We require any business that is in the practice of producing an indelible mark or figure on the human body by scarring or inserting pigments under the skin using needles, scalpels, or other related equipment to license with the Department of State Health Services. This includes studios that perform traditional tattooing, permanent cosmetics, scarification, and branding. An artist may not tattoo a person younger than 18 years of age without meeting the requirements of 25 Texas Administrative Code, §229.406c, whose parent or guardian determines it to be in the best interest of the minor child to cover an existing tattoo. Tattoos are applied using a small electric device that operates similar to a sewing machine. One to fourteen needles are grouped together and attached to the end of a rod called a needle bar. The other end of the needle bar is attached to the tattoo machine. The needle bar moves up and down through a tube or barrel, which serves two purposesto keep the needle bar from moving side to side and as a handle for the tattooist to grip. The needles stick out only a few millimeters from the end of the tube, so they dont go very deelyp into the skin. After preparing the skin with a germicidal soap, the artist dips the needles into a small amount of pigment or ink. As the machine is guided over the skin, the needle bar moves up and down allowing the needles to puncture the skin, depositing the ink. A tattoo machine can puncture the skin 50 to 3,000 times per minute. Once the tattoo is completed, the tattooist usually applies an antibiotic cream or ointment and covers the area with a sterile bandage. The artist is required to provide you with oral and written instructions on how to care for your newly applied tattoo,

Website: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/