Mississippians can now resume getting tattoos, but by appointment only. Tattoo parlors were closed as part of Governor Tate Reeves’s executive order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Christian Cornin, owner of Carnivale Tattoo in Biloxi, says he went through all his savings during the nearly two months they were closed, and he couldn’t apply for coronavirus small business relief loans because his artists are sub-contractors. Corin says “Everyone here is their own independent business and they all subcontract their work through Carnival Tattoo. In other words, they do the work and then they pay us for having the shop, for having the supplies, for having all this. So we weren’t able to get any, I don’t have a payroll. I don’t pay my tattooers, again, they pay me.”
The new restrictions also limit the number of people who can come in the facility. Avery Herron, owner of Studio 22 Elite Piercings and Tattoos in Ridgeland, says a lot of people - don’t want to get a tattoo without having a friend or loved one by their side. “It’s kind of a painful experience so that emotional support and just having someone else there is usually very important to people," says Herron. "And they’re usually nervous about it so it’s something we wish we didn’t have to restrict, but they can’t really have anybody in with them right now.”
Other customers have concerns about the spread of the disease. But, Dani Shives with Oxford Social Club says they sanitize equipment and surfaces as normal procedure. Shives says “We take it and we put it in a bucket to be sanitized and run through the autoclave. We throw everything away if it’s a one time use. We spray everything down with Madacide in between each customer. Really we’re just doing a little more of that, making sure we’re cleaning a little more of everything instead of just the area that we use.”
Shops can also resume piercings as well, but it can't involve the nose or mouth, such as a tongue ring.
