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Tattoo FAQs
WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE FILAMENT OVER ANOTHER STUDIO?
If you want a Maori tattoo with Anikaaro Harawira in New Zealand, or you want a true photo-realistic image from Dmitriy Smohin in the Ukraine or a black and grey horror piece from Paul Booth in NY, and you can get an appointment - DO IT! These guys are literally the very best in the world at what they do and any of us here would feel honored to get tattooed by them. But, if you live between Indianapolis and Chicago, want a great tattoo without waiting for years and having to travel across the world, Filament is one of your best options. We create custom tattoos that make you look great naked (and you don’t have to fly to the Ukraine to get work from us!)
PLANNING AND PREPARATION QUESTIONS
HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR MY TATTOO SESSION?
Make sure you are well rested, well hydrated, and have eaten recently. Aside from that, take a shower, charge your phone or tablet up to full, and don’t bring in your 50 closest friends (1-2 are fine).
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR FOR MY TATTOO SESSION?
It’s more important to be comfortable than to be fashionable. Looser is better than tighter, and keep in mind you want to be able to cover up certain places that might show, depending on where you're getting your tattoo.
HOW SHOULD I PLAN FOR A LARGER TATTOO (ARM/LEG/BACK/ETC)?
First thing, come talk to us. The best large pieces always BEGIN with a cohesive plan, not just bits and pieces loosely tied together. We can do a sleeve or back piece with existing work in place, but it will ALWAYS look better when you come in with a plan and allow the same artist to help bring that plan to fruition for you. Along those same lines, it’s going to take multiple session and cost you $1,000 or more dollars to even come close to doing a sleeve. So plan ahead and save your money so that you can tackle these large pieces as they are investments and commitments.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS I MAY NOT THINK OF BEFORE I COME IN?
Take a shower
Don’t bring your kids. No really, don’t bring them.
Bring all of the necessary documentation
Good work costs money - so bring it!
Eat before you come in!
If you’re diabetic plan for a crash (and prepare yourself!)
Your idea may not be able to be tattooed
Just because you saw it on Pinterest doesn’t make it a good tattoo
Don’t put words with pictures - we’re going to try to talk you out of it because of that whole “a picture is worth 1000 words” thing
WHEN SHOULD I NOT GET TATTOOED?
You should not get tattooed when you are:
Drunk
High
Pregnant
Pre-Surgery
Post-Surgery
When you don’t know what you want
When you can’t afford it
When you’re sunburned
When you haven’t showered
When you have your kids with you
If you don’t have an ID
Being pressured into it
When you’ve been told by us that your idea is bad
WILL IT HURT?
WHAT IS THE PAIN LEVEL FOR A TATTOO?
A tattoo is probably a 3/10. The best comparison would be to getting a scratch on a sunburn or to having someone draw on you with a ball-point pen on a sunburn. It doesn’t feel good, but it’s more of an intermittent irritation than a constant pain. Remember, a tattoo has more in common with an abrasion than it does with a hypodermic needle shot from the doctor.
WHAT IS THE PAIN LEVEL FOR A PIERCING?
If tattoos are a 3/10 on a pain scale, piercings are probably 7-9/10. Piercings are far more painful than tattoos - but only for a very short period of time. This is why people pass out WAY more often with piercings than with tattoos.
CARING FOR A TATTOO
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO HEAL AFTER A TATTOO/PIERCING?
The majority of your new tattoos healing process will be done within the first two weeks. However, the skin is still working to heal and rejuvenate and you need to plan on a 4-6 weeks for your skin to be back to its previous state.
WHY DO TATTOOS START TO ITCH WHILE HEALING?
As the skin rejuvenates itself, usually about a week after the tattoo was done, the itch sets in. This is 100% normal. Good moisturizers will help immensely with this but DO NOT SCRATCH IT! If lotion isn’t helping, run it under cold water for a few moments and you should be itch free.
PRICING QUESTIONS
WHY DO YOU REQUIRE DEPOSITS?
Often we will have hours of work in drawing and preparing for a tattoo before you sit down in our chair. Deposits help to ensure you make it to your appointment and that we haven’t done hours of work for nothing.
WHAT IS YOUR SHOP MINIMUM FOR TATTOOS?
Our shop minimum is $75. You might not realize it, but we go through nearly the same amount of very expensive supplies to do a tattoo the size of a quarter as we do for a tattoo the size of a softball. Everything has to be sterilized, before and after.
SHOULD I TIP?
You should ALWAYS tip those who provide services for you. Whether it’s your barber/hairstylist, waiter, or the kids with a lemonade stand down the street, if they provide you a service you should tip them. This includes your tattoo artist.
WHY DON’T YOU RUN MANY SPECIALS?
We LOVE to give stuff away. It makes us feel good. In our first year we gave away 10% of our gross income to our community. We charge what we do because we are creating unique art that will last your entire life.
POLICY QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE AGE REQUIREMENT FOR GETTING PIERCED OR TATTOOED?
Wabash County Health Department determines the ages we are able to work on. For tattoos, we can tattoo minors age 16+ with a parent present and the proper identification (birth certificate with both names as well as photo IDs for child and parent - these are required for anything we do on a minor). For piercings, we can only do earlobes for those under age 14 and my piercer will stop and not do the piercing if the child says no. Starting at age 14 we can pierce anything (besides nipples and genitals) with the above consent.
SHOULD I WALK IN OR BOOK AN APPOINTMENT?
We always encourage people to book an appointment for tattoos of any size. First, this guarantees you will get in at a certain time without potentially waiting for hours. Second, it gives our artists the chance to draw your new tattoo so that it’s 100% unique to you.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M LATE TO MY APPOINTMENT?
Don’t be. Seriously, if you’re late to your appointment it will throw our schedule off for the day.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I NO-SHOW DURING MY APPOINTMENT?
We’ve only ever had a few people do this and it’s a terrible idea - you have to make sure you give us at least 48 hours notice to reschedule your appointment. If you no-show we will keep your deposit. That means your tattoo, if you do get it, will cost you 150% of what it should have cost.
