A Tauranga mother is angry about the availability of ‘do it yourself' tattoo kits after her teenage son came home from a party with a tattoo administered by a friend.

Kim Bedford, a mother of three, was shocked to find out her 17-year-old son had gone out to a party one weekend and returned home with a large tattoo on his abdomen using a gun that was purchased online.

A DIY tattoo gun purchasable online.

'I found out through my other son, who had also had a tattoo done by a friend in similar circumstances and regrets it.

'It's dangerous – they are risking their health to do this.

'You can't stop young adults going through these phases, but now, not only are parents having to deal with alcohol and drugs, there are now tattoo guns.

'He is taking responsibility for it and acknowledges that it was a stupid thing to do.”

Kim says although her son is responsible for getting the tattoo, she thinks these DIY kits are too easily available and there need to be restrictions in place.

'You can pick them up online for next to nothing, anyone can purchase one.

'I don't think this should be allowed.

'There are kids out there taking them to parties and tattooing each other – they are scarring themselves for life.”

Kim says she knows other parents whose children have had tattoos done by their friends because it is 'cool”.

'Tattoos are popular at the moment, but because these kids cannot afford to get tattoos done professionally they are doing it themselves and the end results that I have seen are horrible.

'Kids can do stupid things when they are young and do not realise the consequences.”

Tattoo kits can be purchased for $20 to $200 through websites such as TradeMe, national tattoo warehouses and internationally through eBay.

There is no age or legal restriction on the purchase of these kits, making them available to anyone with a credit card.

Tattooist Skye Carson-Wilson from Hammerhead Tattoos in Mount Maunganui says anyone can get a hold of a tattoo gun, as you do not have to be a registered tattoo artist to purchase them.

'There is nothing to stop people buying them off websites like TradeMe.

'You do not have to be registered or anything. This is equipment that should not be used lightly – there are healthcare issues and safety practices that need to be followed.

'Online suppliers need to make sure they are selling to professional tattooists.”

The tattoo studio on Mount Maunganui Road purchased its first removal machine three weeks ago and Skye says they have already received a call from a concerned parent wanting to bring their teenager in to get a tattoo removed.

'We had a parent phone up last week saying their son had gone to a party and got a tattoo and they wanted to bring him in to get it removed.

'This is the first call we have had from a parent, but once the word gets around we have a removal machine, we are expecting more.”

At present tattooing is not nationally regulated in New Zealand and there are no bylaws in Tauranga for tattooing.

Tattooists belonging to the Tattoo Artists Association of New Zealand work to a code of ethics that states they will not tattoo someone under 18-years-old without their parent or guardian's permission.

The Ministry of Health has a set of guidelines for health and safety practices, however, there is no law enforcing these and meeting these guidelines is strictly voluntary.

At Hammerhead, Skye says they adhere to the ministry guidelines and ensure all of the surfaces are covered and equipment is sterilised.

They also have an ultra-sonic machine to sterilise grips.

'We never re-use needles, we make sure we show people that come in to get a tattoo that the needles are coming out of a clean, fresh package.”

Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Jim Miller says unsafe tattooing practices can leave people susceptible to blood born infections including Hepatitis B and C and even HIV.

'It is quite possible to pass these infections on through bad hygiene practices with needles.

'All of those can in the longer term be fatal.

'Hepatitis can lead to liver problems, and HIV is a breakdown in the immune system that can lead to other infections. All of those diseases are very serious.”

He says generally unhygienic practices can introduce common bacteria and cause skin infections.

'You can end up with boils, scarring, possibly even septicaemia, if you get a bad bacterial infection.

'Even bacterial skin infections – you can end up with scarring and nasty wounds, and worst case scenario blood infections.”

Dr Miller says the ministry's health guidelines all need to be met before it is safe to get a tattoo.

'There needs to be safe and uncluttered work areas, you need to have proper disposable equipment, good facilities for personal hygiene and be able to dispose of any blood stained waste appropriately.

'It's really only safe to have a tattoo if you go to a reputable place, they should be following those guidelines.”

He recommends people use their commonsense and investigate a tattooist's workplace before they go ahead with the procedure.