INFORMATION FOR CLIENTS OF TATTOO STUDIOS

This information has been published by the public health department (GGD) to advise you regarding some possible risks when getting a tattoo.
Make sure you are well-rested and have eaten well. Tell your tattooer if you are using medicine or suffer skin problems, allergies, epilepsy or hypersensitivity reactions.
Check on www.veiligtatoeerenenpiercen.nl to see if the studio you are getting tattooed at has a license.
This license is a guarantee that this studio follows the most hygienic regulations from the Landelijk Centrum Hygiëne en Veiligheid.
The LHCV is the Dutch national center for health.

At House of Tattoos, you need to be at least 18 years old to get tattooed.

Do NOT get a tattoo:

• on a part of the body where you’ve had plastic surgery or radiotherapy this last year;
• on a scar that is less than a year old;
• on a spot that has been tattooed less than 2 months ago;
• on a place where a tattoo has been lasered off less than 3 months ago, or on a spot where the laser wound has not yet healed;
• on irritated skin, imperfections of the skin like bumps, moles or on a scar left remaining from the removal of a melanoma;
• when under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
• when pregnant or nursing a baby.

It is also better to NOT get tattooed if you suffer one of the following ailments:
• diabetes;
• haemophilia or any coagulation disorders;
• chronic skin disease;
• allergies for tattoo materials and/or inks;
• immune disorder;
• epilepsy, heart and vascular abnormalities;
• sarcoidosis.
If you suffer one of those ailments and/or you are using anticoagulants and/or antibiotics and you’d still like to get tattooed, please consult a doctor first.

Making Tattoos.

If tattooists do not handle their equipment properly, there is a chance that you could get infected by blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis B and C.
Unhygienic practices may also cause infections that could harm you and compromise your tattoo.
Before the actual tattoo is made, the surrounding skin must be cleaned and disinfected.
Body hair must in some cases be shaved. Shaving is done with a new one-use disposable razor.
Getting tattooed must occur under sterile conditions. That means that the needle that will penetrate your skin may not have been used previously by anyone else.
It must be unwrapped from a sterile package and must not be touched by bare hands.
The ink that is used must also be sterile. The ink used for your tattoo is put into small ink cups.
These are for you and no one else. Any remaining ink will be thrown away. While being tattooed, tissues and cream or petroleum jelly will be used.
The tissues used must be new, clean and thrown away after use.
Tattooers must always wear nitrile gloves and will always replace them whenever they touch anything other than the salve, a tissue or your skin.
When finished, the tattooed skin will be covered with a sterile compress.

Aftercare.

A newly inked tattoo can be compared to a graze.
Bad aftercare could lead to infections en may cause scarring resulting in not a sub-par tattoo.
The wound caused by the tattoo needs care and time to heal.
With the proper care, the wound will heal in about two to six weeks.
Your tattooer will give you verbal and written instructions on how to do so, please follow them.