Inked Talk

Craigslist can be one of the most wonderful sites on the internet. Looking for a job? Check Craigslist. Need a car? Craigslist. Want to sell an old washer and dryer? Post Craigslist. Fall in love with a barista at Starbucks but too afraid to ask for her phone number? Post Craigslist and hope she reads it. Need a transvestite midget wrestler with a tickling fetish? You can probably find her on Craigslist.

There is not a lot of oversight on what can and cannot be posted on Craigslist, which is obviously both fantastic and frightening. A more disturbing trend that I have noticed on the local Craigslist are ads looking for volunteers to be tattooed by someone who wants to learn tattooing. The ads appear to be written by a variety of people: some claim that they are apprentices who need more willing flesh to practice on, others come right out and state that they just bought a tattoo kit and want to try it out. A recent ad that both disturbed me and gave me a chuckle involved an individual trying to profess the advantages of having your tattoo work done in the comfortable environment of his kitchen.

Getting a tattoo through a Craigslist ad can certainly be appealing. Many of these ads are listed as “Free Tattoo” or “Cheap Tattoo.” One recent ad showed pictures of admittedly decent black and white ink, with a claim that the artist could do “any tattoo” for $50.00.

The first thing that should concern anyone following a Craigslist ad for a tattoo should be the artist’s knowledge of cleanliness and sterilization procedures. A person who bought a tattoo kit from an eBay auction and is anxious to give it a try probably hasn’t been properly trained on cross-contamination, bacteria and blood-borne pathogens. Reading an article on the Internet obviously isn’t enough to keep you safe.

The second concern, and this is obviously secondary to health issues, is the quality of the tattoo. Your tattoo is permanent. Do you really want to be a guinea-pig for someone who is just learning and not under the proper supervision of a tattoo artist?

That is not to say that all Craigslist ads for tattoos should be avoided. I recently bartered my old digital camera for a new tattoo, but the tattoo was done by a professional artist at his shop. I researched his work and felt comfortable with his knowledge and abilities before I agreed to the transaction.

Like in all things, if something seems to be good to be true, it probably is. We’ve all seen the sign at the local tattoo places - Good tattoos ain’t cheap, and cheap tattoos ain’t good. Exercise caution when looking for a tattoo, do your research, and don’t substitute cost for safety.

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Watching CSI