Gandalf Tattoo
Providing services of professional tattooing

If you decide to get tattooed the most important thing you have to keep in mind is how well acquainted the person that will be tattooing you is with the profession of tattooing and everything that goes into it because tattooing is a complicated process not visible in the actual tattoo, the tattoo that momentarily impressed you and encouraged you to get one. There is a lot of people tattooing today but the question remains: Do they actually know what they are doing? The people whos professionality is questionable tattoo artists refer to as (scratchers). They are not favourited in the World of Tattooing. Scratchers, unlike Tattooists (Tattoo Artists) know very little or nothing about tattooing, and due to their ignorance they are not even aware of all the risks they put themselves and their customers to.

As any other procedure on the body tattooing can be very dangerous, can severely damage your health, or even shorten your life, if it is done in an unprofessional way or in unhygienic conditions. The biggest risk of unprofessional tattooing is catching the Hepatitis virus of the B or C type, the HIV virus (causes AIDS), or MRSA, the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. There is also many more diseases transferred by blood or bodily fluids, that you will have to treat in the best case scenario, and in the worst case scenario can be developed into diseases not less dangerous than HIV or Hepatitis C or even cause death. Every respectable tattoo artist and tattoo studio with a good reputation, unlike a scratcher , pays attention to these things, and with proper sterilization and disinfection puts the risk of these diseases and infections to a minimum.

By not getting tattooed by a professional you are also risking an allergic reaction to a pigment used in the process of tattooing. To buy proper tattooing ink or the tools for professional tattooing one must show documentation that proves they own a company or firm in which tattooing is registered as a business to the distributor of those tools and ink. After buying them, those same goods have to, under the croatian law, pass the customs and sanitary inspection during which the same documentation must be shown. Therefore, scratchers can only use ink and tools of questionable quality unlike tattooists.

There are also strict instructions one must abide that are given before and after the tattooing process. If your way of life dictates a continuity that can not be broken for 7 days, it is advised to postpone the tattoo appointment for a couple of days, week or months than to suffer unnecessary consequences like inflammation or redness of the tattooed skin, because the healing process didn’t go the way it was supposed to. The end result of these consequences could also be a lesser quality of the tattoo.

To avoid all the risks that can negatively affect you and your health, and also other people and their health you have to warn us if you have any of the following:

• any contagious disease
• any chronic disease
• haemorrhagic, haemophilia
• metabolic disease
• epilepsy
• heart problems
• diabetes
• high or low blood pressure
• any allergies

Also if:

• you are pregnant, or currently breastfeeding
• you have any skin problems
• you suffer from any psychological disorder (such as: depression, panic attacks, PTSD etc.)
• you are hypoglycemic.

In some of the cases above we will advise you to consult your doctor due to the specific nature of your condition, and postpone the tattooing appointment. If you decide to not tell us any of the diseases or conditions above we will not be held responsible for the consequences to your health or the quality of your tattoo.

At Gandalf Tattoo studio, the pricing is as follows:

• Minimum price (starting price) – €60
• Hourly rate – €100
• Session price for multi-session tattoos – €400

In addition to cash payments, we also accept card payments. Due to bank fees and payment delays, the base price of tattooing services increases by 5% for one-time card payments. For installment payments with Diners cards and MBnet network debit cards, the base price increases by 10%.

The price of the tattoo is set according to multiple factors such as: the size, complexity, the time that goes into drawing the motif, the time that goes into the tattooing, and the part of the body that the tattoo will be on. The prices go from 60 euro to a couple of thousands of euro. 60 euro is the minimum which means that tattooing a simple motif such as chinese script, a smiley face etc; of the approximate size of 3x3 cm costs as much as a lets say a simple one millimeter dot would cost. The price of tattooing doesn’t go under the price of the minimum because the tools and material used can not the amortized under that price even if its a dot or a more complicated motif.

Mainly, bigger tattoos come out cheaper than small ones even though they have more time, energy, material and time invested in them. What I mean when I say bigger is cheaper is that for example a tattoo that is the size of a pack of cigarettes and a tattoo that is the size of an A4 paper, the second one will be 5-6 times more expensive than the first one, even though you can fit 11 packs of cigarettes into an A4 paper. Also, tattoo will be less expensive if it is put on the forearm, calf or upper arm, and the same tattoo will be more expensive if it is put on the lower back, stomach or the chest because of how the skin stretches in those particular places and the process of tattooing is more complicated on some parts of the body.

Yes, tattooing hurts and everyone that says otherwise is just showing off! Tattooing is an unpleasant but bearable treatment which mostly everyone endures without any problems. Many people get scared or panic when they hear the sound of a tattooing machine and automatically are reminded of the sound they hear at the dentist. The treatment with or without anesthetic done on a tooth infected by cavities or granuloma is far more painful than the most painful spot on the body to tattoo. Tattooing causes a feeling of irritation much like the feeling you get when you pluck your hair, or like you are being scratched by something sharp, or maybe even pinching and tickling.

There is a whole spectrum of senses you can get depending on the place on the body that is getting tattooed, the longevity of the process and your pain threshold. Most women say that the intensity of pain while getting tattooed reminds them of the pain when they depilate their legs with an epilator. Its mostly unpleasant, much like being tickled and itchy at the same time and you can’t scratch it or remove the feeling in any way. You can say that the first process of tattooing you go through is a type of initiation, a test of yourself. It is unpleasant for the first 15 minutes and later you get used to the pain and can be tattooed for several more hours. By the second time around people have no fear and don’t panic because they are acquainted with the feeling of being tattooed.

Some clients ask why there is no anesthetic given during the process. We don’t provide anesthetics because it can be very dangerous if a client is allergic to it. Allergy to an anesthetic can cause anaphylactic shock during which reanimation might be needed. There are anesthesiologists for that whos training takes years.

Also, by taking painkillers, alcohol and other drugs you won’t lessen the irritating feeling of being tattooed, only make matters worse. Painkillers can lesses a static pain like a headache or toothache but not a pain caused by tattooing because that is an intentionally caused pain. By consummation of alcohol or drugs you will become more sensitive to pain because you won’t be producing endorphin which is a natural anesthetic and you will be hemorrhaging more. If we suspect that you are under the influence of any drug or alcohol we will not tattoo you and ask you to leave the tattoo studio premises.

Yes, you have to make an appointment, but sometimes you can get tattooed on the spot if it is a smaller tattoo from a catalog and if we have enough free time to do the tattoo.

To make an appointment you have to show up in person in the tattoo studio and decide on a motif you want to get tattooed even if it’s a motif you brought with yourself, a motif from a catalog or a custom made motif. The time that will be reserved for you depends of the time it takes to make the stencil, the time it takes to set up the tattoo space and the time it takes to make the tattoo. We will offer you the first free appointment in which we can get all the above done. With some tattoos it is necessary to make an appointment to prepare the motif that will be tattooed (to draw it or make some changes to it). You have to make an appointment for preparation just like an appointment to get tattooed.

By Croatian laws there is no age limit under which a person is banned from being tattooed, so the rules vary according to each tattoo studio policy. To get tattoo in our tattoo studio, you must be 18 years old.

After a tattoo is done you will spend the rest of your life with it, so don’t make any rash decisions and think your tattoo through so you wouldn’t regret it later because you had a moment of weakness. Even though specialised tattoo magazines in croatian aren’t often provided in Croatia, and occasional articles on tattooing are a part of the daily press and other domestic media, they are full of inaccuracy and inadequate informations, you can be well informed about tattooing through one domestic tattoo magazine, and on the Internet on web pages such as this one and at tattoo studios.

The theme part of a tattoo is an individual thing, it can have a hidden meaning expressed through a language of symbols, it can be of religious or ritual value, or it can even be a personal style addition to the body without any other meaning or philosophy behind it. It all depends on the individual. When you have decided on the theme of the tattoo you have to still decide on the size and the part of the body it will be placed on. A most common mistake when choosing a motif for a first tattoo is choosing a motif that is too small with too many details which will, in years, become blurred so you won’t even be able to tell what it was. Skin as a medium to draw on doesn’t allow many details, so the motif has to be resized according to that. The part of the body which it will be placed on is also of importance because not all motifs fit on all parts of the body because of their composition, take into consideration that you are getting tattooed to accentuate your personality, not to disfeature yourself. When all the criteria above is met, they you can be sure you made the right choice.

In tattooing,which is also one of many art forms that consist of drawing, various drawing styles also exist. I will refer to them as styles of tattoo motifs, not tattoo or tattooing styles because a tattoo is just an application on the skin that consists of a motif, and tattooing is the process of putting ink into the skin using a needle.

Most popular styles of tattoo motifs are:

• tribal
• celtic and norse
• haida
• realism
• fantasy
• japanese
• traditional
• new school
• biomechanical

You can see how the mentioned styles look in our galleries.

A tattoo artist (tattooist) first and foremost has to be a talented illustrator and drawer to be able to do this job, especially to stand out with his special style of drawing tattoo motifs, otherwise he will stagnate and will be limited to the simplest designs from a catalog. Every tattooist prefers the style and theme he enjoys doing, and that sets him apart from all other tattooists, and makes him special. It is also important to keep in mind that a tattooist that is popular for his own style or mostly known for doing one style is not good at other styles. In most tattoo salons that employ several tattoo artist, all those artist are in the same rank, therefore if you want to get something from a catalog it is unnecessary to insist a certain artist does it, for example, a chinese letter will always look like a chinese letter no matter which artist does it.

When a custom motif or a motif that is of a special, strict, rare style, then it is more than necessary to ask for a certain tattooist, one you find the most capable to do the preparation and tattooing of it. To be able to pick a tattooist, first look at his tattooing portfolio, and those of other tattooists, weather in a tattoo studio or the internet. Compare them and estimate weather they can even be compared when it comes to the nivou of quality.Also, if a tattoo is of a famous painting, made by a painter or illustrator, or of a photo, compare the original painting or photo to the tattoo. You should also compare that tattoo to other tattoos of the same reproduction of a motif, painting or photo, and the one you like the best, the tattooist who tattooed it should be the one you choose.

You are not supposed to have any alcohol, take any drugs or most medicine at least 24 hours before you get tattooed. You have to show up to the appointment well rested, and with a full stomach. Don’t eat right before the tattoo appointment, rather eat 2-3 hours before it. In case you feel tired or exausted you won’t be able to sit still, be concentrated or stay calm. Exaustion and fatigue causes an increased sensitivity level and it may even cause fainting.

After getting tattooed the tattooist did 50% of work, the other 50% is upto you with the correct care for the tattoo by following the instructions you will be given at the tattoo studio. The healing time for a tattoo is about a week. During that week you will have to rinse the tattoo, clean it and put an ointment on it that will speed up the epithelialization of the skin and will cause the skin to heal. Also if you do any activities that cause you to sweat a lot you will have to minimize those. The instructions vary for one person to another, depending which part of body the tattoo is placed on, and what the surroundings of that person are, for example does this person work or spend a lot of time in a very dusty or moist place, or a place where the temperature of air is higher than normal etc. You have to follow the instructions very carefully, otherwise the quality of the tattoo will be visibly lessened.

Fresh tattoo aftercare

Approximately five hours after tattooing remove bandage and start treat tattoo on next way:

• before any treatment wash your hands thoroughly.
• wash tattoo with warm water and pH neutral shower gel. !!!IMPORTANT!!! thoroughly wash the all old grease from tattoo.
• after that rinse tattoo with cold water for a few minutes.
• dry tattoo with a soft paper towel. Don’t wipe it. Gently tapping it with towel. (Don’t use paper wipes or toilet paper like substitute for paper towel.) Apply thin layer of BEPANTHEN GREASE (BEPANTHEN MAST) on tattoo.
• keep tattoo opened on air how much is possible

Apply this procedure five to six times per day (Approximately every 3-4 hours except while you sleep) in a period of next seven days until tattoo heals.

In some cases is necessary to protect tattoo with protective foil (nylon film for food wrapping):

• first 3 to 4 days when is tattoo covered with clothes or bedclothes.
• 7 days if you are in contact with dust or dirt.

Too long foil wearing can cause irritation, skin rash, pimples. To avoid it before every tattoo washing and BAPANTHEN treatment keep tattoo opened on air minimum 15 minutes. During aftercare period is important to wear clean, comfortable, cotton clothes.

When tattoo healed, tattooed area will be dry and rippled. It is normal because by this treatment you have several times accelerated epithelialization (skin healing), so do not treat anything more (BEPANTHEN treatment, body moisture lotions, etc.). Let the skin develop its own natural moisture and elasticity.

Keep in mind until tattoo does not heal:

• do not immerse the tattoo under water. Bathing in a tub, swimming pool, sea, rivers, lakes is prohibited 14 days after tattooing.
• should not arise scabs. Tattoo must be greasy all the time.
• tattoo should not come in contact with dust, oils, alcohol, chemicals, etc.
• do not expose tattoo to UV radiation (sunbathing, solarium) next 2 weeks after tattooing.
• intense sweating, sports avoid 7 days after tattooing.
• avoid sauna 2 weeks after tattooing.

After a tattoo heals it is not supposed to be exposed to the sun, and it is advisable to put body lotion on it once a day until the new skin regains elasticity and moisture. After approximately 3 months you don’t need to pay it any special attention and care of the tattooed part of the skin that would be any different than before the tattooing.