A lot has changed, with men and women of all ages now sporting tattoos and piercings on virtually any area of skin, but laws governing the artists in Ohio hadn’t kept up with the times.
Until now.
The state is redrawing the rules for tattoo artists and piercers for the first time since the late 1990s.
Among the new regulations going into effect Sept. 1: Piercing guns can be used only on lower earlobes and minors can’t get their genitals or nipples pierced, even if their parents approve.
“These aren’t bad changes,” said Rob Church, owner and piercer at Modern Ritual in Massillon. “These are great changes for our profession and the industry and public health.”
About one in five American adults now is sporting ink, an increase from 14 percent in 2003, according to a survey by the Harris Poll. Among Americans ages 30 to 39, 38 percent say they have at least one tattoo.
Many of the updates reflect the changes within the growing industry, said Patrick McCarthy, president of the newly created Association of Body Art Professionals and owner of Piercology in Columbus.
State law, for example, recently was revised to allow the use of pre-sterilized items for tattoos, McCarthy said. The previous law, enacted before one-time-use, pre-sterilized products were common in the industry, required body artists to sterilize all items.
The new state rules require all body art businesses to have an infection and disease control plan — something Summit County Public Health already requires.
“All of this was done to help the consumers make sure they’re not going to get any infectious diseases,” McCarthy said.
He helped established the original state regulations for tattoos and piercings in 1998 and served on a committee with industry leaders and public health officials that helped rewrite the rules this year. McCarthy now is leading a series of training sessions about the updates for artists and health department inspectors across the state.
Church said the new regulations should help the industry in its ongoing efforts “to become so much more legitimate.”
The updates also should protect consumers by encouraging more training among the public health inspectors who make sure the rules are being followed, said Church, membership chair of the Association of Body Art Professionals and one of the trainers at several of the statewide meetings for artists and inspectors.
Summit County has 38 licensed body art facilities, with each subject to unannounced annual inspections by the county health department.
Businesses like mall jewelry stores that only use piercing guns aren’t subject to inspections, said Aixa Bakuhn, assistant director for Summit County Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health. The department plans to notify these businesses about the new rules limiting the use of piercing guns to the earlobes.
From January 2013 through last week, inspectors discovered 42 violations of the current state law at licensed body art businesses in Summit County, according to health department figures.
About a quarter of the violations were for failure to document the lot number for all the ink used in each tattoo or not keeping proof of first aid and blood-borne pathogen training on site for each artist. Another seven citations were for not using individually packaged dressings to apply to completed tattoos, according to the health department.
Most were minor problems that were easily fixed with training, said Julie Reis, sanitary supervisor with Summit County Public Health.
“For the most part, the thing about the tattoo studios is these are the operators who are trying to follow the rules,” she said. “They’re not operating out of somebody’s home illegally.”
Josh Walker, manager of Empire Ink in Akron, wasn’t aware of the upcoming rule changes but said “everybody should be held to an industry high standard.”
Jay Miller, owner of Crucible Tattoo in Kent, said he also approves of stricter rules for the industry but thinks more needs to be done to crack down on tattoos and piercings in unlicensed locations that aren’t subject to inspections.
“I’m happy to see them doing something, but I think they can do more,” he said.
Bakuhn said consumers should be leery of going to unlicensed locations for body art. These businesses “hide themselves very well,” she said, making it difficult to shut them down.
“People don’t realize the danger that there is and the diseases they can get from using a dirty needle or a needle that has been used on somebody else,” she said.
Anyone considering a tattoo or piercing can contact the local health department to request information about the business before selecting a studio, she said.
Tattoo enthusiast Terry Morteson, 32, of Akron said he chose Empire Ink for most of his tattoos based on a friend’s recommendation.
Morteson has a three-quarter “sleeve” with a dove, crow and a space theme on his left arm, Batman and the Joker on his right leg, and pyramids — his band’s logo — and other art scattered on his other arm, back and foot.
“I’m sure some do good work just out of their houses but it doesn’t seem like the most sanitary of conditions,” he said. “And usually the artists aren’t as good if they aren’t working out of a shop.”
McCarthy, president of the statewide industry association, said there has been talk about requiring body artists to get a state license to prove their competency.
In the meantime, he said, people should do their homework and ask questions before selecting an artist.
“Make sure the person knows what they’re doing,” he said. “Make sure they’ve been doing it for a while.”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.