Once the tattoo machine is laid to rest, your beautiful motif will be covered with a gauze bandage for up to 24 hours. The next day you will wash it with unscented soap and then moisturize it every few hours. Although it can get wet in the shower, you must not soak in any water for the next 10-14 days.

I am told the color will brighten by next week. That it might flake and peel like it was sunburned. It's still inflamed beneath the skin at present but the important part is it doesn't hurt anymore.

In the old days, tattoos were only worn by soldiers, sailors and wild women, and they were permanent,. Today they are sported by people of all walks and are as popular as brand name shirts used to be. They can also be removed by laser treatment or be changed into something else, expanded or touched up if they fade too much.

The Prophecy, one of two places in Smithers, is open six days a week and even though summer is their busiest season, it remains steady all year. As Jason says, " a tattooist can make good money but it isn't about the money- it shouldn't be about the money. It should be about the artistic part of it." And for him, it is. Interested since a child in the tattoos of both sides of his family, he found his best marks in high school were in art and the rest just fell into place. "We all have to make a living," he says," but I'd rather be doing this than work in a restaurant." He said he worked in lots of restaurants before getting to do tattos full time.