Current controls on skin piercing
Under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, 1 as amended, local authorities in England and Wales are responsible for regulating and monitoring businesses offering the following services:
- Acupuncture
- Ear-piercing
- Electrolysis
- Tattooing
- Cosmetic piercing
- Semi-permanent skin colouring
All of these procedures involve some degree of skin piercing and therefore carry potential health risks to those undergoing them. These can include
- Skin infections
- Allergic or toxic reactions to the substances used
- The transmission of blood borne viruses such as hepatitis or HIV
Businesses wanting to offer these services must register with their local authority. Both the person undertaking the activity and the premises must be registered. It is a criminal offence to trade without registration or to be in breach of the relevant byelaws. Model byelaws which local authorities can adopt have been developed by the Department of Health.
In dealing with businesses offering the above procedures, local authorities can also use enforcement powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive has issued a comprehensive local authority circular covering these powers as they relate to cosmetic piercing and skin colouring businesses.
Additional legislation, the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969, makes it an offence to permanently tattoo persons under the age of 18. No such statutory restrictions apply to cosmetic piercing or skin colouring.
The CIEH believes that there should be a minimum age of consent for all skin piercing and that piercing below the neck should be illegal for those under 16.
Training
At present there are no nationally approved training courses available for UK body piercers, although a number of commercially run courses are available. The CIEH would like to see approved training courses become developed for all skin piercing practitioners and for such courses to be made compulsory for all new practitioners. Practitioners should also be required to demonstrate continuing competence in their work activities. The HSE recommends that basic first aid training and infection control guidance be provided as part of any cosmetic piercing training course.
Guidance and advice
The best place to start if you are looking for information and guidance on skin piercing is your local council website. Many councils offer advice and information to both businesses and to members of the public. Examples of such advice can be found in the related links box to the right of this page.
You may also like to purchase a copy of Body art, cosmetic therapies and other special treatments. This book, produced by Barbour Index in 2001 and distributed by the CIEH, offers background information on popular body art techniques and beauty therapies. It offers advice on infection control, waste disposal and risk assessment and contains a series of specialist chapters on different kinds of body piercing.
1 Local authorities in London have additional powers to control skin piercing activities under the London Local Authorities Act 1991 and the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1981.