Tattooing: Safety and Quality

There are many people who have thought about getting a tattoo but are concerned about the safety and cleanliness of the process. They have the knowledge that not all shops are the same; and what is used in tattooing should be clean and sanitary. Although any tattooing has risks, such as infection and disease, research about an artist’s tools and their processes will lead to a safely done and quality tattoo.
The quality of the “inks” that are used to apply the tattoo is also a very important thing to consider. The word “ink” is used loosely because they are considered pigments. The “ink” is considered to be a two-part compound made of a pigment and acarrier. A pigment is any one material that can be crushed super fine to provide a color once it is mixed with the carrier. Many materials are utilized to provide a color. Some of those materials are Chromium Oxide for green, Curcuma for yellow, and Calcium Copper Sulfate for blue. The carriers that are utilized to make the “inks” are Listerine, witch hazel, purified water, propylene glycol, vodka, and glycerin.
Most of the makers of the “inks” do not disclose what is in the compound. “Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to impose regulatory oversight for an industry based on the practice of injecting metal salts and fluids into the skin {draw:frame}
Flat needles are also used for large areas but are more widely used for the gray shading and what the artist call “gray wash.” A gray wash is a mixture of black ink and sterile water. The ink starts out black, but the more gray that the artist wants or needs; the more water the artist will add to the mix. There are different types of flat needles as well. The standard flat is as it sounds, flat, with no stacking. The magnum needles can be stacked in either a weave or a regular stack. The normal stack allows for the needles to be more closely placed together than the weave design. There is also a new variation call the waved magnum, called...