Damnit Deb

 I’ve recently had several people in my inbox who have been to other studios or had things happen come to me asking if their tattoo is infected. As artists we do everything possible to prevent this but the moment you puncture the skin you risk infection. Proper aftercare also helps. We are not doctors and cannot diagnose your skin. It takes 16 years to become a dermatologist. However, simply being aware of your tattoo as it’s healing can be enough to catch an infection before it gets dangerous.  Skin Anatomy The skin is the largest organ in the human body and it creates a waterproof barrier between your body and the outside world. The barrier has channels and ways in but the idea is to keep your insides protected and working while bad things stay outside. Part of our Bloodborne Pathogens education requires us to understand the Chain of Infection. This is the process by which infections happen or are spread. Several things have to happen for infection to occur so we want to bre...

Over the last 20 years I’ve seen the cost of tattoos change a lot. I remember the days of shop minimums being $20-40. The cost of tattooing itself has also changed. My first apprentice license cost me $50 and lasted 3 years. Now I have to pay the state over $300 every 2 years for mine. Times and costs have changed.  I know shops in town still charging $40 and I’ve also seen plenty of facebook scratchers charging $30 out of their house. So why do we charge so much to get tattooed in a shop? Paperwork The first thing you’re paying for is my license. That piece of state mandated paper requires me to have continued education, a state exam, and to maintain certain cleanliness standards or the state can fine me or even put me in jail. A license is a sign that someone is a professional and that they’re willing to uphold those standards and be held to them. You can check if your artist or piercer is licensed through DPOR board of Barbers and Cosmetology who regulates Virginia professionals...

 Piercings are easy right? So easy Shein and Amazon sell kits. And you’d think that using something with the word “surgical” in the name means it’s of great quality.  Wrong.  Not only are these kits not safe but the APP no longer considers steel to be of a suitable metal quality to be pierced with. The piercing industry is relatively young. It’s only in the last 30 years that we’ve even had actual piercing jewelry and until the last few years steel was “it”.  What is steel? Let’s start with the basic. Steel is actually a mixture of metals. These can include things like nickel and lead. Now most people with common sense know those two are bad, but because steel is so hard to trace (it’s a mixture!) it’s hard to tell just how much nickel or lead your steel jewelry contains. Being “surgical” grade steel simply means that these metals are below a certain threshold - not nonexistent. So any steel jewelry, no matter what quality, can still contain lead, nickel and other da...

 Everyone is feeling the pinch financially at the moment and with the holidays coming up credit card debt is soaring. We’re all “broke”. The body mods industry is a luxury which means most of us want stuff but frankly it’s just not in the budget right now. Instead of trying to figure out cleaning your credit cards we can actually help with that! Our studio offers Affirm payments. That’s right, you can actually put your tattoo, piercing, or jewelry on a payment plan!  What is Affirm? Affirm is not a credit card. In fact it was designed specifically to be different than credit cards. Unlike a traditional credit line or card you choose how much you want to borrow, how long you want to repay it, and there are no late fees or surprises! They also tell you exactly what you’ll be paying including the interest so you’re not stuck paying more and more over time as that accrues.  How much am I going to Pay in fees and interest? The simple answer is that depends. As Affirm is flexib...