It’s important to keep your body relaxed, fed, and nourished, so make sure you get a good night’s sleep.

Eat a nutrient meal as you need the energy to tolerate the pain before the nerves kick in. Low food intake can cause dizziness and low blood sugar, making the experience more painful.

Drink lots of water.

The hydrated body ensures that the skin is supple and resilient to take the pressure of the needle, especially if you’ve got a long session. 

It’s important that you don’t drink alcohol before the session nor the night before the session as well

Regarding Pain:

Getting a permanent personal body art is something worth enduring pain. 

Pain from tattooing is generally tolerable. However, some areas of the body are more painful to tattoo. Areas near bones like knees, hands, feet, head, neck, and ribcage are more sensitive.

Our tips to deal with pain can be :

• Breathe in and out slowly (and please don’t hold your breath), always try to relax your mind and your body.
• Try to divert your attention from the needle by watching a movie or listening to your favorite music.
• If the pain becomes too unbearable, do not hesitate to ask for a respite, It is normal to ask for breaks.

Regarding medication (such as aspirin and other blood thinners) 

Blood-thinning medications can prevent a tattoo from clotting as effectively.

The previous means that the tattooed skin will remain open and more susceptible to bacterial infections for a longer period of time.

Regarding pain killers:

You can take a NON-aspirin pain reliever half an hour before the session. 

Pain killers can help a little, but you will still feel pain, so they don’t make the experience pain-free.

Please make sure it is not Ibuprofen or aspirin. Aspirin is a blood thinner, so taking it immediately before a procedure is hazardous, as they make the blood thin and prolong bleeding time.

Regarding Alcohol:

Please avoid drinking alcohol the night before your session because alcohol makes your blood thinner (aspirin / Ibuprofen).

Which means excessive bleeding. When you bleed more than normal, it can cause visibility issues for the artist, potentially compromising the quality of the design. 

Excess bleeding can also thin the ink and affect the colors.

To be on the safe side, avoid consuming alcohol 48 hours before getting a tattoo and 72 hours after getting a tattoo.

Regarding Weed:

Avoid smoking weed before your session. Weed affects the body’s sensitivity to pain and makes you more anxious.

Regarding coffee:

Caffeine in coffee works as a stimulant for the nervous system. That will make it hard for you to relax and sit still during the session.

Regarding clothes:

During tattooing, clothes can get dirty from color and blood. 

For easier access to the position where we’ll be tattooing, we recommend you wear or bring old dark clothes, depending on the location of the tattoo.

During the healing process, please avoid wearing tight-fitting clothes over the tattoo, it will rub and irritate the skin, making the healing process longer and more difficult.

One last tip:

At the studio the tattoo artists use very bright white light during tattooing so they can see the skin and the colors that are being applied, if you have light sensitivity or problems with migraines, we advise you to bring sunglasses with you to the session just in case you didn’t feel comfortable from the light that is being used.