Each person, firm or corporation who operates a tattooing or body piercing establishment within the City of Mentor will comply with the following requirements:
(a) Tattooing and Body Piercing Room.
(1) The room in which tattooing or body piercing is done shall have an area of not less than one hundred square feet (100 sf). Each room in which tattooing or body piercing is performed shall accommodate only one customer at a time. The walls and floors shall have impervious, smooth and washable surfaces.
(2) Toilet facilities shall be located within the tattoo or body piercing establishment and shall be accessible at all times during operating hours. The lavatory shall have hot and cold running water, soap, and single use towels available at all times.
(3) All tables and other equipment shall be constructed of impervious materials, with smooth, washable surfaces, and shall be separated from waiting customers or observers.
(4) The entire premises and equipment shall be maintained in a clean, sanitary condition and in good repair. Sufficient spotlight illumination shall be used to highlight the area to be tattooed or pierced.
(5) A minimum of forty (40) foot candles of light must be provided at the level where tattooing is being performed.
(b) Preparation and Procedure for Tattooing or Body Piercing.
(1) Written inquiry shall be made of the customer for a history of the following conditions: jaundice or hepatitis, swelling of the lymph nodes, AIDS or positive HIV test, skin disease or skin cancer at the site, hemophilia, allergies or anaphylactic reaction to dyes. Any individual indicating a history of any of the above shall not be tattooed nor their body pierced.
(2) Any individual who is inebriated or obviously under the effect of alcohol and/or drugs shall not be tattooed or have their body pierced.
(3) The operator shall verify the age of the patron, confirmed by driver's license or state identification card. No person under 18 years of age shall be tattooed or their body pierced without the prior express verified written consent of such person's parents and/or guardian.
(4) The operator shall scrub hands for two minutes with soap and water prior to starting a tattoo or body pierce; the hands shall be dried with individual, single use towels. The operator shall wear a clean, new pair of disposable latex gloves for each new customer.
(5) No tattooing or body piercing shall be done on any skin surface that has a rash, pimples, boils, infections or unhealthy conditions.
(6) Tattooing shall not be performed on the hands below the wrist line, on the feet below the ankle line, on genitalia, scrotum or in the anal area. Nor shall tattooing be undertaken over the site of recent hypodermic injection.
(7) No skin area shall be treated with chemicals for the purpose of removing, camouflaging or altering any blemish, birthmark, scar or tattoo.
(8) Single service razors, safety razors and straight edge razors are to be used in preparation for the procedure and must be properly discarded after use.
(9) The area of the body to be tattooed or pierced shall first be thoroughly washed with warm water to which an antiseptic liquid soap has been added.
(10) Petroleum jelly in a collapsible metal or plastic tube shall be used on the area to be tattooed and it shall be applied with a sterile gauze, tissue or paper towel.
(11) The use of styptic pencils, alum blocks or other solid styptic to check the flow of blood is prohibited.
(12) Pigments, dyes and/or inks used in tattooing shall be sterile and free from bacteria, virus particles and noxious agents and substances. Pigments, dyes and/or inks used from stock solutions, obtained from an approved source, shall be placed in a single service receptacle for each customer or patron.
(13) Single service containers, pigments, inks, dyes, needles and other paraphernalia shall be properly discarded immediately after each procedure. Excessive pigment, dye, ink, liquids or solutions shall be removed with individual sterile sponge or gauze and shall be immediately discarded in an approved manner. After completing the tattoo or body piercing procedure on any person, the tattooed area shall be washed with sterile gauze, cotton balls, tissue or paper towels saturated with an antiseptic soap solution or a seventy percent alcohol solution. The tattooed area shall be allowed to dry and a topical cream or an antiseptic from a collapsible tube shall be applied using sterile gauze, tissue or paper towel. A sterile gauze dressing or saran covering shall then be fastened to the tattooed area.
(14) Operators performing tattooing or body piercing procedures shall be immunized against the Hepatitis B virus in accordance with OSHA regulations for health care workers.
(15) Written instructions on the care of the tattoo or the body piercing, approved by the Health Commissioner, shall be given to each person who has received a tattoo or has been the subject of a body piercing.
(16) Needles and other instruments used for body piercing shall be of the same gauge as the ornaments, jewelry or similar items that are or can be inserted through the opening created by the body piercing.
(17) Tattooing or body piercing shall only be performed between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
(c) Sterilization of Equipment and Storage.
(1) A steam sterilizer (autoclave) shall be provided for sterilizing multi-use instruments such as needle bars, grips and tubes and other tattoo and body piercing equipment needing sterilization. Sterilization of equipment shall be accomplished by exposure to live steam for at least thirty (30) minutes at a minimum pressure of fifteen pounds per square inch (15 psi) with a temperature of two hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (250F) or one hundred twenty-one degrees Celsius (121C). Autoclave indicator temperature strips or other similar devices shall be utilized to monitor autoclave performance with each use. Alternative sterilizing equipment and procedures may be used if specifically approved by the Board of Health.
(2) Preparation of instruments for sterilization. After each tattoo procedure, the tattoo machine shall be placed in an ultrasonic type machine to remove the excess dye from the tubes and the needle bars. When this process is completed, the tubes and needle bars shall be removed from the tattoo machines. The tubes, grips and needle bars shall then be placed into sterilizer bags or wrappers for sterilization by autoclaving.
(3) All ready to use needles, needle bars, grips and tubes, and instruments shall be left in the wrappers or sterilizer bags used during the autoclaving process. These wrapped items shall be stored in a closed cabinet or container when not in use. Such storage equipment shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition at all times.
(4) The needles and instruments required to be sterilized shall be handled and used in such a way as to prevent contamination during the tattooing procedure.