Tattoos have always been a potent and fairly permanent form of expression, whether they link someone to their culture or help them stand apart from it. Pain and permanency can often deter people from inking up, but for others it can simply be a matter of cost. The training, licensing and equipment required for tattoo artists has to be passed on to the consumer if the artist is to make a living.

So what if the artist doesn’t pay for those things?

While that may mean a lower price for the person receiving the tattoo, it also means dramatically greater risk. Despite this, many people are turning to illegal tattooists, dubbed “scratchers,” who aren’t licensed and often aren’t equipped for sanitary tattooing.

“A lot of people don’t understand the risk, or are just cheap and think it’s all the same. Once you explain to them and show them what a real artist can do, they start to regret it. I’ve seen a lot of scarred tattoos that weren’t done properly and really couldn’t be fixed, but as far as diseases go, a lot of people don’t even know what they have and don’t get checked,” Absolute Ink tattoo artist Ben Johnson said.

Licensed tattoo artists have been at odds with scratchers for years as they cut into both people and profits, but few people realize it’s an issue. Johnson plans to address the Murfreesboro City Council about the threat of illegal tattooing, preferably with the backing of other artists and studios, but fears they will show little concern.

“Even aside from the quality of the art and the health risk, it’s still a problem because licensed artists have to go through all the legal hoops and follow health department regulations and maintain equipment. It’s like any other business being undercut by people who are cutting corners,” Johnson said.

Becoming a legal tattoo artist requires an artist to complete a minimum one-year apprenticeship under an artist who has been licensed for at least three years, according to Title 62, Chapter 38 of the Tennessee Code, which regulates tattoo artist licensing and health requirements.

“With the apprenticeship, you have to pay your dues and your respects to the industry. Scratchers just go straight to tattooing because they don’t want to put in the time to learn, and go about things in a backwards way,” Touch of the South tattoo artist Joseph Harris said.

Moreover, artists are required to pay periodic fees, submit to health inspections and undergo testing.

“You have to have a studio permit, and then either a tattoo artist license or tattoo operators license. To run that studio, you have to have a licensed artist on duty at all times. We do four inspections a year, roughly one every three months, to check for cleanliness and equipment,” Assistant Director of the Tennessee Department of Health’s Division of General Environmental Health Carter Garner said.

Among the list of necessary equipment Garner mentions is an autoclave, a medical grade instrument sterilizer that can cost several thousand dollars. Often, scratchers lack this vital piece of safety equipment and attempt to sterilize their tools with other methods.

“We have a hospital grade sterilizer, and that’s the only way to be sure it’s sterile. Things like alcohol and burning your needles won’t clean them. In fact, alcohol will preserve any infections left on the needles,” Harris said.

Harris also warned that as online supplies more frequently require proof of proper permits, scratchers are becoming more desperate for their supplies and are more likely to reuse needles. This, along with the unsanitary conditions in which scratchers often work, can be a deadly combination.

“Usually what we find is that they’re doing this out of their home?a house, a trailer, an apartment. Those can almost never qualify as a studio. They just do not have the facilities and those are the most dangerous situations,” Garner said.

Rooting out illegal tattooists can often be problematic as well.

“If we can get a name, a good address, or a phone number, we’ll check those out. The problem is a lot of times people call in with vague information, and we just don’t have the resources to go out and search for those people,” Garner said. He added that when they do find them, it is usually enough to issue a closure notice to shut down an illegal operation, but otherwise they are forced to take the unlicensed tattooist to court. Often, cases fall apart because people reporting them are unwilling to testify.

With so many roadblocks preventing the arrest of scratchers, the problem isn’t likely to go away soon. However, there are steps that can be taken to protect yourself if you are ready to go under the needle.

“If you are going to get a tattoo, the first thing you need to ask is do they have a license as an artist, how long they’ve been tattooing, and if they have a license for their studio. If they say no to any of those, you need to beware and likely need to report it,” Garner said.

For those interested in reporting a suspecting unlicensed tattooists, contact the nearest county health department (Rutherford County residents, call (615) 898-7880) with as much specific information as possible.