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Posted by resonanteye on 05/21/2012
C;lick any of the text to read the full article, with step-by-step guidelines.
I’ve seen many people who are interested in learning the trade. I’ve also seen many make the mistake of trying to take a shortcut to becoming a tattoo artist at home, or as a hobby.
If you are planning to tattoo “for fun” or as a hobby, you should know that in most states this is illegal. The biggest, and most serious reason, is for the health and safety of your (potential) clients. Tattooing in a bacteria-ridden space, with unsterilized equipment, or even worse, non-disposable equipment, is extremely risky.
Needlestick injuries, are also a consideration.
The risks associated with home tattooing start with minor Staph infections and end with septicemia (which can be fatal) and transmission of serious, life-threatening viruses. Also, using your home as a tattoo studio puts you and your family at extreme risk of infections and diseases. Simply put, this is not safe, and is most likely against the law.
Learning on your own will not allow you the ability to use modern techniques and equipment, since most retailers will not sell professional-grade equipment to amateurs. Despite what you may have read on the internet, there are NO books that will teach you everything you need to know to be a tattoo artist. These will only give you bits of information, and without good, working equipment and true, complete information, you just can’t tattoo all that well.
If you’re planning on doing this for fun, don’t bother. It is an actual, honest-to-god, real-life career, and should be approached as one.
This entry was posted on 05/21/2012 at 4:49 am and is filed under apprenticeships, complaints, deep thoughts, DIY, dos and donts, ethics, health and safety, how-to, learning, love, old school, questions, step by step, tattooing. Tagged: home tattoo, learning to tattoo, tattoo gun, tattooing at home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Well said. As a cousin to a professional tattoo artist, it grieves me when I hear other people say “I could do that at home”. Thanks for the post!
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Denise said
Well said. As a cousin to a professional tattoo artist, it grieves me when I hear other people say “I could do that at home”. Thanks for the post!