your artist will shave it prior to placing the stencil or freehanding onto you.
for heavens sake dont wax it 😉

he should only be charging you for the time he is actually tattooing you… hell i would make a fortune if i charged people for the prep time as well lol….

i prefare to shave the area myself prior to doing the piece for a few reasons,

1. to ensure that there is no hair in the way
2. only the right area is shaved
3. it helps to cleanse the area
4. as the area is now free of the natural body oils then the dettol will drag the stencil nicely into the skin….. ensuring it wont rub off.

ps…. at that price per hour it must be a superb piece your getting??? dont forget to post photo’s afterwards..

Outlaw’s a professional, so we can take for granted what he says is true, but for me, I prefer doing the shaving myself. I don’t know you man, but if you’re a fucking yeti like me, the shaving can take for-fucking-ever, and if you’re going to a guy who charges $200 per, you can bet your asshole that he’s gonna charge you for prep.

So, for me, I always shave myself, but I only do it a few hours before hand in the shower. Personally, I consider it only polite to wash before going to your artist anyway, so you might as well clean house while you’re at it.

As for the koi being generalized…yeah, it’s the only piece beside kanji that’s more played out than the giant flaming skull. But who gives a fuck? Get what you want my man.

Love. Peace. Metallica.

Hi

Waxing can irritate and inflame the skin. It can also trap hairs so they grow inwards which is not what you need right before some ink.

As for the koi they make great tattoos and each artist has their own stamp so it will be a custom piece.

Post up when done.

Take Care
Matthew