If you are thinking of getting your boyfriend’s name tattooed on your back, take a look at this article first.

1. Don’t get a tattoo of something you’ve seen on Instagram or Tumblr.
Unless you want to meet twenty other girls on the subway with the same infinity sign on their wrist, give it imagination and personality: invent your own.

2. Contact the tattoo artist you like and ask for help.
If you are still not very clear about what, you do not know how to draw it or you simply want an expert to advise you, find your favorite tattoo artist and hold on to him as if he were a teddy bear. The worst and most painful hours of your life will be spent by his side, so surely you will bond.

3. Beware of allergies.
If you have an allergy to certain beauty products, you may also be allergic to tattoo ink. Many of its components are the same as those contained in some makeup products. You should consult your dermatologist before it is too late.

4. Don’t skimp on your tattoo.
Nobody said getting a tattoo was cheap, and that’s something you need to keep in mind. If you want something done by your cousin’s friend, who’s just started working as a tattoo artist, the cool, cheap idea may end in tears. Nobody likes to spend their salary on this, but if it’s going to last you a lifetime, you better get it right, right?

5. Don’t try to haggle.
If you’re on the trail or in New York’s China Town, it’s okay. But negotiating with professional tattoo artists is like doing it with the El Corte Ingles salesman: impossible.

6. Approach the store earlier.
That the place is hygienic and clean, the staff friendly and does not look like a dive. You should also ask him to show you his tattooist license to make sure you are in the best hands. Do not be shy and ask all the doubts you have, so that it does not happen like with haircuts: if you do not open your mouth, you will end up with Victoria Beckham’s asymmetric cut from 2007. But, unlike this hair problem, the tattoo it will not fade over time.

7. I know you will anyway, but just in case we warn you: don’t ask if it’s going to hurt.
That you’re nervous, okay. But asking your tattoo artist if he will hurt you is rather absurd. He is not painting your nails, but injecting ink under your skin. So before you go, take a breath and accept it: more or less, but it will hurt.

8. You can get tattoos anywhere on your body.
Yes, there too.

9. You are not allowed to soak in water or sunbathe for two weeks.
If you are thinking of doing the summer madness and tattooing something that reminds you of that idyllic and heavenly place you are in, think twice when to do it. If you still have days of sun and beach, wait until you are far from the sea or you will suffer the consequences.

10. Erasing a tattoo hurts much more than any tattoo.
If you are in doubt about whether to get a tattoo or not, wait. You can always do it in the future when you have it clearer. But, if instead, you don’t do it and you end up tattooing a pink donut around your navel, when after 5 or 10 years you find it horrible, you will have no other option other than the painful laser.