Step 1: Make sure you're ready

Before you get a tattoo, you should be 100 percent sure you want one. They're permanent (I know, duh) and can only be removed by laser, which is pricey and "hurts way more than getting the tattoo in the first place," says tattoo artist Paul Oafenhammer.

So how do you know you're ready? "It should feel like the tattoo is already there, and it just needs to make its way to the surface," says tattoo artist Kim Saigh. If you're still unsure of whether you want one or not, then you're probably better off not getting it ... for now.