Home tattooing

To get a tattoo, a needle containing ink is inserted into the skin many times. Getting a tattoo can cause complications such as infections and allergic reactions. To reduce these risks, it is important that tattoos are done properly, by trained professional tattoo artists working in licensed premises.

What is home tattooing?#

Home tattooing, also known as DIY or backyard tattooing, is any tattooing performed outside of registered, professional tattoo premises. It puts your health at risk because the procedures that keep tattooing clean and safe in licensed premises are usually missing.

Amateur tattooists who perform home tattoos generally do not have the infection prevention and control training that professional artists are expected to have. Buying your own tattoo equipment, for example over the internet, and tattooing yourself or your friends is not safe. It is also not safe to let a friend tattoo you.

The risks of home tattooing#

Appropriate training and equipment are needed to make sure tattooing is clean and that equipment is sterile. Without this, you put yourself and others at greater risk of serious infectious diseases, such as:

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C, which can cause liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer
• HIV (the virus that causes AIDS)
• Severe skin infections, including bacterial infections such as “golden staph”

Tattoo equipment and inks bought cheaply over the internet may also be poor quality. Poor quality inks can contain harmful substances that remain permanently in your skin. Poor technique can also lead to scarring and a tattoo that does not look good.

The effects of these complications can be debilitating and lifelong. Removing an unwanted tattoo later is not always successful and carries its own risks, including scarring and further infection.

The safest way to get a tattoo is at a registered, licensed tattoo premises.

Home tattooing and the law#

In many places, the law sets rules around tattooing to protect people’s health. Depending on where you live, it may be illegal to:

• Tattoo a person under the legal age, which is often 18 years
• Run an unregistered tattoo business where you are paid to perform tattoos outside of licensed premises
• Tattoo someone without using clean and sterile equipment, putting their health at risk

Performing these activities can leave you open to criminal charges. Check the rules that apply in your own area.

Getting a tattoo overseas#

Getting a tattoo in another country may also not be safe. Some countries do not have the same infection prevention and control requirements for tattoo premises, so getting a tattoo there, even in a professional shop, may carry risks similar to home tattooing.

The chance of getting a serious infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV may be much higher where standards are less strict and where these infections are more common in the local population.

Reducing the risks#

• Do not buy your own tattooing equipment for home use.
• Do not perform tattoos on yourself or your friends, and do not let friends tattoo you.
• Wait until you reach the legal age before getting a tattoo.
• Only get tattoos from professional premises that are registered with the relevant local authority.
• Take similar care if you are considering a tattoo in another country.
• If you become aware of home tattooing happening, report it to your local authority or the police.

Key points#

• Tattoos are common, particularly among younger people.
• Getting a tattoo can cause complications such as infections and allergic reactions, so it should be done by trained professionals.
• Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can cause liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
• Poor quality inks may contain harmful substances that remain permanently in your skin.
• The safest way to get a tattoo is at a registered, licensed tattoo premises.

Where to get help#