My at home Tattoo Studio
by Chris Moniz
I've been working in tattoo shops for most of my career as a tattoo artist. Over a decade later, I have chosen to dedicate most of my work to be done at my tattoo room at home. My at home tattoo studio is located in Toronto in the main and danforth area. It is fully equipped and meets all the criteria a tattoo shop would have to live up to. I have my own autoclave to sterilize my tubes which is recorded in a log book. The needles I use are new and sterile and are properly disposed of in a sharps container. I use barriers to prevent cross contamination such as bottle bags, machine bags, and clip cord bags. The work surface is disposable. Ink is poured into disposable ink caps so that the ink bottles themselves do not get contaminated. My work surfaces are disinfected between every client and I've even layed down a washable vinyl floor.
All my new clients are able to inspect the room during thier first consultation with me.
The work area :
Most of the tattoos I do are done on the massage table or I use a chair. Single use drape cloths are put down for the client as well. Comfort is absolutely key when getting tattooed. Should the client have someone with them, they are accomodated to be able to sit in the room as well.
Barriers and Disposables :
This drawer holds the various barriers that protects items in use during a tattoo. There are also disposable one use ink caps depicted here. The drawer below this one holds disposable bibs which are used on top of plastic wrap that is layed on the top surface. This makes the work area itself disposable. The drawer below also holds nitrile gloves which is a much safer alternative to latex. It's not uncommon for me to go through a lot of them during the tattoo process.
Sterilization area:
The most effective form of sterilization used in tattooing today is by use of an autoclave. There is no alternative for the use of one. My area has a scrub bin, tube container, sharps container, autoclave and ultrasonic.
The right side is the scrub area. This is where I store my tubes in a container which is later scrubbed prior to sterilization. This is also where my sharps container is kept. The sharps container is where I dispose of used tattoo needles.
To the left is where the ultrasonic and autoclave can be found. An ultrasonic vibrates water which cleans surfaces. It's great for cleaning tubes because it can clean where brushes cannot reach. Beside that is the autoclave which sterilizes using steam and pressure. There is no alternative method to using an autoclave. Chemicals, baking, or boiling are NOT methods of sterilization when dealing with bloodbourne pathogens.
Safe tattooing :
It is paramount that both tubes and needles be properly sterilized. I sterilize my tubes by using an autoclave and my needles are purchased brand new and sterile from the manufacturer.
