quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603
1. Didn’t wash his hands. He went to the bathroom and tattooed me right after. Took a smoke break and touched door knobs and the phone w/o washing hands. Cross contamination prevention(which tattooists and dentists and doctors follow)state that you must wash your hands before you put the gloves on.
2. Used a dull clogged razor. This is probably the thing that bugged me most. To prevent infection all hair must be shaved off the area to be tattooed. The needle in the tattoo machine pokes our skin at least 3,000 times per minute. If the machine needle which is going very fast up and down comes in contact with hair it will push the hair down into your skin and cause infection. My artist not only used a razor clogged with other patient’s hair (which is a no) because it was so dull and he worked too quickly he cut me several times with the clogged razor. That means I could have gotten the other client’s blood, staph (people can be the colonizer without knowing it. Staph can reside on skin, nose, etc.) or infected. He then put the clogged razor back in the drawer instead of disposing it!
3. There wasn’t any plastic or anything on the armrest to act as a barrier between my skin and the furniture.
4. The artist had the needles rest on the bare table. Huge no. anything going in your skin should not be dropped or rest on any unprotected surface. He was sloppy and spilled over the inks then used them in me.

6. When he applied the petroleum jelly he used his fingers. Throughout the tattooing he kept dipping his fingers in the jar, scooped it out and rubbed it on my bleeding tattoo (he repeated this throughout the three and a half hours). Blood was getting in the petroleum jelly jar and if he did this with other clients need I say more. In the other tattoo shops I’ve been in : Scorpion Tattoo in Derry, NH and Gothic Tattoo in Salem NH (now in Derry) the artists scooped out the petroleum with a tung depressor and had it rest out ready for use, then put the jar way. They never rubbed my bleeding tattoo and then dipped their finger in the jar and continue applying it.
7. Last but not least the night I went to the gas station to fill the car he applied the bacitracin. He squirted the bacitracin on my finger and told me to apply it. I told him I couldn’t because my hands were dirty from touching the pump and he scooped it off my finger (he had no gloves on when he did this and I mentioned earlier that he didn’t wash his hands after going to the restroom, touching door knobs, and the phone) and applied it over my tattoo. Not clean and not good.

I assume this was your first tattoo and you didn't know any of that shouldn't be happening? (And I also assume you've told everyone you know not to go to that shop?)

quote:


5. Wrapped me with a sheet of paper towel and used a piece of tape to close it. Huge no. towels aren’t sterile and this method of bandaging with a paper towel wasn’t stable. The bandage fell off within ten minutes and I bled completely through. A professional artist knows the right way to bandage. The only thing worse than a sheet of unsterile paper towel is if the artist wraps it in saran wrap. If your artist does this TAKE IT OFF RIGHT AWAY. Your tattoo needs to breathe and the plastic saran wrap creates a petri dish for your tattoo. Bacteria will develop in the petri dish and you’ll be at risk for infection. The best method for bandaging I found is to use Telfa healing pads. They not only are packaged sterile and allow your tattoo to breathe but they absorb the liquids from your tattoo while acting as a barrier between your tattoo and things that could infect it.

This, though...it is accepted procedure to protect a tattoo with plastic wrap for a few hours, until you can get home and thoroughly wash it. I do know of people who replace the plastic (with clean plastic) after each washing for a day or so, when their tattoo is oozy. I've only seen paper towels used for very small tattoos or outlines. Mostly though, if you're just getting outlined, you probably won't get bandaged at all or get bacitracin. Telfa is fine, but not if you have a sleeve or backpiece or pretty much anything larger than the palm of your hand.

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603

THIS WAS MY THIRD TATTOO. NOT MY FIRST. I'M 24 AND I'VE BEEN INKED SINCE I WAS 18.

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603
1. Didn’t wash his hands. He went to the bathroom and tattooed me right after. Took a smoke break and touched door knobs and the phone w/o washing hands. Cross contamination prevention(which tattooists and dentists and doctors follow)state that you must wash your hands before you put the gloves on.
2. Used a dull clogged razor. This is probably the thing that bugged me most. To prevent infection all hair must be shaved off the area to be tattooed. The needle in the tattoo machine pokes our skin at least 3,000 times per minute. If the machine needle which is going very fast up and down comes in contact with hair it will push the hair down into your skin and cause infection. My artist not only used a razor clogged with other patient’s hair (which is a no) because it was so dull and he worked too quickly he cut me several times with the clogged razor. That means I could have gotten the other client’s blood, staph (people can be the colonizer without knowing it. Staph can reside on skin, nose, etc.) or infected. He then put the clogged razor back in the drawer instead of disposing it!
3. There wasn’t any plastic or anything on the armrest to act as a barrier between my skin and the furniture.
4. The artist had the needles rest on the bare table. Huge no. anything going in your skin should not be dropped or rest on any unprotected surface. He was sloppy and spilled over the inks then used them in me.

6. When he applied the petroleum jelly he used his fingers. Throughout the tattooing he kept dipping his fingers in the jar, scooped it out and rubbed it on my bleeding tattoo (he repeated this throughout the three and a half hours). Blood was getting in the petroleum jelly jar and if he did this with other clients need I say more. In the other tattoo shops I’ve been in : Scorpion Tattoo in Derry, NH and Gothic Tattoo in Salem NH (now in Derry) the artists scooped out the petroleum with a tung depressor and had it rest out ready for use, then put the jar way. They never rubbed my bleeding tattoo and then dipped their finger in the jar and continue applying it.
7. Last but not least the night I went to the gas station to fill the car he applied the bacitracin. He squirted the bacitracin on my finger and told me to apply it. I told him I couldn’t because my hands were dirty from touching the pump and he scooped it off my finger (he had no gloves on when he did this and I mentioned earlier that he didn’t wash his hands after going to the restroom, touching door knobs, and the phone) and applied it over my tattoo. Not clean and not good.

I assume this was your first tattoo and you didn't know any of that shouldn't be happening? (And I also assume you've told everyone you know not to go to that shop?)

quote:


5. Wrapped me with a sheet of paper towel and used a piece of tape to close it. Huge no. towels aren’t sterile and this method of bandaging with a paper towel wasn’t stable. The bandage fell off within ten minutes and I bled completely through. A professional artist knows the right way to bandage. The only thing worse than a sheet of unsterile paper towel is if the artist wraps it in saran wrap. If your artist does this TAKE IT OFF RIGHT AWAY. Your tattoo needs to breathe and the plastic saran wrap creates a petri dish for your tattoo. Bacteria will develop in the petri dish and you’ll be at risk for infection. The best method for bandaging I found is to use Telfa healing pads. They not only are packaged sterile and allow your tattoo to breathe but they absorb the liquids from your tattoo while acting as a barrier between your tattoo and things that could infect it.

This, though...it is accepted procedure to protect a tattoo with plastic wrap for a few hours, until you can get home and thoroughly wash it. I do know of people who replace the plastic (with clean plastic) after each washing for a day or so, when their tattoo is oozy. I've only seen paper towels used for very small tattoos or outlines. Mostly though, if you're just getting outlined, you probably won't get bandaged at all or get bacitracin. Telfa is fine, but not if you have a sleeve or backpiece or pretty much anything larger than the palm of your hand.

THIS WAS MY THIRD TATTOO. NOT MY FIRST. I'M 24 AND I'VE BEEN INKED SINCE I WAS 18.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mrs.Wifey


Her point was that those are all things you, someone who already had tattoos, should have known was unsafe.

I just got my first one in May and I knew those were unsafe things. It's rather common sense that someone who just used the bathroom shouldn't be touching or creating an open wound on someone else. My artist took longer setting up and creating a sterile environment then he did actually tattooing me, and I paid a pretty penny for his time. He was about $60 more expensive then the cheap dude down the street. When we're talking $40 VS $100 it's quite the difference in quality.

It's not just the fault of the artist for being lazy, but also of the consumer for not being informed.

quote:

ORIGINAL: faroukfarouk

Mrs. Wifey:

Hi, so has the experience and the safety etc concerns dissuaded you from planning more tattoos? it can happen that way, anyway.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mrs.Wifey


Her point was that those are all things you, someone who already had tattoos, should have known was unsafe.

I just got my first one in May and I knew those were unsafe things. It's rather common sense that someone who just used the bathroom shouldn't be touching or creating an open wound on someone else. My artist took longer setting up and creating a sterile environment then he did actually tattooing me, and I paid a pretty penny for his time. He was about $60 more expensive then the cheap dude down the street. When we're talking $40 VS $100 it's quite the difference in quality.

It's not just the fault of the artist for being lazy, but also of the consumer for not being informed.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mrs.Wifey



Thanks for asking, Farouk. No, the concerns posted here will not dissuade me from planning more tattoos. I know what proper safety looks like and know enough to get up and walk out if it seems to be an unclean environment. My artist is fantastic, he went through enough gloves for an entire medical office in the 30ish minuets he was working on my foot.

quote:

ORIGINAL: womaninchrist

The person that did the piercing I mentioned along with the parlor where they worked were both members of the AAP. The shop had all the right sterilization stuff and used it and the workers all did all the right stuff like wearing gloves. It was just a simple mistake like you mentioned with tongue piercings, they guessed wrong as to which piece of jewelry would be the best fit and guessed too small - which resulted in something that was able to fall out.

But a good piercing shop will tell their clients to get nothing less than titanium. Too many people react to the nickle that's often in steel.

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603


hearing about people's tattoos so far makes me excited.... maybe i should make a blog where we can all share picture's of ours?

quote:

ORIGINAL: faroukfarouk
Tara:
Thnx.
Some teens like to go for a trip to the parlor for a tattoo for their 18th b-day; so would that kind of thing be sth that you might want to cooperate a bit with her, maybe, like in helping her to check out parlors etc, or is it such a no-no with you that you wouldn't want anything to do with it, even when she turns 18?

I guess different ppl have more than one attitude to the thing of helping them to research and check out places and parlors, etc.

Take care.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rainbowtvp

quote:

ORIGINAL: faroukfarouk
Tara:
Thnx.
Some teens like to go for a trip to the parlor for a tattoo for their 18th b-day; so would that kind of thing be sth that you might want to cooperate a bit with her, maybe, like in helping her to check out parlors etc, or is it such a no-no with you that you wouldn't want anything to do with it, even when she turns 18?

I guess different ppl have more than one attitude to the thing of helping them to research and check out places and parlors, etc.

Take care.

She definitely can come to me for advice/guidance if she decides to get one right away. I think there is a chance she will, since she does a lot of research on it and has notebooks full of possible designs. She will likely have enough money saved up at that point, too.

But... I also think she has a pretty good head on her shoulders and she knows the risks and would be very careful in choosing a parlor based on safety/cleanliness, even if she didn't ask for my help. Certainly if she told me she was getting one, I would point out some things to be aware of.

I may have her read this thread.

Spdrgrl:

Was it that you knew the things he was doing weren't really good... but you didn't want to say anything or he blew you off when you did? Or did you just think they weren't that big a deal? Or you didn't even think about it until you had problems and then later realized his mistakes?

Tara P

quote:

She definitely can come to me for advice/guidance if she decides to get one right away. I think there is a chance she will, since she does a lot of research on it and has notebooks full of possible designs. She will likely have enough money saved up at that point, too.

But... I also think she has a pretty good head on her shoulders and she knows the risks and would be very careful in choosing a parlor based on safety/cleanliness, even if she didn't ask for my help. Certainly if she told me she was getting one, I would point out some things to be aware of.

I may have her read this thread.

Tara P

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603

quote:

ORIGINAL: rainbowtvp

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrgrl.603
IF YOU WANT I CAN LIST THE DANGEROUS THING MY ARTIST DID THAT WHERE DANGEROUS TO MY HEALTH.

I think that would be very helpful.


I think that would be very helpful.

here is the list of mistakes my artist made that i can think of now. also PLEASE STOP TALKING OFF TOPIC PEOPLE. THIS IS ABOUT TATTOOS NOT PIERCINGS! thanks. hope this helps.

1. Didn’t wash his hands. He went to the bathroom and tattooed me right after. Took a smoke break and touched door knobs and the phone w/o washing hands. Cross contamination prevention(which tattooists and dentists and doctors follow)state that you must wash your hands before you put the gloves on.
2. Used a dull clogged razor. This is probably the thing that bugged me most. To prevent infection all hair must be shaved off the area to be tattooed. The needle in the tattoo machine pokes our skin at least 3,000 times per minute. If the machine needle which is going very fast up and down comes in contact with hair it will push the hair down into your skin and cause infection. My artist not only used a razor clogged with other patient’s hair (which is a no) because it was so dull and he worked too quickly he cut me several times with the clogged razor. That means I could have gotten the other client’s blood, staph (people can be the colonizer without knowing it. Staph can reside on skin, nose, etc.) or infected. He then put the clogged razor back in the drawer instead of disposing it!
3. There wasn’t any plastic or anything on the armrest to act as a barrier between my skin and the furniture.
4. The artist had the needles rest on the bare table. Huge no. anything going in your skin should not be dropped or rest on any unprotected surface. He was sloppy and spilled over the inks then used them in me.
5. Wrapped me with a sheet of paper towel and used a piece of tape to close it. Huge no. towels aren’t sterile and this method of bandaging with a paper towel wasn’t stable. The bandage fell off within ten minutes and I bled completely through. A professional artist knows the right way to bandage. The only thing worse than a sheet of unsterile paper towel is if the artist wraps it in saran wrap. If your artist does this TAKE IT OFF RIGHT AWAY. Your tattoo needs to breathe and the plastic saran wrap creates a petri dish for your tattoo. Bacteria will develop in the petri dish and you’ll be at risk for infection. The best method for bandaging I found is to use Telfa healing pads. They not only are packaged sterile and allow your tattoo to breathe but they absorb the liquids from your tattoo while acting as a barrier between your tattoo and things that could infect it.
6. When he applied the petroleum jelly he used his fingers. Throughout the tattooing he kept dipping his fingers in the jar, scooped it out and rubbed it on my bleeding tattoo (he repeated this throughout the three and a half hours). Blood was getting in the petroleum jelly jar and if he did this with other clients need I say more. In the other tattoo shops I’ve been in : Scorpion Tattoo in Derry, NH and Gothic Tattoo in Salem NH (now in Derry) the artists scooped out the petroleum with a tung depressor and had it rest out ready for use, then put the jar way. They never rubbed my bleeding tattoo and then dipped their finger in the jar and continue applying it.
7. Last but not least the night I went to the gas station to fill the car he applied the bacitracin. He squirted the bacitracin on my finger and told me to apply it. I told him I couldn’t because my hands were dirty from touching the pump and he scooped it off my finger (he had no gloves on when he did this and I mentioned earlier that he didn’t wash his hands after going to the restroom, touching door knobs, and the phone) and applied it over my tattoo. Not clean and not good.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mrs.Wifey

A good artist will be patient with your question and appreciate your concern. I know mine certainly did/was.

quote:

ORIGINAL: solarflare

Or, you could go to Tahiti and get the real thing.

quote:

ORIGINAL: faroukfarouk

Mrs. Wifey:

Exactly: for a tattooist to try to do a 'hard sell' is not professional, right?

Like, you'll get your next tattoo when you are ready and not before, right?

Take care.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mrs.Wifey

A good artist will be patient with your question and appreciate your concern. I know mine certainly did/was.