Chapter 2 - Part 2 - Are Tattoo Parlors or Studio Safe?  

Many people ask, "How can you tell if aTattoo Parlor or Studio is Safe?" I'm going to take it for granted that the studio is clean. And I mean clean by your Mother's standards. If not, just walk out.

What to look for in a Tattoo Studio

Ask to see the autoclave and sterilization records.

An autoclave is a pressurized steam device used to sterilize medical paraphernalia. In the case of a tattoo studio, it is used to sterilize the tubes and needle bars. It must be able to sustain a temperature of in the order of 250 degrees for at least 20 minutes.

There are a assortment of autoclaves and you should ask to see it. The response of the staff when you ask see their equipment should be positive and helpful. If it’s not, walk away and find someone else.

The autoclave itself should be clean. The spore results for the autoclave should not be more than two months old.

Make sure everyone at the studio wears latex gloves when they work and that they wash their hands when the gloves are removed.

You don’t know who their last client was, or what they had in their bloodstream. While gloves are really more for the tattoo artist’s protection, you don’t want to catch what their 3PM appointment might have had. Make sure they change gloves from client to client. Make sure they wash their hands and change gloves if any kind of opening occurs in the gloves.

Question the artist about his training. Is there state certification available? If the artist’s apprentice is doing the work, how long have they been practicing? Will the artist supervise them? Are they certified?

Assuming that you are going to a licensed studio, are there state regulations for the studio? Check your state for current tattoo laws. Be aware that due to the exploding popularity of tattooing, and the debate on minors getting tattoos, state laws are constantly changing.

Is the artist vaccinated against Hepatitis B?

It’s a series of three shots that is given over a 16-week period. If your tattooist was vaccinated, they will not only remember getting the vaccine and have a certificate from their doctor. (You should know tattoo artists are much more likely to catch something from you, than you are to catch anything from them.)

Hepatitis B can cause a host of symptoms.

Hepatitis can cause chronic fatigue symptoms, anemia, cirrhosis of the liver and cancer of the liver. It is not a disease you want to risk catching.

Make sure that new sterile needles are removed from the autoclave pouch in front of you. Make sure old materials are thrown out properly.

You can check this while other patrons are being worked on. You will then know what to look for before your get your tattoo. Autoclave pouches are transparent on one side. It is the same kind of bag your doctor or dentist will use to bring out new instruments before you have any work done.

Autoclave pouches are also known as a autoclave envelope or bag.

Why use new needles?

Old tattoo needles can spread disease. The tips of old needles can be dull and cause unnecessary pain and scarring. New needles will be wrapped in an autoclave bag. Part of getting a tattoo from a professional studio is getting new needles. Tubing, needle bars and parts of the tattoo gun assembly are the only things that will be sterilized and used again.

Used tattoo needles will be discarded in a “sharps container”. This container is usually red, made of rigid plastic so as to be puncture-resistant, and labeled with the words "sharps waste" or a biohazard symbol and the word "Biohazard". Although I have seen sharps disposed of in rigid cardboard tubes that look like poster mailers.

The unused amount of the inks and ointments that were put out for a customer should also be thrown out. You may or may not be able to spot this sharps container, as some studios place it in a separate room.

Again, with the exception of the tubes, needle bar and tattoo gun, everything that is used for tattooing should be single service. Ointments, alcohol, bacterial soap, etc. should be poured into little cups or applied to a disposable tissue or cloth that are thrown out, once they are used on your skin.

So that's how you tell if a tattoo parlor or studio is safe. Just so that you know "parlor" is the old-fashioned word, today's tattooists prefer the word "studio."