By Caroline Cullern

Lately I have been seriously thinking about getting a tattoo. At 24 years-of-age the only alteration to my body is pierced ears. However, the more celebrity tattoos I see (Megan Fox's tattoos - to die for!), the more I feel it may be time to take the leap.

I think I represent many women considering getting a tattoo, meaning I don't know much about tattoos, tattoo designs or where to go. Frankly the few times I entered a tattoo parlour for research I felt slightly out of place among the burly biker men with spiderwebs on their necks and 'love' and 'hate' on their fingers… I kid you not!

As clichéd as this all sounds, the truth is that while tattoos have opened up to a wider audience (non-hardcore types included) it is still intimidating - being virgin flesh that I am - to try and be taken seriously. Especially if you are asking for 'some pretty flower type thing, and no I don't want a dagger with that!'

So when I got a call regarding the hit American show Miami Ink I was intrigued. With an invite to a morning masterclass with one of the main Miami Ink stars I toddled along to find out more. Myself and two other journo types got to spend the morning with Chris Nunez, the 32-year-old Cuban tattooist from Miami Ink who gave us some insight into what the job involves. After answering our many questions we each created our own tattoo designs, I have to say my artistic talents leave a lot to be desired so I was more than thankful when Chris produced some standard rose transfers.

A new rubber material has been developed to imitate skin, so having placed it on his thigh I got stuck in! I have to say I didn't do too badly, the final product did resemble a rose somewhat, however, I don't think that anyone would trust me just yet to mark them for life.

The great thing about Chris is that he seemed totally approachable as an artist, there was no air of arrogance. He told me that rather than just telling his clients what to have he much preferred it to be a two way street, treating it like a consultation. One great piece of advice I was given is, upon entering a parlour, you need to feel totally comfortable or you're in the wrong place for sure. Apparently if you just get a grunt from the guy working there and they're not particularly helpful, you should run a mile, I'm glad that it wasn't just me who experienced this!

One main difficulty many people experience, especially when going for their first tattoo, is choosing tattoo designs. You can go into tattoo parlours and choose a picture out of their portfolios - this is also a great way to get an idea of the artist's styles. However, as Chris said himself, you need to get it right first time as there is no going back! A great way to go about the process is to decide where on your body you would like it to go, then do your own research. For example, if you want an angel, look up some pictures or grab a few books. These can be anything from already designed tattoos to renaissance art images. Basically if you find an overall style you are drawn to, take it in to them and any tattooist worth his salt will design it around this. Obviously, they can't always do an exact replica. As Chris explained, the tattoo needs to be done in such a way to allow for aging of the skin, so they should also be able to advise on this.

Funnily enough, my main barrier isn't that I am sacred of making a mistake - I hold my wimpy hands up - it's the fear of pain! When I confessed this I was told very honestly, that of course it hurts, you are running a needle over your skin. But it is not as bad as people anticipate and there is no fainting through pain but rather low blood sugar due to anxiety. A top tip ladies is to drink a sugary drink before you go in and Chris guarantees that you will be fine. But don't necessarily go for what you think will be less painful - it all hurts, so just get what you want!

There are also the basics such as making sure the place you choose is clean and sterilised. Also getting a tattoo to commemorate an event or period in your life is never a wise decision - such as having the name of the guy who just dumped you with R.I.P written underneath. Something tells me that in a few weeks you will live to regret it.

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