this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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Shitty/Trashy Tattoos
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Tattoo machines were regulated?
They were self regulated by the tattoo industry. Shops wouldn't sell them to you online or in person without a license or a verified shop claiming you. Then, Amazon started selling cheap, Chinese knock off kits to whoever had access to a credit card.
Some of my highest quality tatts were done by people who weren't certed and hadn't ever worked at a shop. If one was interested in buying a machine, and really wanted one, they were easily available and always have been.
If one is interested in a machine, one can be made with a radio, but that does not mean there was not a collective culture in tattoo machine selling to try to keep machines in studios.
As for quality, in my experience cleanliness and safety could not be guaranteed in a shop even with the certificates and licenses.
I'd say that the home artists I went to were more paranoid about cleanliness than the certified shops were. And the worst linework I've ever got was at a very reputable shop, and I payed out the nose for it....
Maybe they wanted to avoid people tattooing rose vines that look more like ballsacks on their skin.
This as well as the safety thing. Cross contamination is no joke! Also, a setting that isn't luring sexual assault victims to a private residence. A front facing shop lends accountability in a few fronts, like taxes and comradery between shops, too.
Not regulated, but most reputable suppliers will not sell to anyone that does not work in a shop.
But now that amazon exists, we get to see all these horrible pieces!