Tattoo Studio Safety

Since the process of tattooing requires breaking our outer layers of skin and injecting ink into the deeper layers of the tissue, I can understand why some people fear that the process may possibly be unsafe. People commonly fear being infected with the dreadful HIV virus or some of the other diseases commonly associated with tattooing – like, syphilis, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. All it takes is a momentary contact with an unsanitary needle and you can wind up with one of those serious infections! So yes, hygiene is THE most important thing to consider when you’re contemplating a tattoo and with the necessary precautions, tattooing can be a safe procedure! Since it is up to us to determine whether we want to take the risk, I’d suggest, you learn as much about the process as you can, before you decide to go through with it.

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!