I think I want to get a tattoo symbolising my favourite football team, but I’m a little concerned about the risk of unscrupulous tattoo artists using less than hygienic methods. After all, you hear all the stories about infections, and I guess they don’t ban you from giving blood for a certain amount of time after having a tattoo for nothing!
Basically, my question is… Is there a standards organisation or anything in the UK I could check into, or a list of approved tattoo parlours anywhere?
Also, on the side, does anyone have any general advice on what I should be aware of when checking out a place?
Since I don’t live in the UK, I can’t tell you any of the standards there, but I can give you some general advice.
Look for cleanliness, obviously. The artists should all be using gloves, fresh needles for each customer, etc. You should be able to look at pictures of the artists’ work, too. Most tattoo artists will have a photo album of their work for customers to look at. If you can’t see a sample of their work, then you probably shouldn’t get a tattoo there simply because you dont’ know how good they are. Also, ask around, word of mouth is usually the best advertisement for these kinds of places. If you see somebody that has a really nice tattoo, just ask where they got it and what the place is like. Most people are happy to talk about tattoos when asked politely (I would be, anyhow).
Also, once you have your tattoo, follow the artist’s after-care instructions to the letter, and you should heal fine. Good luck!
Word of mouth. Talk to people who have had work done at various shops. Check out the work they’ve had done, and ask them questions. Then, go to the Tattoo shop and hang out and watch for awhile. A reputable artist would have no problem with you hanging out and asking questions.
Word of mouth, plus keeping your eyes open when you go to the shop. I found a good tattoo/piercing place that way, since I had a little lizard tattoo that needed touching up, and three people recommended this one shop. The retouch went perfectly, he took all the hygienic precautions I can think of, and when I went there later to buy earrings from one of their piercers, he went through the whole routine when just putting them in. I have long-established ear holes, but he still washed his hands, used clean gloves (and changed them after he had to go throw something away outside), cleaned the jewelry throughly and used antiseptic goop on the ends of the hoops before sticking them in.
I’m going back there if I want anything else done, though right now that’s not going to happen.
And, as a nag, be as sure as you possibly can about the tattoo you want before you get it. You don’t want to regret something that’s either permanent or very expensive and painful to remove.
Make sure you actually SEE him take the needles out of their brand new sealed packages. Also, make sure you ask if they destroy the needles after each use, and make sure taht after you’re done, they do get destroyed. Gloves as people said should be worn. If you get a chance to watch from afar as the artist does a procedure, check for all that I mentioned above.
If they have a problem with your asking questions, go somewhere else. I forgot that bit. The same advice goes for pretty much anybody that does things to my body (doctors, dentists, etc) and doubly so for something voluntary like a tattoo.
