Ironside Tattoo

Some island tattoo artists and piercers on PEI are pushing for their industry to be more regulated. Currently, although there are inspections, there is no provincial legislation when it comes to the business of body art. Crystal Lee Remlokan reports. It's deep breath, isn't it? Amy Brewster preps her client for a new nose piercing. Oh, yes. Great. Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought. Pearsings don't always go as well as this one. Carly Cochran got her ears pierced a couple of years ago somewhere else, and she still has pain. They were crooked. They were early sore after that. I feel Brewster, a piercer, says Cochran'story isn't out of the ordinary. More and more as time goes on, people coming in with botched piercings, There's no legislation on PEI when it comes to providing piercings or tattoos. Shops are inspected by environmental health officers using guidelines from Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. They look for things The province does not have its own regulations, and there's no certificate given to tattoo or piercing shops to say they've passed inspection. Brewster plans to make specific recommendations for regulations to the province. I would really be happy to work closely with the government officials and help them and make suggestions on the best practices as far as safety sterilization. Shop cleanliness, body piercer portfolio, have a look around, ask people who have been pierced by them. They should be able to show you pictures of piercings that they've done. Brewster's business partner and tattoo artist says the same goes for tattoos. Ask for proof that they're following proper sterilization techniques for their equipment. Ask if they've had any blood-borne pathogen training. That's training that helps prevent cross-contamination. Sark says it would be good to have clear rules for everyone in the industry. To be able to prevent those types of situations with legislation, it would require a strong enforcement aspect. CBC contacted four other tattoo and piercing shops on PEI, and they all agreed they'd The province says it will respond to public complaints about medical issues, but those are rare. It can investigate under the Public Health Act, but at this time, the province says it has no plans to bring in more rules. Kristy Lee Ramlickan, CBC News, Charlotte Town.