Ever since I was about 17 years old I had gone back and forth on whether or not to get a tattoo. When I was 17 I had planned to get a tattoo on my boob the summer of my 18th birthday, which conveniently fell over my high school Senior Week, so my parents wouldn't even know. Once Senior Week passed I got over the urge of having a tattoo and quickly moved to the obsession of a tongue piercing. I also thought a tattoo on my boob would be skanky. I had stayed pretty consistent in not having or wanting a tattoo until about 2 weeks ago when I went to Ocean City, NJ and got a cute simple henna tattoo on my foot. I pondered the decision of whether to get a real tattoo or not the entire car ride home from NJ and finally decided after about 3 hours of thinking that I was going to get one the following weekend. I quickly made an appointment for that Saturday, knowing that M&M was usually pretty busy (and, boy was I right). (Sidenote: M&M opens at 1pm every day and by 1:15 they were very busy, so I highly recommend making an appointment in advance.)
At A Glance Author Briana Contact Briana@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Herbie Studio M&M Tattoo Location Downingtown, PA I was extremely excited all week to get the tattoo then by Friday night I was getting nervous, too. My boyfriend kept asking me if I wanted to go through with it and he told me not too if I didn't think I could do it. I knew I could do it, but I was just expecting the absolute worst from all the stories I'd heard from other people about how the foot is the most painful place to get a tattoo. Saturday morning rolled around and by this time I was just anxious to get it over with. My boyfriend and I got to M&M around 1:15 and I was practically shaking because I was so nervous. I filled out the form and then Herbie came up and asked me what exactly it was that I wanted. I told him and he went back and drew something up for me. He came back about 15 minutes later and it was perfect. So simple, yet perfect.
Herbie got everything set up and told me to come back. I grabbed my boyfriend's hand and dragged him back with me. I knew it was now or never. I watched as Herbie put everything together and saw how big of a needle it was and by that point I thought I was gonna die. Five minutes later, he was ready. He asked if I was ready. "As ready as I can be." He started with one small line just to let me know how it was going to feel. That wasn't too bad. I truly was expecting one of the worst feelings of my life. And I'm not going to lie, it was the worst feeling of my life thus far. So Herbie continued tattooing, stopping every now and then to get more ink. I kept my eyes shut the entire time the needle did its thing on my foot. When he would pause, I opened my eyes to look around and control my breathing. The entire time I squeezed my boyfriend's hand and thought I was going to break it. By the time Herbie got to the 4th star, I didn't think I could take it anymore and I was almost on the verge of tears. I suffered through the last 2 stars and on the last one he hit a soft spot on my foot, which was probably the worst part of the whole thing.
Finally, it was over. All that was left was a stinging pain. It kind of felt like when someone slaps you and afterward it tingles for a while, or when you high-five someone really hard and it hurts and tingles afterward. I now have black outlines of 5 stars going diagonally across my foot; one large one starting at the right side of my right foot, followed by a smaller one, and then 3 even smaller ones going toward my big toe. I love my stars! It truly was worth the pain and the $85, but I was expecting the pain to be much greater. I wanted to get a tattoo on my foot because I love to show off my feet, especially in the summer with flip flops and other cute sandals at work.
I had heard so many stories about the pain of tattoos on feet, but I can honestly say it is worth it. The pain was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was probably the worst pain of my life up until now, and the worst will probably be when I have a baby.
If anyone is thinking of getting a tattoo on their foot, take my word for it, it's worth it.
I can see why people get so addicted to tattoos. My next tattoo will be when I'm married and it will be 2 interlocking hearts on the back of my shoulder. I can't wait!