Thank you for booking with me.
I’m looking forward to adorning your body!
Below is important information about what to expect, how to prepare, and how to best care for your new tattoo. Please read it thoroughly!
Before your Appointment
Preparation and Planning
Don’t make plans for the rest of the day/night after your tattoo application.
Give yourself at least 6 hours for the whole process. Whether you’re planning on a small or large design, your idea of large or small may not be the same as mine. The complexity of a piece, therefore the time needed, cannot be determined prior to the appointment.
You are undergoing a body altering procedure. You will leave with a beautiful design - yet it is still an open wound. Your body needs time to heal and rest. Working a long shift or going out to a party-like atmosphere after is not advised. Make your appointment a time in your calendar to take the day off and do nothing but “getting tattooed”.
You won’t know how this procedure will make you feel. You might feel great directly upon finishing but an hour later, maybe not so much. I assure you this is coming from personal experience. This goes for “small” or “large” designs, and even if you have been tattooed before and “know how it feels.” Every time is different, every part of the body is different. (Your reaction or fatigue level does not determine how “tough” or resilient you are!)
Drink plenty of water and have a full meal.
Hydration is key. Try to avoid more than a cup of coffee the day of the tattoo, and of course no drugs and alcohol. These thin the blood and alter your body and mind and could affect the tattoo process. And please eat a full meal before the appointment!
Prep your skin for best results.
Please make sure to moisturize the area of your body where the design will go! I HIGHLY encourage you to exfoliate that area as well (especially if it is tougher skin or prone to break outs) with a gentle exfoliant such as : The Ordinary - Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution 240ml (very affordable) or Krave Beauty-Kale-Lalu-yAHA : 5.25% Glycolic Acid Treatment (A bit more pricey but nice). Do not use scrubs, as they create abrasions in the skin.
I HIGHLY recommend moisturizing the area where you will be getting the tattoo (regardless if you exfoliate or not, this is so important) I recommend using CeraVe unscented moisturizer as it is something you can use during the healing process as well as Illiyoon Ceramide ATO Concentrate Cream.
Other moisturizers I like: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, and Bepanthen Sensicalm are both smaller tubes that can be used for people with sensitive skin in areas that need some extra love (all these creams can be used all over the body and face).
These are important steps to assure that your skin is properly prepped for a new tattoo. It yield better results and makes to over all tattoo process easier for the both of us. The layers of your skin are affected by how they are taken care of. Our bodies are very resilient and while we might not “need” these products to survive, they are beneficial for the health and glow of our skin. Both your body and I will thank you.
If you are not sure where you are placing the tattoo, lotion it all ! Exfolating should not be done more then the recommended amount stated on the instructions of the product you are using, start with once to twice a week, do not over exfoliate. If you are feeling nervous about using new products, ask a friend, watch some helpful videos from, read some blog posts, have fun with it, self care is the best thing you can do for yourself.
The Day of your Appointment
What to expect at the studio
The shop is located at 171 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19123, United States.
One of my colleagues or I will greet you at the door. You will walk in, sanitize your hands and fill out the studio’s consent form and show your vaccination card.
You will then be asked to wait patiently in our waiting area.
We’ll confirm the design and I’ll proceed to tracing it out to the size we are going for. This process normally takes about 45 minutes to an hour. It can sometimes take up to 90 minutes, depending on a few factors like if I have to draw something over again or if we have to wait for the computer and printer to be available.
I suggest bringing something to read to help pass the time.
You will then be brought back to my station where we will decide where the tattoo will be placed. The tattoo area will be sanitized and shaved, then I will apply the stencil. Don’t worry about shaving beforehand as regardless I will need to shave the area before applying the stencil and you absolutely do not need to apologize about body hair! :)
We’ll then allow about 10 minutes for the stencil to dry. During that time, I’ll prepare my tattoo table, pour my inks and get ready to tattoo you.
During the inking, we’ll take breaks for 5 to 15 minutes in between certain colors that need to settle in the skin. It’s also important to do this to give the skin time to settle down before moving forward.
We’ll be taking a lot of breaks – as many as you or I need. Don’t ever hesitate to ask if you need a break.
This surprises some people, but tattooing takes a toll on the artist as well as the client. I am hunched over stretching your skin with a vibrating machine and a light in my face, squinting and making sure I’m giving you 100% of myself. I do not want to develop severe back issues, carpal tunnel, or any other health issues, so I take breaks as needed.
The tattooing process can take longer than you might expect. The nature of my designs requires me to color pack (saturate the skin with ink), this is slow process. The amount of time varies quite a bit in relation to everyone’s skin, the part of the body being tattooed, the colors used, the size, the design, pain level, etc.
After the tattoo process is finished, I will allow the skin to settle for at least 10-15 minutes. This gives time for the tattoo to ooze a bit more of the remaining fluids and allows the colors to look more vibrant for the photo.
Then I will proceed to take a photo of your finished tattoo!
At that time, we’ll go over the amount due and I’ll take your payment. The 50 dollar deposit will be deducted form the totall price. This deposite is considered my reservation fee for design.
I accept cash only, there are atms all around the shop. Please keep in mind that I pay 30-40% of what I make to the shop where I work, so tips are truly greatly appreciated. There are ATMs near the shop.
Last step will be to apply the second skin bandage and give you an overview on how to take care you your new tattoo.
Please keep in mind that while tattoos are permanent, they do change over time. As the tattoo undergoes the healing process and settles into the skin, some of the ink may fade or even fall out. Over all, 85-90% of the ink stays in your skin, but some might decide to run away, this is why it is important to note that often times, tattoos are not a one and done type deal, that they are sometimes subject to needing some adjustments. Now this all depends on a lot of factors, but these “factors” can not truly be predict ahead of time. With that said, I encourage you to contact me within the first year your tattoo has been applied, if you see something you would like modified (brightening of a color in an area that has “fallen out”, fading of lines, things that haven’t settled in the way we imagined them to). Please make sure that you let me know within the first year that the tattoo has been applied, this assures for better results. Within that first year, the first hour of touch up will be free, if it requires more than an hour of touch up you will be charged at a discounted price (One hour should be enough time to touch up an area that needs extra love, yet unfortunetly I can not exceed an hour of our time together for free as this would be considered a full session or a second session).
There are times when 2nd sessions are needed or encouraged : when a project is too complex to complete in one sitting. If something happened that causes us to stop early (fatigue, pain, stress, etc.). One session ranges fro 4 to 6 hours depending on how we are both feeling.
Please SEND ME HEALED PICTURES! This is part of the tattooing process and allows me to look at my work and understand how the tattoo evolved. This is INCREDIBLY important to me and helps my process.
Use a self timer and take the photo with the back camera of your phone to ensure better quality. Natural light is encouraged, and make sure to clean the camera lens before taking the pictures. I enjoy seeing your healed tattoos, so please send them to me!
Going Forward
If you need a touch-up
It is quite common for about 85%-90% of the ink to stay in the skin, and 10%-15% to fall out during the healing process.
It is important that you send me healed pictures of your tattoo so I can see how it is evolving.
If needed, I provide one free touch-up session, up to one hour. This must be done within one year of your initial appointment. Depending on the size of the piece, more than one hour may be required. In that case, you will be billed accordingly. Email me with a clear photo of your tattoo with “Touch Up” in the subject line to inquire about how to proceed.
If you require a large surface touch-up, this is considered a second session. Our first session was to lay down the base layer of the tattoo and see how your skin would take the ink — if a significant amount of ink has been lost, then we can move forward with a second session.
Pricing
A tattoo from me can be anywhere from 200-700$ a session. My current hourly rate is 175$. A session is no longer than 4 hours (this is the time of the actual tattoo process when the needle hits the skin and does not include setting up, and looking over the design). Please know that tipping at least 20% in cash is highly welcomed/recommended, as I give 30-40% of the price of the tattoo to the shop where I work.
It is hard for me to determine my prices ahead of time or even give an estimate due to often not knowing how long the tattoo will take. I will try my best to work with you but I will have to decline if I don’t think I can meet a certain budget. I wish I could work with people’s budget and be more flexible, but keep in mind that a tattoo is a luxury.
Tattooing is not just the moment the needle hits the skin, but it is the multiple hours taken to draw and edit the designs, the organization, the supply costs, the communication and social media management and everything in-between that is required to run a business.
Healing and Aftercare
Be sure to carefully review all the information for healing and aftercare on the Healing Page.