If you don't find the answer to your question here, please don't hesitate to contact us.
How clean is the procedure at Saint Sabrina's?
What is an autoclave and why is it important?
What is single service equipment?
How should I pick an artist?
At the shop
What should I expect during my first tattoo?
How clean is the procedure at Saint Sabrina's?
Performing tattoos in a safe, clean and responsible manner is our number one priority. In the course of performing tattoos, we take a variety of steps to help ensure your safety:
- Our artists use disposable gloves for all tattoos. These gloves are changed throughout the procedure to avoid contamination of the client and surfaces in the tattoo room.
- Needles are autoclave-sterilized before they are used. Needles are disposed of, in front of the client, immediately after the tattoo is performed. Needles are never used more than once.
- Any implements that are not disposable, such as tattoo tubes, are cleaned, disinfected and autoclave-sterilized prior to use on anyway.
- Items that may need to be touched during the tattoo are covered with plastic barriers to prevent contamination. These barriers are disposed of when the tattoo is finished.
What is an autoclave and why is it important?
An autoclave is the same device used by hospitals, doctors and dentists to sterilize equipment. Autoclave sterilization is the only way to ensure that all equipment is properly sterilized and safe to use on you.
Autoclaves achieve sterilization through the use of intense steam-heat and pressure over an extended period of time. Items such as dry heat sterilizers, chemical solutions, boiling and alcohol do not achieve appropriate levels of sterilization. Any autoclave being used for sterilizing tattoo equipment should be tested (called a spore test) by an independent lab at least once per month. At Saint Sabrina's, we spore test both of our autoclaves weekly. In addition, we use a combination of package indicators (which react to heat exposure) and integrators (which react to time, temperature and pressure) to monitor every autoclave load.
What is single service equipment?
Single service equipment is items used during your tattoo that are brand new and are disposed of immediately after the tattoo is complete. Examples of single-service equipment used during a tattoo include:
- Needles
- Needle bars (this is a metal bar the needles are attached to)
- Ointments (used to lubricate the skin during the tattoo)
- Pigments/ink
- Ink caps (used to hold single-service portions of ink)
- Gloves
- Razors (used to shave the skin before tattooing)
- Paper towels (used to wipe the skin during the tattoo)
- Barriers (sheets or bags of plastic used to prevent contamination of items)
How should I pick an artist?
When choosing an artist, you need to find an artist whose style of work you like as well as an artists who will work on you safely. In order to meet both of these criteria, you can:
- Ask people where they got tattooed, especially if you really like the work you see.
- Ask to see photographs of the artist's work. It is common for photographs to be taken immediately after a tattoos is finished, so don't by alarmed by a little redness and swelling.
- When looking at pictures of an artist's work, you should consider whether the lines look clean and smooth, or are broken and jagged, whether the lines meet up, and so on.
- Taking time to check out a few artists and shops will help ensure that you are happy with your tattoo.
At the shop
When visiting a studio, you should make sure that it is neat and clean. Most of the time, what you see in the front room is a good indication of what you will see elsewhere in the shop. If studio is dirty, cluttered or obviously poorly cared for, you probably should consider having your tattoo done elsewhere.
Don't ever be afraid to ask questions about the shop's safety procedures. The personnel should be willing and able to answer you questions. If you feel they are brushing your concerns aside or can't answer you, leave and seek out a different shop. It is your body and you deserve to have you questions answered in pleasant, articulate manner.
What should I expect during my first tattoo?
If you've never been tattooed, it is normal to be a little nervous or apprehensive as well as excited. Being properly prepared will help keep the experience fun. Everyone will have a slightly different experience when getting tattooed, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- Being well rested and well fed makes a big difference. If you are overly tired, your body will be less able to deal with the mild stress of getting tattooed. In addition, if you haven't eaten recently, your blood sugar is more likely to become low, increasing the chance for lightheadedness.
- While having a couple of cocktails or beers before getting tattooed might sound like a good idea, it never is. In addition to making you dehydrated, the alcohol will make you bleed more, consequently having a negative effect on your new tattoo. In addition, in the city of Minneapolis it is illegal to tattoo anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- You should expect some blood. There is not generally much blood, but the amount does vary from person-to-person.
- The amount of pain will also vary from person-to-person. In most cases however, the anticipation of getting tattooed is far worse than actually getting tattooed. The best way to deal with the discomfort is to accept it, relax and remember to breath. Tensing up and/or trying to fight the pain will increase your discomfort.
- If you start to feel lightheaded, dizzy or faint, tell your artist right away. There is nothing wrong with taking a break. Trying to "tough it out" will only make you more uncomfortable and take the fun out of your tattoo experience.
- If you need to change positions, stretch, go to the bathroom, sneeze or move for any reason, let your artists know BEFORE you do.
- It is normal for your tattoo to be somewhat dry and to get a patch of shiny skin over it. While scabbing is not ideal, it does sometimes also happen. Whether it's dry skin or a scab, do not pick at it. Picking at your tattoo may lead to infection or damage to the tattoo. The dry skin or scab will slough off gradually during the healing period. If you have any questions during the healing process, don't hesitate to call your artist.
- You trusted in the experience and skill of one of our artists to do your tattoo. Please trust in their experience and knowledge when it comes to the best method to healing your tattoo. While friends may mean well when they give you advice about how to care for your tattoo, they are very often misinformed and may give you bad advice that could damage your tattoo.
