Tipping Etiquette in the Tattoo Shop

Your tattoo artist devotes a lot of time and effort to each tattoo. Often, tattoo artists go the extra mile to ensure that their clients are comfortable as well as satisfied with their final product. So, the question is: should you tip your tattoo artist? The short and simple answer is, ‘yes.’ Below, we’ll review why tipping is important as well as the ‘unwritten rules’ that surround it.

There are several good reasons to tip your tattoo artist. For one, most artists have to pay for their own equipment, including the ink, needles, machines, etc. What’s more is that your artist doesn’t get paid the entire amount that you paid for your tattoo. Most take home only 50% of the total cost. In addition to their equipment expenses, tattoo artists need to pay for their place at the shop, a fee which shows up in their taxes.

Before becoming a tattoo artist, one needs to secure an apprenticeship, which is a very competitive process. Once they become an apprentice, they spend years working without compensation.

Like your barber or your waiter, your tattoo artist puts a decent effort into making you feel comfortable, welcome, and satisfied with your experience and end product. They can spend hours doing a difficult, custom design, and they can even spend hours creating the design for you. When trying to determine what kind of tip to offer, ask yourself whether it was a difficult design as well how much time your artist put into creating the idea behind the design. These considerations should influence your tip amount.

Generally, they say to go in with the same mentality as when dining at a restaurant, and to offer between 15% and 35% tip. Depending on the quality of the service, a good rule of thumb is to start at 20% and to add or subtract from there.

Another standard practice is to tip a flat amount per session, no matter the total cost of the tattoo. Brandon Ing, a tattoo artist from Toronto, said that he doesn’t “expect a tip from anyone,” but that, from his experience, a standard tip ranges from $20 to $40 per session. For his services, he claims that it’s not really percentage based.

While this decision is entirely up to you, typically clients tip at the end of each session so that your tattoo artist has confidence that you will be tipping them for their work. Alternatively, you could let your artist know that you will be tipping them in the final session.

In the tattoo shop, there’s no legitimate tipping currency other than cash. Unfortunately, compliments and food-as nice as they may seem- won’t pay your artist’s bills. Also, the single biggest ‘faux pas,’ next to not tipping at all, is asking the artist how much they want in tips. This can create a lot of awkwardness and discomfort, so is best avoided.

All in all, tipping shows appreciation for your tattoo artist and it contributes to their income. If you really liked your artist’s work, then recommend them once you leave the shop! This builds good rapport and brings them more business in the future. If you’re unsure about whether to tip a flat amount or a percentage of the total cost, ask a tattooed friend how they tip.