FAQs
our tattoo process:
Please review this page before paying your booking fee. We have written thorough information about our process and policies if you have any questions before your appointment. If you can't find what you need here, please feel free to contact us by email, text, or DM @exoglyphs.
Attention to detail and respect for our policies is essential for us to provide the best experience possible. Tattoos are forever and represent a significant commitment, so ensuring that every aspect of the process is meticulously handled guarantees your satisfaction and our work's integrity.
Consent is key.
Our main goal is to make you feel as comfortable as possible throughout the entire process. Let us know what we can do to make you feel good & we will do everything we can to have you taken care of. We often tattoo more intimate areas of the body, so please come dressed appropriately. Don’t ever hesitate to speak up on anything you need so that your boundaries are respected and you leave feeling excited about your new tattoo. We’ve gone through extensive blood-borne pathogen control and safety courses. Not only do we want to provide a safe and comfortable environment, but we also aim to raise the standards for how you get tattooed and encourage the promotion of healthy boundaries throughout the process that can be applied in all aspects of our lives.
pricing always varies.
We offer flat rates and provide discounted rates for full-day/half-day/multi-day sessions. Please keep in mind that booking fees are nonrefundable and will go towards the final total of your tattoo. Rescheduling may not always be guaranteed and must be done no later than 72 hours before your appointment. Otherwise, an additional fee will be added to the final price. We are happy to send over information on discounted multi-day session flat rates if that’s what you choose to do, but this is only suggested for those who have sat through larger sessions before. Exclusive offers are also available for our dedicated and trusted collectors.
Things to be mindful of while preparing for your appointment.
Torso or back piece: zip up hoodie/robe (thongs are also suggested if the piece is going on your lower torso/back)
Chest piece: loose shirt that can be tied (we often suggest bringing pasties or a bikini top if we are tattooing around/near the breasts)
Sleeve: tank top/tube top that allows access to your entire arm including the shoulder
Leg sleeve: shorts with a 3-5” inseam (can be longer if not working too high up on the thigh)
YOU NEVER HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY NAKED WHEN GETTING TATTOOED. A good tattooer knows how to work around thongs and string bikinis when needed. Don’t let any tattooer make you feel like you need to have all of your clothes off for an Instagram picture.
Please be sure to wear comfortable clothes. There’s a possibility that ink could get on them at any point so do not wear anything that you would not want ruined. You never need to feel extremely exposed when getting tattooed, and we will always ask for consent before moving your clothes around while drawing or tattooing. If there is an area of the body close to where we are tattooing that you prefer to keep clothed that will never be an issue. We suggest bringing extra clothes to change into after your session if needed, sometimes the body responds to getting tattooed by excessively sweating so it helps to have additional items on hand. You’re also welcome to bring a favorite pillow, blanket, stuffed animal, or anything that would help to make you comfortable or offer emotional support.
You may bring one guest.
For the best possible tattoo experience, we kindly ask that you bring no more than one guest to the appointment. This policy helps maintain a calm and focused environment, allowing us to concentrate fully on providing a high-quality tattoo. Additionally, we advise not bringing children, to ensure everyone's safety and comfort.
We do not send drafts of your tattoo design before the session.
Mainly because we get the best results finalizing your piece in person with you at the start of our session. This allows us to really understand what you’re into and get your feedback so we can make sure you’re happy with everything versus drawing something beforehand and then changing up everything once you arrive. Please do not show up to your appointment looking to get an entirely different tattoo concept than the one you sent in your request form- this could result in forfeiture of your booking fee. We are happy to accommodate slight changes, but we don’t want to change up the idea/location entirely as this may require a different approach. If you send over multiple concepts and your form gets accepted, we can talk in person about which idea we’re both the most interested in. After your design has been drawn on, we encourage you to take as much time as needed to look at it and sit with it to make sure you love the direction we’ve decided to go in.
Taking creative control is something we love doing, however we do need some sort of input from you.
If you want to leave it all up to us we ask that you at least give us a preferred area of the body as well as some reference imagery from our portfolio so we can understand what elements of our art you resonate with the most. This is essential as it helps us get to know what you like so we can then cater to that. It is important for us to talk as we lay out the design together so you know exactly what is going on with the tattoo/process & we can feel comfortable knowing we’re giving you something you want.
Your tattoo doesn’t have to take on any meaning that you don’t want it to.
We believe everyone can find their own significance behind their piece whether it has specific intentions or it is just something you think looks pretty and makes you feel good. At the end of the day, your tattoo experience represents beauty through transformative pain and adorning your body with art you enjoy, everything else is up to you.
Lidocaine based numbing cream is something we try to avoid due to the effects as well as the healing of the tattoos.
Please let us know if you plan to using numbing cream prior to your appointment. Bactine may be offered after all of the outline has been tattooed and has a small percentage of lidocaine to slightly numb the area to make the rest of the session a bit easer. Be sure to let us know beforehand if you’ve had any allergic reactions to any type of numbing agent or lidocaine-based products so we know not to use them.
Health/healing:
Preparing your body for a tattoo session is a major key in properly healing a tattoo. Make sure to shower the day of, as well as shave the area beforehand with your own personal razor if possible (this keeps us from using a plastic single use razor). Drink enough water the days leading up to your tattoo, and make sure you’ve had a good meal before coming in. Please be aware that a fresh tattoo is an open wound, proper healing is your responsibility.
Safety remains our biggest priority.
Regular doctors checkups and bloodwork (complete lab work not just STI testing) is highly encouraged to make sure your body is in a healthy state to get tattooed. The American healthcare system sucks, but it’s much easier to get a check up before your session than to have to deal with going to a doctor or hospital to deal with an infected tattoo.
It’s also important to make sure not to book your appointment around the time of any medical procedures, invasive or not. Even just having your blood drawn a few days before your appointment could lead to you feeling light headed or potentially fainting. We recommend waiting at least a week after any medical experiences, and if you’re unsure of anything just ask your doctor what they would recommend. Certain medications such as blood thinners, antibiotics, and others can have a negative effect on the outcome of your tattoo. Please make sure to ask your doctor for any advice on getting tattooed if you have any medical conditions or are taking any medication that you could have an impact on your session. This keeps us from having to ask for any personal medical information; if you do feel the need to disclose something to us that you think might affect your tattoo, please trust that it will always remain confidential. If your immune system is fighting off something that isn’t being properly treated, it will severely affect the healing process of your tattoo as well as the state of your body.
In order to ensure a proper heal, detailed instructions are included below.
We will also go over the preferred method with you in person at the end of our session to make sure you’re comfortable with the process and don’t have any questions. We can tell when a tattoo is neglected during a heal; there are some things that can be out of your control, but it is necessary that you refrain from certain behavior such as picking scabs and failing to follow directions.
Make sure to plan ahead and take the day after your tattoo session off to rest your body, larger pieces require at least three days off. Do not skip this step as your immune system will be weakened after any tattoo session and pushing your body to work or deal with any high intensity/stressful situations or environments could result in you catching something that keeps you from properly healing that tattoo.
For linework/lightly shaded pieces we suggest healing with a Saniderm/second skin type bandage.
Please let us know if you have ever had any negative reactions to an adhesive or this kind of bandage so we can go with a different healing method. We will put on a layer of Saniderm after taking photos of the fresh tattoo and recommend keep it on 2-3 days or sooner if the tattoo starts to leak through the bandage (minimum 24 hours). For hard to reach areas like the back make sure to have a trusted friend available to help remove and reapply properly. It is easiest to remove in the shower under running water. Make sure to clean your hands with antibacterial soap, and then clean the tattoo once the bandage is off. Allow the tattoo to air dry (no towels, but paper towels is okay) for 10-15 minutes without coming into contact with any clothes/fabric/furniture, then lightly moisturized at least once a day to allow the piece to stay hydrated and age nicely.
Second-skin type bandages can also slightly irritate the skin around the area that wasn't tattooed- if this happens feel free to peel the bandage close to the tattoo & cut off the excess parts to avoid further irritation, or just take it off completely. If you remove the bandage within the first 3-5 days of the healing process, you’ll want to move forward by cleaning/moisturizing your tattoo a few times daily until the scabbing phase is complete.
It’s important to patch test saniderm if you have never used it before, as some people have issues with adhesives. It’s best to know beforehand so that you don’t risk disrupting the healing process or dealing with more serious skin irritation. If any allergic reaction occurs, remove the bandage as soon as possible.
For heavy blackwork shading pieces the healing will be more intense.
It is necessary that you take at least three to five days off directly following the tattoo appointment to protect your new tattoo, and avoid any clothing that may potentially stick to your new tattoo. During the first three nights, you will use a ‘puppy training pad’ and some sensi wrap to wrap up your tattoo while you sleep. This is the only time you’ll want to keep your tattoo wrapped up, as you’ll want to make sure it air dries whenever you’re not sleeping.
Using antibacterial soap and freshly washed hands, make sure to clean your tattoo 3-5 times daily within the first week. Let your tattoo air dry for 10-15 minutes, and then lightly moisturize your tattoo (we suggest cocoa butter but if you have a preferred tattoo healing balm or unscented lotion that has worked for you before you may use that). Please make sure to pay attention to how much moisturizer you use, if your skin is not soaking it up it can create a wet layer that allows bacteria to breed and get into your tattoo. While airing your tattoo out during the first three days, we suggest keeping one of the puppy training pads nearby if you are resting and your tattoo could potentially come in contact with any sheets, furniture, etc. There is no need to wrap it here ,but you can place it under your tattoo to keep any bacteria from getting into your open wound.
Days four to six are usually when the tattoo is in shed; expect large, light flakes instead of actual scabbing and make sure to continue moisturizing and avoid picking at the flakes. If you do see heavy scabbing during this time, it is a sign that your tattoo has potentially held too much moisture and is not healing properly- so make sure to avoid lotions after cleaning at the sight of heavy scabs. Don’t forget to let us know your travel schedule if you’re coming from out of state for your session so we can make sure to provide you with the necessary supplies to help clean your piece and keep it protected in the airport.
Some things you should always keep in mind while healing a tattoo:
Mild bruising may occur on more sensitive areas. If you’re sore the first day or two you may take your preferred over the counter pain killer to help with the pain. CBD and other natural remedies can also be a big help.
Continue taking immunity supplements for the first week after your tattoo (we suggest taking it the week leading up to your tattoo as well).
Treat your body as if it’s sick- try to take time off, rest up, stay hydrated, remove any unnecessary stress, & focus on letting your body heal itself.
You may have a slight fever the first day or two due to your immune system working on the heal, if so keep an eye on your temperature & it should go away by day 3-4.
Make sure to always wear clean clothes & sleep on fresh clean sheets. Keep all pets and pet hair away from the open wound. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your tattoo.
After the initial week and the flaking/scabbing has moved on to the shiny phase, we suggest continuing to moisturize your tattoo once a day with cocoa butter or your preferred lotion for the rest of your life for healthy hydrated skin and art. Make sure to wear sunscreen with a high SPF and iron oxide if the tattoo will be in the sun after the initial healing period.
Typical signs of infection include green pus and excessive redness after the first week of healing. If at any point you are feeling extremely sick or concerned please go to a trusted doctor or urgent care.
What NOT to do while healing your tattoo:
NEVER submerge your tattoo underwater. A light shower is fine, but do not bathe or swim until 2-3 weeks after the tattoo session.
DO NOT over-moisturize your tattoo. This can cause little bumps of excess oil to appear, as well as harboring bacteria which could lead to an infection. Use just enough moisturizer to hydrate the tattoo and then refrain from putting any clothing on the area until it is dry. If your tattoo is displaying any signs of ‘wet scabs’ that is a sign to stop moisturizing it for a day or so.
DO NOT go to crowded places with your tattoo open and exposed. We understand most of our clients travel to us, we will set you up with what is needed to be safe in the airport. Other than that make sure to stay as isolated as possible for the first 3-5 days.
NO working out for the first week (7 days) after our session. Even if you're wearing Saniderm, the excess sweat can build up and cause an infection. Light walking/stretching is okay, but stay away from any activities that will make you break a sweat.
DO NOT expose your fresh tattoo to the sun. We suggest waiting 4-6 weeks before having it uncovered in the sun and even then, always use an iron oxide sunscreen with a high SPF and apply it to you tattoo every hour.
NEVER use a washcloth or towel to wash/dry your tattoo. Clean fresh paper towels only.
DO NOT wear tight clothing over the tattoo during the first 5 days (we suggest trying to keep any kind of clothing off of the tattoo as much as you can during the first 3-5 days).
DO NOT consume alcohol/recreational substances within the first week of getting a large tattoo. Medical cannabis is accepted if you have experience, and even then we only suggest consuming it orally or via a transdermal patch versus smoking.
You will always know more about how your body responds to the healing process than we will, which is why it’s extremely important to let us know of any previous difficulties you’ve had with healing a tattoo, as well as any bad reactions you have experienced. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if the healing is looking weird, or if you need anything at all during the healing process.