You may be getting your first tattoo or already have half your body covered with tattoos I am certain you will discover some valuable information here. As a tattoo addict and someone who spends most of his waking hours identifying tattoo ideas I wants to share some of what I have learn in the past.

I have spent a lot of time amongst tattoo artists in tattoo studios worldwide and have encountered numerous different people coming at the office of the tattoo studio to permanently mark their bodies. Many times I have questioned why it is many people go under the gun to get inked.

People get tattoos for several different reasons. Some people simply because love them and think they look good or enhance their appearance, others to take part in a 'tribe' or group, while others to mark a significant event in their lives for instance a bereavement or to express love for another person. You could say that you have as many reasons for getting tattooed and there are human experiences. Due to the uniqueness of each person's life journey no two reasons are ever the same.

In these situations the person wanting a tattoo has probably put a lot of thought into the tattoo and perhaps the tattoo itself will have some sort of psychological meaning; for example when someone gets a portrait tattoo of someone close who has recently died that psychologically they wish to keep close to them through-out their lives. Or maybe one has been jilted by a spurned lover and wants a tattoo of a broken heart or caged bird to signify their loss.

Human beings have being modifying their bodies with ink and steel for many millennial. Many people see tattoos and body modification as a spiritual practice. Before the advent of modern pain management, pain was seen as a natural part of life carrying a number of spiritual and social meanings. But as time rolled on we began to deny the very existence of anything beyond our physical bodies.

Because of this many people without tattoos cannot see past the image etched onto the person's body to the deeper meaning or symbolism behind the tattoo. It can often cause lots of reactions in the 'uninitiated' from mild curiosity to extreme disturbance resulting in fear and mistrust of the individual. Tattoos by their very nature cause a reaction especially on those who don't have them.

This begs the question on why anyone should get a tattoo without considering the wider implications and deeper meaning behind the tattoo. A lot of people wander into a tattoo studio and have no clue why they need to get a tattoo other than seeing their favorite rap artist or basketball player and thinking it looked cool. So they waste the tattoo artist's time by saying they want a Nike swoosh on their butt or a tattoo how big is a button on their back. Many tattoo artists will just put up and shut up because they see this as 'bread and butter' work.

The implications of this are two-fold. Firstly the person is left with a really 'dumb' tattoo that most likely will be regretted during their life. This may lead to years of regret perhaps leading the person to be required to cover up their bodies consequently. To it may result in endless hours of painful tattoo removal costing ten times up to the original tattoo.

Secondly getting a tattoo without due consideration can often cause a badly placed tattoo or badly thought out tattoo design. The results of this are obvious but this is actually the # 1 reason why people get tattoo removal in worst case scenarios or tattoo cover-ups. Some tattoo artists are becoming renowned for their cover-up work as they are for their actual artistic skill. Yet people don't realize the placement of a small unambiguous tattoo may have later on if they wish to get another tattoo or the social restrictions it may bring.

Finally before getting tattooed (either the very first time or the twentieth!) is important to deeply consider the design plus the placement of the tattoo and how it may interact with other tattoos further down the track. Many people have gotten tribal armbands (when they were cool!) and later decided that tribal tattoos carry no meaning to them and that traditional style tattoos or Celtic tattoos might have been more suitable. I myself have been guilty of this and consequently had a poorly thought out tattoo covered up.

Don't make the same mistake!