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I have spent a lot of time in and around tattoo studios. From the dingy office room in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to the comfy little shop in Split, Croatia. From the sketchy shop closed for Hep C infections in Edmonton, Alberta to the beautiful brickwork apartment in Beijing, China. I have had a lot of experience in different types of studios with different standards. This made me devise this tattoo studio rating system.
The tattoo studio rating system is divided into 10 sections and one overall rating. All sections will be rated out of 5 stars, except for the overall rating. These are the sections:
1. Location:
Location is important when it comes to a tattoo studio. A bad location can kill the desire to go to a studio. When the studio is in the middle of nowhere or a dingy office building, fewer people are going to go for the inconvenience or sketch factor.
If a tattoo studio is in a sketchy part of town, then people tend to avoid it in the later parts of the day but might be more willing to book an appointment while there is sunlight.
When the studio’s in a super convenient location and/or a really nice part of town, then chances are they will have a lot more walk-ins and bookings.
2. Cleanliness:
Cleanliness is one of the most important parts of a tattoo shop. Most countries have standards when it comes to the level of cleanliness needed, but not all do. I have been in a disgusting office room getting a tattoo from a guy who tried to use boiled needles. It was a yikes’ situation that I couldn’t get out of.
A lack of cleanliness can lead to an increase in infections and bad experiences. Reusing needles can lead to all sorts of diseases. There are many more reasons this is regulated. This is why, depending on the situation, cleanliness can contribute to more than just one star on the overall rating. Why wouldn’t this be added to a tattoo studio rating system?
3. Bathroom:
A weird one to put on a tattoo studio rating system, I know. Yet as weird as it is, it’s oddly important. Partly it is due to the cleanliness level, but a huge portion of it is comfort level. Depending on the size of the tattoo, you might be in the studio all day or over several days. Chances are you will use the washroom at least once.
I’ve been in tattoo studios that were spotless and absolutely stunning, then you go into the washroom, and you don’t know if animals are living in there that shouldn’t be.
4. Friendliness and Professionalism:
Having an unfriendly tattoo artist is a nightmare. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with this person. Even for just a small tattoo. The last thing you want is some jerk with you over several hours. Plus, a talkative friendly artist makes the whole process go faster.
A huge part of professionalism is common sense, but there are a shocking amount of artists that are creepy or pervy. Sometimes artists will try to take advantage of the situation. That’s never a fun situation and it’s super unprofessional.
One part of both friendliness and professionalism is how accommodating an artist is. Whether that’s as simple as taking breaks when requested or offering a drink of water, juice, etc or something more complicated like working with a fainter, it’s important. Also in small changes. I’ve seen artists not at all willing to change anything in a tattoo because they “wouldn’t like it that way” (my first tattoo). Granted, some things won’t work, but it’s important to be accommodating in changes someone may want in something they will have on their body forever. Just don’t ask for too many changes!
5. Atmosphere:
A great atmosphere can go a long way. Good music, friendly conversation, and the way the studio looks all contribute to an amazing experience. The atmosphere is also a major contributor to whether a tattoo is super painful, an okay time, or complete tattoo therapy. An importance, in our opinion, in a tattoo studio rating system
6. Talent in Specialization:
It is quite common for an artist to pick a tattooing style and method to specialize in. These days, it is most commonly a style. Every tattooed person knows an artist who specializes in American Traditional, Realism, or tribal. Sometimes, throughout the years, an artist may even change their specialization.
Some artists master their specialization and choose to branch out to master others, some stick with their specialization for complete mastery, and some… well…. Yeah.
7. Versatility in styles:
While it is good to have a specialization, it is also important to have versatility in a variety of styles. Especially if you work in a tattoo studio. Some artists refuse to do anything not within their specialization, which is totally fine, but it makes it a lot harder for someone to find their artist for life if they want a mixture of styles. This is definitely not a deal-breaker by any means.
8. Pain management:
This is surprisingly underutilized. Whether it’s using a paper towel that is too dry, not seeing when the one being tattooed needs a break or pushing too hard, pain management is something that too many ignore.
It’s being countered more these days with more attentive artists and with the fact that more and more people with different pain tolerances are getting tattoos. In fact, there are a lot of artists who have added a numbing agent in their Vaseline to help with this!
Even so, a lot of newer artists don’t yet know how to read their customers enough to know how to properly space breaks. That comes with time and experience. As does heavy and light-handedness.
9. Heavy-Light Handedness:
The heaviness of an artist’s hand can really affect a lot. One of the biggest being how much pain happens during the tattoo. Another is how much scarring happens in the healing process (this is only one of many factors).
Here, a 0 star is going to be incredibly heavy-handed and a 5 will be so light-handed I barely felt it.
10. Aftercare instructions:
Aftercare can make or break a tattoo. Although it is super important for the tattooed to follow their given aftercare routine, it is just as important that the artist gives one. If the artist skips out on giving a proper aftercare routine or the proper warnings, it can be incredibly detrimental to the one getting the tattoo.
Overall Rating:
Most of the sections correspond with a single star. A 0-1.5 in a section will equate to no star here, a 2-3.5 will be half a star, and a 4-5 will be a full star.
The only exception to this is Cleanliness and Aftercare instructions. Getting a 0-1 in either of these sections will result in a star being removed, instead of just not getting one.
The Nomadic Inscriptions Tattoo Studio of Choice Award
This award will be given to various tattoo studios that members of the Nomadic Inscriptions team deem deserve it. No studio that gets less than a 6.5 in the overall rating of the Nomadic Inscriptions tattoo studio rating system. Between a 7 and 8 on the overall rating, it is still very unlikely a shop will receive this reward. A 9 and up is fairly likely, while a 10 is almost guaranteed to receive the award.
You can tell a studio has received this reward by a decal in the window, a sticker in the front, and/or a certificate somewhere in the shop.
The Nomadic Inscriptions Nomadic Inscriber of Choice Award
Any studio that acquires the Nomadic Inscriptions Tattoo Studio of Choice award will also have at least one artist who also gets the Nomadic Inscriptions Nomadic Inscriber of Choice award. How that artist does is judged within the tattoo rating system based on the aforementioned sections.
A studio may have more than one artist get this award, or more than one member of the Nomadic Inscriptions team gets tattooed by different artists and believes they deserve it.
It is also possible for an artist to receive this award without their shop receiving an award. This will happen if we believe the artist was absolutely impeccable, but the shop didn’t quite meet the mark.
Artists who have received this award will also receive a certificate
Are there any criteria for our rating system that you think we missed? If so let us know what it is down in the comments below!
Until next time, travel authentically, travel nomadically, and let the world leave its inscriptions on you as you do on it.
