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As the Tattoo & Body Piercing Industry Evolves

While recently waiting on a layover in the Minneapolis airport, I was thinking how tattooing, permanent makeup and body piercing are developing into more mature industries. Either that or I am aging. Since I am an optimist by nature, I prefer to think our industries are advancing in years, not me.

In 1989, Susan Church and I founded the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals (SPCP) to formalize standards and ethics to the permanent cosmetic field. In the early 90's, the Association of Professional Piercer's (APP) was formed to do the same thing for body piercing. During the same time, tattooing came out of the alleys and developed into a respected profession with their own organization call the Association of Professional Tattooers (APT). 

Throughout the 90s, I was very vocal on how I thought permanent cosmetic technicians should view themselves and their world. I also offered a lot of “helpful” advice and gave strong opinions on piercing and tattoo issues. 

Let's face it; I will be opinionated to my dying day. However, as our industries are no longer in their infancy, I realized that some of my ideas and strong opinions might need to change. 

At this stage of business maturity, most professionals understand basic sterilization. Fifteen years ago rotary permanent cosmetic machines were unsafe because the plastic could not be properly sterilized. Now that has changed as manufacturers were forced to make their machines safe due to industry demand, legislation and exposure to lawsuits. Now the vast majority of people in the permanent cosmetic industry use pre-sterilized, singly packaged needles, tubes and tips done to medical industry specifications. 

Most body piercers and tattooists understand the need for autoclaves. Almost everyone uses steam sterilization on their needles, tubes, forceps and other moveable parts. However, many still do not spore strip test regularly. Now we are seeing some tattooists purchasing pre-sterilized equipment like most permanent cosmetic people do. Thus the public is certainly more protected from contamination than they were in earlier years. 

So where does that leave the industry organizations such as the SPCP, APP, APT and those other people who want to help these industries grow and become more professional? Recently my thinking took an abrupt turn when I heard from two people that California held a hearing about body piercing, tattoo and permanent cosmetic regulations. It suddenly dawned on me that in our near future, the battles would be fought as groups, not as individuals. 

The proposed California legislation had wording in it that said “a person getting a body piercing, tattoo or permanent cosmetic procedure who is on any type of prescription medication will need to get approval from their doctor before getting the procedure.” 
If a person is on something as simple as prescription sleeping pills, they are supposed to go to their doctor to get permission to get their navel pierced. This is crazy. Yet if we all don't stay vigilant, this sort of thing will happen.

Fortunately, rational minds prevailed and the proposal was subsequently defeated. 

Maybe the job of our industry organizations and leading professionals will be to keep an eye on what is impacting the overall industry, whether it be at the legislative level or the press. Without vigilance, we could become victims of our own success when cities, counties or states try to limit the growth of the industry by imposing onerous restrictions on individual's right to get a tattoo or piercing such as what California attempted to do. And then there is 
the press, which is always ready to jump on the story and sensationalize it when something
goes wrong.

While our industries are now “main stream”, there is still a segment of the population that wants to limit where and how a professional tattooist and piercer can practice. The medical industry feels that they should be involved with permanent cosmetics, which in the case of the proposed California legislation, was a really bad idea. 

At this stage of our industry growth, it is best that the professionals become part of their industry organization. Just to keep up with what is happening around the professions, we may need to do this. There is strength and wisdom in numbers. Only by working as a group can we effectively fight these ideas and restrictions. Let's evolve as team players. 

SUSAN PRESTON, President
Professional Program Insurance Brokerage
371 Bel Marin Keys Blvd, Suite 220
Novato, CA 94949
CA License #: 0B17238
Phone (415) 475-4300 Fax (415) 475-4303
Email: Susan@tattoo-ins.com
Website: www.tattoo-ins.com

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