A. 
General hygiene practices. A practitioner shall maintain the highest degree of personal cleanliness, conform to best standard hygienic practices, and wear clean clothes when performing body art procedures. Frequent washing of hands, as described in § 308-55, should be done as often as necessary to remove contaminants.
B. 
General health of practitioner. The skin of the practitioner shall be free of rash or infection. No practitioner affected with boils, infected wounds, open sores, abrasions, weeping dermatological lesions, or acute respiratory infection shall work in any area of a body art establishment in any capacity in which there is a likelihood that the practitioner could contaminate body art equipment, supplies, or working surfaces with body substances or pathogenic organisms.
A. 
Contaminated surfaces. To disinfect any surface contaminated or reasonably suspected of contamination, a person shall:
(1) 
Clean the surface with water and soap or other appropriate cleaning compound; and
(2) 
Sanitize the surface by applying an EPA registered hard surface disinfectant product (such as iodophor, chlorine, phenolic), an alcohol containing germicide, or a 1.5% dilution of household non-scented bleach and water (1/4 cup of bleach to one gallon of water) made fresh daily. The disinfectant or germicide shall be applied using a single-use paper towel.
B. 
All surfaces sanitized before and after procedure. The workstation, including but not limited to the client's chair, table, tray, and similar surfaces, shall be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized with an approved disinfectant or germicide [as set forth in § 308-54A(2)] immediately before and immediately after performing body art procedures.
A. 
Washing. Every practitioner shall clean his/her hands and forearms thoroughly by washing with antibacterial soap and warm water and prompt drying with single-use towels before conducting any body art procedure.
B. 
Use of Single-Use gloves. Every practitioner shall wear new, clean, single-use examination gloves while assembling all instruments and other supplies intended for use in the conduct of any body art procedure, and during the conduct of body art upon a client.
C. 
Contamination of glove. If a glove is pierced, torn, or contaminated through contact with any part of the client not subject to the conduct of the body art procedure, any person other than the client, or otherwise exposed to an insanitary or nonsterile surface, the practitioner must promptly remove both gloves and discard them into an appropriate waste receptacle.
D. 
Gloves used only for one client. The practitioner shall discard the single-use gloves after the completion of each procedure on an individual client, and hands shall be washed in accordance with § 308-55A before the next set of gloves is put on. Under no circumstances shall a single pair of gloves be used on more than one person.
A. 
New linen for each client. Every practitioner shall use linens, properly cleaned in accordance with these regulations, or new single-use drapes, lap cloths, and aprons for each client receiving body art.
B. 
Dispensing substances to avoid any contamination. Every substance used in the conduct of body art shall be dispensed from containers to prevent contamination of the unused portion.
(1) 
Immediately before applying a tattoo or permanent cosmetics upon a client, the quantity of the ink dye, or pigment to be used therefor shall be transferred from the original bottle into sterile, single-use disposable cups, caps, or containers.
(2) 
Petroleum jellies, soaps, and other products used in the application of stencils shall be dispensed and applied on the area to receive a body art procedure with sterile gauze or other sterile applicator to prevent contamination of the original container and its contents. The applicator or gauze shall be used once and then discarded.
C. 
Instrument tray. Upon sanitizing the workstation in compliance with § 308-54 of these regulations, the instrument tray shall be covered with an uncontaminated single-use paper towel or tray cover.
D. 
Use of sterilized instruments. Every instrument required for the conduct of body art upon a person shall be placed and arranged on the instrument tray in a manner to prevent contamination of sterilized instruments. All sterilized instruments shall remain in sterile packages until opened in front of the client.
E. 
Use of sharps container. Sharps containers shall be easily accessible to the practitioner and located as close as is feasible to the immediate area where sharps will be used.
A. 
Body art procedures only in workstation. The conduct of body art procedures shall occur only upon a client exclusively in and at a workstation under sterile conditions.
B. 
People allowed in workstation. Only the client, the client's parent or guardian if the client is a minor, the client's service animal as regulated under § 308-37B of these regulations, and the practitioner conducting the body art shall be allowed in the workstation during the body art procedure.
A. 
Use only non-contaminated instruments. All instruments used in the conduct of body art procedures shall be without contamination and properly sanitized and sterilized in accordance with these regulations.
B. 
Procedure where instrument contaminated. Any item or instrument used for body art that is contaminated during the procedure shall be discarded and replaced immediately with new disposable item or a new sterilized instrument or item before the practitioner resumes the procedure.
A. 
No tattooing, piercing of genitalia, branding, or scarification shall be performed on a person under the age of 18.
B. 
Body piercing, other than piercing the genitalia, may be performed on a person under the age of 18 provided that the person is accompanied by a properly identified parent, legal custodial parent, or legal guardian who has signed a form consenting to such procedure. Properly identified shall mean a valid photo-identification of the adult and a birth certificate of the minor.
C. 
No body art shall be performed upon any animal (non-human).
D. 
The following types of body piercing are prohibited:
(1) 
Piercing of the uvula;
(2) 
Piercing of the tracheal area;
(3) 
Piercing of the neck;
(4) 
Piercing of the ankle;
(5) 
Piercing between the ribs or vertebrae;
(6) 
Piercing of the web area of the hand or foot;
(7) 
Piercing of the lingual frenulum (tongue web);
(8) 
Piercing of the clitoris;
(9) 
Piercing, in any form, of chest or deep muscle, excluding the nipple;
(10) 
Piercing of the anus;
(11) 
Piercing of an eyelid, whether top or bottom;
(12) 
Piercing of the gums;
(13) 
Piercing or skewering of a testicle;
(14) 
Piercing of the penis, (so called "deep piercing") whether piercing through the shaft of the penis or "trans-penis" piercing in any area from the corona glandis to the pubic bone;
(15) 
Piercing of the scrotum, whether "deep piercing" (through the scrotum) or "transcrotal" piercing; and
(16) 
Piercing of the vagina that is considered "deep piercing."
E. 
The following practices are prohibited, unless performed by a medical doctor licensed by the commonwealth of Massachusetts:
(1) 
Tongue splitting;
(2) 
Braiding;
(3) 
Three dimensional beading or implementation;
(4) 
Tooth filing/fracturing/removal/tattooing;
(5) 
Cartilage modification;
(6) 
Amputation;
(7) 
Genital modification; and
(8) 
Introducing saline or other liquids into any part of the body.
A. 
Skin condition. Any skin or mucosa surface to receive a body art procedure shall be free of rash or any visible infection.
B. 
Preparation of skin.
(1) 
Washing. Before the practitioner performs a body art procedure, the practitioner shall wash with soap and water or an approved surgical skin preparation the immediate skin area and the areas of skin surrounding the body art procedure. The washing pad shall be discarded after a single use.
(2) 
Shaving. If shaving is necessary, single-use disposable razors or safety razors with single-service blades shall be used. Following shaving, the skin and surrounding area shall be washed with soap and water.
(a) 
Blades shall be discarded after each use, and reusable holder shall be washed, cleaned, and sterilized.
(b) 
The washing pad shall be discarded after a single use.
C. 
Bleeding. In the event of bleeding, all products used to stop the bleeding or to absorb blood shall be single use and discarded immediately after us in appropriate covered containers in accordance with § 308-31 of these regulations and with Title 105 Code of Massachusetts Regulations, Chapter 480.000, "Storage and Disposal of Infectious or Physically Dangerous Medical or Biological Waste" (State Sanitary Code, Chapter VIII).
A. 
Single-use items. Disposable items such as gloves, wipes, cotton balls, cotton swabs, water cups, rinse cups (used alone or in an ultrasonic cleaning unit), drapes, lap cloths, aprons, and other single-use items that have come into contact with any person or a workstation, instrument trays, counters, towels, or linens used for any body art procedure, or have otherwise become contaminated shall be promptly discarded upon completion of the body art procedure into an appropriate waste receptacle in accordance with § 308-31 these regulations and all other applicable regulations, including the relevant part of the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 480.000.
B. 
Sharps. Contaminated sharps shall be promptly discarded upon completion of the body art procedure in a waste receptacle as described in § 308-6, Definitions, "Sharps Container," and §§ 308-17C, 308-18B(3), 308-46C(1), and 308-56E of these regulations.
The Board shall consider the following as multiple body art procedures on a single client, each requiring proper washing, cleaning, sanitizing, and sterilizing of instruments, workstations, and other equipment and areas as set forth under these regulations:
A. 
Applying two or more tattoos on different areas of the body of a client; or
B. 
The use of more than one needle during the body art procedure.