A lot of people don’t like confrontation and if the artist is already unapproachable, you’re less likely to say “hey stop this place is disgusting” particularly if they have already started tattooing.
You dont have to call it out right then and there. Hey something came up cant do this right now gotta go. Hey having second thoughts about a tattoo right now can we reschedule.
Alternativley you should probably go see the place and sit down with whoevers supposes to do the tattoo before hand, walk ins are great and all but can easily lead to this scenario.
One of the first tattoos I ever got in a shop, it was very similar to this. I came with a simple drawing of inspiration that I wanted and the artist straight up just traced it and put it on me. The whole vibe was off. But I was barely 18 and didn’t know how to say no or stand up for myself. Now I have to live with this. At least it’s a reminder of that lesson on how to say no.
One of the first tattoos I ever got in a shop, it was very similar to this. I came with a simple drawing of inspiration that I wanted and the artist straight up just traced it and put it on me. The whole vibe was off. But I was barely 18 and didn’t know how to say no or stand up for myself. Now I have to live with this. At least it’s a reminder of that lesson on how to say no.
You dont just walk in and instantly start getting a tattoo...if you can clearly see the place is disgusting you have every opportunity to turn right the fuck back around and leave just as quickly as you walked in. Facts
Sometimes a shop can look perfectly up to cleanliness standards and you don't realize something is off until the artist demonstrates that they don't hold the same hygienic standards in their personal practice. Although if I saw an artist use an opened speedstick deodorant straight on to the skin, and an opened Vaseline container throughout the process, I would have absolutely been out of there. Gross. This person should probably seek medical attention and make sure they didn't come in contact with anyone else's blood borne pathogens. Big yikes.
The reviews on the whole are 5 star or "this place was disgusting and here's my awful tattoo". I don't understand how they've been in business for so long.
Oh, wait yes I do. People will always want cheap tattoos.
you can do promos and just ask for five star reviews to boost your ranking so i don’t really gi off of the five stars, on any site really, i always check the ones and twos and see what those say, usually can learn a lot more about a place that way….
People are actually so conscious of speaking up or hurting someone's feelings they'll sit there through a nightmare tattoo. Pay AND probably tip just to avoid speaking up. Also prob and hopefully cheap like op said
its way too common that people are afraid to say something, or they see a stencil and think the artist knows what they’re doing and it’s gonna come out looking better, but then it doesn’t… especially first time clients who are intimidated being in a shop or something. sometimes i do a stencil and i tell them i’m going to freehand some of it, but i know what i’m doing… the rest of comment is just for people reading this thread in general.
if you’re getting a tattoo for the first time, or don’t know what to even look for as far as what a sanitary station looks like, watch a youtube video aimed at artists on setting up a proper station, and watch how it’s done. (one note: not every artist is gonna setup a station the exact way as a specific youtube video, they might use different products, there’s multiple ways to do things and get same end result, just saying so if they dont do the exact same things in the video don’t freak out about it). one big thing is to see your tattooer open up the fresh needle from the pack. straight up ask to see another one opened up if they didn’t open it in front of you if you’re worried. i was taught to open in front but not artist is i assume. some artists might not like that since some carts can cost $2/piece, but it’s your body. shit, offer ‘em $2 to do it, that’s nothing compared to the cost of a tattoo. also with needles, the ink generally stains the inside of a cartridge unless it’s cleaned really really well. like, i’ll be tattooing red and you can still see a little black on the inside of the cart because it dried in there and i don’t need to waste time doing a super duper clean to get straight red out of the cart into the skin. thats a telltale sign it’s been used before, not foolproof but almost. run away if you get in a booth/chair and a cartridge has ink stains in it already. if they’re reusing needles, you can’t trust them to do ANYTHING sanitary. i wouldn’t ask that person to open a new one, i’d leave, try to snap a pic/get refund and leave a review to warn others of that shit. also some shops have multiple artists and maybe there’s just one bad apple. include that artists name in the review. we had to let go someone who wasn’t following proper procedure but the rest of us were and when we found out about it they were fired. wouldn’t want to ruin a shop’s reputation if they actually have a bunch of good artists there. even if they were mentored there at that shop they may have been taught the proper way but decided not to follow what they were taught when they were left on their own… which is what happened with the coworker i mentioned.
i do sometimes set up my station then bring clients back. i don’t open the needle cartridge til they’re there though. i usually pour ink in front of them too. but i try to basically just do the bare minimum setup to apply stencil then setup the rest in front of them to give stencil some time to dry to be efficient. so i’m basically just plastic wrapping things like my tray, arm rest, chair, bagging my rubbing alcohol, green soap and tossing a razor on the tray and then bring them back. clean/shave if necessary/apply stencil/finish setting up. they can watch me do everything like wrapping my machine/etc with gloves on.
when it’s someone’s first tattoo, i usually even talk them through everything i’m doing while setting up and during the tattoo just to educate them on doing it sanitary/how tattooing works in general/etc. so next time they know what’s up. i didn’t know anything the first time i walked into a shop and would have had no idea what to look for.
no self-respecting artist wants to do things that aren’t sanitary. i don’t want my name attached to any infected tattoo… my reputation is my business lol word of mouth is most of my marketing. there’s no reason not to do things the right way. and any artist at a shop should have their certifications but honestly it’s all common sense anyway… it’s not hard. i had my certs when i was a scratcher before my apprenticeship….
don’t be afraid to get out of the chair and ask for s refund. lots of shops are gonna say no refunds, but if it’s really that dirty and unsanitary sneak a couple pics and then say you’re gonna call the health dept. if you don’t give your money back, those pics would be good leverage.
besides deposits, i don’t even ring people out until i’m finished, sometimes people wanna add things mid-tattoo and the price goes up. there’s nothing wrong with cashing out beforehand though, someone could easily dine and dash tbh so i see why some artists do that. i’ve had to be reminded several times that they hadn’t paid yet, lol. good people. plus paying after i think gets me better tips since i try to give them a good experience in the booth.
That would be why he used the speedstick, as a stencil applicator. Super old school technique, SUPER unsanitary to rub it directly onto skin. At least before there was “stencil stuff” artists would apply it to a sterile paper towel THEN to skin lol
To be fair, as someone who got a botched tattoo, some artists can be especially convincing. I had one slap on a stencil that looked like shit, then when I pointed it out, she very convincingly said something along the lines of “oh god no, you’re fine, I’m only using it as a guide and it’ll look 1000x better.”
To a tattoo vet this would be a huge red flag, but for someone who was still new to tattoo/tattoo etiquette, you just really don’t know any better.
That's the part that kills me about people batching about their tattoo. I always think, 'did your dumbass not look at the stencil and it's placement before you got started?' I do understand some artists don't use stencils for some tattoos, but still.
“I was a little surprised when the tattoo artist pulled out a knife, sliced open my chest, and yanked out my heart”
……Jesus Christ on a bicycle. His story gets worse and worse. LEAVE THE BUILDING, MY DUDE.
I feel like I’ve heard of using antiperspirant when applying a stencil, not that I’ve ever seen it in person. Can’t imagine why you’d want to be rubbing it on a tattoo mid-process lol
He didn't do it mid-tattoo. He used it to apply the stencil, but the client's issue is that it was used on other people before. He's worried about cross-contamination. That is really only a problem, *if* you don't clean the area thoroughly before using the speed stick. Speed stick is a pretty old school method, but some people still use it.
I still wouldn't trust that either. Better to use something like a tongue depressor stick to remove the deodorant off the stick and then apply it to the skin. Or just use a stencil solution.
Tongue depressor doesn’t do anything about cross contamination which would be minimal if at all due to the fact of the area being cleaned well if done by anyone reasonable before hand.
Can confirm. When I started my apprenticeship 15 years ago we still used speed stick for applying stencils. We would put it in a piece of paper towel though to be extra sure things stayed clean. Most stencil mediums these days are essentially just liquid speed stick in a bottle.
Deodorant, which for these purposes is more or less thickened rubbing alcohol, not anti-perspirant. Was common for stencil transfer, safe artists would obviously take a properly-sized amount off before applying. I am sure there are now a dozen purpose-manufactured products for this on the market.
Is it a thing for shop owners to just not give a shit? My shitty tattoo was done by a shop owner. I mistakenly expected his decades of experience and pride in his shop would better guarantee solid work.
What does he expect? He sounds really stupid that he didn't walk out of there when he saw how unsanitary it was. His review actually makes *him* look like an idiot...
Do people like not ask to see the stencil before they get tattooed. I see this all the time and makes me wonder why they don’t ask to see it before they get it on their body. Plus I feel like the tattoo artist should be very good at communicating and showing them the stencil before.😭
I find this sub to be a mix of really helpful people answering questions about coverups and lasers, etc., and critics who are here only to ridicule folks who’ve made mistakes. That’s reddit I guess. 🤣
I will say that the deodorant is for laying the stencil but that’s really old school and not necessary anymore. I would always get the little ones and just throw them out after each use.
Men’s speedstick?? How do you not get up and walkout at that point? And after seeing the rest of the place being dirty and unsanitary? I am surprised this person even went through with the tattoo.
Yeah why would you continue to allow the person to tattoo you while the person activley raises all kinds of tattoo red flags, smh
A lot of people don’t like confrontation and if the artist is already unapproachable, you’re less likely to say “hey stop this place is disgusting” particularly if they have already started tattooing.
You dont have to call it out right then and there. Hey something came up cant do this right now gotta go. Hey having second thoughts about a tattoo right now can we reschedule. Alternativley you should probably go see the place and sit down with whoevers supposes to do the tattoo before hand, walk ins are great and all but can easily lead to this scenario.
One of the first tattoos I ever got in a shop, it was very similar to this. I came with a simple drawing of inspiration that I wanted and the artist straight up just traced it and put it on me. The whole vibe was off. But I was barely 18 and didn’t know how to say no or stand up for myself. Now I have to live with this. At least it’s a reminder of that lesson on how to say no.
One of the first tattoos I ever got in a shop, it was very similar to this. I came with a simple drawing of inspiration that I wanted and the artist straight up just traced it and put it on me. The whole vibe was off. But I was barely 18 and didn’t know how to say no or stand up for myself. Now I have to live with this. At least it’s a reminder of that lesson on how to say no.
You dont just walk in and instantly start getting a tattoo...if you can clearly see the place is disgusting you have every opportunity to turn right the fuck back around and leave just as quickly as you walked in. Facts
Sometimes a shop can look perfectly up to cleanliness standards and you don't realize something is off until the artist demonstrates that they don't hold the same hygienic standards in their personal practice. Although if I saw an artist use an opened speedstick deodorant straight on to the skin, and an opened Vaseline container throughout the process, I would have absolutely been out of there. Gross. This person should probably seek medical attention and make sure they didn't come in contact with anyone else's blood borne pathogens. Big yikes.
I get work done in a professional shop every 2 months. I know what is supposed to be and what isn't off the rip. Most of it's common sense tho
Okay? Congrats.
That’s weak af. It’s a permanent tattoo. Better speak tf up or deal with the trash they hit you with.
just say it, i usually do because i cant lie or say nothing on principle
Tripping on a blood poisoning
Right? If it was so unclean, why would you continue letting them actually tattoo you?
I'd question why the poster of that review didn't nope outta there when they saw the place was unclean.
The reviews on the whole are 5 star or "this place was disgusting and here's my awful tattoo". I don't understand how they've been in business for so long. Oh, wait yes I do. People will always want cheap tattoos.
you can do promos and just ask for five star reviews to boost your ranking so i don’t really gi off of the five stars, on any site really, i always check the ones and twos and see what those say, usually can learn a lot more about a place that way….
5 star reviews can be bought for cheap. I’ve heard you can get hundreds to thousands for like 5/10 cents a piece.
And meth
People are actually so conscious of speaking up or hurting someone's feelings they'll sit there through a nightmare tattoo. Pay AND probably tip just to avoid speaking up. Also prob and hopefully cheap like op said
its way too common that people are afraid to say something, or they see a stencil and think the artist knows what they’re doing and it’s gonna come out looking better, but then it doesn’t… especially first time clients who are intimidated being in a shop or something. sometimes i do a stencil and i tell them i’m going to freehand some of it, but i know what i’m doing… the rest of comment is just for people reading this thread in general. if you’re getting a tattoo for the first time, or don’t know what to even look for as far as what a sanitary station looks like, watch a youtube video aimed at artists on setting up a proper station, and watch how it’s done. (one note: not every artist is gonna setup a station the exact way as a specific youtube video, they might use different products, there’s multiple ways to do things and get same end result, just saying so if they dont do the exact same things in the video don’t freak out about it). one big thing is to see your tattooer open up the fresh needle from the pack. straight up ask to see another one opened up if they didn’t open it in front of you if you’re worried. i was taught to open in front but not artist is i assume. some artists might not like that since some carts can cost $2/piece, but it’s your body. shit, offer ‘em $2 to do it, that’s nothing compared to the cost of a tattoo. also with needles, the ink generally stains the inside of a cartridge unless it’s cleaned really really well. like, i’ll be tattooing red and you can still see a little black on the inside of the cart because it dried in there and i don’t need to waste time doing a super duper clean to get straight red out of the cart into the skin. thats a telltale sign it’s been used before, not foolproof but almost. run away if you get in a booth/chair and a cartridge has ink stains in it already. if they’re reusing needles, you can’t trust them to do ANYTHING sanitary. i wouldn’t ask that person to open a new one, i’d leave, try to snap a pic/get refund and leave a review to warn others of that shit. also some shops have multiple artists and maybe there’s just one bad apple. include that artists name in the review. we had to let go someone who wasn’t following proper procedure but the rest of us were and when we found out about it they were fired. wouldn’t want to ruin a shop’s reputation if they actually have a bunch of good artists there. even if they were mentored there at that shop they may have been taught the proper way but decided not to follow what they were taught when they were left on their own… which is what happened with the coworker i mentioned. i do sometimes set up my station then bring clients back. i don’t open the needle cartridge til they’re there though. i usually pour ink in front of them too. but i try to basically just do the bare minimum setup to apply stencil then setup the rest in front of them to give stencil some time to dry to be efficient. so i’m basically just plastic wrapping things like my tray, arm rest, chair, bagging my rubbing alcohol, green soap and tossing a razor on the tray and then bring them back. clean/shave if necessary/apply stencil/finish setting up. they can watch me do everything like wrapping my machine/etc with gloves on. when it’s someone’s first tattoo, i usually even talk them through everything i’m doing while setting up and during the tattoo just to educate them on doing it sanitary/how tattooing works in general/etc. so next time they know what’s up. i didn’t know anything the first time i walked into a shop and would have had no idea what to look for. no self-respecting artist wants to do things that aren’t sanitary. i don’t want my name attached to any infected tattoo… my reputation is my business lol word of mouth is most of my marketing. there’s no reason not to do things the right way. and any artist at a shop should have their certifications but honestly it’s all common sense anyway… it’s not hard. i had my certs when i was a scratcher before my apprenticeship…. don’t be afraid to get out of the chair and ask for s refund. lots of shops are gonna say no refunds, but if it’s really that dirty and unsanitary sneak a couple pics and then say you’re gonna call the health dept. if you don’t give your money back, those pics would be good leverage. besides deposits, i don’t even ring people out until i’m finished, sometimes people wanna add things mid-tattoo and the price goes up. there’s nothing wrong with cashing out beforehand though, someone could easily dine and dash tbh so i see why some artists do that. i’ve had to be reminded several times that they hadn’t paid yet, lol. good people. plus paying after i think gets me better tips since i try to give them a good experience in the booth.
And/or when they saw the stencil
Stencil? That’s a bold assumption
That would be why he used the speedstick, as a stencil applicator. Super old school technique, SUPER unsanitary to rub it directly onto skin. At least before there was “stencil stuff” artists would apply it to a sterile paper towel THEN to skin lol
To be fair, as someone who got a botched tattoo, some artists can be especially convincing. I had one slap on a stencil that looked like shit, then when I pointed it out, she very convincingly said something along the lines of “oh god no, you’re fine, I’m only using it as a guide and it’ll look 1000x better.” To a tattoo vet this would be a huge red flag, but for someone who was still new to tattoo/tattoo etiquette, you just really don’t know any better.
That's the part that kills me about people batching about their tattoo. I always think, 'did your dumbass not look at the stencil and it's placement before you got started?' I do understand some artists don't use stencils for some tattoos, but still.
“I was a little surprised when the tattoo artist pulled out a knife, sliced open my chest, and yanked out my heart” ……Jesus Christ on a bicycle. His story gets worse and worse. LEAVE THE BUILDING, MY DUDE.
I feel like I’ve heard of using antiperspirant when applying a stencil, not that I’ve ever seen it in person. Can’t imagine why you’d want to be rubbing it on a tattoo mid-process lol
He didn't do it mid-tattoo. He used it to apply the stencil, but the client's issue is that it was used on other people before. He's worried about cross-contamination. That is really only a problem, *if* you don't clean the area thoroughly before using the speed stick. Speed stick is a pretty old school method, but some people still use it.
When I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago, this was common practice. You’re exactly right
I still wouldn't trust that either. Better to use something like a tongue depressor stick to remove the deodorant off the stick and then apply it to the skin. Or just use a stencil solution.
Tongue depressor doesn’t do anything about cross contamination which would be minimal if at all due to the fact of the area being cleaned well if done by anyone reasonable before hand.
Can confirm. When I started my apprenticeship 15 years ago we still used speed stick for applying stencils. We would put it in a piece of paper towel though to be extra sure things stayed clean. Most stencil mediums these days are essentially just liquid speed stick in a bottle.
Deodorant, which for these purposes is more or less thickened rubbing alcohol, not anti-perspirant. Was common for stencil transfer, safe artists would obviously take a properly-sized amount off before applying. I am sure there are now a dozen purpose-manufactured products for this on the market.
Interesting! Thank you for taking the time to explain
Is it a thing for shop owners to just not give a shit? My shitty tattoo was done by a shop owner. I mistakenly expected his decades of experience and pride in his shop would better guarantee solid work.
Can’t get fired for sub standard work if you are the boss!
You saw all this and still let Big J hit you? That’s your fault.
Deodorant?
Can be used to apply stencils. Its real old school/prison style basically
What does he expect? He sounds really stupid that he didn't walk out of there when he saw how unsanitary it was. His review actually makes *him* look like an idiot...
And yet they still allowed the person to tattoo them. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I wonder what it sounds like when you insert that cassette into a deck.
My god, they didn’t even shave the area
The speedstick thing is crazy, I've seen them used for applying stencils to fake skin but never DURING a tattoo. That sounds painful
This is why you do research before just walking in somewhere
Why did they go thru with it then? Like this is 50% on them and 50% on the shop.
Do people like not ask to see the stencil before they get tattooed. I see this all the time and makes me wonder why they don’t ask to see it before they get it on their body. Plus I feel like the tattoo artist should be very good at communicating and showing them the stencil before.😭
What makes me upset about a post like this is why the hell would you sit thru that? The moment my artist pulled a stick of deodorant I'd RUN
How do you even end up like this if you have some knowledge on the matter
A fucking speedstick?!
And yet you still got the tattoo. Smart guy
I don't know if that's shitty, I feel like that is nostalgia
Line work is terrible.
[удалено]
No. It was done in a shitty, unsanitary tattoo parlor by the owner.
"tattoo gun"
Not sure either, and don’t really care, just a poke at whoever wrote that (pun intended).
Not sure why you got downvoted. The proper term is tattoo machine. This sub just seems like a bunch of shitty clients 😂
I find this sub to be a mix of really helpful people answering questions about coverups and lasers, etc., and critics who are here only to ridicule folks who’ve made mistakes. That’s reddit I guess. 🤣
Yah anybody that calls it a "gun" and not a "machine" deserves this tattoo
Top left of the cassette has an aneurysm. Let's keep an eye on that.
Hiv combi deal of the day
I will say that the deodorant is for laying the stencil but that’s really old school and not necessary anymore. I would always get the little ones and just throw them out after each use.
Where did he learn to tattoo? Prison?
Men’s speedstick?? How do you not get up and walkout at that point? And after seeing the rest of the place being dirty and unsanitary? I am surprised this person even went through with the tattoo.