Edmonton Neotrad Tattoos: The Tattoo Process from Start to Finish
Alana: Hi everyone, welcome back to the SkinArtJ YouTube channel. My name is Alana, and I’m joined, as always, by J from SkinArtJ with Edmonton neotrad tattoos. Today we’re going to be talking about the tattoo process from start to finish. Our quote for the day is: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” That was said by Thomas Merton.
All right, and our statistic of the day is: the oldest tattoo is actually over 5,000 years old from the mummy Ötzi, who was found in the Italian Alps. Really interesting—so tattoos have been around for a while. I have heard that before. That’s great. So, while tattoos are becoming more and more commonplace everywhere, including in Canada, some people are still nervous about the art form, not knowing what they can expect out of the tattoo process. So in today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about the tattoo process from start to finish as guided by J. Thanks so much for helping demystify tattoos for us.
J: Thanks for having me.
What Are The Steps Of Getting a Tattoo
Alana: All right, so what are all of the steps of getting a tattoo? What are they, just start to finish?
J: Usually I would suggest a general thought or idea that people start with wanting to know what they want on their body. From there, go into figuring out what kind of artist they want to work with and seeing if that style they’re looking for fits what that artist does. And then from there, reaching out to your artists, starting conversation, showing interest that you want to get tattooed by them—however they like to go about their process and setting that up, getting into it where you sit down and talk to them. Some people also have done it online with me, so sometimes I’ll do Facebook chat or live video so that we can discuss it if there’s a distance, where someone’s traveling into town. From there, go over the details: figure out what it is they’re wanting, where they’re wanting the placement, kind of—they have a budget in mind because that will dictate a lot of how the artwork is going to come to life. And then from there, putting your deposit down, getting ready, and then start prepping for your tattoo. So if your tattoo is booked out a couple of months, start at least two weeks prior to your session: start moisturizing, making sure you’re eating healthy, making sure you’re getting good rest, that you’re not out partying, that you’re taking good care of your body, and try to de-stress yourself as much as possible. Come and prepare to the session: the day of, make sure you’re on time, then follow the artist instructions and start smooth sailing into your session.
Alana: Excellent. That’s really fascinating—that self-care, eating well, being healthy and stress-free is an important part of getting a tattoo. I would think it’s a crucial factor; it’s going to impact the pain tolerance that you have for that day during your session, and also it’s just going to give you better quality or better ability to sit for your session in general. The better you take care of your body, the better it takes care of you.
J: Wonderful.
How Do You Find a Tattoo Artist
Alana: And so you talked about finding an artist and you touched a little bit about that—what is the best way to find an artist?
J: Commonly, from my experience, a lot of people are looking online. So they’re looking on Instagram, which is my common field where I’m displaying a lot of my artwork. Otherwise there’s Facebook, there’s YouTube—there’s a couple of varieties depending on what social media platforms artists use and what people, the clientele, are interested in. I’ll admit TikTok is not my strong point, but I know a lot of people do use it. That being said, just finding your artists through whichever platform you like and hopefully you align with what they do for you.
Alana: Excellent. Would tattoo conventions be another place to go shopping for an artist? You can see what they’re doing right on the go?
J: 100%. The Edmonton convention’s coming up; I’m planning to partake. That’s another way people can look at artists, see what kind of style they have. Keep in mind the tattoo convention doesn’t give the full atmosphere or the full—I guess experience—that an artist might cater to. For instance, I like to have a nice calm environment while I’m tattooing. Everyone’s a little different, so I—for myself and my experience with my clients—I try to make it the most relaxing and the most calm session so that, once again, it helps someone’s body adjust as well as it can.
What Is The Difference Between Custom and Flash Tattoos
Alana: Perfect. That’s great—that gives the viewers a lot of things to do while they’re looking for their artist. And what is the difference between choosing a flash design or getting a custom tattoo?
J: So flash designs are commonly artwork that the artist wants to do, whether they do a reduced hourly rate or a flat rate for the piece. Custom designs are based on a collaboration of both ideas from the client and the artist: you come together, discuss ideas, discuss what kind of artwork they’re expecting from it and what expectations you have for the outcome of it, and then making it customized toward their vision and your vision, aligning it together. If you do a flash design, it’s purely on the artist’s creativity and what they like to do.
Alana: Great. And is it common for people to look at a flash design and then ask for modifications on that?
J: Some people have asked me for modifications on my tattoo designs. I don’t have an issue with that. The only thing is, keep in mind the price range might vary depending on what you’re adding to it or what you’re changing. If it’s a lot of changes, then we’re creating something custom and it just goes into a custom piece. If it’s, example, adding some dates or adding a loved one’s name or just a word or something to it, then it might be just an additional flat rate value on top of whatever the design is.
Alana: Excellent. And would you say an artist’s flash gallery is a great place where you can get a feel for their artwork style?
J: 100%. You get to see what they like to do, where they’re headed with the direction of their artistic endeavors, and you get a feel if it aligns with what you kind of want out of it. If it’s not something that an artist is extremely enthusiastic about, there may not be that same kind of experience you want to gain from it.
The Day Of Your Tattoo
Alana: All right, I love hearing about that—thanks so much. And what are the steps of getting a tattoo? You go in for the tattoo appointment: what happens from the moment you step in until the moment you leave?
J: Greeting the client, asking them questions about what brings them in, seeing what kind of fit is best for them in the studio—figuring out which artist is going to be aligned with their vision. Then having the artist approach them, talk to them, see what they’re looking to get done and what expectations are. And once again, going through range, if there’s a budget or if there’s some type of expectation of time frame that they have to get something completed. And then from there, after everything has been collected with information from the client and the artist, it starts the booking process: putting a deposit down, making sure that the dates are booked for them and getting artwork prepared. So the steps of getting a tattoo would be: from the time they arrive on the day that they’re getting their tattoo—what happens from there. So if they’re coming in during that time frame, it’s showing up on time, bringing things that they might want or need through the session. If it’s a longer session, bringing food with them, bringing drinks, snacks—everything so that their body is nourished; bringing things that are going to make them comfortable, so if they like bigger fuzzy socks to keep them warm or if they want to bring their own blanket so their body temperature regulates. Those are all things that are suggested. We don’t provide blankets—it’s a sanitary thing—so we do suggest bringing things that are going to make them more comfortable. We do have things like pillows that can be sanitized; we do have bed sheets that keep the bedding clean and a little more comfy for the client. But otherwise, if it’s additional things such as bringing your headphones or bringing some type of technology to distract yourself during the process, we suggest bringing those to have the best experience you’re wanting—or if you want to engage with your artist, also just having a conversation.
Alana: Excellent. And so you’ve come in, you’ve brought all your comfort items—what happens next?
J: Come in, bring your comfort items, then we start the process of prepping the skin: getting the stencil ready, making sure the skin’s cleaned and prepped before putting the stencil on, letting the stencil dry, and then starting the session.
Alana: Excellent. So once the stencil is on, you make sure that they’re happy with the placement, and then the tattooing starts?
J: Oh, of course. I will commonly do the stencil around three times just for my own purpose of wanting to make sure it’s aligned on the body and making sure that the client’s happy with the placement—make sure everyone’s on the same boat, happy with what’s happening before we continue further along.
The First Session of Perhaps Many
Alana: Excellent. And so you tattoo them—if there needs to be more than one session, at what point will you let the client know that they’ll need to come back?
J: Depending on how a client sits: if they have high pain tolerance, we could be tattooing all day, and there’s that expectation with a larger piece that they’re going to have to come back—it’s already been discussed that it’s going to be X amount of sessions roughly. Otherwise, if there is a point that a person, for whatever reason, just isn’t able to sit through the process, we pause at a point where both the artist and the client are comfortable, then bandage them up and set them up for another appointment so they can finish. For example, if it’s a smaller piece and they can just do line work for the day, that’s totally fine, but it’s also planning for that.
Alana: Excellent. So a person should let you know if it’s their first tattoo or if they’re nervous so that you can manage time well—is that right?
If It Is Your First Tattoo
J: Ideally. There’s a couple of factors: if it is their first tattoo, a lot of people are nervous coming in because they don’t know what to expect. Typically I have had people with smaller tattoos be able to finish, where they can sit through the whole process, and it’s just working with their anxieties—letting them know what to expect, walking them through it, talking through the steps of exactly what I’m doing, what I’m going to be doing next, and just bringing comfort to their mind of like, what’s happening.
Alana: Excellent. So at this point the tattoo is done—what do you do after it’s done to help it heal?
J: So there’s a couple of methods I tend to use. Two methods: one is a bandage that’s just a black covering—I commonly call it a “meat package” because it looks very similar to it—but it’s taking pictures and then getting the client ready. If I’m using the black bandage, it’s then putting a thin layer of ointment on it and then bandaging it and taping them, which comes off quite soon after they’ve had the bandage applied. The other method is using what’s called Second Skin, and it’s a clear bandage, where you’ve got to prep the skin. So I always warn people: I’m like, “You’re really not going to like me after we just tattooed you because we’re going to have to use isopropyl on it; we’re going to have to clean that area again just to make sure everything is good before bandaging it,” and then applying the clear bandage that stays on for multiple days. It’s a breathable material and people can shower with it, not have to think about it as much, and have that healing process aided with that bandage. So depending on people’s preferences and their skin types—because not everyone is able to have Second Skin; they have allergic reactions to the adhesive it has—which is totally fine. There’s neither right nor wrong way; it’s just what’s best for someone’s body.
Aftercare For Your Tattoo
Alana: Excellent. And so they’re bandaged up and ready to go—what things should they do and what things should they avoid now that they have a fresh tattoo on their body?
J: Avoid going into swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs—things that are going to be bacteria-infested for an open wound. You’re going to want to baby your body part that has received a tattoo and make sure that you’re keeping it clean and keeping it dry, not having anything rub against it because you have an open wound you need to tend to.
Alana: Excellent. And J, how soon will people know that they need a touch-up and when should they contact an artist to let them know?
J: Within the three-month span they’ll know that they need a touch-up if they see things with their tattoo haven’t healed properly, if there isn’t super bright color or saturation that’s supposed to be there with the tattoo for whatever reason. In general, if something has happened where I’ve had people come back to me because they’ve accidentally scratched it on something or something has happened and it requires it—not an issue; I just need to know what happened and why so I can take into account how to go about things and adjust to people’s bodies. After that three-month span, it goes back to normal hourly rate. So ideally, within that month of healing—depending on how they’ve healed—you get a good idea of being able to come back if they want to get things retouched up.
Healing Your Tattoo
Alana: Perfect. And once they have their tattoo—we know that once a person has their first tattoo they like to get another tattoo fairly quickly—how many months or weeks should they wait after getting their first one until they get their second tattoo?
J: It varies. For example, if they want to get a second tattoo that’s close to that tattoo, as long as it’s not touching the existing one that’s already in healing, we can do it. But if they are trying to work on a piece that is going through the healing process, they’re going to have to wait that full month for it to heal properly before we can start adding more to it.
Alana: Great. But they can get another tattoo right away?
J: Yes.
Alana: Excellent. All right, well thank you so much. I think that is very illuminating—the tattoo process from start to finish. If people want to get a tattoo with you, how do they find you?
J: The best way is through Instagram @skinartj, reaching out through email: skinartj@gmail.com, text 780-722-2023—those are the immediate ways that I can at least keep track and respond to people in a timely manner.
Alana: Perfect. Well, reach out to J; she’s waiting for you to contact her for your perfect design, and we’ll see you next time on the SkinArtJ YouTube channel. Thanks.