Tattoos: Think before you ink

I walked into my mother's room and asked her to zip up my dress. As I turned my back toward her she let out a blood-curdling scream, and began to cry. Suddenly, I remembered I never told her about the tattoo on my back.

A few weeks after my mother's first encounter with that tattoo she sent me something in the mail. A package of temporary tattoo stickers with a note attached reading, "Try this instead. Love, mom."

My mother is very open-minded and openhearted. She is the epitome of unconditional love. But she still doesn't like tattoos. I think the main difference in opinions between us is that my mother believes I may be doing something I will regret later in life. I on the other hand believe I am simply making my skin more personal, more comfortable-just a better fit.

I got my first tattoo for my eighteenth birthday. Of course, my mother would never sign a permission slip for me to get one sooner, so I had to wait about a year. It was certainly worth it. I realized this would be a relationship that would last a lifetime.

I spent the time deciding what my first tattoo should be, and where I should place it. I started with a simple design created by a friend of mine involving the earth, sun, moon and stars. I decided to place it between my ankle and heel because it was small, and worked well with the natural curve there.

Getting a tattoo is a big decision. If you even think about getting it removed-don't get it. The cost and the pain index go up at least twenty fold. If you have thought about getting a tattoo without considering how to remove it, I have some advice. Three main issues must be dealt with to get a tattoo-pain, safety, and location.

Tattooing is an art, an old art. It began with pointed sticks being hammered into the skin. I'm glad we now have electric needles. I'm not real good with pain. Which leads me to the number one issue and the number one question people ask about tattoos, does it hurt?

Of course it hurts. A needle is being pounded into the lower layers of your epidermis, hundreds of times per second. But it only hurts for a few minutes, then your body reacts and practically the entire area being tattooed goes numb. It does get sore after a few hours in the chair, but those of us who love our tattoos never seem to mind.

Pain is the number one question but safety is the number one concern. I met my tattoo artist years before I got my first tattoo. State of the Art Tattooing in Northern Virginia was the place. The artist gave me a chance to check out the studio, the equipment and most of all him. I was given time to ask him questions and I returned a couple of times before I had my piece of first work done.

He never gave me a hard time and told me everything I wanted to know. He never reused needles and had hospital-quality cleaning equipment for the rest of his gear. One last safety tip is never get a tattoo drunk. Alcohol thins the blood and makes it hard for the artist and the person getting tattooed. Plus, it never heals quite right.

The last major issue for tattoos is location, location, location. You have to be sure about where you want to place it on your body. I didn't want to have my tattoo on skin I know will stretch out while I continue to grow as a woman. I also like the way a great dress looks on, so I didn't want to have something on my arms or legs. That left my back. But the back is such a large canvas, it turned out to be the perfect location. It may take the rest of my life to finish, but each addition will be great and worth the wait. My mother doesn't like to talk about my tattoos or my love for them. She does however love me with them.