I am always being impressed these days when I see the number of tattoos openly worn out in public, in all walks of life. Gone are the days of tattoos being just a representation of criminal status, gang affiliation, or just all round 'badness'. People everywhere are embracing the ability to wear tattoos without being looked down upon, or being restricted in life when it comes to career, family and social situations.

So given the popularity of tattoos these days I have here 3 tips for a successful tattoo, whether it be your first or your fiftieth!

1. DO YOUR TATTOO RESEARCH.

Rather than waking up in the morning and saying to yourself "I want to get a tattoo today", then going to your local tattoo studio and getting a tattoo based on an idea you have in your head or something they have on their walls, do some research first.

Most of the very best tattoos come from a combination of ideas that have been gained from extensive research, and most people that are serious about their tattoos have a collection of books, or downloaded e books, that they use to gain ideas and inspiration from. If you are one of those people who consider themselves serious about tattoos, I highly recommend 'getting' serious and building your own flash library at home that you can go through at your leisure to work on your tattoo collection. You'll be surprised at how easy it becomes to know exactly what you want on your skin, and where, when you have a large tattoo resource center at your disposal.

2. GET TO KNOW YOUR TATTOO SELF BETTER.

Many people get their tattoo based on where they are at in life, at that particular time. For example, when aged 18, they get the tattoo that represents themselves at 18; when they are 24 they get the tattoo that represents themselves at age 24; and when aged 44 they get the tattoo that represents themselves at 44 etc. Do you think that the tattoo gotten at age 18 will still be satisfactory, reliable and in many cases actually wanted at age 44? Well in many cases it is not, and that is because the tattoo gotten actually reflects the culture and the experience of the age, and not the person.

If you want to avoid this then intrinsic knowledge of oneself is required, little but important things such as knowing where you are headed in life; knowing how you are feeling around other people: knowing what you want to represent to other people. By having an intrinsic awareness of yourself may stop you from getting that Decepticon tattoo over your heart when you are 19 ... which is a place perhaps better kept bare for later in life!

3. GET TO KNOW YOUR TATTOOIST.

Knowing where you want to have your tattoo done is also very important, not on your body (although that is also very important), but in which studio and by who.

Of course on the whole we are restricted by distance, with most of us finding it difficult to travel overseas to Germany, or England, or Australia to have our next tattoo done. Instead, get to know the tattooists within the areas that you can travel to, so if you can travel only locally then spend some time visiting your local tattoo parlors. If you can go a little further then travel out and spend some time looking at all an artists or studios works, or get on their website if they have one and check out the works posted there.

Most of the time it is best not to go to an artist or a studio just because a friend said they were good; or because a friend has a nice piece done from an artist already. The old one comes up 'if a friend told you to jump off a cliff would you do it?' Of course not, so don't go to an artist or a studio just because someone said they were really good. Find out for yourself first if a particular artist is good, and if that artist is consistently good, and suitable for the tattoo you are intending to get.

Most of the people wearing tattoos got their first tattoo when they were under 25 years old. So between 25 years and lifetime there is for most of us about 50 more years. Taking time and consideration when getting a tattoo often takes the pain out of embarrassing tattoos, cover ups and full removals. Expose yourself to as much art as possible before getting a tattoo done, as the more you see and know, the better equipped you are to make what is known as an informed decision.

I Want A Tattoo NOW!

So for your next tattoo don't just wake up one morning and say "I'm going to get a tattoo today", instead say to yourself "I'm going to get a tattoo ... next week!", and then spend that week that you have given yourself doing as much research as possible, so you can have great confidence in what you are getting, that will last you a lifetime.