Skin Piercing
Skin piercing activities are regulated by the council to ensure that they are carried out in a hygienic way. Carrying out skin piercing activities without taking adequate precautions can lead to a risk of serious diseases such as Hepatitis B being spread.
The council regulates the following forms of skin piercing:
- Acupuncture
- Cosmetic piercing (including ear piercing)
- Electrolysis
- Semi-permanent skin colouring
- Tattooing
If you want to check whether a practitioner you wish to use is registered with us you can contact us here: Contact Environmental Health
If you wish to register with the council to carry out skin piercing: Application form (PDF) [72KB] The fees are detailed here. You should ensure that you are familiar with the relevant byelaws before you apply for registration, these can be found by following the links below:
- Acupuncture byelaws
- Cosmetic piercing byelaws
- Electrolysis Byelaw
- Semi-permanent skin colouring byelaws
- Tattooing Byelaws
In addition, if you are registering to carry out tattooing you will find the national guidance, the tattooing toolkit, of use. Although written for tattooists, parts of the toolkit will be of use to other practitioners as well.
Tattooing of Minors Act - this act makes it an offence to tattoo somebody under the age of 18. The act is enforced by the Police and any complaints of underage tattooing should be referred to Lancashire Constabulary.
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