Holidaymakers bound for Benidorm have been warned about the risks of getting a tattoo while on holiday.
Tourists often come back from Benidorm with fresh ink, possibly swayed by the influence of alcohol. Yet, worryingly, not every tattoo parlour in Benidorm meets the safety standards you’d hope for.
Local YouTuber ‘Benidorm by Ana’, who boasts more than 17,000 subscribers, has delved into this concerning issue in a recent video following action from local police.
She warned: “You have to find a very good place, a very good business, where you will actually let these people stick needles with paint inside of your body. And you might think, ‘These establishments are open, these establishments have to meet regulations, right? They should have their paperwork in order, they should have their licences, these artists should be trained’.
“A lot of the time, when you get inside, you see these typical printouts of pictures of tattoos. But you don’t know if it’s that person who performed this specific tattoo.”
Ana highlighted the recent crackdown by local police, who raided two tattoo parlours last weekend and seized a significant amount of equipment. The police provided an update on Facebook, stating: “More than 200 tattooing tools had to be confiscated in two establishments for not meeting sanitary conditions (inks, needles, lotions, etc.). Moreover, the tattooists were not authorised to exercise their activity.”
Ana continued: “These are needles! This should be sterile because it’s needles and you are putting something below your skin. And the skin gets scratched, and you might get an infection, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong, so you need to go to a place that you trust.”
She also reassured her followers that there are still some “great” tattoo studios in Benidorm. She specifically recommended Di Angelo Tattoo, which her husband has used before.
Ana concluded: “Whenever you see tattoo places that charge you really cheap, check out the surroundings, check if it’s clean, check how the utensils are being stored – don’t jump into it!”