1.KITCHENS ARE NOT CLEAN
With the exception of the bathroom, kitchens are one of the most unsanitary rooms in a house. The abundance of food bacteria and mold spores is staggering. Kitchens are used among home tattooist (which will now be referred to as "scratchers") because they think this will be the easiest room to "clean" the floors and other surfaces.
2. TAP WATER
Again from the kitchen. The risk of bacterial infection from tap water is EXTREMELY high. I've seen this happen and it is not pretty. Tap water is free and scratchers don't have the knowledge to know to not use it.
3. DISPOSABLE TUBES
A lot of scratchers use disposable tubes because they don't have access to an autoclave. Many professional artist also use disposable tubes so its not a sure sign for a hack. The difference is professional artists have access to an autoclave and scratchers don't. What is an autoclave? It is the piece of equipment professionals use to steralize their tools. Boiling water and alcohol do not steralize anything and they certainly don't kill Hepatitus.
4. CROSS CONTAMINATION
Wearing gloves doesn't make you sanitary. While wearing gloves everything the scratcher touches becomes contaminated. Did he/she touch their ink bottles with the same gloves they touched you with?? How many other people has the scratcher done the same thing with before touching you?
The area you are being tattooed in is also rich with cross contamination. The majority of scratchers do not have nor do they have access to the appropriate chemicals that must be used to sanitize and sterilize the area (and this does
not mean alcohol or bleach). Therefore everything the scratcher has touched before and while touching you is contaminated. You are pretty much being infected with and by everything and everybody that has been where you are getting tattooed by the scratcher. Hepatitis has no cure. It is a slow painful death. Did the person he/she tattooed before you have it? Are they using a towel as a barrier between you and the surface you are getting tattooed on? What was the towel used for before it came in contact with you? Was it properly sterilized before use?
5. I ONLY PAID $...
The myth of "I only got charged $50 for this tattoo, I got a deal."
You should NEVER be charged for a home tattoo. There is a reason this person is not tattooing out of a legit tattoo shop. Usually it is because they either aren't good enough, couldn't get an apprenticeship and are trying to teach themselves or just don't care and are trying to make a quick buck. You are basically being used if you are charged at all.
Half of what you pay at a tattoo shop goes toward making sure you are tattooed in a safe sterile environment and that all the appropriate equipment is there to keep it that way. You may get charged a little more at a tattoo shop but the artist still usually only takes half of what you are being charged. Tattoos need touchups even when done by professionals because as time goes by tattoos fade. Now take into account what will need to be done if someone who doesnt know what they're doing is permanently marking you. You'll have to go to a professional to fix it and you will wind up paying even more than you would have from the get go had you started off in a professional studio to begin with. It's not easy to rework something that’s all jacked up. It is way easier to start from scratch. The only benefit to a professional artist is getting a really good before and after picture.
6. PORTFOLIO
A portfolio is a book of all the artists best work. If an artist doesn't have a portfolio do not get tattooed by them. Regardless of whether it is a scratcher or a professional artist you should always look at their portfolio before you let them put anything on you.
7. REAL MACHINE
Machines are easy to come by. Some are inexpensive and come in starter kits. Just because the scratcher has a real machine doesn't mean you are going to get a good tattoo. If the scratcher ever refers to the machine as a gun, STAY AWAY!! Guns kill people machines create and give tattoos
8.LIABILITY
If something goes wrong and your tattoo isnt healing properly or you think you have contracted an infection or disease who are you gonna go to? The scratcher? WRONG. If you are even able to find them all they have to do is deny they ever tattooed you to begin with, not to mention they have no liability insurance. At professional studios we keep records of every client that gets worked on and we are required to have liability insurance. We are trained licensed professionals so we are able to handle anything. The scratcher has no records because what he/she is doing is ILLEGAL. The most that would happen to them is that they are warned for doing tattoos if they are caught doing them because there is no proof he/she infected you by means of a tattoo.
9. PETS AND INFANTS
If so leave immediately! Pets are dirty. Hair and general waste from animals is all over that house no matter where you’re at. Infants are usually in diapers which in turn hold fecal matter. Infants also touch absolutely everything. The scratcher would have to be CONSTANTLY cleaning
the entire house to keep contamination from reaching the tattoo area they have created. Even when getting a professional tattoo you should keep your animals away from the tattoo while it is healing. A tattoo is an open wound that cannot be covered just keep that in mind.
10. TATTOO PARTY
Tattoo parties are an even bigger risk..
Random party houses are nowhere near clean. The amount of equipment needed for a "tattoo party" is never brought. You cannot bring a sanitary/sterile environment to someone else's house on a regular basis, it is just not possible. Not to mention the scratcher is usually rushing through the tattoos because there are several people in line and all he/she wants to do is get the money and go. It's a quick way for a scratchers to make a lot of money and run.
11. HEALTH DEPARTMENT INSPECTIONS
Professional tattoo shops are inspected by their local health department on a regular basis. Most shops meet and/or far exceed health board regulations. Scratchers are not being inspected by a certified official because what
they are doing is, once again, ILLEGAL. If a scratcher were to be inspected, they would more than likely be shut down.
12. TATTOOS ARE FOR LIFE
Tattoos are serious business. It will effect your life forever because it will be with you forever. Putting your life in someone else's hands that may or may not care about what they are getting ready to do to you is foolish. Tattoos are to be respected. There are many risks involved in home tattooing. Most of the people doing this do not have the knowledge to scale down these risks because they are not properly trained. Look into what you are about to do to yourself it is worth the effort. Tattoos are controlled skin abrasions...it is basically an outpatient procedure. Would you get your teeth done out of a house? How bout plastic surgery? Stitches? Then why get tattood out of a house? Money should never be an issue. Think of how much you spend on shoes, clothes, hair, nails....all thing that last a month, a few years. Tattoos are on you forever.
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