Comments on: The government is not the friend of body modification

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:18:35 +0000

The problem with untrained people getting their hands on tattoo equipment and using it on their idiot friends is that they know nothing about preventing the spread of diseases. There’s more to it than just using a new needle.

It’s a profession, not a hobby, because you can seriously hurt or kill people. Just because some customers are stupid enough to open themselves up to this kind of risk doesn’t mean that it should be an option.

I can’t buy dental equipment and start offering dentistry out of my basement at a discounted rate for the same reason.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:21:14 +0000

You know, I was extremely excited as a Tattoo Artist to find that Washington just began requiring Tattoo Licenses. I expected a test of sorts on proper disposal, cross contamination and other safety issues. Boy was I sorely disappointed. I cut a check and sent it to the state and Voila! Tattoo license. I completely agree with them regulating manufacture’s needles and such, but other than that, I hope they stay out.

By: Chase

Chase — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:43:15 +0000

Thank you very much for writing this. I have 3 “scratched” pieces and about 13 “professional” pieces. I got them all for different reasons and knew what I was getting into. I think a lot of the tension over “scratchers” is that some of them do better quality work for half the price than their local shop tattooist counterpart.

By: Operator

Operator — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:50:31 +0000

In response to your comment, I tattoo out of my home. I am what you may classify as a scratcher on some levels. My wife and I are both tattooed, possess artisitic talent and found it much cheaper to tattoo each other at home with our own equipment. As the quality increased friends began asking for work and we happily obliged. We have never been “apprenticed” other than having a professional tattoo artist friend educate us on health and safety and basic equipment maintenance. In our geographic area there is no possibility of aquiring a proper apprenticeship. We also employ a NO CLAVE system where anything contaminated is disposable and have a system worked out with the local health care folks to dispose of needles properly. Am I negatively affecting the “pro” tattoo industry in my area? I don’t think so. I believe we are getting back to basics and just being artists.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:53:12 +0000

BTW, the above Shannon is not me that writes the blog, but a different Shannon.

The regulation thing reminded me of something else. The APP and others rightly fought for autoclaves to be required in studios. However, these days, a tattoo shop can run 100% without a clave. Everything can be made disposable. Ironically, a NO CLAVE studio could actually be safer because there is no chance for human error!

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:41:20 +0000

For over thirty years the tattoo industry has been bemoaning tattoo kits ruining the industry but has the industry been ruined, or has it grown and grown? If anything it’s the very success of tattooing being accepted by the mainstream (especially ladies as of recently) that is scaring tattooists into supporting legislation to limit entry into the industry to the ‘correct people’, everyone from the Government to the mentor wants to make money off of new body art legislation, and the evidence put forth is often irrelevant and hidden in the footnotes because they think no one will look up the references and see the changes and game changing omissions. The government is just as much to blame for this as the body arts industry is.

Not too many years ago the APP (Piercers association) was trying to create a scare by claiming that no studio that uses a typical stream autoclave can assure proper sterilization, this claim was based on one citation of a stint (an item used in heart surgery) requiring special sterilization; the findings had no bearing on forceps or any other common body art tool but the APP solution wasn’t to explain the irrelevance of the one citation they found, but seemed to be that every studio needed to buy a Statim! (An APP member has exclusive rights to sell Statims to the body arts). The body arts is just as willing to burden their grandchildren with unnecessary and stifling legislation as the Government is! It’s just as bad as patriotism or religion “We are #1” and if you disagree it’s time to vilify you with dirty politics and huge omissions of the majority of the truth; I’ve seen the body arts do it, and and I’ve seen the government do it to the body arts; can you really blame the government for attacking us when we attack each other with, and over nonsense?

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 23:15:54 +0000

Actually, looks like they didn’t take them all down… https://www.sears.com/shc/s/t_10153_12605?tName=tattooezone-tattoo-supplies-starter-kit.html