How to Spot a Safe Tattoo Shop

With tattooing becoming more and more mainstream there are a lot of shops out there; some with ethics and high quality tattoo work, others not so much. So how do you tell? 

We talk a lot about reputable tattoo shops in our industry but what does this actually mean. Business certificates are a great way to tell if a shop is reputable or not. In Grande Prairie every individual artist is required to have a business license in order to operate. Within GP bylaw they consider tattoo artists as individual contractors so everyone needs a license. You can see all of ours hanging in the reception area. In Edmonton the shop owner needs to have a business license and the other artist can operate under that. If you’re going somewhere else you can look up what the business licenses are required in that locale and check for them at the shop. It’s a huge red flag, especially in Grande Prairie and Edmonton if no one can show you a business license. 

Following the law is another big one. This ties into the business licenses as well, if the shop isn’t compliant with the government it always makes us wonder what else they are willing to cut corners on. A big one in GP is tattooing minors, as you may not know Grande Prairie bylaw actually makes tattooing minors illegal. If you want to learn more about this law checkout my other article: An Open Letter to Parents and Minors, that goes more in depth into this.

Something you can do if you suspect that a shop may not be safe is ask to see unopened needles. Any reputable shop should be able to show you unopened sterile needles or their sterilization machine if they have reusable needles. Some places will set up their needles before you come in but a reputable tattooer can show you sterile needles to calm any nerves about their sterilization process. 

In today’s climate there is an additional tell that’s unique to the time we’re living in right now are covid protocols. If a shop refuses to follow covid protocols or you feel unsafe with their sanitation that is also a red flag. When you have open wounds occurring, health and safety are nothing to be taken nonchalantly; from things as standard as blood borne pathogens training to obeying mask and other local health guidelines everything should be sanitary. Building off that, wherever you’re getting tattooed should be a sterile environment Covid or not.

If at any point you’re feeling uncomfortable while getting a tattoo or piercing you can get up and leave. In many cases you may lose your deposit but that is probably a lot smaller of a cost than getting a botched tattoo fixed or dealing with a nasty infection.  

Gatekeeper

Hi there! I'm Taylor, you may know me as Sterling Skull reception, or gatekeeper, or most recently Tater (thanks Chris). I love writing, creating and I love tattoos; so what better way to use my passions than to bring you a personal experience of our studio via a blog! Welcome, please stay a while!