The City of St. Charles currently treats tattoo studios differently from other licensed personal service businesses such as hair salons, med spas, esthetic studios, and beauty professionals — despite the fact that permanent makeup (cosmetic tattooing) is already regulated by the State of Missouri as tattooing.

Under Missouri law, permanent makeup procedures such as brows, lip blushing, eyeliner, and micropigmentation require operation within a licensed tattoo establishment. This is because cosmetic tattooing and traditional tattooing involve the same core process:
- inserting pigment into the dermal layer of the skin
- use of electrically powered tattoo machines
- needle penetration
- sterilization and bloodborne pathogen safety standards

In many cases, the exact same rotary or pen-style machine can be used interchangeably for both cosmetic tattooing and fine-line tattooing simply by adjusting needle configuration and stroke length.

Yet while cosmetic tattooing may be permitted within certain zones, tattooing itself remains restricted under outdated zoning classifications that no longer reflect the reality of the modern industry.

Today’s tattoo studios are:
- appointment-only
- luxury-focused
- professionally licensed
- health-regulated
- female-owned and operated
- low traffic and low impact
- operated similarly to salons, med spas, and aesthetic businesses

It is also important to recognize that many personal service and aesthetic businesses already permitted within broader commercial zoning categories perform procedures involving equal or greater levels of medical and procedural risk than modern tattooing.

Services commonly offered within med spas, salons, and aesthetic clinics may include:
- Botox and dermal filler injections
- microneedling
- laser treatments
- chemical resurfacing procedures
- nail services involving blades, drills, and exposure risks
- procedures involving skin penetration, blood exposure, or injectable products

These businesses are appropriately regulated through licensing, sanitation requirements, and professional oversight rather than being restricted through outdated perceptions of the industry itself.

Modern tattoo and cosmetic tattoo studios operate under similarly strict health department regulations, bloodborne pathogen standards, sterilization protocols, and state licensing requirements.

As aesthetic and cosmetic industries continue evolving, tattooing and cosmetic tattooing should be recognized within the same category of modern personal service businesses as salons, med spas, esthetic studios, and other regulated beauty and aesthetic providers.

Many municipalities across the country have already modernized their zoning approaches to reflect how tattooing has evolved into a professional, regulated personal service industry.

We are asking the City of St. Charles to:
- Modernize zoning classifications for tattoo studios
- Allow licensed tattoo establishments within the same zoning categories as salons, med spas, esthetic studios, and other personal service businesses
- Create consistent regulations that align with Missouri state licensing requirements
- Support small businesses and modern aesthetic professionals operating safely and responsibly

This is not about lowering safety standards.
It is about creating consistent, logical, and modern regulations that reflect today’s professional tattoo and cosmetic tattoo industry.

Please sign this petition to support fair zoning, public safety consistency, and small business growth in St. Charles.