First try at home

[Lennart82]

Now, just yesterday, I did my first practise skin at home. And as I said previuosly, I want it as close to perfect as possible (Here I mean the working space)
So I will go over what I did. And I want your oppinion on weather this was the right way to approuch it. Again, I used practise skin, as if it were a real human.

First up, I cleared my working area. I have a practise skin with a band, so I wrapped it around a lamp frame (this has the right thickness as if it were a real arm, dont ask why I have such a lamp, I just do)
Then strapped it down in a chair.

Made a stencil before all of the clearing.

Swiped the practise skin with a Medi Swap. (For some reason I did’nt shave the thing ;) )
Washed the area with a bit of Dettol, for the stencil (And I found it’s not a good idea to do on a practise skin in an upright possition, as it dosent obsorb like real skin)
Placed the stencil on top, and made it stick.

Then placed plastic wrap on my work table.
And on the clipcord plastic wrap as well.

I then filled my inkcups, and placed them on the table.
Found my machines, the disposable tube/grip/needle steril pack, my sqeezebootle with greensoap, and took some vaseline out with a disposable spachler (dont know if its spelled correct) and placed it on the plastic wrap on my table.

Now on with the gloves.
Broke the package and placed the needles in the machine.
And placed yet another plastic wrap on over the machine. (Now here is a question, my mentor used plastic wraps on the machine, but my own tattooist, only wraps the clip cord, which is the most important one?)
Final tuned the machines, and was now ready for the practise skin.

And here I have learned that practise skin is a bit thirsty concerning vaseline, and with a bit extra, the execive ink were easy to remove.
But still practise skin aint real skin. And have made a deal with the lokal butcher for pigs ears (one of the things i’ve learn in this forum)

And thats it, is this the correct way? Or am I missing some details?

Looking forward for some oppinions.

[Infamous]

You probably already know this by now, but I’d say wrapping the clip cord is more important because it is more likely to touch the skin.

[Ramenuzumaki]

I dont have time to comment on everything right now so I will be editing this post. Use fold lock sandwich bags–not ziplock as they have small spaces for shit to get into–and cut off a corner. this is sufficient to wrap your machine with. you can also buy machine bags. also use saran wrap, or clip cord sleeves on your clipcord. ALWAYS WRAP BOTH. there is a lot of arterial spray when you do a tattoo that you cant see. this is contaminating your machine. if you put your machine down, it is now contaminated. If your machine touches the floor, or your client its now contaminated. be sure to wrap both at all times

i will edit this post and go more in depth on the entire set up process shortly.

EDIT:
First thing’s first. Wash hands, and don some gloves, and clean your workstation with CaviCide, MediCide, or BarbiCide. Some sort of strong sanitizing agent. Personally I use CaviCide. To me it’s the best. It sucks if you don’t have a permanent work space because you’re going to be using A LOT of gloves. As these products are corrosive you NEED to be wearing gloves. You SHOULD also practice the clean hand/dirty hand method of cleaning. By not having a permanent work space youll be cleaning, tossing gloves, set up, apply gloves, apply stencil, toss gloves, tattoo, toss gloves, apply gloves, clean, toss gloves. ANYWAY! Lets continue.

After you have cleaned you work space, and wrapped it with some form of barrier–plastic wrap, tin foil, dental bib, barrier film–you can start setting up your station. Place you wash bottles, ointments, paper towels, etc in your work area.

Be sure anything you are going to touch during the tattoo process is wrapped with some form of disposable barrier. This will need to be changed after each tattoo.

Recommendation: If you’re going to use Vaseline ONLY USE IT AS A “GLUE” FOR YOU INK CUPS AND RINSE CUP. Anything petroleum based will actually sit in the wound, and UNDER the ink. this pushes it up, and causes raised tattoos. Also when you apply too much it clogs the pores and causes pimples. I recommend using PurTect which is an antimicrobial ointment made by SOLabs specifically for tattooing, and aftercare. I also do not recommend using green soap. green soap is an irritant and this is what causes that burning feeling you get when you do a tattoo. it also causes undue redness, and such to the tattoo. I prefer using PurKlenz. Your wash bottle will be 1 part PurKlenz 10 parts distilled water. both of these can be purchased from http://www.purklenz.com . that’s their US site, and theres also a list of US distributors on there.

Now after you’re set up you can don another pair of gloves, and prep the skin for shaving. You can either use pure PurKlenz, or just do like I do and use your wash bottle. Clean it up nice, and then make sure its nice and wet before you shave. Shave in about 4″ length strokes going with the hairline. After this wipe the area dry, and wipe free of all hair. Toss your razor in the sharps container, never recap razors, never toss in the waste bin.

Then apply a small amount of 69-70% hand sanitizer, and rub it in. Then wipe the excess off. This sanitizes the area, and also makes the skin kind of dry up a bit. This helps the stencil bind. Now you can either spray, dab, drop, or however you want to apply your stencil solution. I used to use an ink bottle, and apply a few drops, rub it in, apply a few drops, rub it in, until its tacky. Now I use a spray bottle, and spray my glove then rub it in, and repeat as necessary. Make sure you rub it in really well, and make sure its just TACKY not WET. If it’s wet you’ll ruin your stencil. I use a solution of 1 part isopropyl alcohol, and 7 parts detol for my solution. The alcohol helps it dry better, and again will help the stencil bind better. Let your client see the stencil, and then remove gloves.

Apply a new pair of gloves, and get your sterile needles, and such ready. Paper towel, clip cord sleeve, machines, needles, grips, grommets, rubber bands, tongue depressor, etc. Take your sandwich bags–you can buy from dollar store–and cut the corner off so you can fit your machines in. Show the needle, and grip to your client so they know they are clean, sterile, and unopened, be sure they see you dispose of them as well at the end. Give the needle a slight bend. This is so when you put your rubber band on it will straighten the bend rather than create a convex bend in the needle ;). drop the needle into the grip. I find this is easier than trying to physically thread it. the odds of your barring the needle this way are slim to nil. Place your grip through the vice, apply grommet, place on A-bar, apply rubber band, apply machine back. I normally twist the end of the back, and wrap it around the machine. This way nothing gets into the machine while im prepping, or while its sitting there. Repeat for other machines as necessary. Apply barrier to clip cord, attach cord to first machine, set volage, place machine down. You can also purchase Machine, and clip cord sleeves at http://www.tattoomachineequipment.com . very good prices.

Grab a small amount of Vaseline, or A&D ointment, or what have you. If you’re using PurTect DURING your tattoo i say use Vaseline as the glue for your cups. you can get it at the dollar store, and PurTect gets expensive if you use it for your cups too. use your tongue depressor to remove the vaseline as to not cross contaminate. I usually then stick the tongue depressor to my work space and then stick my cups to that. that way I can toss all my cups at once. it just makes it easier for clean up. drop down a bit of your tattoo ointment, and you’re good to go.

As far as practising i recommend using Honeydew Melon. I really don’t like practice skin, or those pig ears you mentioned.

After your tattoo is done you remove your gloves, wash hands, don clean ones, place some paper towel in your Left hand–clean hand–and start cleaning. Place down about 10 half sheets of paper towel–i always buy select-a-size–and grab about 2 at a time. Make sure you pinch them with your fingers. The TOP of the paper is going to be DIRTY, but the BOTTOM will be CLEAN. This way your CLEAN hand is never DIRTY. You can touch anything with your right hand, like your bottles n shit, but NOTHING with your dirty hand. So remove your barriers with your right hand. Use your clean hand if you have to BUT MAKE SURE YOU ONLY TOUCH THINGS TH ROUGH YOUR PAPER TOWEL. Remember the TOP of your paper towel is Dirty, but the bottom is clean. Spray your bottles, clean em, put em aside, Remove the bags from your machines, and cord. The cord is fine unless you drop it it doesnt need to be cleaned. I usually do my cord once a week. Toss your needles in the sharps, toss the elastic, grommet, and grip int he trash.

place your machine on your clean hand’s paper towel, spray AROUND it, then go between the two sheets and only use the top one to wipe your machine clean. remember the bottom of your paper towel must stay clean. Place machine down on a clean surface for later moving. Toss your paper towel, and grab new ones as needed. As i said always pinch grab 2 at a time in case you need to grab the bottom of the first paper towel to wipe stuff. always use your dirty hand to clean stuff. After everything is wiped down, and cleaned remove your gloves, change your garbage bag and wash your hands. Always wash your hands AFTER the garbage is changed, or youll have to wash em again.

NOW EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND AS ARE YOUR HANDS. Gloves are no longer necessary. Rewrap everything–work space, bottles, etc–and then you’re ready for your next tattoo.

this is step by step of what I do in my studio.

[Infamous]

Thank you so much for that post Ram! Much needed info

[Ramenuzumaki]

not a problem :3
always lookin out :D

[Lennart82]

Yeah thanks :D

Helpfull information. :D

[Ramenuzumaki]

No problem Len :3

[Retsaw]

Very good information

[Vory]

Dude…Ramen. Hell yes, bro.
I wish I could give you a star or something. The above was so rad and to give that information to people for free is a great kindness.

[Ramenuzumaki]

I always give my information for free. I’ve even got a few videos on youtube, and a massive shopping list on another forum. Took me four hours to type that shopping list out! lmao

I actually totally forgot about this post.

I’ll probs post my shopping list on this forum later.

[Anonymous]

That is an very nice news been shared and with an genuine information.

[Author]

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