Pre-Setup  

1. Make stencil and place it, stencil side up, in holding area

2. Arrange benches, chairs, armrest, etc. as necessary

3. Turn on lights and power unit

4. Wash hands

5. Wet work area with H2O

6. Touching only the ends of the cellophane, cover each work surface with cellophane including any armrests, chairs or benches being used near tattooing area or work area. Make sure the parts of cellophane touched by hands are hanging over the edges of your work areas

7. Place 1 or 2 rubber bands around each machine (dependent upon necessary resistance)

8. Place rubber grommet on armature bar (don’t push it on all the way)

9. Place machine(s) in holding area

10. Don one glove

*For the following: Open/lift all drawers, lids, boxes, bottles etc. with ungloved hand. Remove contents with gloved hand and place onto clean surface – Never touch contents with ungloved hand

1. Place clean field on mayo tray, plastic barrier side facing down

2. Place desired amount of pre ripped paper towels

3. If necessary, remove another clean field to protect clients’ clothing

4. Pull enough bags to cover 2 bottles and the number of machines being used

5. Pull one clip cord cover

6. Bag the alcohol and green soap/Dr. Bronner’s bottles starting from the bottom of the bottle

7. Bag machine(s)

8. Feed clip cord through clip cord sleeve starting with the 1/4in plug end and feeding through to the other end (let 1/4in plug rest on your chair or an otherwise unused work surface as you feed the rest of the cord through if necessary)

9. Cover the contact points with the clip cord cover and let each poke through the cover

10. With 1/4in plug end in ungloved hand, plug clip cord into power supply, without touching the top of any barrier

11. With covered end in gloved hand, lay only the covered portion of the cord over the mayo tray

12. Place tube packs and needle packs on clean field

13. Place razor on clean field

14. Place ink caps and rinse cup(s) on clean field

15. Using one handed technique, open A&D ointment and squeeze contents onto clean field

1. Secure ink caps and rinse cup(s) to clean field with A&D ointment

2. Pour necessary amount of stencil stuff onto work area

3. Remove glove

Set Up, Prep Skin and Tattoo (Explain set-up to the client while setting up)

1. Bring client to station (if they aren’t there already there)

2. Wash hands

3. Don two cloves

4. Clean area of the body to be tattooed with paper towel and soap (everywhere that may be touched)

5. Verify skin is non-infected, non-irritated, or abnormal

6. Prep skin with 70% alcohol, antiseptic, or antimicrobial

7. Use soap and disposable razor to shave the area

8. Place the razor back into the plastic shield and place on mayo tray with one hand (this will be wrapped up with the tube and other items on mayo tray during breakdown process)

9. Wipe away any excess soap and/or hair

10. Use alcohol to wipe the area before applying the stencil

11. Apply thin layer of stencil adhesive

12. Line up and place stencil, ensuring it is straight and even, taking the contours of the body into consideration

13. Place stencil, stencil side up, onto mayo tray

14. If placement is off and removal is necessary, use alcohol and a paper towel to remove stencil, let dry, apply stencil stuff, then re-apply stencil

15. Let dry 5 – 10 minutes

16. Remove gloves

17. Wash or sanitize hands

18. Pour ink(s) into caps (cover the top of each bottle with paper towel to shake before pouring)

19. Fill rinse cup(s) with distilled water

20. Don two gloves

21. Open tube pack(s) and needle pack(s)

22. Place needle in tube

23. Keeping tube and needle together, place needle bar loop, then tube, through machine bag and through front vice on machine

24. Without ever placing hands inside the machine bag

    1. Place needle loop over rubber grommet and slide down onto armature bar

    2. Move rubber bands so they lay over the needle bar to hold it in place

    3. Adjust needle and tube as necessary

    4. Tighten front vice to hold tube in place

25. Attach clip cord

26. Tattoo

Tattoo Breakdown Procedure

1. Once tattoo is complete, wipe area to remove all excess pigment and blood

2. *if you want to take a photo, wait a few minutes, wipe again, and remove gloves

3. Sanitize hands and make phone (camera) easily accessible with one hand

4. Don one glove

5. Use gloved hand to wipe/blot tattoo as necessary

6. Use ungloved hand to take photo and put phone back into appropriate place

7. Remove glove

8. Sanitize hands

9. Open drawer containing bandages and tape with ungloved hand

10. Don two gloves

11. Tear the # of strips of tape necessary for bandage and stick to clean area (on edge of shelf or on back of gloved hand)

12. Remove bandage(s) from drawer

13. Close drawer with back of hand

14. Place bandage(s) over tattoo and apply tape

15. Ensure there is adequate dressing applied after the tattoo completion

16. Remove gloves

17. Don two gloves and mentally designate one as clean and one as dirty.

18. With clean glove, lift bottles, one at a time, remove barrier with dirty glove and place on storage shelf.

19. Using dirty glove, unhook clip cord contact points by only touching the outside of the machine bag.

20. Holding clip cord through cover with dirty hand, use clean hand to hold contact points between thumb and first finger, then with dirty hand, pull the plastic down away from them.

21. Unplug clip cord from power supply with clean hand.

22. With dirty hand, slide barrier over clip cord.

23. With clean hand, place clip cord on uncovered bench or chair.

24. With dirty hand, place clip cord barrier on mayo tray.

*Going forward, both gloves will be dirty

1. Pick up machine through barrier with needle facing down and away from any part of the body, remove rubber bands and rubber grommet from machine.

2. With needle facing down and away from any part of the body, loosen the vice through the barrier.

3. Carefully pull tube and needle from vice together in one piece.

4. Immediately remove needle from tube, leaving tube on mayo tray, place needle into sharps container.

5. Holding onto the contact screw with one hand, use the other hand to pull the barrier back over the machine to expose it.

6. Without touching the outside of the bag to anything, place the machine on the same clean, uncovered surface as the clip cord.

7. If using steel tubes, use inside portion of machine bag to open tube container and place tube inside then replace lid.

8. If using disposable tubes, leave tubes on mayo tray.

9. Clean the machine head and spray the work area with an acceptable surface disinfectant

10. Remove barrier from all covered areas except mayo tray and place on mayo tray.

11. Place one or two paper towels in each rinse cup, as needed, then align all contents on mayo tray to wrap all together in a compact manner.

12. Starting at one end of mayo tray, wrap all contents together by using the bottom piece of cellophane as the outermost cover with all other contents secured inside. Wrap from one end to the other paying close attention to any liquid ensuring it soaks into the clean field or paper towels. 

13. **After the final tattoo. Securely close your sharp container for pickup.

Tattoo After Care

1. Aftercare starts as soon as your tattoo is done. - Cover it up!

2. The artist should apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment over the tattoo and then cover the area in a bandage or plastic wrap. This covering prevents bacteria from getting into your skin. It also protects the tattoo from rubbing onto your clothes and getting irritated.

3. Keep the dressing on for as long as your tattoo artist recommends, which may be just a few hours. It’ll help absorb any fluid or excess ink that leaks from the tattoo.

4. Gently wash the tattoo

5. After a few hours, you can remove the covering.

6. First wash your hands with water and soap. Then gently wash the tattoo with warm water and fragrance-free soap. Pat your skin dry with a soft cloth.

7. Apply a small amount of fragrance-free and alcohol-free moisturizer to the tattoo. You can keep the covering off at this point to let your skin breathe.

8. DID YOU KNOW?  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Trusted Source allows some fatty alcohols, such as cetearyl alcohol and acetyl alcohol, to be used in cosmetic products that are labeled “alcohol-free.” Unlike ethanol, fatty alcohols don’t dry out the skin.

9. Wait for it to heal

10. While your tattoo heals, you should: wear sun-protective clothing whenever you go outside all your tattoo artist or doctor if you experience any symptoms of infection or other problems

11. You shouldn’t: cover your tattoo with sunblock until it’s fully healed scratch or pick at the tattoo wear tight clothing over the tattoo go swimming or immerse your body in water (showers are fine)

12. Tattoo aftercare by day - How quickly you heal depends on the size of your tattoo and how intricate it is. Bigger tattoos will stay red and swollen longer because they cause more trauma to your skin.

13. Day 1

    1. You’ll come home from the tattoo studio with a bandage or plastic wrap over your tattoo. After a few hours, you can remove it.

    2. You should ask your artist for specifics about how long to wait. Recommendations will vary and may be based on the type and size of your tattoo. Some tattoo artists suggest that you only keep your tattoo covered for 1 or 2 hours.

    3. Once the covering comes off, you’ll probably notice fluid oozing from the tattoo. This is blood, plasma (the clear part of blood), and some extra ink. It’s normal. Your skin will also be red and sore. It might feel slightly warm to the touch.

    4. With clean hands, wash the tattoo with warm water and a fragrance-free soap. Apply a fragrance-free and alcohol-free moisturizer. Leave the covering off so the tattoo can heal.

14. Days 2 to 3

    1. By now, your tattoo will have a duller, cloudier appearance. This happens as your skin heals. Scabs will start to form.

    2. Wash your tattoo once or twice a day and apply a fragrance-free and alcohol-free moisturizer.

    3. When you wash, you might notice some ink running into the sink. This is just excess ink that’s come up through your skin.

15. Days 4 to 6

    1. The redness should start to fade.

    2. You’ll probably notice some light scabbing over the tattoo. The scabs shouldn’t be as thick as the scabs you get when you cut yourself, but they’ll be raised. Don’t pick at the scabs — this can cause scarring.

    3. Keep washing your tattoo once or twice a day. Apply a fragrance-free and alcohol-free moisturizer.

16. Days 6 to 14

    1. The scabs have hardened and will begin to flake off.

    2. Don’t pick at them or try to pull them off. Let them come off naturally. Otherwise, you could pull out the ink and leave scars.

    3. At this point, your skin may feel very itchy. Gently rub on a fragrance-free and alcohol-free moisturizer several times a day to relieve the itch.

    4. If your tattoo is still red and swollen at this point, you might have an infection. Go back to your tattoo artist or see a doctor.

17. Days 15 to 30

    1. In this last stage of healing, most of the big flakes will be gone and the scabs should be going away. You might still see some dead skin, but it should eventually clear up too.

    2. The tattooed area might still look dry and dull. Keep moisturizing until the skin looks hydrated again.

    3. By the second or third week, the outer layers of skin should’ve healed. It may take 3 to 4 months for the lower layers to completely heal.

    4. By the end of your third month, the tattoo should look as bright and vivid as the artist intended.