Tattoo parties have increasingly gained in popularity over the past years and the concept appears fun and simple: Invite a local tattoo artist, bring over a number of friends desiring body art, and obtain a cost-efficient tattoo while observing the other party-goers receiving their tattoos. At a tattoo party, friends could share tattoo ideas, brainstorm potential designs and layouts, or even convince each other to have a certain body part branded for life. However, sometimes tattoo parties, if not properly planned, can be accompanied by rather unpleasant events, including the spread of bacterial infections and blood-borne pathogens, the acquisition of illegal tattoos by minors, and the presence of an unlicensed, inexperienced tattooist.

Unfortunately, if an unlicensed tattoo artist is invited, his primary motivation may well be to administer cheap tattoos to as many guests as possible and make a quick buck, with little to no regard to sanitary conditions and sterile equipment. The lack of professionalism exhibited by an unlicensed tattoo artist may also fail to prevent him from administering tattoos to minors who did not acquire prior parental consent. To avoid exposing your party guests to these potential health hazards and any resulting legal ramifications, it is important to carefully plan your tattoo party in advance, to do your research, and to employ only a reputable tattoo artist to do all the work.

1. Home Party vs. Party at a Local Tattoo Parlor: When planning your party, you should initially determine where you would like your party to be held. Many hosts choose their own home as the party location and invite a tattooist who is willing to administer an increasing number of tattoos within a limited amount of time for a low price. Home parties do offer the comfort of your own home, allowing guests to stay longer and become more acquainted with each other, as well as the tattoo artist. Remember, however, that a tattooist coming to your home to perform tattooing is greatly compromising the hygienic and sanitary process required to safely administer tattoos. If at all possible, parties at an actual tattoo parlor may be preferable to home parties, since they would offer all necessary sterile equipment and disinfection devices to ensure a successful tattooing experience. Of course, renting a tattoo parlor for private purposes for an evening can become quite costly and may therefore not be the first choice for most people.

2. Carefully Select Your Tattoo Artist: As is important with hygiene, it is equally vital to select a qualified, licensed, and reputable tattoo artist to perform the tattooing on your party guests. Since this artist would be administering multiple tattoos in one night, he/she would not only need to be extremely skilled but would also have to be trustworthy and well knowledgeable of safe application procedures. An inexperienced and less professional tattooist may simply agree to tattoo at your party for the extra cash and try to take on as many guests as possible with little regard to hygiene, sanitation, or quality of the tattoo.

3. Familiarize Yourself with the Safety Measures of Tattooing: Visit local tattoo parlors that are well known for the quality services they deliver. Ask about the proper procedures involved in administering a tattoo safely, without risk of infection and contraction of diseases. Learn about proper after-care methods for tattoos and collect any information relating to a safe and hygienic tattoo process that you can make available to your party guests. Only when you are familiar with proper safety measures involved in the tattooing process, can you comfortably enjoy the work of a tattoo artist at your party. Also, when the tattoo artist knows that you are knowledgeable of correct procedures, he/she will be much less likely to attempt any unsanitary tattoo approach.

1. Ensure the Legality of Your Party: To make your party a success, and legal, it is your duty as the host to select the correct party crowd. Never invite minors to tattoo parties. Doing so could be accompanied by tremendous legal implications for you. Many underage individuals actually seek out tattoo parties for the purpose of acquiring a cheap and illegal tattoo, since most parlors would not agree to tattoo them yet. Going to a private party would prove to be a simple way to obtain a long-desired tattoo and stand out from peers. Don’t forget: Allowing a minor to acquire a tattoo without parental consent is illegal and could have dire consequences to you as the host.

2. Find out what Your Guests are Looking For: Each of your guests likely happily attended your party with one goal in mind: To acquire a new tattoo for a low price. Thus, it becomes your job to determine what it is that each guest is looking for in terms of design, color, tattoo size, location on body, and time necessary to complete administration. You should also find out about their spending limits, which can further narrow down (or expand) their choices of tattoo type. To ensure that each guest will receive similar amounts of time dedicated by the tattoo artist, the tattoos that each guest has in mind should be at least somewhat similar in size and complexity. Your guests should also have a chance to discuss their individual ideas with the tattoo artist prior to having their turn, in case their tattoo designs need adjustment or the guests need to make additional appointments to complete the tattoos if the design is too large or complex to finish in one evening.

1. Non-permanent Tattoos: Rather than getting an actual tattoo, give those party guests who may feel ambivalent about getting permanently branded the option of acquiring a temporary tattoo. One great choice would be to have a tattoo airbrushed to a particular area of your body. Airbrush tattoos are a neat alternative and provide a less risky tattoo experience since they are created from paint and stencils. The advantage is that they are virtually pain-free, beautiful and realistic looking, and of course party guests may be minors for these types of tattoos .Further, the tattooist applying these types of tattoos requires much less professional training to master the tattoo administration process as opposed to traditional tattoos that necessitate rigorous sanitary processes and much care to correctly apply the tattoo. Airbrush tattoos are on average more cost-efficient than traditional tattoos, with the average airbrush tattoo costing approximately $ 10. However, most airbrush tattoos only last between 2 and 7 days and persons with oily skin tend to lose their tattoo sooner than others.

2. Use Similar Safety Precautions with Alternative Skin Designs: Even though you decided to go with a less risky, non-permanent option, you still should practice proper care of your tattoo and ensure that your guests are aware of these practices as well. Create simple instruction cards to hand out to your guests that teach party goers not to rub a new tattoo, to only let the tattoo air dry, to avoid tight fitting clothes for the first few days, to avoid shaving the tattooed area, and to avoid applying lotion or other oily substances over the tattoo.