Thursday, September 11, 2014

What One Should Consider When Visiting A Tattoo Studio

By Mattie MacDonald


Body tattoos refer to permanent marks made on the body by piercing the skin and then introducing pigments. The visible marks are actually the pigments introduced into the body. The professionals who do this job are called tattooists and the place where that is done is called a tattoo studio. The process poses dangers to people in many ways since it involves making direct contact with blood vessels.

The process of getting a tattoo requires the skin, which is a protective layer for the body to be perforated. Perforated skin is vulnerable to infections and other health risks. Health problems of getting tattoos are many hence, one should exercise some caution to avoid getting infected. This article outlines safety steps one needs to take before they walk into a tattoo shop to be tattooed.

First, one should know that the Food and Drug Administration does not impose any restrictions on the additives added into the inks used for tattooing. This means that there is no way of knowing if the additives are safe or not. The FDA only responds to problems that occur due to tattooing. This should be able to inform one that the process may have some unattended to health and other risks.

Finding out whether or not shops in a state need licensure or registration to operate should be the priority step towards ensuring safety. The health department is in the best position to answer this question. A list of all registered studios in a state can also be got at the local health offices. One should look to see the nature of complaints filed and the shops against which they were filed. This information should be the basis for picking a shop to tattoo from.

After identifying a few shops, which are registered, one should try to understand their sterilization processes. The shop must be having an autoclave for sterilizing equipment. Every client should have their own sterile needle, which must then be disposed afterwards. In addition, the sanitation should be high. The artist should wear new gloves for every client they work on and hands must be washed thoroughly. If any of these conditions is not met, checking another studio is advisable.

If one is satisfied with the kind of safety that is observed in the studio, the next step is to check the competence of the artist. Ask about trainings attended and certifications received. Every training or certification the tattooist claims to have achieved should be backed up with a certificate. Any sense of reluctance to show certificates or discuss competence, may indicate that the tattooist is unqualified.

One can also learn a lot about a studio by watching the artist work. Therefore, it is advisable to sit around and watch one or two clients being inked. This is the time to determine whether the artist was truthful or not. One should not feel guilty for walking away if safety protocols are not adhered to.

One should not trade quality of service with low cost. One gains more by paying more money but staying safe from infections. Failure to understand this makes people to go for cheap services but get infected by serious infections.




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