Sometimes we do! Please call for walk-in availability, as our artists and our piercer tend to get booked up quickly! (714)-534-8784

That depends on the specific artist.

For Si’i, Seymour, or Josh, please call the shop to book. (714)-534-8784

For Lio, please book through his booking system here.

For Star, Janet or Nick, please book directly through their DMs on Instagram.

Star IG: @hokutattoos     Janet IG: @jcoca_tattoos     Nick IG: @kozy.ink

Tattoos and piercings minimum age is 18 without parental consent due to California laws.

Malu is $2500
Pe’a is $8000
Tualima (hand Malu), Taulima (arm band), Tauvae (leg band)
Tatau rate $350 per hour

This is a very common question, and the answer is quite simple: anyone that can answer the pain of the ‘au (tattoo tool) can get their tatau!

There are many misnomers about the Samoan tatau, such as they are only for chiefs, they are only for Samoans or Polynesians, and that to get your traditional Samoan tatau, you must be proficient in the language and understand the culture fully. None of these things have ever been a traditional prerequisite for getting marked by the tools.

First off, we reserve the right to refuse service to ANYBODY! 

Now with the tatau we are limited to the areas we can tattoo because of accessibility as well as due to the method of application some areas on the body do not take the pigment well causing misses and blowouts, the face and neck are examples of areas I would not do a tatau.

For machine tattoos, we can pretty much tattoo anywhere, but we do reserve the right to say no, whether it’s because of placement or subject matter that may be offensive to the artist. For example, if a person were to come in to get their first tattoo and wanted it on their face, I would almost 100% say no for many different reasons. As tattoo artists we have the responsibility to not only do good tattoos on our clients but also to guide them in this process so that they can enjoy their decision to get a tattoo for years to come.

The short answer is yes, but this is something that your artist needs to be comfortable with.

With the advancement of machine tattooing and the industry over the past 20 years, there are an infinite number of possibilities for tattooing.  It is very common to mix Polynesian style tattooing with black and grey realism, Aztec style designs, Japanese tattoos…. the possibilities are endless, but once again your artist must be on board with your request, this will help ensure you get the tattoo you want done with your artist best abilities!

YES!

As a Tufuga Ta Tatau, a machine artist and even as a Samoan/Polynesian Si’i feels that it is an incredible sense of gratitude and honor that people outside of his culture would want to adorn their bodies with his cultural motifs!  He also feels that this act of marking your body’s with the sacred symbols is a testament to the beauty of the commitment of the Polynesians to their families, community and the culture of the Pacific.

While there are some who feel that the malofie and malu and few other ancient tatau should be reserved for only the genealogical descendants of the Pacific, if you ask anyone who has laid down on the mats to be tattooed by the tools, they will most likely congratulate the wearer and commend them for their bravery and perseverance to finish their tatau rather than question whether or not they were allowed to get it.

Si’i says from a Samoan perspective, it is up to many other cultures individually to decide who gets their tatau and for what purposes such as the Pe’a Tonga or Tau Vaka, the Puhoru and Ta Moku of Aotearoa to the marks of the Kahuna Ka Kakau of Hawaii. But you won’t know until you ask!  

There is a Samoan saying that goes, “Ka muamua le nuku, ae ka lau tatau,” which translates to “tattoo your mouth before you do your tatau”.  From what Si’i has been told from his mentor, Su’a Sulu’ape Alaiva’a, who bestowed his Su’a Sulu’ape title on him, those words came from people who were scared to get their tatau whether from the physical pain or out of fear of religious discrimination.  There has never been a requirement of knowledge for these traditional tatau which is evident by the average age that the ancient Polynesians were getting tattooed, in their teens!

And we all know teenagers don’t know very much!!

Here is the link to our tattoo aftercare sheet. For more specific questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Here is the link to our piercing aftercare sheet. For more specific questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.