Evvie said:
I very much hope that our dear Miss Lolli will not mind me using her as an example. A few weeks ago (I think) on Twitter she announced that she was going to get a tattoo - something that she had been thinking about seriously for *years*. A lot of members proceed to treat her very badly, insinuating that she had no idea what she was doing and that she should not be allowed to make that decision (from what I read). After she said, "my mind is made up and I do not want to talk to anyone about this anymore," she continued to get messages that essentially started with, "I know you don't want to talk about this, but my opinions are more important than your boundaries" and members carried on scolding her even though she explicitly said she did not want to talk about it, at all.
The thing about both tattoos and cosmetic surgery, is that even if one has thought about what they want for a long time, they have to realize three very important things:
1. It's more or less permanent (boob implants can be removed, tattoos can be mostly removed or covered up).
2. Who you go to for the work is VERY important. There needs to actually be quite a bit of research into where one goes for a tattoo or cosmetic surgery.
3. For the duration of the healing process, there are fairly strict rules about how to help ensure proper healing.
So a decision about getting a tattoo or cosmetic surgery shouldn't be made as a spur of the moment thing.
Checking on the previous work of a surgeon or tattoo artist is very important, as well as seeing how booked they are and if they have good referrals from customers. There are plenty of fly by night operations for both tattoos and cosmetic surgery, where the people are in it for the fast cash. I can't speak for cosmetic surgery, but insofar as tattoos, if you walk into a shop and they say they can tattoo you fairly quickly, but say something like "Yeah, I can tattoo you, but only the stuff that is on the wall or in the book" then that should be your big red flag to GTFO and find another place. Those aren't artists, they're tracers. If the artist says they don't do walk ins, but want to sit down and discuss what sort of tattoo the customer wants, and then they need time to sketch something up, then chances are the end result will be a much better tattoo.
My artist, for example, doesn't really take walk ins, unless it is slow and what they want is small and simple. She does have to try to make some money when it is slow, after all; however, she is mostly an appointment only artist. But, when it comes to bigger pieces, she will not do a walk in. There is a time to schedule a consultation, where she goes over the ideas in the customer's head, gives input, takes notes, and then says she'll sketch something up and email it to them before the first sitting. Those of you who have seen her work on me can attest, that it is great. I love it, and have gotten nothing but compliments from those who have seen it (as well as girls wanting to rape my left shoulder :lol: ).
And when it comes to healing, if you don't follow the correct procedures to ensure a good healing, the end result will look like shit. This is for boob implants or tattoos. Slacking off and thinking the body will just heal it on its own is a sure way to ensure the implants look horrid, or that the tattoo will fade and scar and look like shit. For implants, there's the immobilization bras one can get, plus the bewbs need to be massaged to let the muscle sit more naturally over the implants. For tattoos, you need the ointment (I use Aquaphor, personally), keep it out of the sun and don't scratch it (slap it when it itches). But you'd be amazed at how many people don't properly take care of either tattoos or implants.