Celebrity tattoo artist Vikas Malani has over two decades of experience in the tattoo industry. But he says there are some things that still haven’t changed even after all these years. “There are so many misconceptions people have not just about tattoos and tattooed people but also about tattoo artists. Then there are so many who neglect the aftercare and then blame the artist. You can’t take tattoos and the person giving you tattoos for granted!” says the tattoo artist who has inked celebrities like Remo D’Souza, John Abraham, Alok Nath, Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra, Fardeen Khan, Anil Kapoor, MS Dhoni, and Shah Rukh Khan. With everyone from corporate professionals to housewives and college teens to grandfathers getting tattoos at his famous Bodycanvas Tattoos and Piercings, Vikas says it is important to get certain things straight about the art of tattoos.
1) Your tattoo is a lifelong commitment. It is going to remain with you for the rest of your life. It is surprising how so many people don’t acknowledge this simple fact. Your tattoo becomes a part of your skin and body. You need to be absolutely sure of getting the tattoo, the design, the size and the colours right. Tattoo removal is expensive and cumbersome.
2) Your tattoo is not going to look the same after 10,20,30 years. Your skin is elastic and it ages which brings about a major change in the texture.
3) If you think getting inked for the rest of your life at a tattoo shack on a beach in Goa that charges about 1/5th the price of a professional tattoo parlour in a city is a good idea, by all means, go ahead. So what if those parlours don’t sterilise equipments. So what if they use substandard needles. So what if the tattoo artist isn’t hygienic himself. So what if the ink used isn’t organic and contains chemicals like lead and nickel. At the most, you are only likely to suffer from a couple of skin diseases, bacterial infections or even hepatitis or HIV.
4) Do not get a tattoo while you’re drunk. For heaven’s sake, getting drunk will not make the pain go away.
5) Getting a tattoo is like getting a cosmetic surgery done. Just like how you would listen to your doctor’s instructions about aftercare for optimum recovery, you must follow everything that a tattoo artist tells you. Do not blame the tattoo artist if anything goes wrong because you didn’t follow their instructions. Here is what you should do after getting a tattoo.
6) Getting tattooed on your genital areas can be risky because they are very sensitive. Areas like fingers, palms, inner sole of the foot are also out of the question because the ink doesn’t settle down there and fades away easily. You certainly wouldn’t want your time, efforts, money and patience to go down the drain. Here are places on your body where you shouldn’t get tattoos.
7) Don’t enquire about the cost of a tattoo or even the designs over the phone. Most good tattoo artists offer free consultation to the clients. You need to discuss your preferences and other conditions to get the whole idea.
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Image source: Facebook/Vikas Malani At Bodycanvas