How to choose a paramedical tattoo artist: questions to ask

You are about to trust somebody with permanent pigment on a part of your body that has already been through a lot. It is fair to ask questions, and anyone worth hiring is glad when you do. Here are the ones I would ask, in the order I would ask them, and how I answer each one myself. Ask me the same things. I mean it.

Can I see healed results, not fresh ones?

Fresh work photographs beautifully and tells you very little. Healed color is the color that counts, so ask to see work after it has settled, in daylight, with no filter. In my studio, everything on the gallery page is a real client's healed result, shared with their blessing. I would rather show you a small wall of real ones than a big wall of anything else.

Do you mix color to my skin, or work from a chart?

Think of your skin as a recipe: olive, far more yellow than you would ever believe, one drop of red where blood sits close to the surface, green in the veins, gold over the knuckles, pink at the joints. I mix that recipe to you, hold it against your skin in daylight, and do not start until it disappears against you. A chart is a shortcut, and you can see the shortcut afterwards.

Is the touch-up part of the plan, or an extra?

Skin takes pigment differently from person to person, so a second visit is normal. Whether it was in the plan from the start tells you a lot. In my studio it is in the plan from the beginning, and we agree on the whole thing, cost included, before anything begins.

What would make you turn me away?

Anyone who cannot name a case they decline is not paying attention to candidacy. Here is my list.

• Anything still pink, red or purple, because it is still changing
• Scars younger than about a year, unless the consult says otherwise
• Raised or keloid scars, if texture is what bothers you most
• Skin that a doctor is still looking after
• Skin that is irritated, sunburned or freshly tanned
• Any case where camouflage would draw more attention than the scar does

I say so on the phone, free, before you have spent a dollar. If the answer is a wait instead of a no, I tell you roughly when to ask me again.

What will this look like in five years?

The honest answer includes softening and sun. The pigment is permanent, and like every pigment in skin it softens over the years, faster on skin that gets a lot of sun. Sunscreen over it is the most useful thing you can do. When it is ready for a refresh, you come back. Be careful with anyone who promises a result that never changes.

How much of what you do is this kind of work?

Paramedical work is a different craft from brows and lips, and it is fair to ask how much of an artist's day is scars, areolas, stretch marks and belly buttons. Mine is all of it, plus microneedling. I no longer do eyebrows or microblading, and if brows are what you want, I am not your artist. I would rather say so kindly than take your money.

A good consult ends with an honest answer, and sometimes the answer is not yet.

Who is on the other end after the session?

Ask whether you can reach them when something looks strange at night. You go home from my studio with written aftercare and my actual phone number, and you are meant to use both. People text me photos while they heal, and I would much rather they did.

Will you send me back to my surgeon if I should go?

Ask this one, because the answer should be yes. I am not a doctor or a nurse. I do not diagnose anything and I do not give medical advice. I work after your medical team is finished, and if something in your photos looks like it belongs in front of your surgeon first, I will tell you to go and see them. I do not work on skin that somebody else is still working on.

Do I get a say in the design?

You should. For areola restoration, placement, size and shape go on in pencil first, and you look at it in a mirror before anything permanent begins. Everything after that is built on what you chose. People are often surprised by how much say they have, and I think it is the most important part of the day.

What should the first conversation feel like?

Free, unhurried, and honest. Mine is fifteen minutes on the phone or FaceTime after you text two photos in daylight, no filter. I tell you what I see, what is possible, roughly how many sessions it usually takes and what it would cost. If your case is not a candidate, I tell you that on the call. Nobody has ever been made to feel silly for asking.

You can read more about my training and how I came to this work on the about page, find quick answers on the FAQ page, or read the candidacy guide before you text. If you would rather write than text, the contact page works too.

People come to my Santa Barbara studio from Goleta, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura and farther. If you are driving in, take the morning session and spend the afternoon at the beach. I say that to everybody, and everybody listens.