It has become apparent in recent years that tattoo history spans back more than five thousand years, this discovery happened in 1991 when body markings were discovered on the perfectly preserved corpse of the ice man Otzi, investigation of his remains showed that Otzi had over 50 tattoos.
Tattoos have been used worldwide in many cultures, some cultures used tattoos in the form of tribal markings, distinguishing a person's role within their society, others used tattoos to mark criminals making it blatantly apparent to others of their criminal status, some have used it purely as decoration but for whatever reason tattooing has been around for hundreds even thousands of years; it is one of the oldest creative art forms. Although dating its true origins will never be precise, however this ancient art form of body decoration has probably been around since the beginning of man.
Early methods of tattooing used chisels, combs and picks to puncture the skin before pigment was applied, another method used by sub arctic tribes used a thread coated in soot, this was pulled through the skin leaving markings, some of these methods are still used today.
The tattoo industry has become a very lucrative business, and with it the need for tattoo supplies in great demand. As much as tattooing as an art has not changed considerably over the course of time, our awareness for health and safety has greatly increased in recent times, bringing with it the need for sterile tattoo supplies to be used.
Tattoo supplies cover all the equipment required to effectively run a tattoo shop, these supplies have to comply with health and safety standards. Our awareness of blood poisoning, infections and blood transmitted diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, and the risk of cross contamination of equipment, make it even more essential that hygiene standards for both premises and equipment alike to be of paramount importance.
Tattoo artists use tattoo supplies which can be sterilized or disposed of, sterilization and preparation form the basis of any tattoo palour.
Disposable Tattoo supplies include inks, ink cups, needles, and gloves, each of these items are specifically just for single use, eliminating the risk of cross contamination, whilst the needle bar and tube of the tattoo machine can be sterilized in an autoclave. An autoclave is a heat, steam and pressure unit, more commonly seen in dental practices and hospitals and is the only acceptable method of sterilization.
Alternatively tattoo supplies can come pre-packed (single use) which should be opened in front of the client waiting to be tattooed. Sterilization of the skin prior to tattooing is essential as well as preparation of the tattooist's hands, and work space.
A tattoo occurs when the surface skin is broken allowing pigment, stain or ink to penetrate the dermis, nowadays a tattoo machine or gun does this, a needle pierces the skin depositing a small amount of ink below the surface, a tattoo needle can pierce the skin anything from 50 to 3000 times per second. Once the tattoo is complete, it will stay in place for a person's lifetime, only suffering slight fading with age.
Tattoo supplies as we know them today owe a great deal to Thomas Edison, Thomas Edison a great name in history as an inventor created the autographic printer, this essentially was an engraving machine used to engrave hard surfaces, however Samuel O'Reilly in the late 1800's modified this concept, changing and modifying to allow the unit to drive a needle roughly a millimeter through the outer layer of skin depositing its ink. Hence the birth of the tattoo machine as we know it today.
Author Resource:-
Anna Stenning investigates the importance of tattoo supplies being able to be sterilized or disposed of in order to eliminate the risks of cross contamination of needles.
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