In fact, you might want to be sure to not end up with a tattoo from some friend of yours who maybe doodles all the time and “always wanted to do a tattoo!”.

So if you are smart enough to go looking for a good tattoo artist for your tattoo, here are a few pointers to help you find one that will give you a tattoo you will happily show off for many years to come.

Take Your Time

It is important to take as much time as you need to find just the right person. We all get excited about getting a tattoo once we make the decision, but relax, think a while about what you want and where you want it done. Talk to your friends who have tattoos about their decisions. Check out lots of tattoo sites to see what others have done. Once it is done, it is there for a long long time. So be the smart one who thinks about this and doesn’t just go out and do it because you want one now.

Check Out Lots of Studios

Chances are, unless you live out in the country, you have several tattoo parlors to choose from in the town or city where you live. Go to them, talk to people there, look at their samples books. Maybe hang out a bit and see what the clientele is like. Are these your kind of people? Different parlors or studios have different kinds of clients and this will reflect in the tattoos that they are best at doing. Make sure the vibe is the right one for you.

The Work is the All

Don’t hesitate to check out not only the sample books on any place you are considering, but hang out and see them in action. Does the work that you see them do live up to what is in the sample book? It is pretty obvious when the art isn’t up to par, and not everyone can be a rock star in the tattoo world. But you should be able to see if they can deliver the goods. And don’t hesitate to walk, no matter how much you like the place, if they can’t give you a piece of art on your bode that you will love for a long time.

Trust Your Friends

Chances are if you are considering getting a tattoo, your friends have one or two of them already. Face it, most of us hang with people who think like us. So talk to them about their choices, their regrets and what they think is important. If they have an awesome tattoo, who did they get it from? Everyone loves to share expertise, and your friends would love to drag you to their favorite tattoo studio and introduce you to the awesome dude or chick that did their favorite tattoo.

So take your time, talk to friends and check out the scene thoroughly as you make this decision. The tat is going to hang with you for some time, so make sure it isn’t one you are going to be needing to find a way to disguise in a few years – make it one you are going to show off proudly for years to come!

1. Ask to see their autoclave and be sure you get a good look to see that the sterilization certificate is up to date. Note: An autoclave is really just a big pressure cooker that makes sure that everything is sterile. It is a good idea to see it up close and personal to see for yourself that it is clean and well kept. If they act like it is too much work to show it to you, don’t go to that shop.
2. Watch one of the tattoo artists at work – is he wearing gloves? Note: Artists need to wear gloves anytime they are dealing with tattooing because of the possibility of infection. Even though this is more to protect the artist than you, it shows responsibility and you want that in someone sticking a needle in you!
3. Does the artist have a training certificate? – This one should be obvious, you want someone who knows what they are doing!
4. Has everyone who tattoos been vaccinated for hepatitis? – This may be a low in your state or may not be, but you should ask. The better tattoo parlors do this voluntarily and it is a sign that they are a place where you don’t have to worry about the spread of disease.
5. Autoclave Needles are removed in front of you – This is to be sure that they are actually using the sterile needles when they do your tattoo. You should tell them this when you first come in, and if they act affronted, don’t use that place.

Five Health Questions

The first five questions to ask of the 10 questions to ask a tattoo artist have to do with health and regulations. We all think of tattoo artists and tattoo parlors as pretty wild and free places, and while I think most of the artists who work in them are fairly non-conventional it is still a business. More importantly it is still a business that does things that involve needles and blood, so it is important to ask these questions to be sure that they practice giving tattoos in a way that is safe for their customers. So here are the first five questions out of the 10 questions to ask a tattoo artist that I would ask a tattoo artist or tattoo parlor owner about safety and health:

1. Ask to see their license and ask them for references, at least three.
2. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration have outlined Universal Precautions regarding the disposal of blood. You can follow this link to see them and ask if they follow them.
3. Do they use latex gloves, an autoclave for sterilizing the tattoo equipment, disinfectant on all surfaces and sterile disposable needles? These are vital.
4. Do the artists thoroughly wash their hands with antibacterial soap before and after each client? Watch before asking to see if they do.
5. If you are under 21 you will need to research the age of consent for your state and make sure the tattoo parlor knows the age, has papers that everyone signs and follows the age of consent laws for your state. This assures you they are careful about illegal tattoos.

Five Design and Art Questions

In every set of 10 questions to ask a tattoo artist are ones that have to do with the artist’s individual approach to the art of the tattoo. These answers will tell you if the tattoo artist you are considering does work that have the same aesthetic taste as you. This will be important in finding someone who can design a tattoo you can love.

1. How long has the parlor been in business and how long has the tattoo artist you are going to work with been doing tattoos?
2. Ask for the samples book to see work they have done before.
3. Does the shop have a specialty that they do? Some do and some do not, but it is always a good idea to ask. This can be an area of the body or type of design.
4. How much custom work do they do versus set designs (see the book for these)?
5. How are their prices set? Always make sure you clearly understand what they would charge for various tattoo designs and what that price is based on.

Now that you have your 10 questions to ask a tattoo artist, make sure you ask these to each of the tattoo parlors you are including in your quest for the perfect place to get your first tattoo. You will end up with a better tattoo that you truly love if you take the time to ask these 10 questions to ask a tattoo artist first and know just what you can expect.

So what kind of tattoos are the military concerned about? It is pretty much up to the recruiting battalion commander for each state. The general rule of thumb is no tattoos that are offensive to others or degrading to women; and that is a pretty wide rule. So if you aren’t sure, and you are thinking of getting that next tattoo somewhere pretty upfront and out there, you might want to consider if it is offensive to anyone before getting it done.

So what does this mean to tattoo parlors? On the whole, most of them agree that anyone coming in to a tattoo parlor to get a new tattoo will know if they are in the military or thinking of signing up, that they need to restrict what they have. In fact, most tattoo artists can tell at least one story of someone coming in to get a naked woman tattoo “cleaned up” for military inspection by adding some clothes to it.

Of course, most people who come in to get a tattoo on their neck will probably have a discussion with the artist about why and what they want tattooed in such a prominent place. But the bottom line for most people is that they want to get tattooed what they came in to get tattooed, and having a sign telling them that the military may not want them if they get an offensive tattoo on their neck will probably not slow anyone down who is determined to get that four letter word above the collar line.

After you have narrowed down your choices to a few good tattoo shops, now it is time for you to look at the artist’s work. Remember this, just because an artist works in a very impressive shop, doesn’t mean he/she is actually good. For all you know, they could be working there part-time or as an apprentice. So if your tattoo is really that important to you, you’d want to spend some time checking out several artists before you settle on one. A good tattoo artist makes a world of a difference. Not only will they get the job done right but they can even give you some fantastic, fresh ideas on the kind of design you want.

Always ask to look at an artist’s portfolio / previous work. Every artist has a unique style, first make sure you like their artistic style. Ask them how long they’ve been in the industry. Some people may be prodigies, but for most folk, perfection only comes with experience. Ask them how many tattoos they have done so far and how many tattoos they approximately do in a year. These numbers will give you an accurate picture of their background. Again, just working in a tattoo shop doesn’t give you actual tattooing experience. If the number of tattoos they create in a year is something more than 100, then they must be good. But if the number is too less, then they’re obviously doing something wrong! Ask them if they have been professionally trained. Handling a tattoo machine requires tremendous precision. It is an added advantage if they have had formal training.

Ask among friends. Of course it will help if your friends actually have tattoos! Also make sure the artist you have narrowed down has some experience with the kind of design you want. For example, if your design has some lettering in them, your artist should have had experience with them. Just because an artist is fantastic with the old school designs does not mean they can pull this off. In the NY Ink tattoo show Ami admits that his lettering skills aren’t that great. And this is the case with most artists. Very few people are good at everything!

One of the easiest ways you can get infected in a tattoo studio, like I mentioned earlier, is through unsanitary equipment. All equipment must be either sterilized or disposable. So when you walk into a tattoo studio here’s what you need to ask yourself:

• Does the shop have an autoclave? – This is a unit that sterilizes the equipment used.
• Does the shop re-use ink left over from the previous procedure? – Things like ointment, water, ink, ink cups, and gloves should be used only once. Artists must pour the ink from the bottle into a small cup for every use and any ink that’s left over in the cup at the end of the session must be thrown away, including all the others that I mentioned.
• Does the Artist wear gloves for every procedure? – Well, they must; they should also use a fresh pair for every client.
• Does the shop have a proper place to dispose used needles etc.? – This is equally important to sterilizing the equipment. Some viruses like the HBV (one that causes Hepatitis B) can survive on dry surfaces for at least 7 days! So you don’t necessarily need a dirty needle, all it takes is an open wound coming in contact with a dirty surface.
• Are the floors, counters and tables clean? – If they look dusty or stained (like they haven’t been wiped in a few days) chances are they can be careless about other aspects of hygiene as well!

I hope this information helps put things into perspective for you… and good luck with that tattoo!