Frequently Asked Questions

 I have been tattooing for 15 years, and over 15 years I have answered my share of  tattoo questions.  These  are some  of  the  most  important  questions we get asked. Please take a few minutes to read these. It will help you better prepare  for  your  upcoming appointment.  

Non-Refundable Booking Fee

• Will be used towards the price of your tattoo
• If your tattoo will take more than one session the booking fee will come off of the price of the final sitting
• Booking fees are nonrefundable
• If you do not show up for your appointment, or do not give one week notice that you need to reschedule, or if you are more than 15 minutes late your booking fee could be forfeited. You will have to provide another to reschedule your appointment. In cases of repeat offenders you may be charged a larger booking fee next time

Appointments

• Please be sure when scheduling that your appointment date doesn’t interfere with any family vacations or events that you may have forgotten about.
• Re-scheduling an appointment should only be used  in case of an emergency, or for reasons that are completely out of your hands. Even with as much as a week's notice, it’s sometimes difficult to fill spots when people cancel or reschedule
• If you re-schedule more than once you may be required to provide an additional booking fee on top of the one that you already have.
• Please do not show up more than 10 minutes early for your appointment. Especially with our new Covid-19 policies, we try to keep the amount of people in the shop to a bare minimum. Having clients overlap their appointments means there are too many people in the lobby. Also, just having someone standing there waiting on us makes us feel rushed and  it's  difficult to focus on the client we are currently working on.
• If you plan to do any strenuous or abnormal activities following the first few weeks of your tattoo, please consult us  first. We have excellent advice to give you and can help you protect your tattoo.

Pre-Appointment

• Wear sunscreen. If it’s summertime and you’re going to be outside or even sometimes just driving in the car, sunburn is always a possibility. I am  unable to tattoo skin that is sunburned.  If you show up with a sunburn you will need to reschedule.  It’s very important that you protect your skin.
• Exfoliate and moisturize. This will help prepare your skin to be tattooed it will make my job easier it will allow the tattoo to heal better and look nicer overall once it is healed.
• Please shower before you come in. You may think we  don’t have to say this,  but you would be surprised! The area should be clean and we always appreciate it if you don’t smell like you just crawled out of a dumpster (haha)  Also, please don’t douse yourself self in perfume or cologne before you come in.
• Eat an hour before your appointment time. When you get tattooed, you will  typically get an adrenaline rush. Once that rush is over your blood sugar drops and if you haven’t eaten,  you will most definitely get dizzy, sick, or pass out. We keep lollipops  and  candy on hand in case of these situations but it’s always best to prepare yourself by eating something small before you come in. Having a drink on hand is also helpful. If you have a history of fainting or getting sick when having blood drawn or getting shots, that is something you should let us  know prior to getting tattooed so we can look for the signs. This is a pretty normal occurrence so we  are  very experienced in  handling it. Not telling  us  that you’re feeling bad, will not make it go away, it will just make it worse. So if, at any time during the tattooing process you start feeling weird, tell  us.
• We don’t allow children at the tattoo shop. If you have children,  you will have to make arrangements for them. 
• You will need a State issued photo ID in order to get tattooed. 
• WE WILL NO LONGER BE TATTOOING ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. 
• Please wear appropriate clothing. Loose-fitting, stretchy clothing is best for areas that are harder to reach.  Consider  wearing  a  button  down  shirt  for  turning  it  around  to  reach  areas  on  the  back,  tube  tops  are  great  for  chest  pieces. 
• For longer appointments feel free to bring comfort items like a pillow, (during  restrictive  phases  of  Covid-19  we  are  unable  to  allow  pillows  but  have  small  pillows  you  can  use,  that  can  be  disinfected ) headphones and music, a book.
• Post-Appointment If your tattoo was bandaged with Saniderm, remove it after 24 hours. (If it is leaking or falling off you can remove it before  the  24  hours  is  up) Otherwise, you will remove any other bandage after one hour. Then wash your tattoo with warm, soapy water. Use only your hand to wash the tattoo. NO wash cloths or loofahs.
• Pat your tattoo dry with a PAPER towel, or allow to air dry.
• Your tattoo can stain and get stuck to your clothing and bed sheets over night. Consider changing to old sheets  that  you  don‘t  care  about  for   the first week.
• Apply a very thin layer of Aquaphor. Rub it all the way into your tattoo. The same way you would put lotion on dry skin.
• Let your tattoo breathe. To allow for this do not apply thick Aquaphor, it can cause breakouts. Wash your tattoo several times throughout the day. Only apply Aquaphor twice a day.
• Keep your tattoo out of the sun, no tanning beds or direct sunlight for at least two weeks. After that, use SPF 50+ to keep the sun from fading your tattoo..
• No Soaking. No swimming, baths, or hot-tubs for the first two weeks. Showers are fine, just don't submerge your tattoo.
• Please  do  not  take  advice  from  your  friends.  We  have  years  of  experience  and  knowledge  about  our  profession.  
• If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to call or text 717-451-6524 or email bluebirdtattoohanover@gmail.com
• If  at  any  time,  you  are  concerned  of  infection  please  contact  your  doctor.