Tattooing.Sterile Techniques

Sterile Techniques
There is no excuse for a dirty operation and there is no excuse for infection, no matter whose fault it is. It's your job to keep your operation sterile and your job to educate the customer on how to keep a tattoo clean and free from problems while it is healing.
Even Jhis isn't enough. SieriJe procedures have lo be followed from A to Z. Get and stay sterile all through the tattoo. Tbke great pains to be sure that your equipment, work area and procedures are sterile at all times.
Do everything you can think of to gel and stay clean as you possibly can.
Hands should be washed in soap and water up to the elbows. Use a brush to clean fingernails, dry them with a clean paper towel, spray hands with rubbing alcohol and dry with another paper towel. Next, rub a light coat of carbolated vaseline into the hands and fingers. This light coat о/medicated vaseline protects the skin from drying and cracking from continual use of green soap and rubbing alcohol. This coating also keeps ink from getting into pores. After you do this, clean up afterwards is quick and easy with soap and warm water.
Before beginning a tattoo, take everything off the tattoo table and spray it down with isopropyl (rubbingalcohol), Clean everything with alcohol before puttingit back on the table. Start with your hands first Vinyl gloves help and should be used. Don't negiei t these steps. You've gut ю keep a clean shop. MOD the floor every morning with a good disinfectant soap solution before you begin.
Then, "prep” the customer's skin for the tattoo. Clean t he surrounding area carefully with rubbing alcohol, using first one paper towel and then another one. Thc?n spray the area with green soap, (three parts water to one part green soap) and work up a lather. Take a new sterile disposable razor and shave the area to lie tattooed so the stencil iransfer will stick.
Clean off the area a second time, getting ofT all the hair, etc. Then spray and rub green soap into the skin with your hand for a couple of minutes lo get the skin ready for the transfer. When skin is tacky, it's time to put on the transfer.
Once the sterile field is established, don't touch anything outside that field without sterilizing the hands again. If anything is dropped, leave jt and get another, unless it'sa tattoo machine. If this happens, you have tostartall over. First remove the contaminated lube and needle bar Then get a new sterile tube and needle bar before continuing.
If the tight burns out and you have to stop and change it, wash up again and spray your hands with alcohol. If you stop lor a break, wash up again and spray with alcohol. If someone gets sick on you, wash up and spray with alcohol before continuing. Any time you touch anything other than what is in the sterile field, wash up and spray with alcohol.
Wear clean clothes when you tattoo. It doesn't do you a lot of good to get sterile if you've been rolling around on the ground working on your car.
Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. This will help you build up speed and will help you develop good habits to keep your operation sterile.
Put things where they belong, use them faithfully as instructed and replace supplies when they get low. Don’t, wait until you run out and try to "make due" without them. Don’t cheat even a little bit when it comes to being sterile.
If you arejuststartingoutyou won't have a reputation yet, which is good in a way. At least you won't have a bad reputation to overcome. Keep it that way! If you are sincere and do the best you can to learn and practice the information here, you can quickly learn how to apply a good tattoo. Practice makes perfect, but you have to practice the right way in order to improve. It doesn't do any good to keep on doing it the same old way, if you aren'tgetting the right results Stay aware of what you are doing at all times. Experience only helps up tn a point. Just because a person has been tattooing for twenty-five years doesn't mean that they can tattoo correctly. By the same token, some beginners can getgreat results using these techniques afteronlyafew monthsof practice, and some of them can really tattoo.
The most important thing that can be stressed about tattooing is KEEP IT STERILE right from the start! It is your obligation and your responsibility that the customer isn't going to end up with some terrible disease from your shop. This is the quickest and surest way to get a bad, bad reputation.
Half of the customers will have no idea of what to expect if it is their first tattoo. If you know how to keep your operation sterile for their protection, then you are one step ahead of them and it automatically puts you in the “driver's seat.” Let them know that your operation is sterile and that not only do you guarantee that they won't get any germs from your equipment or ink. but you’ll also show them how to take care of their new tattoo so they won't ate i dun tally get it infected.
While tattooing a customer, educate them on how to take care of it so it doesn’t get infected or ruined. Tell them that you Take care of the first half and it is up to them to take care of the last half tn make sure it turns out like it's supposed to. Then give them a card or а Пуег with instructions on how to care for the new tattoo. You could put a coupon on the instructions gwKl for 204'. off his next tattoo and tell him hecan give it to a friend if he wants. It will bring you business.
An example of a Care Instruction Flyer for you tohand the customer would read like this (add whatever else you think would help):
A. The bandage should stay on for at least two hours.
B. Remove the bandage, rinse gently with cold water and blot dry.
C. Apply Bacitracin once a day.
D. Keep tattoo fresh and open to the air. Do not bandage.
E- For the first week, avoid swimming or long soaking in water.
F. For the first month, avoid too much exposure to the sun.
G. Do not pick or scratch scabs.
H. Itching is relieved by slapping or alcohol.
I. Keep tattoo covered with clean loose clotiling.