Brooklyn Tattoo© is committed to following the highest health standards in the industry. The cornerstone of our guidelines is the same as any doctor, dentist, or blood bank. This is called universal precaution. We must treat each customer as if they may have an infectious disease, and therefore follow very specific sterilization and cleanliness procedures. Each of our artists has completed courses on sterilization and cross-contamination procedures, and we are just as concerned with your well-being as we are about ours. The way we achieve your safety is via a method called "single service". This means that every item that comes in contact with a customer must be properly disposed of or sterilized. It also means that nothing is used twice — from needles to ink caps, cups to razors, nothing is reused. Everything we use in the process is disposable. Every set of needles used to apply your tattoo is brand new. They are individually packaged, sealed, and autoclaved. An indicator strip on the package changes color when processing has occurred. We open them in the presence of each customer. After use, the needles are disposed of. One needle, one customer. We also have an on site autoclave sterilizer that is regularly tested, with the results on display. This is used for the tubes used in the tattoo guns, which are not disposable. These go through a three step cleansing process including scrubbing, ultrasound, and autoclaving. An autoclave is a heat/steam/pressure unit that achieves and maintains 250 degrees Fahrenheit under 10 pounds pressure for 30 minutes (or up to 270 degrees Fahrenheit under 15 pounds pressure for 15 minutes). It is the only accepted method of sterilization that will kill every living microorganism known to mankind. Another very important part of tattoo safety is preventing cross-contamination. This means protecting surfaces that may come in contact with fluids, but can’t be sterilized or disposed of, such as; lamps, knobs on a power unit, spray bottles, and tattoo machines. We achieve this by putting plastic wrap around these items. When a tattoo session is done, we dispose of any plastic wrap and disinfect the work area with medical cleaners. We also employ a medical waste company to take care of our bio-hazard material. Above all, we care for our customers. In protecting our customers we also protect ourselves; remember we are at a higher risk because of the number of people we work on daily, so safety is for our benefit as well. Making you feel safe and comfortable are of top priority to us.