Bacteria possess certain characteristics such as: some require oxygen to live, they are known as Aerobic. Those that do not are know as Anaerobic. There are bacteria that are called Thermostabile, which means that they are not easily altered or decomposed by heat… those that are Thermolabile are easily decomposed by heat.
You will also come across the term spore. A spore is a reproductive cell produced by plants and some protozoans - it is the asexual reproduction of many unicellular animals and plants. These spores possess thick walls enabling them to withstand unfavorable environmental conditions such as extreme heat.
Certain bacteria form spores but more in the nature of a defense mechanism than for reproduction. These spores are difficult to destroy because they are very resistant and require prolonged exposure to heat to destroy them.
So, as we see, some bacteria love heat, and if they are spore formers, high heat alone will not do the job, so dry heat is out.
Some sterilizers utilize boiling water and steam in an unsealed receptacle know as “flowing steam”… temperature 212° F (IOO C)… this is also inadequate. Boiling water alone is good for tea and coffee but useless against bacteria.
Exposing the article to heat and steam at intermittent intervals, called tyndal-ization… is another inadequate procedure.
How about sterilization by gas, e.g., ethylene oxide. Great, but too explosive. Or formaldehyde… again, great, but formaldehyde is trapped in a ruling right now linking it as a carcinogen (able to cause cancer); also too dangerous.
We are narrowed down to the autoclave, the instrument of choice, that kills not only bacteria, but also spores.
To autoclave properly, we must first understand the mechanics of the system. This employs a temperature of 273° F, with steam under pressure of 15-17 pounds per square inch (PSI) for 30 minutes (50 minutes from cold start) and a 15 minute cool down or drying period (the door can be open about 1″ during this period).

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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Many of the conditions sited are terminal, and that means there is no coming back. What we have to do is prepare a site on the skin to receive our product, the tattoo. We will have to scrub it with soap and water, shave off the hair at the site and surrounding area, disinfect it with Isopropanal 70%, and cover the area with an antiseptic and gauze.
We know we cannot sterilize skin, but we can come pretty close. This procedure will be explained in great depth in the next chapter, “Sterilization Procedures”.
Let us move on then into the next chapter and learn the procedures to 1.) Protect our client from infection. 2.) Protect ourselves from infection. 3.) Render our workplace “a safe place to work”. 4.) Comply with the Federal rulings regarding our craft. Put them all together and the art of tattooing will, for the first time in its history, become known as an acceptable art form, free and clear of disease

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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In the year 1650, a doctor named Lewanouke opened up the gates to a whole new world as he viewed a drop of pond water through his latest discovery… a microscope. As crude as this monocular magnifying device was, it introduced him and his “little animals” to the rest of the world. He spent his remaining years studying and classifying these “little animals” and earned the title of “The Father of Bacteriology”. Through the years as the listing grew in numbers, these “little animals” were divided into Genus, Order, Family and Species. Their association with disease and disease processes was not suspected for many years after their existence became known.
Dr. Joseph Lister, an English surgeon, developed a device he called the “Lister lamp”. When lit, it put a mist of carbolic acid into the air that he believed would control infections. At this particular time, this is where they believed infections came from, the air. Diseases, so named, bare this point to be true, e.g., malaria: “mal-” meaning bad, and “aria” meaning air.
Dr. Lister had these lamps in his office and he required them in any operating room suite where he performed surgery. In addition to his lamp, he employed strict hand-scrubbing techniques, spotless linens, and cleansing of the operation site. Infection in Dr. Lister’s patients was reduced considerably if his precautions were strictly adhered to. He became known as “The Father of Antiseptic Surgery”.
Mankind is plagued today by some 400 diseases, 375 of which can be transmitted by a tattoo needle. Does that sound fantastic? Well, I should say it does, especially when that came from a newspaper article back in 1958.
You see, we’ve known about the problem for years, and it’s about time that we, as professionals, put infections and disease out the back door of the tattoo studio where they belong.

With the above thought in mind, this writer will lead the horse to water. We will cover just a few of the more common organisms that we confront every day in the tattoo shop. Most of these organisms have a particular place on the body where they are more prevalent than others, but as we all know, 1.) bacteria do not read the books, and 2.) add two scratching hands, and we can grossly re-arrange that pattern.

Most bacteria live on hair follicles, the superficial layers of skin and in the sebaceous glands. Most, but not all sebaceous glands have hair follicles associated with them (see figure 1). Many pack themselves into the ruts and cracks of the cornified or surface layers of the skin.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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In areas where the skin stretches and moves, the scabs are easily torn off before they are ready. If this happens, the area where it was still attached will bleed. In doing so, it will bleed the color right back out. That particular area will revert back to skin color. Every minute the area is in its healing process, it is susceptible to problems. The shorter the healing time, the better.
Try to guide women away from getting tattoos on their arms because many employers won’t hire women who have visible tattoos, but once they are aware of the situation, if they still want one, go ahead and do it.
Try to guide people away from getting their lover’s name on them. It’s sure to change with time. You’ll find yourself covering a lot of them up anyway, ones that other people did. If you must tattoo names on, do them in red or light blue so they can be easily covered up in the future.
Skin is an important matter in tattooing. It is your canvas for art work. Please pay attention to all that has been said, and your tattoos will look pretty and heal with no problem on any type of skin.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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Don’t tattoo below the wrist, on the hands or fingers. If you wonder where to stop, don’t go within inch of the first wrinkle you make when you bend your wrist, on the top and bottom of the wrist. Tattooing over the wrist bone is fairly tender. If possible, pull the skin to one side, off the bone. Your needles shouldn’t be set so deep that they go clear to the bone. Your nerves are wrapped around the bone and it can get fairly painful for your customer before you are through.
Don’t tattoo below the ankle bone, or on it if you can get out of it. The ankle is also a lively spot. For some people, it is next to impossible to hold still for a tattoo in this area. A better place is just above and slightly ahead of the ankle bone, on the outside where it’s more meaty. If someone wants it on their ankle, on the inside, the area slightly behind the large bone is a good spot. Again, don’t go near the foot. Stay on the side of the first wrinkle when you bend your foot. The reason you don’t want to tattoo below the wrist or on the hands is because the skin is too loose and stretches easily. It gets put in grease, dirt, garbage, dishwater, pockets and everything else You can think of. As a result, it leaves a tattoo in this area very susceptible to infection, which you don’t want anywhere near your work. You don’t need that kind of headache.
Don’t tattoo on or near the feet because they are near the ground and can get infected more easily. Also, it seems that tattoos which are lower to the ground take longer to heal and give customers more grief during the healing period.
Don’t tattoo above the collarbone, or on the neck or face. Besides being a poor choice of locations, it is very painful there.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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Depending on where the tattoo is located, (some on the left side, some on the right) and what the tattoo looks like, you may need two stencils of the same design. On acetate, just engrave both sides, having both a left and right image. Before randomly applying a stencil, give it a couple of turns and try different directions to see which way the design would look its best. Try to be a little artistic and spend a little time shuffling the stencil around.
Skin has wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, lumps, cysts and all kinds of surprises in store for you. Stay away from all the problem areas and work around them if you can. Don’t tattoo moles. Avoid working on heavy scar tissue because it doesn’t heal well. The same for pimples and hickeys. Try to incorporate these blemishes into the design whenever possible. You can actually get quite creative here if you wish. For example, in a butterfly or leopard, a mole can sometimes be hidden as one of the spots.

Parts such as fingers, hands, faces, heads, necks and feet are poor places for a tattoo. Besides being culturally unacceptable, these places are most prone to infection anyway and should be avoided. Even if a customer begs you, make up your ethics beforehand and don’t get talked into doing these things.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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Some areas of the body are easier to tattoo than others. On a male, the easiest places are the forearm, upper arms and legs. The most popular and easiest areas for the female are on the shoulder blades, breasts and hips. The fleshy portion of the upper breast (above the nipple) is the easiest spot for a woman to get a tattoo. Women seem to take a tattoo a lot easier than a man. This is due to the fact that they have a naturally higher threshold of pain and also an extra layer of fat in their skin than men do.
Some thought should go behind the actual placement of tattoos, such as the size and shape of the design as opposed to the size and shape of the skin area being tattooed. A large flying bird spanning left to right would look a little awkward on a skinny arm that hangs basically up and down. Try to use the lines of the tattoo to enhance the curves of the body part, this will be making more of an artistic statement than just slamming any tattoo in any position.

Use a design that is compatible in size and shape to the area it s going to be on. For example, on the forearm, use a long design that goes up and down the arm from elbow to wrist, also taper it so it conforms to the bulge in the upper forearm and slims down as it comes down to the wrist area. Small, rounder shapes work well on shoulders. Large, round ones on the chest or back. Oblong designs are great for biceps and legs.

Small tattoos don’t usually look that good on large areas and seem to get lost. Large tattoos squeezed into small areas are confusing and usually the entire picture isn’t visible from one angle.
Sometimes what looks the best isn’t necessarily what the customer wants. It isn’t your job to argue with them, after all, they’re always right, but it does help to make a few suggestions and to state how you view things. People will usually consider what you have to say.
The direction a tattoo faces also should be considered. Although the customer always has the final say, a general rule to follow is that a tattoo that is in profile (or partial view turned) should always face to the front of the person. That is, don’t have them pointing backwards to the rear. Some examples are shown on the following page.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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There is no problem tattooing a dark skinned person. Of course, the tattoo will not stand out as much as it does on white skin, especially if the person has real black skin. Contrary to belief, white ink is not the solution to tattooing black skin. Red and black tattoo ink will show up the best. Forget about using white, it doesn’t even look good under black skin. On Latins, Mexican or Oriental people, all tattoo colors will show up well. Some dark skinned people will hesitate in getting tattooed because they think it won’t show well on their skin. This is when you should do a bit of public relations work and assure them that the tattoo will look just great. Having a couple of photos of previous customers with dark skin showing their new tattoo will help convince the reluctant prospect. Another thing you should keep in mind is try to have a real dark skinned person get the tattoo on the inside of his forearm, they are usually a bit lighter in this area and the tattoo will stand out more vividly. Don’t forget if it is a profile tattoo, have it facing outboard on the inside of the arm and inboard if it is on the outside of the arm.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
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If no friends are to be found, you can stretch a large area by using the outside of your left palm, ring and little finger to push upwards. Use your little finger and the outside of your right palm to pull down as you tattoo with the same hand. This is easier than it sounds and it gets easier with practice.
These elaborate stretching procedures are mainly for the outline, so you don’t smear any of the lines on the stencil before it has been all outlined. Once the outline is on, you can easily stretch small areas of skin as you proceed through the rest of the operation, using your left hand as illustrated, to do the stretching.
A short word is in order here about some of the first skin you will come in contact with. You will need some skin to practice on. You are going to need some skin of some kind to learn on and get the basic feel of things. In the beginning, start on yourself. If you are right handed, you can cover most of your left arm and both legs yourself. Why not? You want to tattoo don’t you? Let’s not get squeamish. It’s better to make mistakes on yourself first than other people. If you plan to make a career in tattooing, you’ll find it difficult to market a product which you yourself don’t endorse. Once you’ve covered yourself with fine tattoos, it’s time to start looking for friends. You can always find people to work on for free, who aren’t that particular at first. Usually a deal can be made where if you tattoo them for free, they will advertise around where they got it. It’s a good form of practice for you. They get a good free tattoo, you get to work on different people, and you also get the benefit of some free advertising.

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by admin
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If the skin is slippery, put a clean paper towel down first, it will help keep your hand from slipping. Plus, you can always use the paper towel in your free hand for wiping, if necessary.
If a stencil is put on while the skin is stretched, it will look different when it isn’t stretched. So, check the stencil after it is on while the customer is standing in a natural position to make sure it looks right before you start. Even if you have to make a new stencil print, do it until it’s right. If the stencil print isn’t correct, the tattoo isn’t going to look right. Paper stencils are much easier to use for large back designs than are acetate stencils. Also, the print from the hectograph ink used on the paper stencil will not smear as does stencil powder used on the acetate stencil.
To put a stencil on the back, have the customer stand straight up and fully relaxed. After the stencil is on, you can put them in any position you like, to do the actual tattooing.
If it’s a large tattoo, you may want to enlist the help of a friend to help stretch the skin. If so, have them wash up good with soap and hot water. Then spray their hands good with nibbing alcohol before starting. Make sure they are wearing clean clothes, and a pair of latex gloves also. Keep it “professional.”
Give your helper a paper towel. Have him sit across the bench from you and hold onto the other side of your customer’s skin. To do this, have him spread out the fingers on both hands to cover as wide an area as possible, about six inches from that side of the tattoo. Have him toward you from below the tattoo, giving your machine hand plenty of room to maneuver. Most of the time your helpers will tire out easily in this position. Another “hold” is to have him sort of lean on the customer and use his entire forearm to hold the skin while the arm is bent at a 90 degree angle at the elbow.

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by admin
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