We have all seen them around – the ugly homemade tattoos that some people sport that look like they belong in a prison more than on any mainstream person. They can be badly drawn, like the one a firefighter recently had done by a friend of his sister to commemorate the firefighters lost on 9/11.

“She told me she’d been doing tattoos for four years,” said the firefighter. The tattoo was a mess. The person who did it had the date wrong (9-01-11) and misspelled the word “never” so that it said “ever forget” instead of “never forget”. I read this and thought how upset I would be if that was my tattoo.

And although this man did do the right thing and went to a pro shop to get the tattoo fixed, you know it was never going to be right. Something he had decided to do as a testimonial to fallen friends is now something he will probably never want to show to anyone. And that is wrong.

But above and beyond the fact that this person made mistakes that would never be tolerated at a truly professional tattoo parlor, there are several other reasons why getting a home grown tattoo is not a great idea.

1. Health Concerns- A professional tattoo parlor has a license that requires them to have sterilizing equipment on the premises and that it works. You are not guaranteed any of that with a “backyard tattoo parlor”, as they are often called in the tattoo business. This means that you are exposing yourself to the possibility of being infected with hepatitis or worse yet AIDS. Both of these blood-borne infections are a real danger to anyone considering getting a tattoo in a non-licensed location.
2. Quality – Just how good is this person who is doing your tattoo? How many tattoos have they done before? If you are going to trust someone to ink something as permanent as a tattoo on a part of your body, make sure you know something about their work before getting a tattoo from them. In a professional shop they have books that show their work and are proud to show off the tattoos they have created for their customers. Be picky- after all this is your tattoo.
3. Support local tattoo parlors – When it comes right down to it, most of the folks who run the licensed professional parlors are people who make their living doing this. This is not a hobby or part-time thing for them. When you go to a backyard parlor to get that illegal tattoo you are hurting people who have probably put everything they have into their business. They are taking the time and spending the cash to make sure that you have a clean place to get that tattoo, that it is well designed and done right. We need to support these businesses or they won’t be around for very long.

So the next time you are considering getting a tattoo, take a look at the local tattoo parlors in your area. Talk to the folks who run them, get to know what their story is and why they are doing tattoos as a profession. Check out their samples books, talk about the tattoo you have been dreaming about an sketching until your friends are sick of seeing it. These are the people you want to have doing your tattoo.

So when you friend or family member says they know someone who has “done a few tattoos” and would do it for cheap, just say thanks, no thanks. If you really want to support an artist who is putting themselves out there for their artform, check out the local tattoo parlor and talk to them about your next tattoo. You will be glad you did.