TATTOOING CAN BE A SERIOUS HEALTH RISK TO THE TATTOO ARTIST, THE CLIENT, AS WELL AS EVERY PERSON WHO ENTERS A TATTOO SHOP.
Tattooists have an ethical, if not legal responsibility to see that proper procedures are in place that ensure exposure to health risks are minimized.

This is the most important aspect in the tattoo world unfortunately, here in Lebanon this subject is being overlooked by everybody. From health officials and the people performing the art right down to the customer who is in general unaware of the whole matter. Sadly, there is no orientation on that subject given out to the public to increase awareness. In the U.S and most of Europe, one cannot operate a professional tattoo studio without owning a functional Autoclave. Health officials would visit the studios regularly and without notice to check on proper hygiene and safety for customers, this subject is simply non-existing here.

What we have in this country are people claiming to be tattoo artists and who do not even know what an Autoclave is! If asked the question, they would reply that an Autoclave is for those who reuse their needles and that they proudly do not own one!

Well, I would like to ask these people how the hell do they sterilize their contaminated equipment before reuse!

Surely they should not soak contaminated items in anti viral chemical solutions as this method has never been proven as s safe sterilizing procedure in the medical world (Believe it or not, I have seen some people here wipe their equipment with alcohol!). Just like a dentist's equipment, tattoo machine parts are made of stainless steel and therefore are able to withstand heat and pressure to ensure proper sterilization. The Autoclave is the only safe and sure method to ensure proper sterilization up till today. Do not be fooled by cheap talk:

A tattoo studio advertising the use of new needles alone is no guarantee for safety. New needles are a must and so is clean sterile equipment! The needle is the only part in the tattoo process that is used only once simply for the fact that needle configurations cannot be sterilized properly along with other utensils. This is due to the microscopic space created between individual needles in needle configurations that allows bacteria and other viruses to live and shrink inside a somehow isolated capsule. The second reason why needles cannot be reused is that they tend to lose their sharpness during tattooing. What is as important is the proper sterilization of the other contaminated parts in the tattoo process before reuse. A new needle alone means nothing when it is used with other contaminated parts in the tattoo process and the opposite is true.

Hence, to ensure proper safety, the tattoo artist should be aware of these hazards and be conscientious about it and work ethically. The more important role in this case lies on the customer in being aware of these risks and smart enough to know where to go for their art.