According to Pew Research Center, 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. And in the U.S., there are about 21,000 tattoo parlors.

Doug Phelps, a tattoo artist for 9 1/2 years who now works at Little Tattoo Inc., gives us four facts we never knew about tattoo artists and the canvases they work with.

1. Think about your designs — and the possibility of fade.

“People come in, and it turns out to be women a lot of the time.  A lot more often than men, ’cause women usually want something a little more dainty, a little smaller, especially when it comes to lettering.  They want the ring tattoos that go all the way around their figures. Then what’s going to happen is that on the sides and bottom, it’s gonna fade so fast that in about two to six months, they gotta come back in and get it completely redone. Why would you want to do that?”

2. Artists have their ways of keeping their clients calm.

“Slug ’em! [Laughs] Nah, a lot of people will come in who are very nervous, especially when it’s their first tattoo.  It’s automatically, ‘This is going to be the most painful experience of my life.’ Before it even begins, you talk to them very calmly, and you just try to explain the whole procedure. You answer whatever questions they have, which kinda helps.  And you tell them what the tattoo may feel like. By the time you’re done, they are usually laughing about even thinking it was going to be horrible.  I have had people come in saying, ‘This is the only tattoo I’m ever going to get’ — it’s their first tattoo — ‘I’m never going to get another tattoo,’ and before we’re done, they have already plotted out their next tattoo.”

3. Artists do try to consider your future — even when you don’t.

“People will come in and be like, ‘Yeah, I want this tattoo on my face.’  If you don’t already have a tattoo on your face, I am not going to ruin the rest of your life.  If you already have a tattoo, then fine, I’ll do one.  You’ve already ruined your life; it’s not my fault. Places like your neck, hands, and face you really shouldn’t get tattooed — I mean if you ever want to actually have a real job outside of McDonald’s or a warehouse.”

4. They hate picking out the design for you.

“If you want to get tattooed, I am more than happy to talk you through the procedure and help you find the right tattoo.  I will not pick the tattoo for you. That is something you need to decide on. It’s very personal. I’ll get people who come in here all the time and say, ‘I want to get a tattoo, but I don’t know what I want.’  They are like, ‘Just pick something for me.’ If they are adamant, I always tell them the same thing: ‘Well, it’s going to be a penis with wings.’”