Choosing a tattoo studio is very essential to your health and well-being. The first crucial issue is that you use a studio that is licensed or has a trained and qualified artist with a fairly good experience. This usually means that successful completion of a health department course on infectious disease transmission has been taken.
It is wise to follow these guidelines:
Do they Autoclave - an autoclave is used in hospitals to sterilize equipment. It uses heat, steam, and pressure to kill every organism on the equipment. It usually takes about an hour for an autoclave to run a cycle from a cold start to effectively kill all organisms. You can even ask to see the autoclave. The needle bar and tube are reusable pieces of equipment that must be sterilized before each use.
See if the studio uses disinfectants. You don’t want to use a studio that is not kept very clean and neat.
You should try to watch how the artist works on another people to see if you like their style and to see that they use safe measures and have a personality that will click.
You should be sure that the artist and parlor use and follow the below
Do they Autoclave - an autoclave is used in hospitals to sterilize equipment. It uses heat, steam, and pressure to kill every organism on the equipment. It usually takes about an hour for an autoclave to run a cycle from a cold start to effectively kill all organisms. You can even ask to see the autoclave. The needle bar and tube are reusable pieces of equipment that must be sterilized before each use.
Do they use the following single Use Items: ink, ink cups, gloves, needles.
Single use items should be used only once so that the chances of cross contamination are eliminated.
Most of these items are purchased in sterile packaging that should be opened in front of you just before the artist begins work.
Do they keep their used sharp items and needles in a Biohazard Container?
If you follow these short guidelines getting a tattoo should be very safe.
Deciding on getting a tattoo itself involves several steps and a person's reason for getting a tattoo is as varied as the people who want them. About 50% of individuals around the world, with tattoos say they feel sexier and more attractive. When getting a tattoo, the client can work with the tattoo artist to create a custom tattoo design or they can choose the image they want from ready made flash pictures. These are standard designs that are displayed in the tattoo shop for your perusal. Most tattoo shops display a large collection of flash.
Once you are ready, the artist stencils the design onto the person's skin and then, using the inking gun, the artist begins to apply the ink outline. The artist must also know how deeply the needles need to pierce the skin while the ink is being applied. Punctures that are too deep cause excessive pain and bleeding and those that are too shallow, because uneven lines and the ink to not set into the skin well enough for the ink to "take".
The actual process of getting a tattoo works like this.
First comes the outlining or black work. By using a single-tipped or triple-tipped needle and ink, usually black, the artist creates a line over the stencil outline. Most tattooists start at the bottom of the right side and work up so they don't smear the stencil outline when cleaning the excess ink from the newly laid line.
Next comes the shading. After cleaning the area with soap and water, the tattoo artist uses a thicker ink of the color of choice, or the same black ink, and a variety of needles to create an even, solid line. Improper shading technique during this part of the tattoo process can cause shadowed lines, excessive pain and delayed healing.
Then comes the laying in of the color or colors. The artist cleans the tattoo and then overlaps each line of color to ensure solid even hues. They will fix uneven areas where color has lifted out during the healing process to keep the tattoo from looking spotty.
Then finally, the cleaning and bandaging process. There are several antibiotic creams/powders that can be safely used on a new tattoo to promote healing and decrease the chance of infection. After using a disposable paper towel to remove any blood the artist covers the tattoo with a sterile bandage. These will have a more plastic-like inner surface to prevent the ink from being pulled out of the new tattoo.
Wash the tattoo gently within three hours after getting it done with Johnson & Johnson’s baby soap.
Pat dry the tattoo and apply Neosporin/Cipladine Antibiotic Powder.
Do not wet it for 12 hours after this.
Whenever going in for a shower, apply a fairly thick coat of Vaseline/Bioline Petroleum Jelly on the tattoo before your shower and make sure wash off the Jelly with the baby soap.
Apply the antibiotic ointment on the tattoo.
Follow this procedure for the next ten days.
Do not scratch or peel off scabs from the tattoo.
No swimming or sunbathing for one month.
Do not apply any oil on to the tattoo.
Keep the tattoo away from sunlight for atleast three weeks.
After a month, whenever you are exposing your tattoo to sunlight or getting into salt or sea water, apply sunscreen on to it.