5 practices for a hygienic tattoo studio

If you are a budding tattoo artist or simply a naive in the world of tattooing who is finally getting their first tattoo, you are at the right place. Tattoo studio hygiene is a non-negotiable aspect every person should consider before entering this industry. As a customer, if you do not choose a hygienic tattoo studio for your tattoos, you will end up with pesky infections or even chronic conditions that may last a lifetime. Thus, don’t risk your life.

Even though getting tattoos is absolutely safe, tattoo hygiene is an additional requirement that contributes towards the safety of tattoos for both the tattoo artist and the customer. On that note, we will walk you through a list of the 5 best practices for a hygienic tattoo studio that every tattoo artist should follow and customers should look for while getting their tattoos. Let’s get started.

#1- Always use Gloves

If you are a tattoo artist, you should always have your gloves on. Right from the beginning of the session to when the customer arrives at the final touch-up. Preferably use disposable gloves, do not take them off throughout the entire session, and dispose of when you are done with each customer.

However, before you put on your gloves, ensure to wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap or disinfectant. Repeat the same before your next appointment starts!

#2- Disinfect your tattoo studio

It is essential to understand that tattoo studios can easily transmit blood-borne diseases, allergies, contagious elements, and many more. Thus, as a tattoo artist, you need to take an oath to never run out of cleaners and disinfectants in your tattoo studio.

You may probably need tons of cleaners or disinfectants throughout the day, but that is solely to keep you and your customers safe. Thus, never hesitate to invest in the best disinfectants, cleaners, and even autoclaves.

Autoclaves are excellent for sterilizing your tattoo machines, needles, and other tools before the initiation of every session. It involves pressure and temperature to sterilize the tools and make them safe for the customers. You can also consider ultrasonic cleaning to maximize the effect, apart from autoclaving.

#3- Hoard your disposables

Disposables are an absolute necessity in this era. Starting from face masks to disposable paper towels. You need everything to be present in your tattoo studio every time. You may need disposables for the clip cord covers, skin markers, tattoo sleeves, gauze, pad grips, covering the client’s skin, and so much more. Thus, have an endless supply of disposables for a sterile work environment.

In addition to that, don’t forget to hoard adequate first aid kits and components in your tattoo studio instead of waiting for a mishap. There are different components of a first aid that should be readily present in the tattoo studio, such as Bacitracin, A&D ointment, Antiseptic wipes, and more.

#4- Get the best Tattoo Needles and Needle Bars

Even though constantly autoclaving and sterilization your needles is a necessity, it doesn’t mean that you can go light-handed with the tattoo needles and the needle bars. If you aspire to be a professional tattoo artist, you should have a variety of tattoo needles that can help you configure every tattoo style you want without any hindrance.

Also, it would get embarrassing if you run out of fresh needles or use poor needles while tattooing a custom, right?

#5- Turn off intoxicated customers

As much as you love and respect your customers, you have to be very stringent in certain aspects to ensure their health is not in jeopardy during the tattoo session. Many people consider intoxication or alcohol consumption to be helpful to ease the pain during the tattoo process. However, it is entirely a MYTH.

Alcohol is a blood thinner. If your customer comes down to be intoxicated at least 24 hours prior to the tattoo appointment, you ought to turn him off! There is no way you can take up the customer and create a tattoo on them. Alcohol is a common blood thinner. Creating tattoos on an intoxicated person will cause excessive bleeding resulting in their life at risk. Also, after getting tattooed, such customers can get infected easily too, which can also cause harm to your next customers.

Similarly, you should never get intoxicated 24 hours before your tattoo appointment as a customer. This may put your life at risk. Also, prevent going to tattoo studios that claim it to be okay to be intoxicated before a tattoo appointment!

Key Takeaways:

Even though we have a complete guide to setting up your first tattoo studio absolutely hygienically, here’s a concise list of the points you should consider prior to every appointment to maintain tattoo hygiene. Customers can also consider this as a checklist to ensure that they are in safe hands.

• The tabletop and the chairs should be covered with fresh disposable plastic or protective sheets throughout the session. Later, dispose of the sheets and plastic after every session ends.
• The clip cords, machines, needles, and everything should be covered with plastic bags. Furthermore, the tattoo needles should be adequately sterilized every time to prevent cross-contamination.
• Use a disposable tongue dispenser while taking the vaseline out of the jar. Alternatively, you may also use your fingers but under disposable gloves.
• Use disposable ink caps and cover the ink cap holders with plastic bags.

With this, we now wrap up our guide to the best practices for a hygienic tattoo studio guide. It is crucial to follow every step and practice listed above religiously to ensure your customers are safe and sound. The more hygienic your tattoo studio gets, the better are your chances to build a good brand reputation and score more customers.

If you are a budding tattoo artist, you ought to check out our official website and social media handles since we have tons of services, resources, and so much more that will be highly beneficial to thrive in this tattoo industry. Also, suppose you are a tattoo enthusiast. In that case, we are sure that you will love to read our blogs and posts that are updated regularly on The TattooPedia official website and social media handles since all of them are packed with informative solutions and insights on tattoos and the tattoo industry.

Till then,
Stay Safe
And Happy Tattooing!