I heard you shouldn’t get white in your tattoo because it fades out right away, is that true?

Some artists do not like using white. Some people when getting tattooed, the white doesn’t show up the best in their skin. Any color will fade when tattooed wrong or when not taken care of properly. The easiest ways to keep a healed tattoo from fading over time is to keep them covered or use a good sun block when you are out side. The sun fades healed tattoos the most. However if you have a fresh tattoo, follow the directions your artist gives you on how to take care of it. Every artist has a little bit different way to take care of art. If they don’t offer any instructions, ASK, even though you shouldn’t have to. We at Affinity guarantee all of our work. That means any touch up on your artwork are on the artist who did the work originally.

Can I go swimming with a fresh tattoo or piercing?

Definitely NOT recommended. Your tattoo could end up looking really bad if you soak it. Soaking a fresh tattoo can cause scabs, and scabs could cause color to pull out or scarring. Swimming with a fresh piercing is also not good. Piercings can easily get infected. Especially in lake, river, or ocean water, mmm… fish poo in your fresh piercing. There is no such thing as a completely waterproof bandage.

If I want color will it cost more?

Hmmm… let’s think about this. Colors or greys that have variation and contrast and many other good points, compared to however long of doing just BLACK. While small black tats aren’t bad. Colors are almost always more fun, and therefore your artist likes doing the tattoo more. The better the artist likes doing the work.

How do you charge for tattoos?

At Affinity we charge by the hour. Our rate is currently $125 an hour, With a $75 Dollar minimum.

Will you do custom work?

Hell yes! Even if it’s something you bring in, or you can have us draw a piece for you.

Will my allergies affect my tattoo?

If you have certain food color allergies, talk to your artist about them. All of the inks that we use at Affinity have the same pigments (colors) that are FDA approved for food. The FDA does not approve ANY tattoo inks, even though all the ingredients in tattoo inks are approved. If we know ahead of time we can avoid allergic reactions to colors. The most common food dye allergies are in the red, orange, yellow spectrum.

Latex allergies can also be avoided by telling your artist. Most artists will have a non-latex substitute for gloves, tape and other thing that would normally contain latex. If you have any other allergy concerns, talk to your artist before signing any type of waver or release forms.

For more information on the FDA and the safety testing they have recently started doing on tattoo inks please go to: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/forum02/a169af4.htm

What is the best way to cover up old or bad work?

A lot of places say black tribal. This is not so. A cover up needs textures and variation to conceal scarring and raised lines. Detail is also good. You could hide almost anything in reptile or dragon scales. Flowers and natural things work well also, because of the flexibility you have with the shapes, shading, and color. With natural things like plants, animals, and landscapes, you can also add many other things to help in the cover up.

Flat black tribal has none of these abilities. If you are not sure the design you want will work as a cover up. Go find out, it can’t hurt to ask.

Do you reuse any tattoo or piercing needles?

Absolutely not, never ever, ever, we never reuse ANY needles. We don’t even use the same needle on the same person twice. You come in, and get tattooed then that or those needles are trashed. Even if you come in for say, 2 earlobe piercings we will use 2 different needles.

How long will my tattoo take to do?

Time varies depending on what you are getting. Some tiny tats take maybe a half hour, while larger ones like back pieces or half sleeves are done in multiple sessions. These sessions usually average about 4-5 hours a session. The more breaks you take the longer your tattoo takes. Sometimes if you take longer breaks your tattoo could start to hurt more in the long run.

How long do I have to wait to give blood?

With tattoos you have to wait an entire year. It is the same for donating plasma. You are also asked to wait a year after getting any body piercings. For more information on this please visit: http://www.redcross.org and search tattoos.