You need a license to cut hair. You need an inspection to open a restaurant.

But there are no regulations for putting needles under someone's skin to create a tattoo or decorative piercing.

That could change in Lancaster City under a proposed ordinance due to come before Lancaster City Council next week.

The city could become the fourth municipality in the state to regulate tattooing and body piercing, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and State College.

The ordinance, which has been in the works for six months, would require tattoo parlors or piercing or body art establishments to obtain a license from the city Bureau of Zoning and Inspections.

Piercers or body artists would also be required to obtain individual licenses.

The goal is to ensure body artists have been trained in the hazards and prevention of bloodborne pathogens and that proper sterilization equipment is used for needles.

Kim Wissler, the city health officer, told City Council members during their committee meeting Monday that the proposed ordinance would help eliminate "scratchers," or untrained tattooists operating out of their homes.

Dr. Jeff Martin, president of the city health board, told council members the regulations should help guard the public against the transmission of diseases, such as Hepatitis C.

"We're legitimizing tattoo parlors, but we're also protecting the public," said Martin.

Wissler called the regulations "reasonable." She drafted the proposed 22-page ordinance with input from the city's body artists.

Steve Lowery, owner of the Transcending Flesh parlor, 118 W. Chestnut St., attended the meeting to support the initiative. He said the four piercers and four tattoo artists working in his studio already follow the proposed rules, such as using an autoclave device to sterilize needles.

"It's going to give us a little bit more legitimacy," said Lowery.

And, he said, it will give customers more peace of mind.

"When you see that card on the wall that you've been inspected by the city, how can that be bad?"

According to an Associated Press report, tattoos and piercings have become increasingly mainstream, particularly among younger adults.

A recent study found that more than a third of 18- to 29-year-olds and about a quarter of 18- to 50-year-olds have at least one tattoo.

And more than one in seven young adults has a piercing in a place other than the ear lobe, according to the study, recently published in the American Academy of Dermatology.

Piercings are increasingly common in the bellybutton, nipples, tongue and even the genital area, according to the academy.

According to that study, nearly one in four people with piercings reported medical problems, including skin infections. Of those who got tattoos, 13 percent had problems with healing.

The proposed ordinance would affect five tattoo parlors in the city.

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray questioned whether it wouldn't make more sense to have such regulations imposed at a county or state level. The city, he said, accounts for only about 10 percent of the county's population and less than 20 percent of the county's tattoo parlors.

"It only makes sense that if a body art studios or tattoo parlor on the south side of Liberty Street should be regulated, then a body art studio on the north side of Liberty Street have the same regulations," Gray said this morning.

Martin responded to that concern, saying the county is unable to impose and enforce tattoo regulations without a county health department. A department has been proposed, but no action has been taken.

The state, Martin said, has a health department, but not enough inspectors to effectively enforce tattoo regulation.

The mayor said he would support the ordinance if passed by council.

The proposed ordinance will be introduced to City Council at its 7:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in council chambers at Southern Market Center, 100 S. Queen St.

A vote on the ordinance could occur at council's Feb. 27 meeting.

• CONTACT US: bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022