Tattoo machines were regulated?
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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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.
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!
I’m digging the heart-butts though.
You mean the half-finished cock and balls?
I've done 3 tattoos with a tattoo gun made of a guitar string, eraser, and electric toothbrush.
One was a plain black ring around my friend's finger
Another was "METAL" inside another friend's lip
And the other was on my roommate's arm, a terrible drawing with an apology for the quality written under it in big letters. [ETA] I forgot about the big smiley face under the words because he thought it sounded too angry
If I wanted to doxx myself, I'd post the last one because it's very unique and hilarious.
My first tattoo was done with a homemade machine. I was 15 years old. I covered it up when I was 21 and then I covered the coverup when I got my first sleeve at 26.
Funny coming from someone with laser as their username
Right back at ya, noodle...
Damn now I need a noodle tatoo