Latex or rubber gloves did not work for me. I found them to be too hot and cumbersome to work in.

An item that I used and was so enthused about fizzled with the rest of our customers. I found finger gloves to be the answer to my problem. These were little rubber covers for the tips of your fingers. You would roll them on over the tips of your index finger and thumb and they fit snuggly on your fingers. They went past the first knuckle on your finger, stayed in place and I thought, worked well for applying tats. They kept your fingers clean too. We provided a package to each customer who purchased a system. In all the years that we carried them, no customer ever reordered them so we quit offering them and did not reorder. I guess I was the only one who liked them.

I do have some suggestions that helped me keep cleaner looking hands while applying tats. First of all, start with clean hands. Keep your finger nails clipped short. Next, apply hand lotion generously to your hands and fingers. When you get a break, wash your hands and use a scrub brush to clean as much ink off of your hands as possible. Don’t forget to reapply hand lotion each time you wash or sanitize your hands.

By following these simple steps I have found that most of the ink comes off the first day. By the second day my hands looked pretty close to normal. They were not as clean as they were when I used finger gloves but a close second.

I read the Wednesday Spotlight about Barbara Erickson of Tats All Folks. I could easily identify with her. When she got her equipment she felt frustrated getting the equipment to work. She stuck with it and worked out all the bugs and now is a successful tat artist.

When we sell a system we often get a call from the new artist feeling frustrated because they cannot get the system hooked up right, or the airbrush gun is not working as it should. Often times these problems can be solved over the phone with a little adjustment here or there. The more the customers work with the system, the more familiar they get. Pretty soon they are able to solve their own problems as they arise. It is a little overwhelming getting all that new equipment. Not only do most people need to get acquainted with the equipment, they also need to learn how to apply a tat.

It does take a little time and practice to do it right but not a whole lot. I am constantly in awe of people who call up, order a system on Monday and almost as an afterthought, say “I got to have that by Thursday because I am doing a show on Friday.” It is true some of theses people have had some airbrushing experience but a lot of them have not. We get calls from them at the show on Friday needing help with one thing or another. Talk about Baptism by fire……

What I am trying to say is the key to being successful is the desire to want to make it work. If the desire is there, that alone can help you get over all the road blocks that pop up along the way. Persistence does pay off.

I was also happy to read that Barbara has been applying the crystals to her tats. Way to go Barbara!

Happy tatting,
Bonnie