Bringing Tattoos to Life with Tattoo Supplies
The creation of a tattoo is a long process. From the inception to the design, from the process to the finished product, a tattoo requires a lot of time and effort from both the artist and the wearer. Tattoos are costly for a reason; not only does the expertise of a tattoo artist deserve an extensive monetary compensation, the tattoo supplies needed along the way are numerous and expensive as well. There are many tattoo supplies integral to the process on both the artist's end and the wearer's end. Most of these are available from respected manufacturers, or from other tattoo studios. And some are simple household products transformed into tools of the trade.
Making Magic
A tattoo artist will need many tattoo supplies to craft perfect, safe tattoos. One of the most important tattoo supplies is a sterilizer; without this machine, needles, tubes and other electronics would be unsafe to use. Sterilizers are usually sold in tattooing kits; these kits, while expensive, contain everything necessary for a tattoo artist to begin. While each piece can be purchased separately, these packaged deals are a good place for amateur artists to begin and gain confidence knowing they have it all. Their customers can feel equally confident as well when they see the extensive collection of tattoo supplies their tattoo artist owns.
These starter kits usually contain all the necessary tattoo supplies to tattoo precisely and properly, but many differ in the inks they include. While some are full-color kits, others focus only on black ink. Consequently, the tattoo supplies included are only geared toward monochrome tattooing: certain needle gauges, outliners, tubes and powders will be missing. Irregardless of the ink tattoo supplies, these kits will usually offer at least one machine outliner, machine shader, power supply, cleaner, shading inks, fill inks, footswitch and needle outliner. Bulk amounts of needles, tubes, bars, paper, caps, wipes, foil packs, razors, grommets, rubber bands, alcohol swabs, latex gloves, soaps, sharps containers, spray bottles and pads will also be contained in the kit, although many of these tattoo supplies are available at a local pharmacy store. Tattoo artists will also need to include multiple flash sheets in their tattoo supplies both to practice with and offer to customers.
Tattoo wearers also need to purchase tattoo supplies in order to ensure their tattoos heal properly and remain vibrant and smooth over time. Unscented soaps and body lotions are necessary to keep new tattoos clean and moisturized, and sunscreen is integral to protect tattoos from direct sunlight. The responsibility of wearers to protect their tattoos is almost as important as that of tattoo artists. While artists ensure a quality tattoo, individuals must ensure on their own that these tattoos heal properly and without infection, remain bright and detailed and do not scab.
