Straight answers to the things that stop people booking a tattoo — from the first idea to a healed tattoo. Each guide points you at real, credited work in the catalogue, and health guides quote dermatologists who specialise in tattoos.
What does a Japanese (Irezumi) tattoo actually look like?
Start with visibility, not the design
Stand up, look in a full-length mirror, move around.
1. Start with the style, not the name
Start with what you actually have
Avoid soaking it — no pools, baths, or open water — until it's fully healed, and keep it out of direct sun.
Visible tattoos and work: which placements are easy to cover, research on tattoos and employment, industries with stricter rules, and how to plan placement around your career.
Patchy spots or thin lines once peeling is finished — common, and usually fixed with a touch-up after full healing.
Look at the stencil in a full-length mirror and from a distance; ask to move it if it sits wrong on the muscle.
For the full picture, see pain by placement, the interactive pain map, and Choosing the Right Tattoo Placement.
Style and detail Styles that need long shading or colour packing — realism , New School , full colour work — take more hours than linework at the…
Realism tries to rebuild the entire photograph — full tonal range, shading, highlight and shadow, texture.
Nine stages from a vague idea to a healed tattoo. Every guide ends with a link to the next step, so you can read them in order — or jump straight to where you are.
The worries people mention most — and where the honest answer is.
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Health guides quote dermatologists who specialise in tattoos word for word. New to the words? See the tattoo glossary. How guides are written and corrected: editorial policy.