The need for pathogen control, and sterile procedures in tattooing has never been more evident. AIDS has raised the awareness for the need to have a consistent, sterile approach to tattooing (and piercing) but that’s not the whole story. The truth is, that the AIDS virus, outside of the human environment is very fragile. It WILL NOT live in sub-human body temperatures and it WILL NOT live in dried blood. Since the tattoo needles are solid (not designed to store blood such as hypodermic needles would be) and the amount of blood picked up in the needle tube is so minimal, and the temperature of the tube (sub-human) it would be very difficult and highly unlikely that a tattoo needle IF USED FOR MULTIPLE CLIENTS, could transmit the AIDS virus. Not impossible, but Very Unlikely. Well, that said, there is a much more dangerous bug to be concerned with. Hepatitis. It WILL LIVE in sub-human body temps and it WILL LIVE in dried blood. It could survive in the vast freezing vacuum of space. Why? Because the germ itself is encased within a spore. The spore provides near indestructible protection to the germ inside.

The only reliable way to destroy the Hepatitis germ is to apply pressure and heat simultaneously. Enter the Autoclave. The autoclave will supply a minimum chamber temperature of at least 121°C (250°F) and a minimum chamber pressure of 15 psi of steam pressure. The massive steam pressure (don’t let 15 psi fool you, it’s a lot) will destroy the outer spore shell, and let the heat kill the bug inside. ASIDE FROM HIGHLY TOXIC COLD ACTING DIALDEHYDES (ENZYMES), AN AUTOCLAVE IS THE ONLY WAY TO EFFECTIVELY STERILIZE INSTRUMENTS. That EZ bake oven looking thing that you see in some shops, only applies heat (no pressure). It WILL NOT kill Hepatitis. Also for you to be sure of the effectiveness of an autoclave, an annual controlled spore test should also be performed by a knowledgeable technician. We DO have an autoclave on site. We use Central PA Technical Services. Spore test is current and available for your review.

When you get tattooed or pierced here at the Illustrated Man, all needles, ink, wash water, ink caps are single use, and disposed of after each use.  All tubes and needles will be torn from a sterile pack right in front of you, as the station is setup. BEWARE of a tattoo station that is already set-up to “save time” run, don’t walk, away from that shop. Because of the single use nature of the procedure here, there is no opportunity for a blood born pathogen to cross contaminate a second client. We as the artists actually suffer the greatest risk, which is why we wear powder free, latex free nitrile gloves.