Booking
Confirmation

Many thanks for booking a tattoo with one of TATTOOMA’s highly skilled artists.

Here you’ll find lots of information relevant to before, during and after your appointment, so please take the time to read it all as there’s lots of useful info.

Before your
appointment

Stay Hydrated/Moisturise

You should always keep yourself hydrated by drinking a healthy amount of water, but that’s especially important the day before your tattoo. Artists can always tell people who don’t drink enough water because their skin is dry and inflexible - making it more difficult to tattoo. Ensure you drink well and moisturise the area in the days/weeks leading up to your tattoo, because the better condition your skin is in, the better your tattoo will be!

Sleep Well

Spending a full day being tattooed (IE in constant discomfort) can take its toll on your body and be very tiring, so please try to get a good night’s sleep the night before your tattoo. The more rested you are, the better you’ll sit for your session. And the better you sit, the better your tattoo will be!

Alcohol and caffEine

Please try to avoid drinking alcohol the day before your appointment and please avoid any caffeine on the morning of your appointment. The reason for this is because they both make you more likely to bleed during and after your appointment (alcohol thins your blood/increases clotting time and caffeine increases your blood pressure). The more you bleed, the more it can wash out your expensive ink - this can cause a lighter and/or less even heal.

Eat a good breakfast

It seems odd, but sitting/laying down, keeping still while being tattooed is actually very tiring, so eat a good breakfast to help fuel you through the first half of the session. You’ll be getting thousands of tiny skin wounds and your body needs energy to start repairing them.

Clothing

Please don’t wear your best threads to your appointment because there’s a small chance permanent ink may get splashed on to you.

Smoking weed

Some people say that having a smoke before a tattoo really helps them, but in our experience, those who have smoked before their tattoo have a heightened pain sensation and are more likely to faint/pass out - so our advice is to avoid it! We should add that fainting during an appointment is very uncommon, but those who did, have always been herb smokers!

Come prepared

Things you might want to consider bringing to your appointment: sugary snacks/sweets will help fuel you through your session. There are lots of lunch options near the studio or you’re welcome to pack your own lunch.

Don’t forget your headphones if you want to watch anything on your phone.

Some people also like to bring painkillers. You’re welcome to bring your own pillow if you’ll be laying down all day.

How much will it hurt?

Some first-timers can get a bit anxious about how they’ll deal with the pain of getting tattooed, but there’s no need. Our artists are very experienced and avoid using techniques which are known to cause a lot of pain/discomfort. It will probably sting a bit for the first five minutes of your session, but if you relax your muscles and breath normally, you’ll soon be saying “it’s not bad actually, I’m not sure what I was worrying about”.

Plan your journey

If you’re coming a long way for your appointment please consider your travel arrangements to ensure you arrive on time for your appointment. We’re well inside the M25, so that brings all the potential delays and disruption that come with travelling in and around London.

You may want to consider a night in the Premier Inn hotel opposite our studio - rooms typically cost between £45-£90 depending on how far ahead you book. For an extra tenner their all you can eat breakfast buffet is a great way to start the day!

More travel info available on our Visitor Information Page.

CAR PARKING

We have free customer parking to the rear of the studio.

Photo ID

If you are under 25, please bring photo ID to your appoinment. One of the conditions of our licence is that we confirm the age of anyone under 25 years old before they get tattooed.

Booking Terms and Conditions

All deposits are non-refundable.

We require at least two weeks notice if you wish to move your appointment. We can move your appointment once.

If you ‘no show’ for your appointment we reserve the right to decline any future bookings with you or we will require payment in full, in advance for any future bookings.

During your
appointment

Try to keep still

We get that tattooing can be uncomfortable, but any wiggling you do while the needles are in your skin will be transferred directly into your tattoo! Try to avoid taking/making phone calls during your appointment - you’ll be surprised how much your whole body moves while you’re chatting away holding a phone to your ear!

Drinks are free

We have a fridge full of sugary drinks (ideal for keeping your sugars up during your session), so don’t be shy about asking for them during your appointment!

Painkillers

Ibuprofen is good for tattoos as it reduces discomfort and has anti inflammatory properties. The only down side is that it can also increase the chance of bleeding as there’s a small increase in the time it takes for blood to clot, so if you tend to bleed a little more than normal, avoid Ibuprofen. Paracetamol doesn’t reduce inflammation, but also doesn’t affect blood clotting.

I seem to be mentioning blood a lot while writing this page! I’d like to take this opportunity to say that for most people there will be little or no blood/bleeding during your session, so please don’t be alarmed by my attempt to share as much information as I can!

Take your time

If you’ve been sitting/laying down for a while during your session, make sure you take your time getting up onto your feet.

In the unlikely event of you starting to feel unwell or light-headed during your session please let us know so we can take a break and get you some food/drink/sugar.

It’s much better to let us know if you start feeling a bit dizzy rather than acting brave and ending up on the floor - yes, men, we mean you too!

After your
appointment

Receiving your tattoo is just the first part of a longer process which finishes with a fully healed tattoo around one month after your session. How you care for your tattoo during that heal can have a big impact on the finished result, so it’s good to familiarise yourself with the healing process by reading our after-care advice here.

All the above points are just suggested advice at the end of the day and it’s up to you whether you follow them or not. We’re not trying to be control freaks by telling you what you should or shouldn’t be doing, we’re just aware that tattoos aren’t cheap and we want you to get the best possible ink for your money… a small sacrifice now could mean a much better result on your skin for the rest of your life!

Thanks again for booking and we look forward to seeing you at your appointment.

Sona Xx