Tattoo designs are becoming more and more personal, and are more a form of expression, as opposed to "decoration". However, it's also a permanent, physical change you're dong to your body forever. Paul Naylor, a tattoo artist from Indigo Tattoo in the United Kingdom, wants people to be fully informed of the health dangers of the increasingly popular fashion statement before rushing into getting inked. He's publicly warning people to consider the risks involved in body art before they make what could be a life-long mistake. The 35-year-old, who has run the Witton Street shop for six years, said, "It's a commitment for life, but I think that people take it quite lightly."
"It's something that people really need to think about - especially if it's their first one." He added, "I want to make sure people have as much information as we can give them so that they can make the right choice." One of Paul's major concerns is the risk of blood borne infections like hepatitis and HIV if people visit an unregistered body artist. He said: "Getting a tattoo design is essentially a minor operation." We call it a wound so you need to make sure that everything in the process is acceptable and clean - we are quite happy to show anyone around and show them how we sterilize things.
"There are a lot of home tattoo artists working locally and I've known some sterilize their equipment with fluid used for sterilizing babies' bottles, but it's not doing the job - you're not going to get hepatitis from a baby's bottle. It may seem like the cheap option but the costs could be quite high." He said it was also vital to follow the correct aftercare routine to help the tattoo heal quickly and without permanent scarring and to make sure that you choose the right tattoo design in the first place.
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Basically what it comes down to is making sure your tattoo artist is qualified. It's a good idea to get some referrals from people who have good designs and who were very happy with the results. It's also important to make sure they have some sort of certification. And if you go and check out a place beforehand, keep a look out for sterilizing equipment, and take notice as to whether or not they appear to be following through with correct and cleanly procedure.
There are lots of risks associated with getting body art, but you can reduce those risks by doing research and taking time to find the best artist for you. There are professionals in every city across the globe, all you have to do is screen out the shady ones; the independent artists who are working out of their basements. If it doesn't seem safe, it probably isn't. Only licensed businesses can guarantee any sort of sterilization standards. So when deciding on a tattoo design, it's best to do that separately from finding the right business, which takes just as much thought.
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