Tattooing in Toronto 2020: The Pandemic Edition

The beauty industry has certainly taken a hit during the pandemic with many businesses being forced to close down temporarily. Tattoo studios along with restaurants, nail salons and hairdressers have all had to bite the bullet and try to cope with the closures until things opened up again. Thankfully, business has resumed but there are different procedures in place that have been designed to keep both staff and customers as safe as possible in a tattoo studio in Toronto.

Toronto Tattoos Studios in 2020

The tattoo industry in Toronto was already challenging before the pandemic hit. Now, there is a whole new landscape for Toronto tattoos in 2020 and while most of the shops have opened for business once again, most are only operating at one-third of their capacity. This means it’s going to be a long road to financial recovery for many of them and some may even have to shut their doors for good.

Scheduling clients at a studio in Toronto is done in a way that meets current regulations and standards. These are always subject to change, however, due to the evolving Covid-19 situation. Things can change from one day to another with the number of cases either going either up or down in Toronto and across Ontario. What the current standards are today may not be the same tomorrow.

Social distancing is necessary in every shop but it’s not known when that will end. Shop owners are scheduling customers for weeks or even months in advance based on current conditions. As the situation evolves, the scheduling will have to reflect the changes. It certainly is a challenging situation to deal with.

Wearing a Mask
When the province reopened, it seemed like many people were forgetting that there we were still in the middle of the pandemic and decided to forgo wearing a mask. In a tattoo shop, however, everyone that walks in the door must be wearing one. Clients cannot bring guests into the shop either, which can be hard for some since tattooing is often quite a social event with a friend or family member offering advice and moral support.

Many tattoo artists are wearing a face shield as well for the safety of their customers and for their own safety. This is an industry where it is a priority to stop the possibility of any cross-contamination, so cleaning efforts were already ongoing even before the pandemic struck. According to government regulations, all surfaces, handles, heavy touch areas and fixtures must be disinfected 2x per day in a tattoo studio in Toronto. Now, disinfection takes place more often and in many studios it is being done every hour.

Tattoo artists are already used to the safety and health requirements of the government because they have been working in areas that must be sterile. This gives the tattoo shops a leg up in terms of already knowing what the disinfecting procedures are. Tattoo artists just have to be more conscientious and clean even more areas such as the walls and picture frames in the building.

Covid-19 Precautions
There are new procedures and precautions put into place in tattoo shops across the Toronto area. In most cases, the doors are locked up and you can only enter if you have an appointment scheduled. This stops any walk-ins from happening from off the street. It also handles social distancing since there won’t be a bunch of people sitting in the waiting room at any given time.

You’ll have to sanitize your hands as soon as entering the shop and you won’t be allowed in unless you are wearing a mask. The mask will need to stay on while you are having a tattoo and you can only take it off once you’ve walked out the door. Many shops will also take your temperature upon arrival and will document it. You’ll still have to fill out and sign the expected release forms before any work can begin.

There are privacy screens that may have been put into place and they can be moved from one area to another based on the number of people in the shop and the tattoo artists that are working. These screens are always wiped down between each appointment with disinfectant to make sure that they are sanitized before any work starts on the next client.

Saturday is usually the busiest day for tattoo shops across Toronto so keep that in mind when calling to book an appointment. If you are concerned about coming in when the shop may be a bit busier, schedule an appointment during the week instead.

Tattoo Studios in Toronto

These are difficult times for all of us and more people want to get tattoos now more than ever. Getting a tattoo is one way to relieve the boredom and the stress that we have been feeling this year. Please be patient and understand that our tattoo artists are also in the same situation as you are. It’s a new day and age for Toronto tattooing in 2020. Our artists have been dealing with limited work due to Covid-19 restrictions and want to see everything go back to normal as fast as possible like you do.

We take a look at what is happening in the United States and this gives us more of an understanding regarding the need for face masks, hand sanitizers and social distancing. We do not want to end up like our neighbours down south and for that reason we must enforce the decision that masks must be worn in the tattoo shop. We all have to exercise some patience in order to get to the other side of this pandemic so please understand that we are doing our best to service as many clients as possible under the current conditions.

We monitor the situation day by day and we encourage all of our past and future clients to reach out to us if you have any questions. You can reach us through our website at www.hontattoo.com or feel free to call us at 905- 604-5102 to reach our North York location or at 437-774-9200 to reach our Markham studio.