Tyson Domingo | Photo Co-Editor

Buena Vista University (BVU) students participated in an insightful conversation about permanent art with Alley Cat Tattoo’s Matt Doebel on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The conversation was part of BVU’s Academic and Cultural Events Series (ACES) and covered subjects such as the history, removal, cover-ups, and after care of tattoos. Piercer Brent Woltman also spoke briefly about body piercings.

Doebel spoke about the safety procedures common in tattoo studios and went into how their studio kept with standardized safety regulations to keep their clients as safe and healthy as possible after being permanently inked. Aside from medical safety procedures such as sterilization and use of new equipment, Doebel mentioned one safety tip that people who want to get a tattoo should be aware of: look for a portfolio of the artists’ work.

“If you don’t see portfolios, ask to see one. If they don’t have one, I’d leave,” Doebel said.

Seeing a portfolio of their work shows the creative work the artist can produce as well as be a source for credibility. If tattoo-seekers are not aware of an artist’s work and their credibility, they may be in for a treat from what tattoo artists call “scratchers.” These scratchers are artists who do not tattoo properly and lead to unhealthy and undesirable pieces. One reason for unattractive pieces is penetration of the needle that is too deep for proper healing of the tattoo.

“If you go too deep into the skin, there could be many problems,” Doebel said, “There’re tons of risks for infection.”

Sometimes people are just unaware of what they are in for and make mistakes, and with new technologies, tattoos can be removed but at a cost. Most people have heard of laser tattoo removal, but Alley Cat Tattoo uses a non-laser removal process for people who seek to remove a piece of art from their body.

“There are certain colors lasers can’t remove because of the pigments used to make the color,” Doebel said.

At Alley Cat Tattoo, the removal process can cost between $80 and $200. If someone doesn’t want to get a tattoo completely removed, they can also do cover-ups.

“A lot of the times with cover-ups, you use what’s there. When you’re doing a cover-up, you’re trying to take the eye away from the original piece,” Doebel said.

Whether someone is getting their first tattoo, an addition to a piece, a cover-up, or their last piece of permanent artwork, there is always an aftercare procedure to follow; it is always best to take the artists’ advice for caring for the healing artwork.

“Everywhere you go, you’re going to hear something different,” Doebel said.

From finding a credible tattoo artist to aftercare advice, tattoo artist Matt Doebel and the Alley Cat Tattoo artists have all the information needed to be at ease when thinking about a first, or next, tattoo.

For more information, contact Alley Cat Tattoo at (712)732-1444 or visit them online. They are located at 216 5th street, Storm Lake, Iowa 50588.

Photo by Justice Kempf