missflow

A wise old-timer tattoo artist once told me that a good tattoo
maker should be able to tattoo well with any machine, if given
enough time to tinker with it. You will see your game improve by
leaps and bounds if

The vast ocean of tattoo gear available is almost unimaginable
these days. You, as a beginner are probably familiar with the
advertisements in the back of your favorite tattoo magazine or
have seen the web banner

A tattoo artist’s inks or pigments are the best kept secret in the
tattoo industry, aside from the tattoo machine tuning. More and
more distributors are hitting the markets with just as various
colors. Each vendor

Surprisingly, not a lot of people know how a tattoo machine puts
the ink in the skin. It is also not very widely known that the “tattoo
needle” is actually a grouping of multiple needles. Whether it
is just

The tattoo process requires power. While it is possible to run a
tattoo machine without a proper power supply (as in the actual
power supply device), it is not suggested. You could very easily
hook your tattoo

The tattoo machine has come a long way since its inception, but
surprisingly it has really not changed too much. The basic concept
is the same and even the general build is the same. The
major differences are that

“Appropriate disinfectants include:
• A diluted bleach solution (usually diluted 1:10 with water).
• EPA-registered anti-microbial products.
• Tuberculocides (List B).
• Sterilants (List A).
• Products registered

The best method is to pull out 20% more ink caps than required
for the job, and pour 100% more ink than is required for the job.
This way you should never have to go into the cold zone while
you are in the middle

Hot zone:
Once the needle breaks skin the hot zone is established.
The hot zone consists of the client, the machine, and any item
that has bodily fluid on it.
This includes ink filled caps that have been dipped

Warm zone:
All materials that are sterilized will be kept in your cold zone.
The cold zone will be sealed off from your warm and hot zone
by means of closed drawer or cabinet. Prepping your work area,
or warm zone

The cold zone is defined as an area that holds your sterile materials.
This area is not to be touched during the tattoo process
at all. For our purposes, the tattoo process begins once the skin
of the client has

It may not have crossed your mind, but while a tattoo is in progress
thousands of tiny splatters of bodily fluid and ink will hit the
artist. Some of these microscopic spatters will hit the artist in the
face.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

• Hand hygiene (soap and water method as well as alcoholbased
hand rub)
• Gloves
• Protective eyewear
• Gowns
• Masks

Every tattoo studio should have a “dirty” room where biohazardous
material is kept and regularly disposed of. In your work
area you should a rubbish can, or non-regulated waste and a
biohazard can, also called

Types of barrier control devices used under Universal and Standard
Precautions are:

• Nonporous covering on all furniture
• Nonporous flooring
• Nonporous working surface
• Protective sheath covering tools (to be

There are a lot of preventative ways to keep bodily fluids off of
yourself, your client and your equipment using barrier control
devices also called barrier protection. Avoiding contact with
bodily fluids can be

The CDC also goes on to define bodily fluids as:

• Blood
• Bodily fluids containing visible blood
• Semen
• Vaginal fluid
• Cerebrospinal fluid (around the inside of the brain)
• Synovial fluid (of the joint

The CDC defines universal precautions as:
“a set of precautions designed to prevent transmission of human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and other
blood-borne pathogens when providing first

The key thing to know about chemicals is that not all are approved
for use with your instruments that will come in contact
with the skin, and some may cause some serious damage to
your expensive professional

There can also be some complications when using chemicals
to clean your equipment. Leather armrests and furniture can
be all but destroyed if the wrong chemicals are used on them.
Your tattoo machines may corrode