staxilicious:

most of these are shocking that anyone would believe them. 

BUT!!! the “dont have someone else design your tattoo” one is not always true. If you are looking for a clean line style of tattoo, rather than a photo realistic one, you certainly can have someone else design in, for many tattoo artists. The trick is that they need to have the right kind of ink for their copier or printer to be able to copy it to transferable ink that they can print onto your skin in the exact same way that those temp tattoos did when we were children. The artist can then trace the lines with the tattoo gun. (I dated a tattoo artist for a little while and remained friends with him afterwards). 

Also, if your tattoo artist doesn’t have or use an autoclave to sterilize their equipment, or use brand new needles for each tattoo, leave. 

Never trust a tattoo artist willing to tattoo your body if you are drunk or on drugs (check out their clientele).

Always visit your tattoo artist to check out their shop and their brag book. Make sure that the quality of their work is really want you are looking for. Make sure that you feel comfortable around them, as you are going to be there a while, even for a small piece. Make sure their shop is clean. Make sure they use gloves, and that they are willing/able to use gloves you aren’t allergic to (if you have glove allergies like latex). Make sure they use high quality ink, and can tell you about the ones they use and why. 

I’m going to jump in here and talk a little bit about the “The craft of the tattoo is constrained by technical limitations that only your tattooist will understand and because of this, he or she will need to ensure that your tattoo is rendered in a way that makes for a tattoo that will not only look good when finished but also stand the test of time” part:

Out of the eight tattoos I currently have, only one of them was not drawn/designed by the RealHusband, and that’s because I had it done before we were even dating. However, before I get a design inked on me, I schedule a consultation with my tattooist (Joe Who at piercedheartstattooparlor!) so he can review the art and give his feedback about any details that may need to be changed or resized. Joe’s input before the actual appointment is a vital part of the process.

The next tattoo I want is a version of the Ace of Pumpkins from the Halloween tarot:

I say “a version of”, because I’m going to (eventually) have the RealHusband create his take on it; I love the symbolism, but the art style (while adorable) isn’t the sort of thing I want permanently etched on me. And when the RealHusband has created that art, I will take it to Joe for his opinion.

TL;DR: yes, ask your tattooist’s opinion, but it’s your body and your tattoo: you have the final say.