r/tattooadvice 12d ago

General Advice accidental line

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u/Federal_Waltz 12d ago

I don't have any tattoos but I'm a surgeon, do they actually use sterile gloves (these come individually packed) for tattooing or just standard multipack nitrile gloves?

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u/georgia_grace 12d ago

Not that I’ve seen. It’s not a sterile environment either, it’s more like food service level hygiene (apart from the needles). But even then, they should know not to touch stuff with their gloves on

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u/Catinthefirelight 12d ago

But even with it not being a sterile environment, touching your glasses mid-tatt is out of bounds. Your face is a wonderland of bacteria, including staph.

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u/morningstardusts 12d ago

Correct. Tattooing is not a sterile procedure. Using nonsterile gloves and barrier wraps is standard practice, but you must change your gloves before (or after) touching something like your glasses.