Walls covered with sheets of designs greet anyone who walks in to this parlor. The designs vary from butterflies to pigs, fairies to skulls and religious figures to flowers. A boy is patiently waiting on one of the two blue couches with hands clasped, feet tapping, staring at the wall of designs. A man holding a clipboard approaches the boy and hands it to him. “Fill this out,” the man says. “Print your name, date of birth and sign. Just date it.” The boy acts as if he has done this before, “alright.” The man then leads the boy to the back of the parlor so that he can decorate his skin with a tattoo.

Choosing the artwork that will adorn a person’s skin for life should be carefully thought out and chosen. The quality of the artist’s work should definitely be a key factor in a person’s decision.

“Really, that is the main thing that I would look for,” Randy Benoit, owner of Randy’s Fine Line Tattoos, said.

People looking to get a tattoo should be cautious in making a final choice of design because it is something that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

“You can get them removed, but it’s going to cost you a lot more money than you paid for the tattoo,” Benoit says.

Rusty Bouvier, art junior from Lockport, has a tattoo near his ankle and he says that he regrets getting it.

“It’s just an oriental symbol for music,” Bouvier said. “I had a friend with me who kind of egged me on to get it. I probably would have punked out if it wasn’t for that. I don’t completely regret it; it’s just that I guess I would have picked something different if I would have put more thought into it.”

He says that he would not get it removed, though, because the process is costly and the tattoo is not much of a distraction.

“It’s about the size of a quarter,” Bouvier said.

Bouvier is currently looking into getting another tattoo sometime this month. This time he says that it is something that has more meaning to him.

“It’s a Celtic tree of life,” Bouvier says. “This one has a little bit more meaning. It symbolizes life, and rebirth and it’s just a cycle of living things.”

Before choosing the parlor and artist, those considering getting a tattoo should visit several different places to compare the artists’ work and cleanliness, according to Benoit.

Karen Hudson, author of Your Guide to Getting Tattoos, compares getting “inked” to making a major purchase, like buying a car.

“You wouldn’t buy one from the first dealership you went to,” Hudson says.

According to Hudson, the most painful areas to get a tattoo are the abdomen, spine, chest, ankle and ribcage. On the other hand, Benoit says that getting a tattoo feels the same no matter what region of the body it is drawn on.

“You do have spots that tend to bite a little more than others,” Benoit says.

For Bouvier, the pain was not as bad as he expected it to be.

“I kind of felt a slow tingling,” Bouvier says. “It just felt like a bee sting that wouldn’t stop, like a throbbing for a while. Maybe it was just the spot I got it in.”

Tribal signs, names, roses and armbands are Benoit’s most requested designs. People can come up with their own design or choose one off of the wall, according to Benoit.

“If they do pick designs off the wall, what I try to encourage people to do is let us revise it and change it, that way you won’t have five people down the line with the same tattoo,” Benoit says.

Hudson says, “Your tattoo is a reflection of you.” According to Hudson, whatever people have tattooed on their bodies are the impressions others are going to get about them.

People getting tattoos should also consider their professionalism. They should get the tattoo in a spot where it can easily be covered up with accessories or articles of clothing, according to Benoit.

“You should do this if you’re going to be in a line of work where they’re going to look down on you for it,” Benoit says. “I feel they shouldn’t (look down on you for having a tattoo), but they do.