How to pick a tattoo shop?

[lupinus]

Much good advice all around.

Know what you want and go looking for it.  See someone with nice ink similar to what you want?  Ask them where they got it.  A good tattoo artist is like a good barber, hard to find but once you've found him all is well.

Look at portfolios, look at ink, look at his standard offerings.  And if the price seems low, there is likely a reason.  As to the needles, they are a one time use item.  If they try and stick you with something else run, don't walk, for the door.

[.Cheese.]

(However, I think anyone getting a tattoo is making a poor decision- some of those decisions are worse than others, though. I will elaborate: what will be your opinion of that tattoo in 30 years?)

My thoughts too.  Aside from being painful and causing some people to rush to judgment about you, I've seen what tattoos look like 30 years later.  Not good.  Not good at all.

Add to that the medical risks associated with some shops not taking safety seriously and the fact that getting a tattoo removed is painful, time consuming, and costly and it adds up to me not wanting to even bother.

I mean, sure it might be fun to get the letter "M" tattooed on both but cheeks so that when you spread them it spells, "MOM"..... but is it really worth it?

[Balog]

My thoughts too.  Aside from being painful and causing some people to rush to judgment about you, I've seen what tattoos look like 30 years later.  Not good.  Not good at all.

Add to that the medical risks associated with some shops not taking safety seriously and the fact that getting a tattoo removed is painful, time consuming, and costly and it adds up to me not wanting to even bother.

I mean, sure it might be fun to get the letter "M" tattooed on both but cheeks so that when you spread them it spells, "MOM"..... but is it really worth it?

I won't say that's the most ignorant and insulting thing I've seen on this board, but it's certainly king for this week.

Personally, I like the fact that some people rush to judgement about tattoos. It helps me weed out the santimonious pricks more easily.

[Thor]

I spent 20 years USN and had often considered getting a tattoo. A salty old WWII Sub Sailor advised me against it. He showed me his aged tattoos and I became a believer in his advice. After many years, his had managed to blur into a green ink spot, illegible. Furthermore, I've never found much of anything that I want to keep on my body forever.