Body tattoos refer to permanent marks made on the body by piercing the skin and then introducing pigments. The visible marks are actually the pigments introduced into the body. The professionals who do this job are called tattooists and the place where that is done is called a tattoo studio. The process poses dangers to people in many ways since it involves making direct contact with blood vessels.

The process of getting a tattoo requires the skin, which is a protective layer for the body to be perforated. Perforated skin is vulnerable to infections and other health risks. Health problems of getting tattoos are many hence, one should exercise some caution to avoid getting infected. This article outlines safety steps one needs to take before they walk into a tattoo shop to be tattooed.

First, it is worth noting that that there are no restrictions imposed by the Food and Drug Administration on pigments used for tattooing. This implies that the safety of the pigments is not known. What the FDA does is to respond to problems resulting from tattooing but not controlling it. From this one can know that tattooing may be having some problems that are not clearly addressed.

Finding out whether or not shops in a state need licensure or registration to operate should be the priority step towards ensuring safety. The health department is in the best position to answer this question. A list of all registered studios in a state can also be got at the local health offices. One should look to see the nature of complaints filed and the shops against which they were filed. This information should be the basis for picking a shop to tattoo from.

The next step after identifying various registered shops in an area is to try and understand how their instruments are sterilized. It is mandatory for the shop to have an autoclave for sterilization. Needles should be used once and disposed off and every client must be treated with a separate needle. Also, hygiene levels of the studio must be very high. Artists must use detergents to wash their hands clean after working on a client. Use of gloves separate gloves on each person should be ensured.

If one is satisfied with the kind of safety that is observed in the studio, the next step is to check the competence of the artist. Ask about trainings attended and certifications received. Every training or certification the tattooist claims to have achieved should be backed up with a certificate. Any sense of reluctance to show certificates or discuss competence, may indicate that the tattooist is unqualified.

The next thing is to stay around and watch how the artist works. One should request to watch another client get tattooed. This is the time to confirm all the claims the artist said. If any safety measures named above are not followed, then it is time to walk away.

One should not trade quality of service with low cost. One gains more by paying more money but staying safe from infections. Failure to understand this makes people to go for cheap services but get infected by serious infections.