BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Art My first Tattoo!

I got my first Tattoo a month after my 18th b-day. I have had it almost a year now.. I got it on my ankle.. and it hurt almore then what i thought it would.. but im addicted now.. Mine means alot to me b/c i actually drew mine on first with sharpie and wore it around for about a 2 weeks before i got it done(kept darkening it every day).. to make sure it was where i wanted it.. then the artist just went right over the sharpie.. so really its is 100% mine no one has one like it.. all the artist did was just make it there forever

Rae, I am hoping you will come in here and read this. I thought I saw somewhere that you are from the Bay Area. If so have you heard anything about the tattoo expo at the Cow Palace August 26-28? My friend and I want to get our first tatto at the end of September and I was considering going to the Expo. Have you ever gone to one of these events?

Kat1980,

You are correct, I am in San Francisco. I have been to a few tattoo conventions before, but not this one. If the event will give me a press pass, I will go and check it out.

You may want to read Getting Tattooed At A Tattoo Convention before you go. Really, the more sure you are of what you want ahead of time, the easier you'll make it on yourself and the artist. And be sure to dress so that you are comfortable and can bare the area you want tattooed.

Also, if you do get work there, be prepared to have people stand right there and stare. Or take pictures. Getting tattooed at a convention is one of the least private experiences ever.

Stupid me. Looking at your posts I can see where is says "Loc: San Francisco, CA." <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I have an idea of an idea of what I want. I have narrowed it down to two fairies by Amy Brown. I want it between my low back and mid back on the right side.

I don't want to get the tattoo there I just want to get some ideas. And my friend who wants to get a tattoo with me has no idea what he wants so I thought it would be a good place to take him.

I was asking because I don't know what to expect from these sort of events. I don't know if I am going to feel awkward and completely stand out. Same with my friend, who comes from a well to do family. He is very proper and is, well...he is borderline metrosexual. I think that is the best way to describe him.

When we do get it done we are going to go to either Santa Cruz or Fort Bragg. But as I said it wont be until sometime in Sept. because I want to wait for swim season to be over.

If you take a look at the web site for the event highlight, http://www.bodyartexpo.com/HIGHLIGHTS.PHP , you can see that they are going to have all sorts of stuff.

There can't be genital nudity, it being a public place, but you will see a lot of skin, most of it heavily tattooed. You have a good chance of seeing as diverse a group as with any Bay Area event. Just because the guy standing next to you is covered head-to-toe in tattoos doesn't mean he might not still be a banker, lawyer or doctor. Oh, and the huge guys covered in tattoos who look like they belong to a biker gang most often are just that.

Actually, the crowd photos on the site do give a good idea of what the event will most likely look like. Wear comfortable shoes. As with all conventions, there's never enough places to sit down. hahahaha

Great. Thank you so much for your insight into issue and for links.

I got my first tattoo last month. I think it's very interesting and would like to post a photo of it. Is there a section where I can do that? I see that photos aren't posted in this thread, so figured I'd better ask.

I just joined the forum today although I've been receiving the body art email newsletters for some time. This forum is great.....well designed and easy to navigate.

I look forward to a reply to my question.

Don't know whether it's mentioned anywhere, and I'm a bit late getting into the conversation, but one thing that's important when considering having a tattoo, is making sure that the tattooist is a good one. Do a bit of research.

Another painful area to have a tattoo done is on the collarbone or the breastbone.

Why not put it in your avatar?

You're welcome to post pictures as long as you have someplace to host them from.