Tattoo Supplies And How Artists Use Them
Getting a tattoo can be a fun and exciting experience. They are a fantastic way for you to express yourself and to decorate your body in a lasting way. However, there are some health risks that can come from getting tattooed.
Learning about tattoo equipment and the tattooing process may help to keep you safe and healthy since you know what to look for in an unsafe facility.
Although many of the tattoo parlors in existence take cleanliness and the health of their clients seriously, there are many others that do not.
Therefore, in order to avoid coming into contact with the bodily fluids of other clients, it is important to understand what equipment is being used and how to tell if it is not being cared for properly.
If you do not ensure your safety, you may find you end up with hepatitis or even HIV as a result of mixing bodily fluids from client to client.
When it comes to staying healthy, the autoclave is one of the first lines of defense. Bacteria and viruses cannot survive at very high temperatures.
Using an autoclave, regardless of whether it is gas powered or whether it uses steam or dry heat, will kill off the things that can make you, and other clients, ill. If you do not see an autoclave in a tattoo parlor, make sure you ask about whether they have one.
If not, regardless of what they tell you, you may be better off at another place of business.
Needles are used in order to get ink under the skin. Because they break the skin, they can pick up germs and spread them from one customer to the next. You want to make sure that every needle that the parlor uses has been wrapped and sterilized after every client.
They can be reused and often are. This is where the autoclave comes into play. Look for artists who use a range of different needles for effects such as shading, filling and outlining.
The ink that is being used can also be handled in such a way that it is as safe as possible. Tattoo ink is designed to cause as few allergic reactions as possible. You may see a tattoo artist dipping into a pot of ink repeatedly while completing your tattoo.
They should be placing the ink in small cups so that they can discard the ink after each client. This can prevent cross-contamination via the ink. Look in the garbage can to make sure you can see past ink that has also been thrown out after the client’s design was completed.
A tattoo machine is used to power the needles so that they can stab repeatedly into the skin. This creates the buzzing sound you hear when being tattooed. Although the machine does not come into direct contact with a customer, a good tattoo parlor still works to protect it from getting contaminated.
Look for a gun (gun is another name for a tattoo machine) that has been wrapped in clear plastic so that bodily fluids cannot splash on it and contaminate another customer.
You should also look to make sure that other protective gear is in place. Because a tattoo will bleed, you want to make sure that the artist is protected through the use of gloves and that the seat you are sitting on is draped to prevent the spread of bodily fluids.
If you need to shave your skin prior to being tattooed, look for the use of a disposable razor that is thrown away after it is used. Because of the seriousness of some diseases, it is important to make sure you are protected so that you remain as healthy as possible.