Story Published: Jul 27, 2010 at 5:49 PM MDT
Story Updated: Jul 27, 2010 at 6:33 PM MDT
It doesn't matter your age, people from 14 to 75 are getting tattoos around Idaho Falls.
"Everyone can love it, it is art, and it is going on our most valuable possession we own and that's our bodies and we are going to have it for the rest of our lives," said Nicholas Stevens, an artist at Spider's Webs Tattoo Shop.
It's important to remember the health risks. Idaho threw out a regulation bill eleven years ago, this means when it comes to tattoo shops, it is important to ask questions.
"How trained? How many years have you been doing it? Have you been schooled on it? What kind of equipment do you use? Do you sterilize? Do you use single-use produces? What's your process? How informed are you? Does the business look like they know what they are doing, opposed to some hideaway place, that they will do anything for a dollar, scratching and those types of things," said Richard Horne, the Director of the Eastern Idaho Public Health Department.
Tattoo shops agree.
"We have actually tried to push for some more laws, it never happened. You have to pick your shop wisely, nothing says they have to use needles only once; we throw them away in front of you. We make sure you know we are doing everything we possibly can," said Leon Arve, the owner of Spider's Web.
To sterilize the equipment, first it is put in the cleaner, then the ultra sonic, then it is packaged and put in the autoclave. Once it is done in the autoclave, you will see the black appear and it is ready to go.
The industry and health department say watch out for scratchers.
"It is kind of a bad deal, we have a lot of them around here. We see a lot of tattoos that we have to fix," said Arve.
So how do you avoid being victim to a botched tattoo?
"Check the work. Check the portfolio. Even sit down and watch a tattoo. Ask questions, I love when people have questions for me, that is the best thing you can do," said Arve.
As long as tattoos are done safely, the risk of contracting Hepatitis C is a fraction of one percent, and since 2009 there have been no reported cases of HIV transmission.