Tattoo prices rise as Welsh Government safety rules come in

Tattoo artists are feared to have to hike their prices as Wales becomes the first part of the UK to introduce new rules for tattoo artists.

Welsh Government rules mean practitioners must meet strict hygiene and safety standards to be licensed, which they must renew every three years.

This follows medical experts’ concerns about the risk of serious infection.

“I imagine tattoo prices are going to go up to make up for it,” said Kim Thomas, a tattoo artist in Newport.

Kim, who has been a tattoo artist for eight years and runs his own Morning Star Tattoo parlor, said the industry has become “much more mainstream now” and agrees that more safety regulations are needed.

“There are people who are doing a lot of illegal tattooing, because it’s so easy to get the machines, the ink and everything that goes into the process,” he said.

“I think so. [the legislation] Aggregation is a good thing, because it means that everyone has to have the same standards to work in the industry.

“But the downside is the financial cost.”

The new scheme comes into effect on Friday, meaning more than 4,000 individual practitioners across Wales now face paying £203 for a licence.

More than 2,000 premises will also need their own certification, which costs £385, and Kim says it is inevitable that some of the cost will be passed on to consumers.

“As a tattoo studio owner, not only do I have to insure myself and take additional courses, but I also have to license myself and the studio,” he said.

“Which means when we have to do it every three years, it’s going to cost a lot more.”

Tattoos are becoming more popular in the UK, say one in four people. YouGov poll in 2022 That they had one.

The survey of more than 2,000 people also found that women (29%) are more likely to have a tattoo than men (22%), with more than a third of people aged 25-54 inked.

Alice Harding, 33, from Bridgend, got her first tattoo as a teenager, and says people’s attitudes have changed over the years.

“When I first started you didn’t find many women with tattoos, so you’d get people making comments like ‘why are you ruining your body’,” she said.

“I was told I couldn’t have a job because I had tattoos.

“Now I would say it’s a lot more accepting… especially as a woman, there’s a lot of women out there with tats rocking it now.”

The new rules are the final phase of changes under the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, to improve the quality of infection prevention and control, but have been delayed by Brexit and the Covid pandemic.

Although the changes will take effect immediately, the government expects it will take “several months” before many people are fully registered.

Wales’ deputy chief medical officer Keith Reid said the rules, which also cover people having acupuncture, electrolysis, piercings, and semi-permanent make-up procedures, give people “an extra level of reassurance about safety”. will provide

“We are concerned about skin infections, which can be a problem around tattooing,” he said.

“We are also concerned about the risk of blood-borne infection, which can be a risk from anything that pierces the skin.

“So the government’s goal is to reduce the risk to the public, and make it safer for the public who want to undergo these procedures.”

He added that the fees have been set at a “very modest level” and its renewal every three years is a “reasonable compromise”.