Heart Anklet

Heart Anklet
Heart Anklet Heart Anklet

Ankle tattoos are increasingly popular at the moment. 16% of all Americans over 18 have a tattoo. But what do you need to consider before getting your ink done?

1. First time? Start small.

We live in a time where personality and customizing is increasingly important to establish yourself as an individual and tv shows like LA Ink are proof of the increasing popularity of getting permanent body art. Ankle tattoos are especially popular because of their subtlety and finesse. This make ankle tattoos the most popular choice for "tattoo newbies".

You may not want your first tattoo to be some big bold statement and then later realize that you're just not the tattoo "type". So first of all, start small.

2. Can you handle the pain.

Okay, let's get real. Getting an ankle tattoo WILL hurt. All tattoos do. The most painful tattoos have shown to be the spine, chest, inner thigh and generally places with sensitive skin or skin close to the bone. For some, the ankle will be one of those sensitive spots but thankfully ankle tattoos are usually very small and delicate. This means less time to get the tattoo done, which translates to less pain time. If you are unsure if you can tolerate the pain, get your local tattoo artist to try you out with a dry tattoo gun (no ink) on the spot you want. The sensation will be the same as getting the real deal.

3. Get the right design.

Consider what you want your tattoo to convey. Are you getting ink done to honor your body? Maybe you have some kind of statement, spiritual of otherwise you want to convey? Some people do it to mark an event or just as a personal test of boundaries and getting over fear. Whatever the case may be find out the "why" before the "what". It may even help to draw up a mind-map to really get your brain going.

4. Finding the graphic.

There are several ways to go about choosing the design. If you are not concerned with getting a tattoo that lots of people already own, go to google and type "xyz tattoo" into the image search and replace xyz with whatever type of design you have chosen. Let's say I want a heart chakra tattoo, I type "heart chakra tattoo" into google's image search and proceed to go through the pages of images of other peoples tattoos. If you are a bit more concerned about getting a personal tattoo that few people already own there are tattoo collections available for purchase with thousands of different tattoos you can choose from.

5. Getting personal.

Generally speaking, no matter what idea you end up choosing for your design... someone beat you to it. This is a good thing, we all share similar experiences and we're social creatures. But if you are concerned with getting your design as personal as possible here's a trick. Do the google search as mentioned above and look through the tattoo images. This will both spark creativity towards getting your own design AND it let's you see whats already been done. Take the ideas and do something different. Instant customized tattoo.

Final thoughts.

No matter if you choose to get a tattoo or not it is important to do your homework. Tattoos hurt but nothing hurts more than the regret of getting the wrong ink done. Be creative and get motivated and never get a tattoo done for anyone other than yourself. A tattoo is a sacred, personal thing. Good luck!

Be sure to check out my blog at [http://ankletattoos.wordpress.com] for more tips and advice on ankle tattoos.