Satisfaction guaranteed. For a virgin?

Satisfaction guaranteed. For a virgin?

Satisfaction guaranteed, because you carefully selected your artist and  for sure want the art in ink. So far, so good.

But are we wrong to assume that an artist is chosen mostly on gut feelings? Sure, portfolio is the first impression we get from an artist; clearly showing his style and skills: realism, horror, color etc. You have at least a basic idea if the artist can pull off what you want.

And what about the equivalent of a doctor's bedside manners? You’re stuck on the chair for hours.

Or, even more, how about the pain? In the last episodes of Ink Masters 2 we have seen tough as hell MMA fighters in pain; strong muscles guarantee pain;that's what we learned.

But what if it’s your first ink? You’re a tattoo virgin?

You expect pain, but can you stand it? The pain chart ‘where it hurts the most’ gives you an idea, but not the experience. 

And as there is no ‘register of artists with a guaranteed soft touch’, how to test the probability that a tattoo can be finished?

No one wants to have a partly finished tattoo.

I forgot where I heard it first, but it was suggested to test client's resistance to pain by using a needle without ink and adjusting speed of the machine. 

Seems to make sense: do a dry run first. 

When the client can handle it: go for the real thing.

What's your vision?

To browse the internet on how to chose, lots of info, like Karen L Hudson, a safety and acceptance advocate with thousands of pages advice, or the recent column of Larry Brogan on portfolios.

Berry Konijiski posted a video about selection in 2008, Yosef in 2011.

E how.com & About.com and, recommended: lots of tattoo sites: they all have great advice on what to ask and how to choose