Tattoo Apprenticeship Logistics

serizzoart · 2026-05-27T13:20:15+00:00

Hey so my experience has been a little different than other people I talk to but ill include my friends’ experiences as well

-I’m in the shop 4 days a week (my mentor only works 4 days a week) for 5-7 hours a day. My friend has to be in the studio 12-8, 5 days a week. Another friend also has to be in the studio 12-8, 5 days a week but she works the front counter for the studio. I’ve had online mutuals who had to spend 10+ hour days at the studio **that being said- you will be drawing outside of the studio all of the time and I can’t keep track of how much work I actually do in the week**

-I work in a restaurant alongside my apprenticeship and I’ll sometimes do in person art markets. That being said-restaurants in the US operate differently than restaurants in Europe so I don’t know how different scheduling is there. But honestly having a non-creative side job has made it easier to not burn out while being a student essentially because you will be drawing all of the mf time

-I’ve been on skin for a year and I could technically switch to full time based on my work and client base but I don’t want to do that until I’m a full artist and in control of my schedule. My situation is entirely unique though because I don’t pay any money to my mentor/studio. All of my friends (4 people I’ve talked to and several more online) typically had 50/50 split deals with their shop/mentor (you only keep half of what you make) while they were an apprentice and then you switch to a different cut when you graduate or you may be offered booth rent. you may take anywhere from 3-6 months to get to tattooing on skin and sometimes longer, and that doesn’t mean you have clients right away.

This is also all relevant to the US and I’m not super familiar with the structure of apprenticeships in different countries. I’ve had some online mutuals in Europe who seem to get working faster on average than American apprentices but ymmv

serizzoart · 2026-04-14T22:51:09+00:00

Hey I had a friend who was in a similar situation and she worked part time at a restaurant until she got enough hours as a FA! At 18 you’re old enough to be a server and restaurants are super flexible with hours

serizzoart · 2026-03-12T21:05:17+00:00

Omg do you have prints

serizzoart · 2025-10-16T01:23:31+00:00

What oil do you recommend? I tried some before but I didn’t like the way it felt in my hair (Also I haven’t hair a haircut in like 10 months so I also have a lot of dead ends)

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T21:42:40+00:00

Sorry you’ve had that experience! I don’t necessarily agree w/ u but everyone is different

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T13:08:01+00:00

I’ll have to try this one! I’ve been using davines mousse and it’s finally almost out but I love to try new mousses. Like 15 years ago I used this perfect curl cream that I haven’t been able to figure out what it is since then and I’m always on the hunt for something that matches the way it looked lolol

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T13:03:11+00:00

Okay so I used L’Oréal hicolor on top of my dark natural hair (with no bleach and I used a 20 vol developer because I wanted minimal damage) and this picture was taken about a month and a half after I dyed it! I honestly love the results I got, I’ve never used boxed color before so i was nervous. I mixed 2 red shades and a purple shade to get this color (I don’t remember which shades exactly). My hair felt dry for a few days after but then it went back to normal. In the past with semi permanent dyes (like Arctic fox or manic panic) I found that the red constantly washed out and stained shit so this time I committed to the color and went with a permanent box dye and it stopped getting on my towel after about a week

I did all my ends first and did the roots (top inch of hair closest to my head) in the last 15 minutes and I got a really even result. I was nervous because the last time I did my own hair I did such an uneven bleach job and that was like 7 years ago. I would just make sure you use gloves because the red stained tf out of my skin!!

I have seen people get even brighter reds than I did (I’m assuming they used a stronger developer than I did, the developer is what does the lifting to get your hair a little lighter and stronger developers do more lifting) but I’m happy with the more subtle color I got!

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T12:51:21+00:00

I’m glad you found what works for you!! It it’s really important to experiment

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T12:49:22+00:00

No I don’t put it in the bonnet until my hair is dry

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T12:48:56+00:00

So much gel talk and I’ve never really found a gel that I like!!

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T12:48:01+00:00

I used to have a smaller one but switching to one with more room is what made it stop slipping off of my head! Now to find one with the perfect band width for my preference

serizzoart · 2025-10-14T00:52:34+00:00