Body adornment advice Laurel Girvan Next time some one says “You need a portrait of John Calvin like you need a hole in the head,” don’t dismiss them too quickly. A hole in the head may be just the thing--or perhaps a flower on the stomach? Piercing and tattooing are becoming more popular among students here. In the interests of public safety and body art enjoyment, here are some suggestions and guidelines for anyone considering body modifications. Assuming that you have carefully considered your tattoo/piercing design, placement and your motivations, you now need to select an artist/studio. You will want to evaluate a studio in certain areas, primarily atmosphere, sanitation, and expertise. Atmosphere is likely the first thing you will notice. The artists should be friendly and helpful. Don’t be intimidated by appearances--remember, you are the customer. The studio itself should be well-lit and surfaces should ideally be painted light colors, to faclitate cleanliness. Look at how the workstations are divided. Walls or curtains may be used, or the stations may be open. Depending on the location of your tattoo/piercing, you may desire a certain level of privacy. If smoking is allowed, will the smoke bother you? (If smoking is allowed, you may want to keep looking for a studio. Toxins in second-hand smoke have no business settling on your freshly pierced or tattooed skin.) Sanitation is the most important consideration to keep in mind. Every artist should use single-use, disposable needles, which should be unwrapped from their sterile packaging in your presence, and disposed of as biohazardous material. If a needle touches any unsanitary surface, SUCH AS THE FLOOR, insist that a clean needle be opened. Tattoo inks should be dispensed from larger bottles into smaller, disposable ones. The leftover ink should be discarded after each use, never poured back into the bottle. All non-disposable utensils must be autoclaved after each use. Piercing jewelry should also be sterilized--if the package does not say that the jewelry is sterile, make sure it has been autoclaved. Each artist should wash his or her hands with antibacterial soap and then put on latex gloves. Anytime the artist touches anything non-sterile, the old gloves should be discarded and a new pair donned. For a large tattoo, an artist may change gloves as often as 12 times. The area of your body being worked on must also be sterilized, either by antiseptic ointments or, in the case of an inner-mouth piercing, with antiseptic mouthwash. Once you have determined that the studio meets these standards, you still need to make sure the artist is capable and knowledgeable.