(a) Each tattoo artist shall use a single use lap cloth.
lawyer at desk

Ask a business law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified business lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 62-38-209

  • Antibacterial solution: means any solution used to retard the growth of bacteria approved for application to human skin and includes all products so labeled. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Client: means any person desiring to receive a tattoo. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Germicidal solution: means any solution that destroys germs and is so labeled. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Single use: means an item is used one (1) time on one (1) client and then is properly disposed of by appropriate measures. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Sterilization: means holding in an autoclave for fifteen (15) minutes, at fifteen pounds (15 lbs. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Tattoo: means any method of placing designs, letters, figures, symbols, cosmetics or any other marks under the skin of a person with ink or color by the aid of needles or instruments. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Tattoo artist: means any person, regardless of age, who engages in the practice/service of tattooing regardless of the type of tattoo or area to be tattooed. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Tattoo studio: means any room or space where tattooing is practiced or where the service of tattooing is conducted. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Universal precautions: means that all blood and body fluids are treated as to contain all bloodborne pathogens and taking proper precautions to prevent the spread of any bloodborne pathogens. See Tennessee Code 62-38-201
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Each tattoo artist shall thoroughly wash the tattoo artists’s hands with an antibacterial solution and hot running water prior to and after administering any tattoo.
(c) Disposable, latex examination gloves shall be worn by a tattoo artist at all times while administering any tattoo. Gloves shall be changed and properly disposed of each time there is an interruption in the application of a tattoo or whenever their ability to function as a barrier is compromised.
(d) Only single use supplies or sterilized equipment may be used to apply a tattoo and shall be disposed of after each tattoo. This subsection (d) includes single use disposable razors, single use towels or wipes, lubricants from a collapsible tube and single use paper stencils or plastic stencils soaked in a germicidal solution. If the design is drawn directly onto the skin, it shall be applied only with a single use article. Dyes or pigments should be manufactured for the sole purpose of tattooing. Single use or individual portions of dye and ink pots or trays shall be used. After tattooing, single use items, dyes and containers shall be discarded and the tattoo area disinfected.
(e) All tubes and needles should be sealed for individual client use in autoclave bags with an autoclave indicator and date of sterilization clearly visible. Autoclave bags may be stored for use for up to one (1) year. Autoclave sterilization minimum standards shall mean holding in an autoclave for twenty (20) minutes, at fifteen pounds (15 lbs.) pressure, at a temperature of two hundred sixty degrees fahrenheit (260° F.) or one hundred twenty-seven degrees celsius (127° C). After tattooing, used nondisposable instruments such as tubes shall be kept in a separate, puncture resistant container until properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized using universal precautions and recognized medical methods.
(f) Each tattoo shall be bandaged, when applicable, before leaving the tattoo studio.
(g) No tattoo artist shall remove or attempt to remove any tattoo.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 2 Contents