Best Tattoo Shops in Kansas City

Founded in 1993, A1 Tattoo Shop provides professional tattooing services to clients in Kansas City and Gladstone. Its owner, Brennan O’ Rourke, has been in the business for over 20 years and specializes in American Traditional tattooing and large-scale Japanese-style tattoos. He works with a team of seasoned tattoo artists trained in inking large and small-scale tattoos, diverse tattoo styles—including vintage and hand-drawn artworks—cover-ups, and originals. Brennan and his team's mission is to tattoo clients with professional body art that they can be proud of.

Based in Kansas City, Dragonfly Tattoo Studio is a tattoo shop that is owned and operated by Troy Butner since 1997. For the several decades, Troy has built its studio's reputation by selecting skilled and talented artists to work with their clients. The studio's artists are able to create a wide range of body artworks, from minimalistic tattoos to full-sleeved tattoos. Dragonfly Studio Tattoos provides a safe and clean environment to serve its clients' tattoo needs.

Exile Tattoo is located in Kansas City and consists of two shops: Whispering Danny's Exile Tattoo and Exile Tattoo 2. Owned by professional tattoo artist Danny Kobzantsev, the team of eight is influenced by classic Japanese imagery and traditional American tattooing and can work on a wide range of artworks and designs. Clients can choose from black ink or colored tattoos as well. Exile Tattoo artists also allow pop-up stores at their shop and often put up personal artwork for sale and for charity.

Hand & Dagger Tattoo is a tattoo studio that hosts a collective of skilled, talented artists specializing in a wide variety of inking styles for custom-designed tattoos. Artists at Hand & Dagger Tattoo can create tattoos in almost any style including traditional American, Japanese, black and grayscale, script, color, intricate geometrical, realism, and illustrative neo-traditional. Past clients praise Hand & Dagger Tattoo's clean and comfortable facility, talented artists, and relaxing, laid back atmosphere. Hand & Dagger Tattoo accepts walk-in clients.

Headless Hands Custom Tattoos has been providing tattoos and piercing services in Kansas City since 2006. It offers customized tattoo designs using sterilized materials in a high-temperature and high-pressure autoclave. The shop's resident tattoo artists are trained in safe and proper tattooing to ensure quality service to its clients. It specializes in various art styles such as illustrative, realism, neo-traditional, abstract, lettering, and watercolor. It also provides after-care services and educates clients on what not to do during the healing process.

Illustrated Man Tattoo offers body art services to the community of Kansas City. The studio’s owner, Jack Cox, opened the shop in 1972 as the city’s first tattoo studio. With decades of industry experience, he leads a team of artists who can take on a wide range of styles, such as colorwork, traditional Americana, black and grey realism. In addition to these, Illustrated Man Tattoo also provides cosmetic tattoos or permanent makeup services.

Jessie Hopeless is a professional tattoo artist that has been creating custom body art designs since 2003. She has a newly opened private studio that serves Kansas City and the surrounding communities. Jessie has created various styles, which include realism, black and gray, contemporary, and abstract. Her past works can be viewed on her Instagram account. She was nominated for 2020 Best Tattoo Artist at The Pitch Best of KC. She also has a B.A. in Philosophy degree.

Revelation Tattoo provides tattoo and piercing services to Gladstone and surrounding areas. The studio bills itself as high-energy and traditional and provides full-color artwork and expert piercings. Founder John Monk started the shop in 1992 and is an expert in traditional American and Japanese styles. The studio’s team of nine artists has been recognized by the Gladstone Dispatch as “Best of the Northland” two years in a row.

STEEL PANTHER TATTOO. formerly known as 39th Street Tattoo is a studio serving Kansas City clients. Its professional tattoo artists create custom designs to ensure 100% originality of tattoos. Clients can view a photo gallery of their work on the website as a reference to what they specialize in. Aubrey, the shop's owner, has years of experience creating tattoos in a variety of styles, including photorealistic, landscape, Japanese, and black and grey. The team provides a sanitary environment for clients when receiving their tattoos.

Stormy Tattoo is a private and appointment only tattoo service located in Kansas City. Owner Stormy Jackson began working as a professional tattoo artist in 2001 and worked for various shops around the region for over a decade. Stormy specializes in custom, one-of-a-kind, original tattoo designs and cover-up work, including black and gray, portraits, Asian and American traditional styles. He was recognized as Kansas City's Best Tattoo Artist by Kansas City Magazine.

The Ink Parlor - Main St is a Kansas City tattoo studio serving the entire metro area. It offers a variety of flash designs for clients to choose from, as well as custom tattoo services for those who want a more personal touch to their ink. The studio’s artists are able to draw up designs in a wide range of styles, including traditional American, black and gray realism, and colorwork. The studio maintains a clean and sterile environment for everyone's safety.