Senate bill targets tattoos, piercings

A bill pending before the state Legislature targets tattoo and piercing businesses for closer inspection and licensing.

Oddly enough, Big Bill and Linda Woolsey of Tattoos by Big Bill welcome an invasion of clip board-toting, public health inspectors.

"What we have now is a small office in Helena that's under-funded and under-manned," Linda Woolsey said.

Scott Kirchoff of Big Sky Tattoo & Body Piercing agrees, although he wonders whether a license fee will necessarily bring the hoped-for higher standards and enforcement.

"We need more of [that]," Kirchoff said. "They're too lenient now."

Owners of both businesses say they run sanitary, professional operations. They say they want high standards enforced throughout the industry.

SB 137 was introduced by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, at the request of the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Currently, the state Food and Consumer Safety program has so little travel money that inspectors rarely make more than an annual visit. Kirchoff said he has had only one such visit in two years.

"Big Bill" Woolsey had hoped to see more scrutiny of operator training in the proposed law.

"The person cutting your hair has to go through more hoops than the person putting ink in your skin," he said.

He said SB 137 doesn't address the competency issue or the kitchen table tattooists and piercers he calls backyard hackers.

"It's pretty common - a guy gets out of Deer Lodge who picked up tattooing as a way to get along on the inside," Woolsey said.

Before long, he starts plying his jail-learned trade on the outside. Woolsey said self-taught people make dangerous mistakes like using office ink, which contains high levels of mercury.

A few years back, an ex-convict with hepatitis and AIDS set up a shop here. Ignoring the law, he tattooed underage girls without parental consent, Linda Woolsey said.

"All these underage girls had to be AIDS tested," she recalled.

Although silent on competency, SB 137 addresses one of the Woolseys' other main concerns. It empowers county health departments to inspect and enforce sanitation.

The couple provided a tour of their facility, pointing out the stainless steel work surfaces and spotless chairs, floors and restroom.

The Woolseys said they have long advocated upgrading industry standards. With the high incidence of blood-borne pathogens, they believe the public needs protection.

"In 13,000 procedures, we are incident-free," Bill Woolsey said.

Linda Woolsey said members of the public are shocked when she tells them that tattoo and piercing studios aren't regularly inspected like restaurants.

Kirchoff said he hears the same response.

"The customers just take it for granted," he said.

Because it's impossible to verify a client's health status, Linda Woolsey said they assume each client has a blood-borne disease and treat them accordingly.

Kirchoff said he also exceeds minimum standards.

Body parts pierced include tongues, noses, ears, lips, eyebrows, breasts and even female genitalia. The Woolseys, however, refuse requests for piercing below the belt.

"We don't think it's right," Linda Woolsey said.

At least one botched piercing led to tragedy for a woman in another part of the state. She lost two-thirds of her breast from an infection after a nipple piercing.

Both Linda and Bill Woolsey have backgrounds in medical fields. Bill was a Navy corpsman, and Linda worked in home health services with the terminally ill.

The couple uses an autoclave to sterilize all of their instruments. Every three months, they run bacteria in a bottle through the autoclave, then have the bottle tested by a local lab to make sure nothing is slipping through.

Bill Woolsey said he won't use a mail-order testing lab for fear X-ray mail processing might kill the bacteria, making the autoclave test invalid when it reaches the distant lab.

According to Linda Woolsey, the shop exceeds what the state requires for sanitation.

"We prep the skin as if you are going in for surgery," she said.

Bill Woolsey said they are "real mindful" to allergies and provide after-care instructions both orally and in writing with clients.

Since tattooing went from from edgy to everywhere, consumers represent a large spectrum of people. The Woolseys say doctors, lawyers and even seniors use their services.

Linda Woolsey said an 82-year-old woman came in immaculately dressed in a white outfit with pink shoes, purse and nails.

"She said 'I love pink, and I want a pink rose on my ankle,'" Woolsey recalled with a laugh.

Bill Woolsey views tattooing as a growth industry. As more people go under the needle, the potential for tragedy from unsanitary practices looms larger.

"The public deserves a clean, safe environment in which to be tattooed," he said. "It's a minimum standard."

Kirchoff echoed those sentiments. He said he hopes passage of the new bill means more inspections "will keep the industry nice and clean."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com