How a home tattoo session works
Somebody you have not met is about to arrive at your house with needles. That is a reasonable thing to be uneasy about, so this page answers it in order and leaves the tattoos until last.
Send an enquiryWhat you are agreeing to
One artist comes to the address you give, does the tattoo in a room you have cleared, and takes everything away afterwards. There is no premises to visit, no reception, and no second artist waiting in a van.
Two amounts make up what you pay: the tattoo, which depends on size, detail and how long it takes, and the travel, which depends on how far your town is. They are quoted together once you describe the job, and neither is published on this site as a number, because neither exists until somebody says what they want.
What comes into your home
- Needles, tubes and grips sealed, single-use, opened in front of you
- Razor single-use, for the patch of skin being tattooed
- Gloves changed whenever anything else is touched
- Barrier film over the machine, the bottles, the clip cord and your table
- Ink caps poured fresh and thrown away at the end, never poured back
- Sharps container which leaves with the artist, full
- Second-skin film applied before the kit is packed down
The sequence on the day
Seven steps, in this order. If any of them is skipped, that is worth asking about while it is happening rather than afterwards.
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Arrival, and the space gets set up
Barrier film over the table, the machine, the bottles and the clip cord. Takes about twenty minutes and happens before anything is unwrapped.
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The sealed kit is opened in front of you
Needles, tubes, grips, razor and gloves come out of their packets while you are watching. If a packet is already open when you look at it, say so.
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The skin gets shaved and cleaned
Even skin that looks bare has fine hair on it. It is shaved with a single-use razor and cleaned before the stencil goes anywhere near it.
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The stencil goes on and you check it
Placement, size and angle are agreed while it is still washable. Look at it in a mirror, sit down, move your arm. Nothing starts until you say it is right.
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The tattoo
Outline first, then shading or colour. You can stop for a break whenever you want one, and saying so is not a problem.
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Second-skin film, then aftercare
The film goes on before the kit is packed down, and what to do for the next fortnight is explained while it is being put on rather than called over a shoulder on the way out.
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Everything used leaves with the artist
Sharps into a sharps container, the rest into a waste bag. Neither goes into your bin.
What you provide
- A table at roughly waist height, that can be wiped down
- A chair or bed you can hold a position in for a few hours
- Light bright enough to read small print by, near the chair
- A power socket within reach of the table
- Running water and somewhere to wash hands
- A cleared floor around the chair, and pets in another room
Eat something before the session and have a drink nearby. Low blood sugar during a long sitting is the most common reason a session gets cut short.
What is not offered
This part is here because the honest limits are the only proof available.
- No premises there is nowhere to walk into and nowhere to wait
- No walk-ins every session is arranged in advance by email
- No team one artist, so dates are limited and a style outside their range is a no
- No published price nothing is priced before the job is described
- No portfolio on this site and no photograph here is work by this artist
- No medical advice the guides describe ordinary healing, and anything that looks infected is a question for a doctor
Where this travels
Anywhere in Luzon. The travel charge depends on the distance, so it is worked out per enquiry rather than set as a flat figure. Name your town and it can be quoted properly.