Don’t Drink & Ink!

While drinking and inking used to be the commonplace tactic of the sailors and war-torn vets that flocked to the old-school parlors, it really isn’t something you should be doing in today’s more aware society. While it used to be acceptable, the present and lasting effects of alcohol on the body have become clearer, thanks to modern science, and now we know that getting inked while being sloshed is simply a bad idea.

When it comes to drinking and inking, there is so much more than meets the eye. Of course, the most glaringly obvious side effect of getting a tattoo while drunk is the fact that you will have, well, a drunken tattoo emblazoned on your body for the rest of your life. Six tequila shots in, it may seem like a good idea to get Tweety-bird inked on your bosom, but once sober, you may have a different opinion of that Looney-Toons tattoo.

But, risking a really ridiculous tattoo isn’t the only reason you shouldn’t get a tattoo if you’ve been drinking.

No matter how amazing the tattoo artist, a drunk person is likely to be a pain in the ass throughout the entire tattoo process. Even if the design is something small, an intoxicated person is likely to be indecisive and go back and forth about what they want. This can be extremely frustrating for the artist as you can’t simply erase a line in a tattoo if the client changes their mind halfway through. Intoxicated individuals also tend to be fidgety, distracted, aloof, and impulsive. Let’s not forget the famous drunk behavior of nodding off then jerking awake. Yeah, imagine that in a tattoo chair!

Looking at the physical side of what happens when you ink and drink, adding alcohol to your system prior to getting a tattoo can actually cause damage to the tattoo. Alcohol is a blood thinner. Some people already tend to bleed a lot during a tattoo, but adding alcohol can make anyone bleed excessively, which can cause color loss as the tattoo heals. It can also make it difficult for the tattoo artist to see what they are doing as thinner blood tends to seep out faster than non-thinned blood causing it to pool over the tattooed surface and decrease visibility.

In addition to spotty coloring, adding a blood thinner to your system can cause you to bruise and can prevent the healing process from occurring at its natural speed. Having a delayed healing time can extend the risk of infection drastically.

Tattooing can drain your energy and cause you to feel exhausted, empty, and rundown. Now, add a hangover to that and you’re going to regret that decision really quickly. When it comes to getting a tattoo, avoid drinking at least twenty-four hours beforehand. And, if you do find yourself a little bit tipsy and stumbling into your local tattoo shop, hopefully, you’ll have picked a shop that knows to turn you away until you sober up!