All needles are separately packaged and autoclaved (sterilized) individually.

All body jewelry used in a piercing is either pre-sterilized in a separate package or ran through a cycle prior ro use.

All needles are used only once on one person then discarded in a medical sharps container.

All tools used during a piercing procedure (forceps, pliers, hemostats, etc) are used once, then put away in a holding tray until they are processed.

All tools are then ultrasoniced and cold soaked in disinfecting solution.

All tools are then manually scrubbed, rinsed, disinfected and then placed into individual pouches with steam indicator strips.

All tools are then ran through an autoclave cycle (273* 31.3 PSI for 13 minutes) in individual packages then put away until they are needed.

Every implement used during a body piercing procedure is completely sterile.

All tattoo needles are separately packaged and autoclaved (sterilized) individually.

All tattoo needles are used only once on one person and then discarded in a medical sharps container.

All tattoo tools used during a tattoo procedure (tubes, tips, bars, etc) are are used once, then put away in a holding tray until they are processed.

All tools are then manually scrubbed, rinsed, disinfected and then placed into individual pouches with steam indicators.

All tools are then ran through an autoclave cycle (273* 31.3 PSI for 13 minutes) in individual packages then put away until they are needed.

Every implement used during a tattoo procedure is completely sterile.

sterile: To make free from bacteria or other micro-organisms. Proper sterilization completely eliminates all forms of microbial life. An autoclave is generally considered to be the ONLY form of sterilization appropriate for a body modification studio, although some low-volume home studios may use chemical sterilization. It should be noted that cleaning is the most important part of sterilization -- unclean tools may not sterilize properly. A studio which does not employ proper sterile techniques should be avoided!

disinfect: Elimination of most microorganisms from a surface Disinfection is not the same thing as sterilization. While disinfection removes many of the pathogenic microorganisms, it does not remove all of them, nor does it eliminate spores. Disinfection is generally used on hard surfaces (countertops, etc.), but is NOT sufficient for jewelry or tools which come in contact (including indirect contact) with the customer.

cross contamination: Yes, if you touch the wrong thing you'll get cooties. If you touch something that's contaminated, you are contaminated. If you then touch something that's not contaminated, it becomes contaminated. This is why a responsible piercer goes through more than one pair of gloves in a procedure. A piercer has to be constantly aware of what they are touching. Anytime they touch anything that might be contaminated (for example, a cabinet door), their gloves are then considered contaminated. Any clean object touched after that gets added to the contaminated list. Switching gloves halts this process if it is done at the right times.

autoclave: Heat/pressure device for sterilization. An autoclave is a device -- absolutely essential for ALL tattoo and piercing studios -- which sterilizes tools and jewelry through a process of heated and pressurized steam. Usually this means 274 degrees at 18 PSI. While some people substitute a pressure cooker for an autoclave, a pressure cooker is not properly gauged, and it's moisture may damage the integrity of the autoclaving bags. This is not to say proper sterilization does not occur, only that the cycle should be run longer than required and a spore test be taken and passed monthly to insure this. Bags allowed to dry, paper side up, will be no less structurally fine when dry than those sterilized in an autoclave. For all the trouble, it's better to just buy an autoclave.

spore tests: The best way to know an autoclave is working. Spore tests come in the form of small packets which are autoclaved along with a normal run of tools and jewelry. Afterwards, the packets are sent off to a laboratory which cultures them. If the autoclave was working properly, then everything in the packet is dead... but if the autoclave is not working, then the spores in the packet will grow and a positive result is returned. Most responsible tattoo and piercing studios run spore tests and will have recent results from the laboratory there to show you if you'd like -- many studios even frame them or place them on their web page. For example, the test on the right of this page shows that the autoclave at Experience The Beauty in Winnipeg tested as functioning perfectly. An important thing to note: Spore tests are not a guarantee that everything is sterile. Even if an autoclave is functioning properly, if it is overpacked or otherwise misused, it will not fully sterilize the items. Knowing how to use an autoclave is as important as knowing it's functional. Whoever sold you your autoclave will be able to give you contact information for laboratories in your area.

More information
The A.P.P.
O.S.H.A.
C.D.C.
Health Educators
B.M.Ezine