Autumn was super nice and very professional handling the appointment! She was candid with me about…read morewhat to expect and pulled the service off flawlessly, quickly, and as comfortable as possible for what the experience is. The shop is adorable, very clean and sanitary, with a beautiful selection of jewelry to peruse.

My daughter finally decided she wanted her ears pierced but the shop recommended by all my friends…read moredoesn't pierce anyone under 14. They recommended IJALP so I booked an appointment. Booking was easy and appointment times were plentiful so it was easy to get an appointment that worked for us and the fact we were traveling from Springfield. Instructions about needed documents, because this was a minor, were also clear and mentioned multiple times on the website and during booking. No whining if you don't have the right papers, you've got no excuse that you didn't see the requirements. The place is appointment only so you text when you arrive and Autumn lets you know to come in. The place may not look like much from the outside but the inside is bright and nicely decorated. A small display of jewelry is up front. My daughter was able to choose between hoops and studs. I was able to observe everything being disinfected and sanitized so knew there would be no problem with infection. Autumn was great, keeping up some light banter to put my daughter at ease. She let her know everything she was doing and when she was doing it. After we were done, my daughter got to pick from a nicely stocked prize box and Autumn gave me some aftercare instructions and daily saline wash. We had a quick followed up visit 6 weeks to check that there was no infection and that my daughter was taking care of her ears as instructed. The earrings were to stay in another 12 weeks. 10 weeks later we had to make a return visit when my daughter lost one of the earrings and the back of her ear started closing up in the day before we realized it was gone. Autumn was quick to rectify the situation ( I did pay for a new earring, which I expected) and we were in and out in 10 minutes. It did cost a fair bit more than piercing with a Wal-mart jewelry counter gun but the earrings are of far superior quality and, more importantly, I knew every needle and piece of equipment that touched my child's ears was sanitized and 99.9% unlikely to cause infection.

A year ago, if someone would have said to me I would sit here writing this, I would have argued…read morewith them till I was blue in the face. This has turned into such a horrible situation that I don't even know where to begin without writing an entire book. On May 21, 2021, my boyfriend and I went  to Real Deal Tattoo shop to get beauty and beast tattoos. That's when I was first introduced to Ryan Lamb. I was so impressed by the work he did and how light handed he was that 5 days later; I brought my brother in to get matching tattoos for his birthday. On June 6, 2021, two days before my daughter's 5th birthday, my mom passed away. I spent hundreds of dollars for my dad, brother, and my son to have their own urn for some of her ashes. No matter how long I looked, I couldn't find the one that spoke to me. The Universe had bigger plans. I decided I was going to have her ashes put into a tattoo for me. She would be with me wherever I went. I called Ryan and asked him if that was something he'd be willing to do. He said yes. I told him that's what I want for my birthday and got the price. August 21st, I went to my dads and picked up her ashes, before  going to work a 19 hour shift. Ryan and his friend were driving back from Kentucky. He said to meet him the next day around 11 am and he would be ready to start. Although I got there at 11, he didn't start till way after 1pm. He'd had the design since June but hadn't even printed it out. He had me go to the gas station to get him cigarettes and monster energy drinks that I paid for on top of the tattoo price while he started tracing it. It seemed like every 5 minutes this man was going outside to smoke. He got the lion done and said that it would have to heal before he could do anymore to it. I wasn't happy that he didn't finish, but I took his word because that's all I had to go by. For the next three weeks, I kept calling and messaging him about finishing the work. My mom's birthday was coming up, and he promised me we would do it before her memorial ride to spread her ashes. I had this horrible tattoo on my hand that is now an unfinished cover up with my mom's dog's ashes. My mom's birthday is on September 26th. He waited till her birthday and said come in at 11 and I can have it done by then; I promise. Well, that ended up being the second promise that was a lie. He traced the rose and added some color to it, and that was it. I spent most of the time listening to him on the phone arguing with one of his girlfriends about how he was supposed to be at a birthday party and she had his daughter. He finished what he was willing to do and told me he could give me the money back for what he didn't get done or I could come back in a week or two and he would get it done. I agreed to come back. Weeks went on. He would send me pictures and videos of tattoos he had done. He would call me and tell me to come to the shop so he could see my arm and could I stop on the way and grab him smokes or somewhere and bring him food. I thought we had become friends. I hadn't realized he was playing me for a fool. After getting whatever he asked for and getting to the shop, he would look at my arm and say he couldn't touch it because he would scar me. Mind you, I paid him for half a sleeve IN FULL. I would understand if this were one tattoo, but in my case there were so many more areas that he could have done. I made so many trips like that. Just to get from my house to that shop is a 30 minute drive. In December, things got worse. I would try to get him to schedule me and he would say he was sorry he had been busy. He would get back to me when he got to the shop and could see his schedule. Next thing you know, I'm getting snapchat videos of his finished work but no reply to when he would finish what I had already paid for. I finally messaged him and told him this is bullshit. He keeps doing this to me when we were supposed to be done with this tattoo and it's not even 1/2 way there. He asked me to come to the shop, and I said I hope this wasn't another wasted trip. Asking what I meant, I said all the money you keep making me waste on gas driving back and forth only to get one excuse after another is getting old. He said he wasn't that guy and he would take care of me. Another lie! I got to the shop, and he was outside smoking. His first excuse was he thought he had covid but tested negative. Said he hadn't been sleeping because he had been spending all his free time with some new girl when they weren't in the shop for him to tattoo her leg. We argued for almost an hour and then he said that the other guy who worked there just lost their baby and they left him to do everything by himself. He said he needed a nap so I could come back in one hour and he would finish it. I didn't leave for him to run off, leaving me another endless excuse. While he was laying down, I stayed. I went through the lobby and cleaned the glass and folded the shirts in the display case so it would look nice when people

From the owner: Real Deal Tattoos Provides Tattoo and Body Modification Work to the Decatur, IL Area.read more