Sterilization and preparation for tattooing
As mentioned above the tattoo machine injects ink into your skin via a puncture wound. There is always the risk of infectious diseases entering through any puncture wound so this is why safety is so important when it comes to tattoo application. It is important that the tattoo artist protects the client by using correct hand sanitation, disposable materials, and proper sterilization.
In order to completely eliminate any possibility most tattoo materials are single use; this includes things like gloves, needles, inks, and ink cups. Many of these products will be bought in sterile packaging and the artist is expected to open these in front of the customer.
There will be some materials that the tattoo artist will need to reuse and these will be sterilized each time; things like the needle bar and tubes. All tattoo shops need to have an autoclave to do this. An autoclave uses a combination of heat, steam, and pressure to sterilize; they can kill every organism on any equipment this way. The autoclave can combine time, pressure, and temperature in a couple of combinations to work effectively; fifteen minutes at a temperature of 270 degrees Fahrenheit and fifteen pounds of pressure or thirty minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit and ten pounds of pressure.
Before sterilizing any equipment the tattoo artist first needs to clean it and then inserts it into a pouch that has been made specifically for the autoclave. This pouch has a strip that changes color if the contents are no longer sterile.
It is vital that the tattoo artist inspects their hands for any cuts or abrasions before begin work; they will also need to thoroughly clean their hands. They will then need to disinfect the area with a viricide that has been approved by the EPA. The tattoo artist should place plastic bags on spray battles to prevent any type of cross contamination, and all equipment should be removed from the sterile packaging so that the customer can see. An explanation of the sterilization process should always be given to any tattoo parlor customer.
