The bane of the tattoo world is the shadowy, unprofessional person called the scratcher. A scratcher is somebody who,
- Does not have the proper training in either tattoo art or of running a professional operation;
- Does not know and/or care to use responsible sterilization methods;
- Promises to provide tattooing services for an incredibly low fee, for free, or in exchange for drugs (ack!);
- Chooses not to apprentice through a legitimate tattoo shop because of one excuse or another (but lacks the knowledge one needs to work in or run a professional shop)
- Will hurt you because they don’t know what they’re doing;
- Will give you a permanent tattoo you will regret for the rest of your life;
- You should stay away with a ten-foot pole.
Never get work from a scratcher unless you are willing to accept all the hazards listed above.
Of those in a study by Clinton Sanders who regretted their tattoos, more than two-thirds of them regretted their tattoo because of poor quality! Looking for an artist can be as easy as checking the Yellow Pages, or as complex as checking references, magazine photos, etc.
