Tattoo Shop Checklist: Essential Hygiene Supplies
Setting up a tattoo shop is no easy feat. In addition to all the hurdles that come with setting up a business, you’ll be dealing with potentially harmful chemicals, needles, body fluids, and hazardous waste.
Staying on the right side of the law by responsibly handling health and safety hazards is only possible through the right kind of equipment. We’ve put together a comprehensive list of all the hygiene supplies you need as a tattooist.
Tattoo Shops: Relevant Legislation
Licensing
All tattoo artists, along with their premises, must be registered with their local authority environmental health department. An inspection will take place when the premises is registered and further inspections will happen on a semi-regular basis.
Most local authorities will require the tattooist or tattoo shop to hold a tattoo, piercing and electrolysis licence, although in London businesses are required to hold a Special Treatments Licence instead. Contacting your local authority to find out what steps are required to register your premises is the best way forward as the process differs from council to council.
Registering with the Environmental Health Department
Every tattoo shop must be registered with its local environmental health department. Permanent or semi-permanent skin colouring is illegal if you aren’t registered. Registration is only successful if the premises passes an inspection of health and safety standards.
Health and safety standards vary slightly depending on locality but generally, you will be expected to demonstrate:
- Appropriate use of personal protective equipment, for example, disposable gloves.
- Appropriate sterilisation methods, for example, the use of an autoclave.
- Responsible waste disposal, for example, the use of sharps bins and correct hazardous waste bags.
The handling of potentially hazardous substances means that your tattoo business also needs to comply with Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations. Contacting your local environmental health department to find out which specific health and safety protocols you need to follow should be your next step.
Waste Disposal
Some waste produced by tattoo parlours is classed as hazardous clinical waste. Any body fluids or materials that have come into contact with body fluids need to be treated as potentially infectious and are classed as clinical hazardous waste. This includes:
- Blood
- Used needles
- Sharps that have been contaminated with blood, for example, broken glass in an accident.
- Gloves
- Dressings
- Swabs
These will need to be appropriately disposed of and collected only by an authorised hazardous waste collector in your locale.
Tattoo Shop Checklist for Hygiene Supplies
Keeping your shop clean and maintaining a sterile environment when giving tattoos will help you to stay on the right side of health and safety compliance. Not to mention your customers will feel at ease and know they are in good hands when they come through the door.
Here’s a comprehensive list of hygiene supplies needed in a tattoo shop:
PPE
Infection Control
- Hand sanitiser gel
- Biohazard waste bags
- Biohazard spill kit
- Sharps bins
- Detergent wipes
- Alcohol-free universal wipes
- 70% alcohol wipes
- Disposable hands and face wipes
- Disinfectant spray
- Disposable couch roll
- An autoclave machine and bag to store autoclaved equipment
- Needle trays
- Germicidal solution
- Ultrasonic cleaning solution and cleaner
- Brushes to clean tubes and tips
- Tattoo machine rack
- Protective cover for tattoo machine
First Aid
Tattoo Care
- Antiseptic cream
- Vaseline
- Plastic wrap
- Conforming bandage
- Non-adhesive double-sided wound dressings
- Adhesive wound dressings
- Microporous tape
- Alcohol prep pads
- Stainless steel scissors
Visit our
Personal First Aid Online Guide
Find everything you need, from first aid kits, plasters & bandages to hot & cold therapy.
Tattoo Shop Infection Prevention and Control
Public Health England, together with The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Health and Safety Laboratory, and the Tattoo and Piercing Industry Union collaborated to create an extensive guide to tattooing and piercing which covers a number of cleaning and hygiene protocols.
Infection control should be managed through five standard principles that make up the fundamentals of any tattoo shop cleaning checklist:
- Hand hygiene and skincare.
- Proper use of PPE.
- Management of sharps and body fluids responsibly.
- Proper handling, storage, and disposal of waste.
- Cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising the environment.
1. Hand hygiene and Skincare
One of the main sources of infection transmission is through dirty hands. Washing hands regularly for 20 seconds minimum with soap and water can significantly reduce the number of pathogens transmitted through hand contact.
Make sure that you and all your staff know how to wash their hands properly and always have access to a sink with running hot and cold water, a soap dispenser, paper towels, and a pedal bin. Jewellery should be removed to wash hands and left off if carrying out tattooing procedures.
Hand sanitiser is a useful substitute for handwashing when there’s no sink nearby or when it’s not reasonably possible to wash your hands. Hand gel can help you keep your environment cleaner by offering more opportunities to sanitiser your hands.
When hand gel should be used:
- After handling cash at the till
- After handling an instrument with clean hands
When hand gel shouldn’t be used (handwashing instead):
- When preparing to undertake a tattoo
- When hands are visibly soiled
2. Proper Use of PPE
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires all businesses, including tattoo shops, to conduct an assessment of risks to themselves and their employees, and anyone else that comes into contact with the business. PPE is based on the risks assessed.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations require an assessment to be made as to whether biohazardous risks are present in the workplace. In a tattoo parlour, there is undoubtedly a risk of body fluids being present (blood), and potentially blood-borne pathogens.
Gloves
Using gloves protects the hands of the wearer from microorganisms, and prevents the transfer of microorganisms as gloves are changed and disposed of regularly.
Gloves must be worn when in contact with un-intact skin, bodily fluids and secretions, mucous membranes, and sterile sites. A tattoo is considered an open wound and therefore gloves must be worn when carrying out tattoo work. All gloves must carry CE certification to meet EU standards of quality. This certification should be visible on the product, packaging, or from the manufacturer.
Nitrile gloves provide an excellent barrier to microorganisms and harmful materials. They are puncture and tear-proof and latex-free. They make an excellent choice when performing tattoo work.
Vinyl gloves are lighter and more appropriate to low biohazard risk tasks like cleaning up non-biohazardous materials and handling cash.
Disposable aprons should be worn when dealing with tasks that present the risk of exposure to body fluids.
Face masks should be worn to protect against the spread of Covid-19 in indoor public places. Wear a Type IIR face masks to protect those around you as a minimum requirement by law, or an FFP3 valved respirator to protect yourself.
Eyewear should be considered if there is a risk of body fluids splashing into your face. It’s a good idea to have some protective goggles for staff to use when performing close-up tattoo work.
3. Management of Sharps and Body Fluids Responsibly
Blood-borne diseases include hepatitis B, C, and D, and HIV. In tattoo shops where blood and sharp objects are present, extra care must be taken to minimise the possibility of transmitting a blood-borne infection.
Ways that blood-borne infection can be transmitted:
- Through a needlestick
- Contact between blood and broken skin
- Swallowing blood which has landed in the mouth
- Through the mucous membranes of the eyes
- Bites
How to minimise the risk of blood-borne infection:
- Dispose of all sharps(needles, needle bars with attached cannulae, razors etc) into a sharps bin immediately after use. Your sharps bins must comply with UN3291 and BS7320 standards which Steropast Sharps Bins do.
- Only use sterile, single-use needles to pierce skin, inspect needles before using for imperfections and discard if they are found.
- Wear PPE when performing tattoo work.
- Deal with body fluid, including blood, spills quickly in the proper way by using a biohazard spill kit. Find out exactly how to use a biohazard spill kit in our blog post with a video.
- Immunise staff against blood-borne infections if they are willing.
4. Proper Handling, Storage, and Disposal of Waste
All businesses have a responsibility to dispose of waste properly so that people, animals, and the environment aren’t put at risk. Tattoo shops are responsible for hazardous waste in addition to general waste and so must take extra precautions.
Types of hazardous waste accumulated in a tattoo shop:
- Used and unused needles
- Used cotton swabs
- Used dressings
- Used gloves and aprons
- Anything that may have come into contact with body fluids that isn’t going to be autoclaved
Steps to take with hazardous waste:
- Dispose of sharps into a sharps bin immediately after use.
- Use a biohazard spill kit to clean up any body fluid spills quickly and efficiently.
- Place soiled materials into a yellow biohazard bag.
- Source and arrange a regular collection from a licensed hazardous waste collection company (you can contact your local authority for advice on companies).
- Keep records of all your waste collections in a safe place.
5. Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sterilising the Environment
A good cleaning protocol can be based on these fundamental steps:
- Establish a cleaning procedure for all areas of the facility, documented in a cleaning policy that everyone can access and that all employees are trained in.
- Equipment should be provided that is in good working order and easy to clean, for example, non-porous equipment.
- Develop a cleaning schedule that starts in the cleanest area and moves to the dirtiest in an effort to minimise the spreading of germs and dirt.
- Appoint a member of the team as the hygiene officer. It is this person’s responsibility to ensure that cleaning protocols are upheld and that all team members have the training and resources to carry out the cleaning protocols.
- Use single-use cleaning cloths where possible and dispose of them after use.
Single-use cleaning cloths we recommend:
Formerly known as PDI Sani-Cloth Universal Wipes
Simplify Workplace First Aid
Interactive Online Guide & Downloadable Brochure
Simplify Workplace First Aid
Interactive Online Guide & Downloadable Brochure
Choose the format that works for you: check out our Workplace First Aid Interactive Online Guide or download our Workplace First Aid Brochure as an easy-to-save PDF. Both include a self-assessment, product details, pricing, and comprehensive training and support.
