Vivid Ink Tattoos | The UK Tattoo Studios Chain

The Top Ways Your Tattoo Studio Can Take Care of Your Health and Safety

At the time of writing we are currently in the UK’s 3^rd National lockdown which has shown that now more than ever people are becoming increasing conscious of their health. In this blog we want to talk about the steps that tattoo studios take every day to ensure your s

afety, not just during COVID but for general practice.  Don’t worry, we will be doing an entire blog based around COVID specific precautions soon.

The first factor to be considered before any studio can operate comes down to licensing. In order to become an operational business, tattoo studios must be regulated by their local council. This means a whole set of stringent rules and laws by which the tattoo studio must adh

ere to. Each studio must also register with the environmental health department within their local council who will ensure that the tattoo studio is compliant with their health and safety regulations, once done they will issue an approved licence specifically for that studio. This gives peace of mind that the tattoo studio has met the highest standards of hygiene and has reduced risks to it’s artists and customers.

In addition to this, all artists must also show that they themselves are compliant with environmental laws in order to obtain their own individual licence, which then allows them to practice within a council registered studio.

The second factor to explore is the steps that tattoo studios take in specifically for health and hygiene and to discuss why they are so important. Tattoo artists and piercers perform “skin penetration” therefore it is essential that in order to eliminate infection risks, the highest level of hygiene standards and safety precautions must be in place.

Within a tattoo studio there are two types of equipment being used – reusable and disposable. Reusable items such as piercing clamps and metal tattoo grips which hold the needle will be sterilised under heat in an autoclave machine. This machine can reach heats of up to 121 degrees in around 15 – 20 minutes. Disposable equipment on the other hand is single use and once they are opened and used they will then be safely disposed of. It’s common for the entire tattoo process to now be carried out using purely disposable single use items.

The studio environment itself will also be thoroughly cleaned using medical grade surface cleaner and all of the equipment will be set up in a way to avoid any potential cross contamination. All artists also wear disposable gloves for extra protection and all surfaces in use

will be covered with disposable coverings.

Before the tattoo process can begin, the skin must be prepared and cleaned with medical grade cleaner. It may also need to be shaved to remove the hair using a single use razor. Once the skin has been prepared and cleaned, the artist can focus on the tattoo. All of the inks used in the process will also be a certified quality and after the tattoo has been completed any remaining ink will be disposed of responsibly. The ink and all of the clinical waste produced such as the single use items we mentioned earlier will be disposed of using a specialist waste system, the same as in a

ny medical profession. It will be safely stored and collected from the premises by a designated waste collection company who will then take it to be incinerated in line with industry regulations.

There are many more elements involved in maintaining a professional tattoo studio but we hope you found this useful and it has given you an insight into some of the steps that professional tattoo studios like us are taking in order to keep your health and safety at the forefront.