Tattoo FAQ

There's no set size for a set price, because the same budget can buy a larger simple piece or a smaller detailed one. A small, simple tattoo can come in at the shop minimum, but detail needs room to stay clear as the ink settles, so a detailed design asks for more size, and more of your budget, to hold up for years.

A Trash Polka tattoo is priced like any other custom piece, from the $100 shop minimum at your artist's rate. It tends to run large, layering realism with bold black strokes and shapes, and big pieces often take several sittings, so size is what moves the cost the most.

Yes. A deposit of $50 to $200, depending on the piece, holds your date, and you pay it in person at your consultation. It isn't refundable, but every dollar of it comes off the price of your tattoo, or off your last session if the piece takes more than one.

Tipping is customary in tattoo shops, and whether you tip, and how much, is always up to you. If you love the piece you walk out with and how you were looked after along the way, a tip is a kind way to tell your artist so.

Most tattoos can be covered or reworked, though not every one, and not with just any design. How dark the old tattoo is, how big it is and where it sits decide what's possible, and an old, faded piece is far easier to hide than a new, bold one, and any tattoo must be fully healed before it's covered. Cover-ups are a specialty of our studio, and your consultation is where you'll learn what's realistic for yours.

A rework keeps the tattoo you have and makes it better, sharpening the lines and adding shading and depth. A cover-up replaces it with a new design built to hide it completely. If you still love the idea and just not how it was done, a rework may be the better route, and there are options in between, like a blast-over that lets some of the old piece show on purpose.

It usually needs to be bigger, and at least as dark as the tattoo underneath. The new design has to reach past the old edges, and heavy black can only be hidden under equally dark tones or dense detail that breaks up its shape, so fine line and pale color rarely work. The best cover-ups are drawn around what's beneath them, so the old shape disappears into the new one instead of showing through over time.

Not always. For a very dark or fairly new tattoo, or when you'd like something lighter over it, a session or two of laser fading can open up far more design choices, and even lightening it by half makes a real difference. Fading isn't full removal, only enough to give the new piece room to work, and you'd wait at least six to eight weeks after the last laser session before getting tattooed.

A cover-up is priced the same way as any custom tattoo: the $100 shop minimum, then your artist's rate. It often costs more than a fresh tattoo of the same idea, because it has to be larger and denser to hide what's beneath it. Some cover-ups also take more than one session, and the last layer can need a small touch-up once it has healed.

Just tell us it's a cover-up when you request your consultation. Bring clear photos of the old tattoo taken in daylight from a few angles, anything you know about its history, such as its age or any laser or touch-ups, and references for what you'd like instead. Come open to ideas, too, since the design that hides your old piece best may be one you hadn't pictured.

Many scars can be tattooed over once they're fully healed, settled and flat. Ink holds differently in scar tissue than in the skin around it, so raised or uneven scarring can limit how clean the result looks, and the height and texture of yours decide what's realistic. A scar that's still pink or changing usually needs more time before it's ready.

Every tattoo here begins with a consultation, so your idea, placement and size are settled before anything is drawn. It gives you and your artist the time to get the plan right together, and it means the design waiting for you on the day was made with everything you talked through in mind.

Start by looking through our artists' work and finding the one whose style fits your idea. Then request a consultation, or call or text us, and we'll set up a time to sit down and talk it through.

No. Bring your idea and a few references you like, and tell your artist what draws you to each one, whether it's the mood, the composition or a single detail. Your artist draws from them for direction and shapes the design around the place it will sit on your body.

Yes, we'll tattoo your hands or your face. The skin on your hands moves, sheds and wears more than almost anywhere else, so ink has a harder time holding there, and the size and design of a hand piece deserve real thought before you settle on them.

You'll see it the morning of your appointment, with time to make small changes that day. Designs are drawn in order of appointment date, so drawing begins once your date is set, and your artist checks in one to three days before to confirm the idea.

Give us at least 24 hours' notice and your deposit moves to your new date. If an emergency means you can't give that much notice, call or text us as soon as you can, and we'll work it out case by case. A no-call no-show loses the deposit, and booking again takes a new one.

You can get tattooed here at 18 with a valid photo ID. Under 18, Colorado law requires a parent's or guardian's consent, and we also ask that your parent or legal guardian come with you, both of you with ID, along with guardianship papers where they apply.

A little, and how much varies from person to person. Some people feel a pinch, some a scratch, and some barely notice it at all. Placement makes the biggest difference, so a tattoo on your arm can feel nothing like one across your back.

It depends on the size and detail. A small, simple piece can be finished in a short sitting, while detailed work takes hours, and a realistic portrait about the size of your hand often runs four to six hours. Detailed work much larger than your palm is usually split across several sessions, with time to heal between them.

You're welcome to bring one guest, but please leave kids at home. A group distracts your artist and crowds the workspace, which slows the tattoo down, and it's a long wait for anyone just watching. For company that takes up no space at all, bring headphones or a tablet.

Something dark that opens easily to the spot being tattooed and that you don't mind getting ink on. A short-sleeved shirt or a tank top works for an upper arm, and shorts work for a calf. Staining is rare, but it does happen, so skip your favorite shirt that day.

Wait if you're sunburned, the skin in that spot is damaged, you're pregnant, or you've been drinking or are hungover. With sensitive skin or a skin condition, check with your doctor first, and if you're worried about a reaction, stop by for a patch test. Let your artist know about any allergies or medical conditions, too.

The surface heals in about two to three weeks, while the skin underneath takes up to six months to settle. The tattoo's size, how much color or shading it carries, where it sits and how your body heals all change the timeline. Around weeks two to four it can look cloudy or patchy, and that's a normal stage of healing.

Yes, a little: every tattoo softens as it heals, and fresh black and grey looks a shade or two darker than it will stay. After that, sun fades a tattoo faster than anything, so keep it covered while it heals and wear sunscreen on it once it has. Look after it and leave it unpicked, and it will stay sharp for years.

Yes, within two months, once the tattoo has fully healed. Come in as soon as it's ready, because after that window normal wear can leave a touched-up spot looking different from the rest of the piece. Anything outside the two months is up to your artist, case by case.