinner too. You might think you’re not hungry, but when you start eating you’ll suddenly realise how hungry you are, your body has been working hard dealing with the tattoo whether you’ve been feeling it or not. If you ‘go for a drink’ after your tattoo, try not to over do it, you may also feel drunk more quickly than normal so take it slowly. For me the days after a tattoo are the worst, healing can be so hard, but taking care of yourself during this time really helps. Rest where you can, eat well. I’ve also learned that if I’m going for a big sitting/day session and I’ve travelled to get to the appointment, I need the day after to recuperate, mostly to sit home and feel sorry for myself! I’ve been getting tattooed longer than I’ve been tattooing so this advice is based on almost 20years of getting tattoos, I’ve learned a lot about what my body can handle. This has also changed with age. You will learn your own ways with each new tattoo but I’d say this is good advice to start with. Perhaps I need to do a more comprehensive guide to getting tattooed, pre, during and post, I feel an idea forming…
I’m travelling back to Edinburgh tonight, should be home before midnight, I’ll be exhausted and ready to sleep if I can get myself comfortable. I’ll also be terrified of a cat jumping on my sore body during the night, but that’s the joy of cats. I’m really hopefully for a better week this week, feeling much more like myself and have some awesome people booked in for tattoos, lovely people I’m excited to catch up with. And I’m more motivated to get back to drawing, writing and running again, although the running may be waiting for a week while I heal…
Chelmsford catherdal