Last weekend brought the fourth annual Cape Town Tattoo Convention back to the city. While the word 'convention' usually connotes business suits and PowerPoint presentations, the tattoo convention is slightly different. Instead of walking in to boring businessman talking about 'blah, blah, blah', you walk in to the sound of tattoo needles buzzing. While the idea of having multiple needles piercing your skin might scare some of you off, it needn't.
While tattoos were once considered a social faux pas, limited to drunken sailors and jailbirds, they're now recognised as works of art, which they undoubtedly are. Now, if you're thinking of heading down the tattoo path, make sure you follow the right route… or you might wake up the next morning with inky remorse.
Here, four tips you should keep in mind before you get a tattoo.
1. Never tattoo a trend. You will probably regret that Chinese symbol (no matter how meaningful you think it might be), tribal marking (why would you
ever get a tribal tattoo?) or worse, a butterfly. Or a star. Or a dolphin. Just not cool.
2. When you visit a tattoo parlour, make sure you go to a recognised establishment. You might get ink for cheap in a back-alley, but you're likely to be left with potential infection and in the long-term, cheap-looking, faded designs.
3. Before you go to a respected tattoo shop, make sure you have a printout or picture of the tattoo you have in mind with you. It doesn't need to be exact, as the artists will help you rework whatever you're not happy with, but you can't just walk in and say, 'I want a tattoo of a bird on my ankle. How much does it cost?' Just imagine how many people ask a question like this on a daily basis.
4. Before you impulsively pick your artist, make sure they are on the same page as you when it comes to your design. Look at their portfolios and see what kind of work they've done in the past. If the artist's style doesn't suit yours, it's better to find out before the ink is dry.
So, perhaps the best thing to do is to think on it for a year. There's no need to rush. When the next tattoo convention (where you'll be able to pick from a range of local and international artists) comes to town, you'll be super-prepared and ready to hit the chair. No regrets.
For more information about the Cape Town Tattoo Convention,
click here.