Clarity 11 Watford 183 The Parade, Watford, WD17 1NJ

www.clarity11.co.uk/watford

It seems like everyone has a tattoo these days. Once sported only by sailors, outlaws, and biker gangs, tattoos are now popular body decorations for many people. And it's not just anchors, skulls, and battleships anymore — from school emblems to Celtic designs to personalized symbols, people have found many ways to express themselves with their tattoos.

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Cylex 1. Are there any special requirements to get tattooed or pierced?

Clarity 11: In order to get tattooed you must be 18+.  For most piercings you need to be 16+ but for basic ones like earlobes there are no age requirements provided that if you are under 16 you are able to bring a parent/guardian with you to provide consent.

Cylex 2. What inks and materials are used for tattooing?

Clarity 11: We use a variety of inks and also offer vegan inks for vegan customers if they request it.  Each artist usually has at least 50-60 colours available to them and will buy in new inks should there be an unusual requirement.    

Cylex 3. Do people seem to prefer a certain type of tattoo? What are the most requested?

Clarity 11: Most requested tattoos tend to be basic ones such as names, infinity symbols and flowers, roses in particular however most heavily inked customers tend to go for epic pieces such as their favourite superhero, iconic film stars/characters or art related to their favourite music/band.  Some discerning customers also request particular styles such as Japanese or Old Skool.  We then match the customer to the right artist/style for the piece they require.  

                               

Cylex 4. What is the best time of year to get a tattoo?  Does weather have anything to do with tattooing?

Clarity 11: Winter is always the best time of year to get a tattoo:

1. The studios are always less busy so you can usually find a better price.

2. Being out in the sun can damage a recently done tattoo if it's not properly cared for.

3. Your skin is usually in better shape as it is less likely to have incurred recent sun damage.

Cylex 5. Is it true that once somebody gets a tattoo or a pierce it becomes like an addiction and the person wants more?

Clarity 11: Yes, getting tattooed/pierced is addictive.  I liken it to Pringles "once you pop, you can't stop" many customers suffer anxiety when getting their first tattoo or piercing but once they have "broken skin" and seen how the process is a lot less daunting than they initially thought then tend to come back for more pretty quickly.

                                

Cylex 6. Are there more men coming in or women?

Clarity 11: Although it varies from artist to artist the split across all 3 studios is 59% men 41% women for tattoos. Piercings are very different with 84% female customers and 16% male customers.

Cylex 7. What type of metal can be used for an initial piercing?

Clarity 11: We always use titanium, this leads to a lower infection rate.  Some studios use surgical steel but this is a lower quality piercing and can lead to issues further down the line due to the potential for allergic reactions. (1/10 for surgical steel versus less than 1/1000 for titanium) titanium is also lighter so makes a new piercing far more comfortable to get used to.

Cylex 8. What sets your place apart from others in the same sector?

Clarity 11: We have a real focus on customer service and making the studio feel like a warm inviting space to be in.  Many studios are intimidating places to enter and many "old skool" tattoo artists have an attitude when it comes to dealing with people who are new to tattooing and have legitimate concerns. We like to make the process as friendly and fun as possible.  We also focus heavily on cleanliness and have a rigorously enforced twice daily deep clean policy at each of the studios to ensure thorough hygiene standards are maintained at all times.  A good studio should always smell of a mixture of bleach and dettol!

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Is getting a tattoo worth the money and hassle? It's up to you. Some people really enjoy their tattoos and keep them for life, whereas others might regret that they acted on impulse and didn't think enough about it before they got one. Getting a tattoo is a big deal, especially because they're designed to be permanent.

                                

Tattoos in the workplace:

Clarity 11 Watford, 183 The Parade, High Street, Watford, WD17 1NJ 

www.clarity11.co.uk/watford

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Clarity 11 St Albans, 159 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LB

www.clarity11.co.uk/stalbans

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/clarity+11+st+albans/@51.7525797,-0.3855848,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x48763ec416af11bf:0xebb69b728537fbc8!2m2!1d-0.3155453!2d51.7526005

Tattoos used to be considered part of a counterculture. It’s probably a fair statement to say that for years, many people associated tattoos with gangs, bikers, and other groups that were thought to operate outside of the social center. Today, tattoos have gained wider social acceptance and more and more people, men and women alike, have them. People with tattoos work in a variety of industries and hold entry-level jobs as well as top executive positions. So, what’s an employer to do? Is body art a workplace issue? Does having a visible tattoo say anything about an individual that is relevant to his or her job?

In today’s global marketplace, employers are taking more seriously the need to provide a work environment that welcomes employees from many different backgrounds. The competition to attract and retain skilled workers has resulted in corporate cultures that strive to demonstrate the value placed on individual and group contributions. And there is increasing attention paid to offering a company culture and benefit package that supports a variety of lifestyles. Should someone with a visible tattoo be treated any differently?

Depending on what and where the tattoo is, there may or may not be an issue for employers. The laws still tend to support employer dress code/appearance policies in general and employers retain some flexibility in creating rules that require employees to present themselves in a way that is consistent with the employer’s image. But that doesn’t mean that banning tattoos altogether is appropriate. In some cases, it can still violate the law.

Many employers have policies that do not allow visible tattoos. Depending on the employer’s industry and the type of job, this may make sense. For example, the odds are that a four-star hotel may not want the concierge to have large tattoos of skulls and crossbones on the back of each hand. But the same hotel may have less concern if a dishwasher in the kitchen has those same tattoos because direct contact with the hotel’s customers is minimal. From a business perspective, the issue for the hotel is to write a policy that draws appropriate lines between jobs in which visible tattoos may or may not be appropriate.

This example is probably a simple one. It can get more complicated, however, if an employer is not thoughtful. For example, what if a bank employs a valued administrative assistant who never has contact with customers? His desk is located in the corporate headquarters and his interactions are strictly internal. Is it okay if this person arrives at work one day with a star tattooed under his eye? The answer, in part, is dependent on the corporate culture and the bank’s general attitude toward tattoos. It also, however, is dependent on the difficulty in recruiting and retaining good administrative assistants.

The odds are that while the bank may not appreciate a facial tattoo, it’s probably not worth the chance of losing a good employee or not being able to retain a new one by having a policy that would prohibit the tattoo altogether. On the other hand, the bank may be more concerned about a teller with the same tattoo who regularly interacts with bank customers. In that situation, a policy prohibiting the tattoo may be understandable.

In drafting the policies, it’s important to stay focused on the business issues at hand. Policies that prohibit tattoos should not reflect value judgements about tattoos or the people who get them. In fact, many employers would likely be surprised to find out how many current employees have tattoos and simply cover them up at work. So negative assumptions about what tattoos say about the people who have them are very often misplaced.

Issues raised by tattoos can get more complicated when it comes to gender and religion. And employers should be aware of these issues before writing and enforcing policies that prohibit visible tattoos at work. For example, historically, it is likely that more men wore visible tattoos than women. As a result, an interviewer who notices a tattoo on a man’s arm may have no reaction. But more and more women are getting tattoos, some of which are visible, and the same interviewer may have an adverse reaction if a tattoo is visible on a female applicant’s ankle. In this situation, an employer can be exposed to liability for sex discrimination if the presence of the tattoo was an issue in making the hiring decision.

Religious tattoos can pose even more challenging questions. What if an employee who works directly with customers has a tattoo around his wrist and the company has a policy that prohibits visible tattoos in customer service positions? Is it okay to require the employee to wear sleeves that are long enough to cover the tattoo? The answer is: it depends.

If the tattoo is part of a sincerely held religious belief or practice, and that practice or belief prohibits the employee from covering the tattoo up, the employer may need to allow an exception to the “no visible tattoo” policy. That’s because employers are obligated to reasonably accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs and practices unless doing so poses an undue hardship. In that situation, it is a good practice to ask the employee about the tattoo and find out whether there is a religious basis for it that prohibits them from covering it.

Managers should coordinate with human resources before having that sort of conversation because if it is not handled properly, the manager could say something unintentionally that exposes the company to liability for religious discrimination. But done properly, the manager may find out that the employee is able to cover the tattoo. If not, this employee may be permitted an exception under the policy as a reasonable accommodation. And doing so as an accommodation will not result in having to allow all employees an exception under the “no visible tattoo” policy.

The key for employers is to have a written policy that employees are required to read and sign, and then to enforce that policy consistently. That way, employees are not able to claim that the policy was applied differently to them. And the policies should be based on sound judgment that is in the best interest of the business. That means that employee and customer interests also need to be considered before the policy is drafted.

Work with your human resources department to develop written dress code/appearance policies that are reasonable and can be enforced consistently. Check with human resources and/or legal counsel before talking with an employee about covering a tattoo unless it is clear that the tattoo has no religious significance and having the employee cover the tattoo is consistent with your policy. And remember, making assumptions about the qualifications of people who have tattoos is not only unfounded, it may result in discrimination claims against your company. A woman with a tattoo of a skull on her arm is no less entitled to be judged based on legitimate business factors than a former U.S. naval seaman whose arm is adorned with a tattoo of a ship’s anchor.

How to find us: www.clarity11.co.uk 

Clarity 11 Watford
183 The Parade
High Street
Watford
WD17 1NJ

www.clarity11.co.uk/watford

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/clarity+11+watford/@51.6601163,-0.4715292,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x48766ac016060497:0x5e78360002b58e0c!2m2!1d-0.4014897!2d51.6601371 

Clarity 11 St Albans
159 Hatfield Road
St Albans
AL1 4LB

www.clarity11.co.uk/stalbans

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/clarity+11+st+albans/@51.7525797,-0.3855848,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x48763ec416af11bf:0xebb69b728537fbc8!2m2!1d-0.3155453!2d51.7526005

Contact us:

watford@clarity11.co.uk