How to Prepare for a Full-Day Tattoo Session

A full-day tattoo session is a slightly strange way to spend a day.

You arrive in the morning relatively fresh and optimistic. Several hours later, you've discussed films, childhood pets, the alarming cost of service-station sandwiches and probably entered that peculiar final-hour state where neither of us is entirely sure what we're talking about anymore.

Meanwhile, I've been repeatedly putting needles into you. The talking part can be like therapy, and to some people so can the tattooing part.

However, for most people, the later hours can become a game of endurance.

Either way, it pays to prepare properly.

A full-day tattoo isn't something you need to train for like an endurance event, but the way you sleep, eat, hydrate and generally look after yourself beforehand makes a surprisingly large difference to how comfortable the session is, and sometimes how well your skin behaves while I'm working.

A Quick Glance: Preparing for Your Tattoo

Getting tattooed soon and don't fancy reading my entire thesis on sandwiches and hydration?

Here's the short version:

1. 1. Get a proper night's sleep

   2. Eat before you arrive

   3. Bring food with you

   4. Stay hydrated beforehand

   5. Avoid alcohol

   6. Don't aggressively shave the area

   7. Moisturise beforehand ideally

   8. Avoid sunburn

   9. Wear comfortable, practical clothing

   10. Bring an extra layer

   11. Don't overdo caffeine

   12. Bring Entertainment

   13. Charge your phone

   14. Speak to me before using numbing products

   15. Tell me if you're genuinely unwell

   16. Take breaks when you need them

If you'd like to know why any of those things matter, carry on.

1 - Get a Proper Night's Sleep

This is probably the least exciting piece of advice in this entire article, but it's one of the most important.

Tattooing is controlled trauma to the skin. Your body knows something unpleasant is happening even if you're sitting there voluntarily watching Lord of the Rings while it happens.

Being tired tends to make everything feel harder.

Pain tolerance can feel lower. You can become irritable or restless more quickly. Long sessions feel longer. And if you've had four hours' sleep before travelling two hours to the studio, you're already starting the day with an empty tank.

You don't need some elaborate wellness ritual the night before.

Just try not to stay up until 2am playing games because you've decided you'll “sleep on the train”.

Future you will not appreciate this strategy.

2 - Eat Before You Arrive

Please eat breakfast.

Not “I had a coffee.”

Not “I don't normally eat in the morning.”

Actual food.

A tattoo session puts your body under stress, and arriving properly fuelled can make a significant difference to how you feel throughout the day.

You don't need to eat an enormous fry-up immediately before coming in. Something substantial containing carbohydrates and protein is ideal.

Porridge, eggs and toast, yoghurt and fruit, a decent sandwich — whatever works for you.

The important part is simply arriving fuelled.

People occasionally worry that eating beforehand will make them feel sick. In my experience, arriving completely empty is far more likely to leave somebody feeling light-headed, shaky or generally rubbish.

3 - Bring Food With You

For longer sessions, we normally take breaks.

Bring lunch and a couple of snacks you actually want to eat.

Fruit, cereal bars, sandwiches, chocolate, crisps — this isn't the day I'm going to judge your nutritional morality.

Having something sugary available can also be useful if you're beginning to feel a bit depleted.

If you've forgotten lunch, we also have the considerably more civilised option of Grump's Grub right next door to Mystic Workshop. They do breakfast, sandwiches, paninis, burgers and proper café food, and they're generally open until around 2pm on the days they're open.

I'd still recommend checking their current opening hours before turning up entirely dependent on them for survival — particularly as they're currently closed on Tuesdays.

I would, however, avoid surviving the entire tattoo session on five cans of energy drink and a multipack of Haribo.

There is a middle ground.

4 - Hydrate Before the Appointment, Not Just During It

Drink normally in the days leading up to your tattoo and make sure you're reasonably hydrated when you arrive.

You don't need to walk into the studio carrying a two-litre bottle like you're crossing the Sahara.

Just don't spend the previous evening drinking alcohol, wake up dehydrated and then attempt to correct the situation by necking a litre of water in the waiting area.

Healthy, well-looked-after skin is generally nicer to work with.

And you'll probably feel better too.

5 - Avoid Alcohol Beforehand

I don't tattoo anyone who arrives intoxicated, but even drinking heavily the night before isn't a particularly good idea.

Alcohol can leave you dehydrated and feeling pretty grim the following morning, and a hungover six-hour tattoo session is approximately as enjoyable as it sounds.

If you've got a major tattoo appointment coming up, give your body an easier job.

There will still be pubs afterwards.

Preferably not immediately afterwards either.

6 - Don't Aggressively Shave the Area

Unless I've specifically asked you to, you don't need to shave the tattoo area before your appointment.

I'll prepare the skin properly at the studio.

People mean well, but I've seen enough tiny shaving cuts, razor burn and irritated skin over the years to know that sometimes enthusiasm causes more problems than the hair ever would.

If you normally shave that area and know your skin handles it well, doing so carefully a day or two beforehand is usually fine.

But don't attack your thigh with a blunt disposable razor at 7am because you've suddenly remembered you're getting tattooed there.

I have razors.

We're good.

7 - Moisturise — But Don't Marinate Yourself

Looking after the skin in the weeks before a large tattoo can be useful, particularly if your skin is very dry.

Regular moisturising can help keep the area in good condition.

What you don't need to do is arrive covered in half a tub of body butter.

I'll clean and prepare the skin before tattooing anyway.

The goal is healthy skin, not basted skin.

8 - Avoid Sunburn

This one matters.

I won't tattoo over badly sunburned or damaged skin.

If you know you're having a large tattoo on your arm, leg or back, take a little extra care with sun exposure beforehand — particularly during summer or before and after a holiday.

Even mild sunburn can leave the skin irritated, dry and more sensitive than usual.

And severe sunburn may mean we have to move the appointment altogether.

Your future dragon does not need to compete with your Marbella tan.

9 - Wear the Right Clothes

Think about where you're being tattooed and wear something that gives us easy access to the area.

Loose, comfortable clothing is generally best.

For a thigh tattoo, shorts are ideal.

For an upper arm or shoulder, a loose T-shirt or vest usually works.

For backs, ribs and other awkward placements, we can work around clothing and screens are available where needed. If you're unsure beforehand, just ask.

Also: don't wear your favourite white outfit.

Tattoo ink has an almost supernatural ability to discover expensive clothing.

10 - Bring Layers

Studios can feel warm when you arrive and considerably colder several hours into being tattooed.

Your body's been sitting still for ages, you're tired, and large areas of skin may be exposed.

Bring a jumper or something warm you can throw on during breaks.

This is particularly useful if we're working on a leg and the rest of you has slowly transformed into a refrigerated human burrito.

11 - Don't Overdo the Caffeine

Your normal morning coffee is fine.

You don't need to cut caffeine completely unless you know it affects you badly.

But I probably wouldn't arrive after three coffees, a pre-workout and an energy drink.

Excessive caffeine can make some people feel jittery, anxious or restless, none of which makes sitting still for six hours particularly enjoyable.

Normal human quantities are the objective here.

12 - Bring Entertainment

For large pieces, particularly sleeves, legs and backs, there can be long stretches where conversation naturally disappears.

That's completely normal.

You don't have to entertain me for six hours.

Bring headphones. Download a film. Listen to a podcast. Read something. Stare peacefully into the middle distance contemplating the choices that led you here.

The studio has Wi-Fi, but downloading anything important beforehand isn't a bad idea.

Sometimes people worry that wearing headphones seems rude.

It doesn't.

If getting absorbed in a film helps you sit comfortably, please do it.

13 - Charge Your Phone

This deserves its own tiny section because somebody, somewhere, will read everything else and arrive on 4%.

Bring a charger too.

14 - Be Careful With Painkillers and Numbing Products

Don't start taking medication purely for the tattoo without checking whether it's appropriate for you.

Some medications can affect bleeding, and medication should always be taken according to proper medical advice rather than something somebody said in a tattoo Facebook group in 2017.

The same applies to numbing cream.

I don't automatically recommend it for every client or every tattoo.

Some products can change the texture or behaviour of the skin temporarily, and their effects can wear off partway through a long session.

If you're considering using one, speak to your artist beforehand rather than turning up with the entire limb wrapped in cling film as a surprise.

15 - Tell Me if You're Unwell

If you've got a minor sniffle but otherwise feel perfectly well, that doesn't automatically mean your tattoo needs cancelling.

But if you're genuinely ill — feverish, vomiting, seriously run-down or fighting an infection — tattoo day probably isn't the day to test your constitution.

Your body already has work to do.

Healing a large tattoo gives it another job.

If you're unsure, contact me before the appointment and we'll work out the sensible option.

I'd much rather move a session than have somebody spend six hours feeling dreadful.

16 - You Don't Need to Be Tough

This is probably the most important thing I can tell anyone coming in for a big tattoo.

There is no prize for suffering quietly.

If you need a toilet break, tell me.

If you feel light-headed, tell me.

If you need five minutes to stand up, eat something or remind yourself that your leg used to belong to you, tell me.

I've tattooed for more than twelve years. People react differently to different areas, different days and different stages of a tattoo.

Someone who sat brilliantly for six hours last month might struggle after three hours another day.

Bodies aren't machines.

The aim isn't to prove how hard you are.

The aim is to create the best tattoo possible while keeping the experience manageable.

What I Recommend Bringing

For a typical full-day appointment, I'd bring:

• Lunch and a couple of snacks

• Water or another drink

• Headphones

• A phone charger

• Comfortable, suitable clothing

• An extra layer

• Any regular medication you normally need during the day

And that's basically it.

You do not need a tactical tattoo survival kit containing twelve supplements, electrolyte powder and an emergency banana holster.

Eat properly. Sleep properly. Drink some water. Wear sensible clothes.

Most of the boring advice is boring because it works.

The Night Before

If you only remember five things from this article:

• Get some sleep.

• Eat properly.

• Stay hydrated.

• Don't get drunk.

• And don't panic.

A full-day tattoo is a long session, but it should still be a good day.

At Mystic Workshop, we're used to working on larger pieces and multi-session projects. We'll take breaks when they're needed, talk you through what's happening and get you settled in properly before we begin.

Then you can spend the next several hours doing the easy bit.

Sitting there while I obsess over whether one tiny section of dragon scale needs another three millimetres of shadow.