Asking Artist about Sanitary/Sterile Practices

[soraya]

Thanks for the responses my question on how artists might react to questions about sanitation practices. There were some helpful responses, and unfortunately several were unhelpful.

Thanks to @cltattooing and @Hands On for helpful responses. I feel better now about asking questions now, but thanks to @cltattooing, I am going to reduce my list, and use my eyes to look around during my initial consultation. I’ll will be polite and will try not to sound like a know-it-all.

By the way, my apologies on the Hep C vaccination question. I was wrong, no such thing exists, as some of you pointed out. I was working from memory, but I rechecked my source and found that I was wrong - they were referring to Hep A & B vaccinations.

There was a “trust your artist, they know what they are doing, and you don’t” theme in some of the responses. While I understand that point, this is a health issue, with possible bad consequences and to me it is not enough to “just trust.”

Tattooists are in a service industry, and we customers need to be comfortable. I know that the best artists are maniacs about sanitation, but the customer has to feel confident too. This is a process that borders on minor surgery, yet in many locales it is unregulated, and we all know there are bad eggs out there. So I think it is fair to ask questions - politely and respectfully (thanks @cltattooing).

I work in a field (not medical) where every new client asks questions. Most are questions that I have answered a hundred times before. I keep reminding myself that they don’t know, it is all new to them, and need to feel comfortable with the situation.

[SeeSea]

Sounds like you've got a plan! And you also did the right thing up front by asking for responses from tattoo artists for their perspective on these types of questions.

You might want to bring in a list of your last 5 sexual partners too, you know, just in case they ask. ;)

[xcom]

You might want to bring in a list of your last 5 sexual partners too, you know, just in case they ask. ;)

That will never get old... LOL