Tattoo shops glossary
Short, plain-English definitions of the terms you'll meet when choosing a tattoo shop provider in London.
- What are tattoo cartridge needles?
- Disposable needle cartridges that house pre-assembled needle groupings in sealed, sterile units, designed to load into modern tattoo machine frames for single-use application.
- What is a biomechanical tattoo?
- A tattoo style that merges anatomical human forms with mechanical or robotic elements, typically rendered in grey and black shading to appear as if machinery lies beneath the skin.
- What is a blackwork tattoo?
- A tattoo style that employs solid black ink to form bold graphic shapes, solid areas, and expansive designs across the skin. Blackwork differs from dotwork, which uses dots or stippling, and is distinguished by its flat, dense coverage.
- What is a dotwork tattoo?
- A tattoo technique where the artist builds shading, depth, and intricate patterns entirely from individual dots placed strategically across the design, commonly used in geometric and mandala work.
- What is a flash tattoo?
- Flash tattoos are ready-made designs pre-drawn and displayed by studios that clients can choose to have tattooed directly as shown, without modification.
- What is a freehand tattoo?
- A freehand tattoo is a design drawn directly onto the skin by the artist without a stencil, relying on their skill and improvisation.
- What is a guest spot artist?
- A guest spot artist is a visiting tattoo professional who works temporarily at a studio they don't permanently operate from, usually for a fixed period or series of sessions.
- What is a micro-realism tattoo?
- A micro-realism tattoo is a miniature, photorealistic design executed with single or fine-needle groupings to create hyper-detailed imagery at a small scale.
- What is a neo-traditional tattoo?
- Neo-traditional tattoos extend American traditional tattooing with greater illustrative depth, colour dimension, and refined detail while retaining bold lines and recognizable iconography.
- What is a single needle tattoo?
- A tattoo technique using a single needle to create exceptionally thin, precise lines and fine detail work, commonly used in fine line and micro tattoo styles.
- What is a stick and poke tattoo?
- A tattoo created by hand-poking a needle repeatedly through skin and ink, without using an electric machine, resulting in a characteristically soft, organic line quality.
- What is a tattoo apprenticeship?
- A tattoo apprenticeship is a hands-on training arrangement where someone learns tattooing directly from an established artist in a working shop, typically over 2-4 years, as opposed to formal classroom instruction.
- What is a tattoo blowout?
- A tattoo blowout is ink that spreads uncontrollably into the layer below the dermis during tattooing, causing lines to blur or distort as the ink disperses through the skin.
- What is a tattoo stencil?
- A temporary transfer outline applied to skin before tattooing to map out the design and guide the artist's work.
- What is a trash polka tattoo?
- Trash polka is a German tattoo style that combines photorealistic elements with abstract, chaotic brush strokes and splatters, typically using red, black, and grey inks.
- What is a watercolour tattoo?
- A tattoo style that mimics watercolour paintings, using soft colour transitions, translucent effects, and loose splashes with little or no black outline.
- What is autoclave sterilisation?
- An autoclave is a pressurised chamber that uses steam heat to sterilise reusable tattoo equipment by killing bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that could cause infections.
- What is colour realism tattoo?
- Colour realism is a photorealistic tattooing style that uses full spectrum colour to render subjects such as portraits, animals, and nature scenes with lifelike detail and three-dimensional depth.
- What is cross-hatching in tattooing?
- Cross-hatching is a shading method where parallel lines are layered at different angles to create the illusion of depth, shadow, and texture in a tattoo design.
- What is grey wash?
- Grey wash is black tattoo pigment diluted with a carrier solution to create lighter grey tones, commonly used for shading in black and grey realism work.
- What is tattoo studio licensing in the UK?
- Tattoo studio licensing in the UK is the mandatory local authority registration process that tattoo businesses and practitioners must complete to legally operate, ensuring compliance with health, safety, and hygiene standards set by local councils.
- What is tebori?
- Tebori is a traditional Japanese hand-poking tattoo method in which an artist manually applies ink using a wooden or metal handle with grouped needles, without electric machinery.
- What is the difference between coil and rotary tattoo machines?
- Coil machines use electromagnetic coils to create a rapid up-and-down needle motion, while rotary machines use a rotating cam to drive needles in a similar pattern. Each design produces different needle speeds and puncture characteristics suited to different tattoo work.
- What is whip shading?
- Whip shading is a hand-guided tattooing technique where the artist flicks the needle away from the skin in quick motions to create soft, feathered gradients and fading transitions between tones.