Body art
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What is body art?
Tattoos, body piercing, branding, scarification, and three-dimensional art or body modifications such as beading, are all body art. In Western Australia the most popular forms of body art are tattoos and body piercing.
Tattoos are permanent designs on the skin. They are made with coloured inks put under the skin with a machine.
Body piercings are holes in the skin made so jewellery can be worn. The holes are made with a sharp instrument.
In Western Australia a person can get a tattoo at 18. If a person is under the age of 18 the tattooist commits a criminal offence if he/she tattoos, unless a legal guardian has given written consent. The written consent must specify the particular tattoo and the part of the body which is being tattooed.
To get a body piercing a person may be aged under 18 and must agree to it. However, for consent to be valid, the person must be capable of forming a sound and reasoned judgment. In practice, many piercing studios also ask a legal guardian to give consent.
Health and safety
Make sure that the body artist:
- knows the Code of Practice for Skin Penetration Procedures and can talk about it with you
- has a clean and tidy, well-lit studio. The body artists should be clean and tidy too!
- washes hands at the beginning and end of the procedure, and whenever there is a need to take a break in the procedure, such as answering the phone
- wears new disposable gloves throughout the procedure. Once the body artist puts on gloves, nothing should be touched except the skin, the needle or tattooing machine, or the jewellery. A good body artist will change gloves many times during the course of a procedure
- uses sterile equipment. The body artist should be able to explain how equipment is sterilised and have a functioning steriliser on the premises
- assures you that any jewellery used for body piercing is NEW – recycled jewellery can have tiny scratches, which can irritate a new piercing and cause infection
- uses new needles, razors and other equipment for skin penetration and throws them out immediately after being used
- has everything that is used to penetrate the skin in sterile, sealed bags that are opened in your presence
- uses preparation equipment, such as stencils and spatulas, only once
- transfers the tattooing inks into sterile containers and discards them following the procedure (not returning them to stock)
- puts cleaning solutions, creams and anything else that is used on the skin onto single-use disposable containers
- cleans and disinfects the skin thoroughly before the skin is penetrated
- cleans the work areas between clients.
Notes on ear piercing guns
Stud guns are designed for ear lobes only. Do not allow anyone to pierce any other part of the body with a stud gun. Piercings to body parts other than the ears should be done using sterile cannulas (hollow medical needles) which are single use only.
If you are getting your ears pierced with a stud gun, make sure it is a sterile, single use cartridge model.
Make sure the body artist meets the same requirements as for any other body piercing.
Bacterial infections
There are numerous infections that can be spread through poor hygiene practices such as poor body artist standards or by you not following the aftercare instructions given. At worst they can be life threatening. At the least, the body art will be damaged.
Resources:
- Australian Medical Association Body Piercing brochure for youth
