If you’re considering taking the plunge and having some ink on the lower part of your back, you are well advised to think about having some ink designed especially for you so that your tattoo is as unique as it can be.

Unfortunately, over the last few years, tattoos on the lower backs have acquired something of a bad reputation as tramp stamps. This was the result of many people jumping on the bandwagon of having some ink on their lower back without spending a whole heap of time or thought into what they were being tatooed with. You needn’t make follow their mistakes.

It can be difficult to articulate exactly what custom tattoo designs are, as every tattoo will be slightly different from the same tattoo on a different person. However, custom tattoos are tats which have been specifically crafted for someone. This is all well and good, but why is this relevant?

After all, this inking will be tattooed onto your skin for lots of years to come (if everything works out as it should!), so you should aim to make it as inimitable as possible but also as personal as possible. The tattoo is for you, so it has to have some important meaning to you.

Without doubt, not everyone is creatively minded and the majority of us require help in generating our tattoo design. However, before asking others for help, you are better off taking some time alone jotting down the types of tattoos you love; try and put together some sketches. Check online and walk in your local city to see what other people have been inked with. If you’re in love with one particular tattoo design, write it down.

To create a particular design which is personalized and unique to you, you should undertake some amateur psychology! Using a big piece of paper, write your name in the centre and write words or short phrases around the outside which could describe you. Start off with your appearance, then go on to how you think others perceive you, as well as what occupation you have, what friendships you are involved with, what you like to snack on, what you like to do in your personal time, which locations you enjoy spending your vacations. Effectively, you are attempting to get an awareness of yourself onto this piece of card, to enable you to gain a summarized idea of what you are like as a person. So frequently my friends have done the same thing and ended up with their perfect design after putting together a design concept that they then discussed with a tattoo artist. Go on; give it a try.

After having assimilated a final list of potential custom tattoo designs, you should have a chat with your partner to take into account their opinions. This isn’t necessarily for them to amend the design, but to offer input. If you are happy with your design, you don’t have to do this, but in my experience, lots of folks find this to be helpful.

After having done this, you should go and visit a local tattoo parlor to seek for their ideas and feedback. They will have an enormous selection of tattoo designs to choose from, and it is certainly possible to include your own likes and dislikes to transform one of their designs into one of the custom tattoo designs from which you will eventually make your choice. Without doubt, there’ll be a varied level of involvement, which is dependant upon how certain your preferences are and how artistic you think you are.

In conclusion, the tattoo you decide on must be something you engage with completely. Attempt to envision this love as a long term relationship rather than a short term relationship; this should see you on the correct path to finding the design which is perfect for you.

Tattoos are reasonably painful to get, but you may stop the tattooist at any time during the procedure, until you feel ready to go on again. Some people feel pain more acutely than others. Most people feel inclined to get another tattoo soon – which is an indication of the bear ability of the pain. Large tattoos are done over a period of time, to give the wearer time to rest after each session. And yes, when the tattooist perforates the skin, there will be moderate bleeding. It is a good idea to be well rested before your first tattoo!

Expensive or Cheap? Good tattoos are expensive BUT nothing looks worse that a botched up tattoo. My advice is to choose a professional artist at a tattoo parlour, pay the extra amount and make sure that you get quality that will last a lifetime. Your tattoo artist should use a transfer sheet to transfer the image onto your body before starting to add on the colours…

Hygiene? Going hand in hand with choosing a professional tattooist, is making sure that your tattoo is done with all the hygienic safety precautions in place. A professional tattooist will show and explain to you all the safety precautions that are taken. It is a good idea to shop around beforehand to be able to cut out dodgy tattooists. See our article about safety precautions.

Aftercare should be prescribed to eliminate infection of the wounds and allow proper healing. In some countries underage tattooing is not allowed and special permission has to be given to tattoo mentally incapable people. It is advised to make use of well trained and professional tattoo artists and precaution must be taken by the client to make sure that tattooing is done only under the most hygienic circumstances. The responsibility ultimately lies with the client to make sure that all the safety precautions are adhered to. Click here for link to tattooing equipment for sale There are no hard and fast rules concerning immediate aftercare of a tattoo. It is advised though, to keep it as sterile as possible while it heals. Specially developed tattoo ointments are recommended, but there is consensus that gentle cleaning with soap and water is recommended. gentle anti bacterial ointment can be applied if the special tattoo ointments are not available.

Care must be taken not to use too much water for rinsing, though as this could also wash out tattoo inks or soften scabs before they naturally fall off. If a tattoo gets infected, the chances of distortion of the image are very good due to the formation of scar tissue and the loss of pigments. Two of the tattoo taboos are to remove scabs before the skin sheds them naturally and exposure to the sun is not advised. Tattoos frequently exposed to the sun will also have to be redone or touched up sooner then those not exposed – so stay out the sun – even after your tattoo has healed! Picking off scabs will remove the ink as well before it has set in and the sun tends to bleach tattoo inks. A tattoo looks at it’s best when the maximum ink remains imbedded in the skin.

Keeping a tattoo moisturised for the first two months after the first week of initial healing will keep your tattoo looking better for longer as the tattood area tends to become very dry during this stage. Keeping it moisturised will aso prevent scabbing and scarring. Allergic reactions to tattoo inks have been reported, but is very rare. It is recommended that a small patch of skin is subjected to the ink, before attempting a tattoo, especially facial tattoos, such as make-up tattoos. A program was introduced in Canada to legalize Prison tattooing. Inmates are trained and equipped with the right instruments to do tattooing properly – eliminating the chances of infection and disease spreading.