When you have lost a loved one to breast cancer and have made the decision to get a breast cancer tattoos in honor of a special person in your life, make sure you do your research before you get inked. Not only should the design and the location of the breast cancer tattoo be important to you, but you will also want to make sure that the tattoo establishment which you will be visiting is up to par.

If this is your first visit to a tattoo parlor you might feel awkward and a bit intimidated. This is entirely understandable so here are a few questions to ask and some general information about tattooing before you sit down in the tattoo artist’s chair.

• First impressions are everything! If the shop doesn’t look clean and neat – leave!
• Don’t be shy. Ask about health department certificates or compliance records.
• Ask if grips, ink tubes, and needles are cleaned in an Autoclave.
• These items should then be stored in individual pouches and sealed with an indicator strip.
• Each bag should be opened right in front of you.
• Needles in sterilized sealed bags should be opened in front of you. When finished, they should be disposed of in a hazard waste container.
• The artist should be wearing gloves. Be particular about this! To avoid cross-contamination from other items, the gloves should be replaced if an item is dropped onto the floor; the artist walks away for any reason, or they reach for any non-disposable items such as ink caps, ink bottles or lubricants.
• Because ink becomes contaminated during the cancer tattoos process, the ink should be poured into disposable plastic cups. When the artist refills the cups – they should not touch the tip of the ink bottle cap to the ink container as to avoid any cross-contamination.
• Armed with the basics we are now ready to talk a little bit about designs.

You will want to choose your tattoo artist wisely. It’s perfectly fine to visit an establishment several times before making a final decision on which artist will ink your breast cancer tattoos. You will want to choose an artist that is willing to listen to your design wishes and one that will not try to steer you in another direction. Having said that… they are the professionals here so you will want to consider their input and suggestions but remember, ultimately you are the one who will be living with the design and location forever.

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