Questions to Ask Before Booking a Tattoo

You have browsed hundreds of tattoo images. You have located an artist who makes you weak in the knees. What is next? Before you press that “book now” button and transfer a deposit, you need to have a few things clarified. It’s the difference between a great tattoo experience, and a nightmare that is going to take you many years and thousands of dollars to correct.

It’s not a great feeling asking a tattoo artist direct questions. Seems like you’re applying for a job or interviewing them, right? But you have to realize the artist is going to permanently ink your body, so you might want to ask them more questions than when you picked out the local steakhouse. If you have already done your due diligence in reading through our blog post about how to read tattoo portfolios, you have already accomplished half the job. The following questions are the ones that will take you the rest of the way.

Questions About Their Experience and Style

Start there. All the other questions hinge on this one: does this artist actually specialize in what you want? Ask the artist how long they have been tattooing professionally, not just how long they’ve been in the industry, as apprenticeships are time learning, not experience. Ask what styles they are most proficient in and which styles they don’t offer. A great realism artist might do a great job with tattoos but not excel at fine-line tattoos, so you want to know right up front what they are good at. If an artist is good at everything? You can be pretty sure of that being a red flag.

Request to see photos of healed tattoos in the particular style that you’re after. Fresh tattoos can be deceivingly beautiful. Swelling swells the thickness of the lines, fresh inks are saturated and vivid, and photo filters finish the job. A healed tattoo will paint the accurate picture; did the lines stay sharp or did they run into each other after a half year? Did the colors remain strong or did they lose strength until they were a faded shadow of what they were originally? If a tattoo artist is willing to proudly display photos of their healed work, you know they stand behind what they do. If they aren’t able or willing to show it, move on.

Questions About Pricing and Deposits

Money talk can make you a little nervous, but do it anyway. Ask if they work hourly or per design, and get a rough figure in mind before you start. They can do that with 20 percent error after you show them the images and they know what area it'll be covering. Or, they can lie and give you a really low estimate to get in the chair, then tack on extra work as soon as you’re settled. If they can’t give you a range at all, that usually means they’re either new and unfamiliar with their pricing or they’re deliberately vague in a way that benefits them. Read our tattoo cost guide for more on this.

What about the deposit? Find out how much the artist is asking, if it's refundable, and what the rules are if you have to reschedule. Most artists will ask for a deposit between $50 to $200, and those are typically non-refundable. This is standard practice; a deposit ensures that an artist's time is secured, and is deducted from the final amount when work is completed. It's a reasonable policy to protect both you and them. However, anything that doesn't fit this range isn't okay. If the artist is asking for a deposit over 50% of the estimated total, you'll want to think about whether this is right for you. If they won't write down the details of the deposit agreement, even if it's just via DM, or have policies that penalize you for rescheduling with proper notice, they don't have your best interest in mind. Get the deposit terms written down. Verbal agreements don't last long when finances are involved.

Questions About the Tattoo Process and Timeline

Do you ever see the design before your appointment? A lot of people don't even think to ask this, but it's actually an important question. Some tattoo artists will send you the design days before your appointment so if there are any changes you want to make you can make them without having any type of time crunch. With other artists, they might not even show you the design until the day you're going in. And if they do this, and you don't like what you see and want to try and make a change, they now have you pretty much on the spot to just take it or pay for your deposit so that you don't waste their time. It might be a good idea to ask which approach your tattoo artist uses. If they only ever show you the design on the day-of, it might be a good idea to ask if there are revisions and how many revisions will be allowed. Two is standard, if someone says they offer infinite revisions it could mean they really just can't get the design quite right in the first place.

Be sure to ask how long a session usually lasts and the process involved for larger tattoos. A full sleeve is not done in one sitting; experienced artists will discuss the number of sessions you will need, how long each session will be and how much healing time is required between each session. If it is a major piece, ask whether each session has a separate cost or if there is a package rate. Knowing the full timeline and total investment upfront prevents the sticker shock that hits when you realize your "one tattoo" is actually a six-month, $3,000 commitment.

Questions About Aftercare and Touch-Ups

Aftercare varies artist to artist, and online misinformation only complicates the issue. Inquire directly of the artist for their guidance on how to care for the tattoo. Which products? How often? For how long? A good artist will provide you with an aftercare sheet (digital or in print) to help ensure you remember to properly care for your artwork while the area is still stinging. If an artist offers you advice that goes against popular consensus, such as telling you to apply petroleum jelly to a fresh tattoo or soak a new tattoo in the bathtub, it raises questions about their level of knowledge.

Make sure you ask about touch-ups before you actually make a booking. While some studios offer one complimentary touch-up for free within a 60 to 90 day period, others start charging right away. Some artists guarantee their work for up to a whole year. Just make sure you know the policy because, even with the best artist, you might lose some ink here and there when the tattoo heals. Areas with a lot of color or constant friction, such as fingers, toes, or the inside of the wrist, are more prone to losing ink and might require a touch-up. If you are planning a tattoo on one of these spots, you really need to know your artist's policy before you get inked.

What Good Answers Sound Like (and What Should Worry You)

Great artists will answer your questions with certainty. Red flags: evasion, annoyance, or “just trust me” pressure. If you inquire about their experience, a good tattoo artist may respond, “I’ve been tattooing for eight years and primarily do neo-traditional and Japanese, although I refer out geometric work, as it’s not my greatest strength.” Contrast this response with, “I’ve been doing this forever. I can do any style.” See the difference? One response is reflective. The other is egotistical. For a more in-depth discussion on how to spot sketchy tattoo artists, check out our red flags for tattoo artist guide.

Transparency over pricing is the second filter. An ethical artist will walk you through their rates: the charge for your time, what their minimum is, what the deposit is for, and an honest projection for how long a particular tattoo design will take. They won't try to give you the cheapest price to win you over and then hit you with an additional fee once you've arrived at their chair. They'll do the same for aftercare: they won't tell you to just keep it moisturized, they'll tell you exactly what steps you need to take. Your questions aren't a nuisance. They're an obstacle. The artists who don't need you to jump through that hoop are telling you exactly what you need to know.