Shaving Before A Tattoo

[Kimmie]

The ingrown hair thread made me slightly nervous for my thigh piece. My appointment is Friday at 11:30 (finally!) and I have somewhat sensitive skin. Would you guys recommend shaving the day before, the day of, or letting my artist do it? I searched the forum before starting a new thread this time, but didn't find anything. And the internet has a ton of conflicting information, of course.

[xcom]

Kimmie,

I have sensitive skin my self, but I let the artist do it. Ingrown hairs will happen if they are going too... regardless... I have try everything in the book and I always get a few bumps here and there but nothing that I go "oh fuck"....

Some here have gone through some intense procedures before going in... I avoid that... I had an artist advice against applying anything on my skin prior to the work...

At any rate good luck! My appointment is tomorrow so I know how you feel right now :)

[OutOfIdeas]

Yep, I agree with xcom.

I always get ingrown hairs, and haven't found anything that helps. My thinking is: if I try and shave before, I'll get ingrown hairs the day of the tattoo. If I let the artist do it, then they don't show up till they're done. Seems the better option to me.

[Tornado6]

Do you typically shave that part of your body, and if so, how does it react?

I'd say if you know it is going to be an issue, you can always ask what the artist would prefer. If you have a routine that you know will work better than a dry shave at the shop you might be better of doing it at home.

[bongsau]

Really depends on the part of the body for me (note, I'm a tattoo-receiver not maker)

I think it is better if the tattooer does the shaving as part of the area prep. I've found that it causes less overall irritation to the skin that is about to undergo trauma if it gets a fresh shave. Or I'll shave myself the morning of if I'm getting tattooed in an 'intimate' area below the belt line.

That being said, if you look like teen wolf, do your tattooer a courtesy and buzz down your fur with clippers so buddy doesn't need to go through a box of disposables.

(Funny aside, I didn't have time to buzz down my belly before getting tattooed. Ollie just shrugged his shoulders and handed me the razor. He sprayed, I shaved. We laughed. Then I cried once the tattooing started haha.)

[Cork]

I always give a courtesy shave. I come in ready to rock.

[Kimmie]

So it appears to be a personal preference kinda deal. Thanks for all of your experiences!

[ItsNewport]

That being said, if you look like teen wolf, do your tattooer a courtesy and buzz down your fur with clippers so buddy doesn't need to go through a box of disposables.

Yeah, this is me although only from the waist down. I have legs like a gorilla and the chest of a 12 year old boy, so any below the belt tattoos i always clipper down the hair so it's not so much work for the artist. I never completely shave it, though.

[Cork]

You never mow another man's lawn.

[herewego]

I am relatively hairy. My chest would be about an 8 out of 10 on the fur factor. I'm figuring I will buzz it down the night before and let my artist shave the rest off before the tattooing starts. I'm good for at least 5 ingrown hairs just from buzzing down for the beach. I'm hoping it doesn't look like I have acne after a shave. I was thinking of a hot towel before she shaves to help.

[Kimmie]

Yeah, I usually shave my legs so it isn't anything crazy.

[SeeSea]

Some more thoughts:

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/3433-tattoo-shaving-ingrown-hair.html

Shaving in other threads:

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/278-good-client-behavior-page27.html

[Kimmie]

This seems to be one of those topics that doesn't have one "right" answer because there's such a variety of experiences and opinions. It makes sense now why the internet had so much conflicting information! I ended up shaving two hours before my appointment and haven't had skin irritation of any kind so far.

[xcom]

This seems to be one of those topics that doesn't have one "right" answer because there's such a variety of experiences and opinions. It makes sense now why the internet had so much conflicting information! I ended up shaving two hours before my appointment and haven't had skin irritation of any kind so far.

Awesome!