The Tattooing of Minors Act (1969) States that: 'It shall be an offence to tattoo a person under the age of eighteen'. To read the Tattooing of Minors Act, Click here. YOU MUST be 18 years of age or above to get a tattoo, regardless of whether you have parental consent. If you are under 18 years of age YOU WILL NOT GET TATTOOED AT RENAISSANCE TATTOO, so please don't waste your time or ours by asking. If we think you look under 21 years of age, we will ask so see your I.D to prove you are 18 years of age or above. NO I.D. = NO TATTOO!

Ear Lobes (including 2nds & 3rds): 8yrs+ Must be accompanied by Parent/ Guardian if under 16yrs. Helix, Tragus, Daith, Rook, Conch, Orbital, Industrial/ Scaffold etc: 14yrs+ Must be accompanied by Parent/ Guardian if under 16yrs. Lip configurations: 14yrs+ Must be accompanied by Parent/ Guardian if under 16 Navel/ Belly Button: 14yrs+ Must be accompanied by Parent/ Guardian, PASSPORT PHOTO I.D REQUIRED. Tounge: 18yrs+ Nipple 18yrs+ There is no legal age restriction in England to have a Body Piercing. However, at Renaissance Tattoo we firmly believe in age restrictions (for a number of reasons), therefore we impose our own. PLEASE BRING I.D (Passort or driving licence) WITH YOU!

Our studio is immaculate, we clean and disinfect it meticulously, twice every day. We are fastidious about our routine and this even includes disinfecting the wheels of our chairs! Each Artist cleans his/her work area and seating throughly after each client and washes their hands with surgical soap before and after each client. All our needles are single use; this means they are brand new when they are opened in front of each client. We then destroy them in front of each client after their tattoo/piercing. All non-consumables are ultrasonically cleaned then bag-sealed before being sterilised, We break the seals on these bags in front of each client. If asked we will explain the process and show you the how the colour of the heat indicator has changed since pre-sterilisation. Our tattoo machines and machine cables are 'bagged' with new covers for each client, as are our power suppliies. Our inks are all single use and they are also disposed of in front of each client.

You can find out how to look after your tattoo or piercing by reading our 'Aftercare' page, here.

Yes all our certification is displayed prominently in the studio, as required by local byelaws.

Yes! We offer walk-in tattoos on a first come, first served basis.

For custom work, you'll need to come in and see us for a consultation (it's a good idea to bring printed reference ideas along with you). We require a cash deposit when you book in with us, this secures your appointment and it is deducted from the final cost of your tattoo. To read the Terms and Conditions associated with making an appointment, click here.

You can make an appointment in person by visiting our Rickmansworth tattoo studio, online or by phone. After discussing your requirements you will need to confirm your intention by leaving a deposit, which you can do in person or online by clicking here.

Consultation: It is free to book a consultation, you can book online here. Small Tattoos: We take full, up front payment on all tattoos that cost under £100, you can book online here. Single session Tattoos costing over £100: We take a 50% deposit and it gets deducted from the final cost of your tattoo on the day of your appointment. You can book online here. Multi-Session Tattoos: We take a deposit of 50% of the cost your first session, I.e. if you're booked in for three sessions and your first session is five hours, it would cost £600 for the session and we would take a £300 deposit. Your deposit gets deducted from the cost of your final session. You can book online here.

A tattooo consultation is where you meet you chosen artist and explain your ideas to them so they can interpret them as a tattoo. Please make sure you a very good initial idea of your basic subject matter, what style you want (realism, traditional, black & grey, dot work etc) and size/ placement. It is very important that you either email reference images ahead of your consultation appointment or you bring them with you on your phone, tablet or in print. Please ensure you have them to hand when you visit (save them in a photo album) instead of scroling through your phone to where you saved them 3 or 4 weeks ago! This is the perfect opportunity for you to explain your expectations and for your artist to explain what is or isn't possible and why. Our aritsts are all highly experienced and they are in the best position to advise you. Of course they often exceed expectations, hence our reputation! Once you have agreed on design elements, price and appointment dates/times, the next step is to book in and leave a deposit. If you pay your deposit in person, you will be required to read and sign our 'Terms & Conditions of Booking', which you will given a copy of (this is also your receipt). If you pay your deposit online, in doing do you are confirming have read and agreed our Terms & Conditions of Booking'. You can read them here. Your confirmation email is also your reciept. IMPORTANT: For your deposit to be deducted from the cost of your tattoo, you MUST show your artist your receipt!

As you would expect, we take hygiene extremely seriously and in return we appreciate that you do too. For a tattooist or piercer, there is nothing worse that working in very close proximity to someone that hasn't paid much attention to their personal cleanliness. If possible, please take a bath or shower and use deodorant before you visit! Wear old clothes that you can easily afford to discard. Tattoo ink DOES NOT wash out of clothing. Try to eat something at least an hour before you get tattooed and bring something along with a high sugar content such as sweets, chocolate and a drink.

When you arrive you'll be asked to fill and sign a consent form, this where you agree that you are consenting to get a tattoo and that you understand they are permenant. You will also fill in multiple choice questions on pe-existing medical conditions and any medication you are taking. If we think you appear to be under 21 years of age, we will ask you for your I.D (passport or driving licence) to prove you are 18 years of age or above. Next you will be shown your design, this is usually just a simple outline drawing that gets printed onto special stencil paper that is used to transfer the design onto your skin. All being good, you will be invited to your seat and made comfortable before your artist cleans and shaves your skin and transfers the design to your body. The transfer takes approximately 10 minutes to dry, during this time you'll be directed towards a mirror where you can check and confirrm you are happy with the size of the design and it's placement. You'll also be able to watch you artist set up some of their equipment in front of you. You can be sure that you'll be made to feel welcome, comfortble and at ease throughout the enitre process. Renaissance staff are all very friendly, sociable and chatty and love to engage in conversation but if you'd rather listen to music or watch a film on your tablet (with headphones on of course), you're very welcome to do so. You can have a 'breather' whenever you like and we have an immaculate customer toilet if nature calls or you need to powder your nose. We supply perfectly sized side tables for you to keep you phone/ tablet/ drink/ sweets valuables on, we really want you to be as comfortable as possible! Of course if you'll be offered a complimentory tea or coffee but if at any point you'd like another, please don't be afraid to ask! The next step is the tattoo itself, we fully understand that you're going to be feeling a little nervous we'd like to assure you that you really are in some of the safest and most experied hands in tattooing in the UK. Amanda and Adie (the owners) have 40 years tattooing experience between them. Good luck and welcome to the club!

Yes, but they will not be able to enter the studio area with you (there are a number of reasons for this). The only exception is a parent accompanying a minor who is having a body piercing.

We prefer you not to use a numbing solution as by its very nature it alters the skin's properties and can make it more difficult to tattoo you. Every artist reserves to right to refuse to tattoo you if you have applied a numbing solution and if this is the case you can expect to forfeit your deposit if you have to re book. We cannot and will not guarantee our work if you have applied a numbing solution.

Yes, most of our inks are vegan anyway but if vegan ink is a specific requirement, you only have to ask :)

Yes very easily, you only have to ask.

You must be 18 years of age or above to get a tattoo and if necessary, be able to prove it. People under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be tolerated or permitted in the studio. Please do not bring babies or young children with you. No smoking. No alcohol. No pets. No muddy footwear/ clothing permitted on the premises. Mobile phones MUST be switched on silent in the studio area. We reserve the right to refuse to do a tattoo at our discretion. No haggling on prices. However we will gladly offer deals when our Landlord offer deals on our rent, the Government offer deals on our business rates, utility companies offer us deals on our bills, our suppliers offer us deals on our consumables and when supermarkets let us haggle at checkout! THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE ABOVE RULES, NO MATTER HOW WELL YOU THINK YOU KNOW US!

ALL Piercings (except for ear lobes) are performed using a needle and not a gun. Ear Lobe: £20 Each Helix: £30 Each Anti-Helix: £30 Each Tragus: £30 Each Anti-Tragus: £30 Daith: £30 Rook: £30 Nose: £30 Each Orbital: £30 Each. Septum: £35 Each Scaffold: £40 Each Lip/ Labret: £30 Each Navel: £40 Each Nipple: £40 Each Tongue: £40 Each Please contact us to ask about other piercings we offer.

PIERCING AFTERCARE PLAY THE VIDEO BELOW FOR AURA TO TALK YOU THROUGH LOOKING AFTER YOUR NEW PIERCINGS. Your piercer is very knowledgeable and with give you aftercare advice once you've been pierced. They will of course be very happy to answer all your questions! ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING YOUR PIERCING WHILST IT IS HEALING! Most piercings take 8 to 12 weeks to heal, nipples as much as 9 months (or more). We advise you wait AT LEAST 8 weeks before changing ANY piercing. DO NOT swim for at least 2 weeks after you have been pierced. DO NOT soak a fresh piercing underwater in a bath or hot tub for at least 2 weeks after you have been pierced. You must be patient whilst a piercing is healing and most importantly you must keep it clean. A piercing is an open wound and must be treated as such, especially as it is subject to infection whilst healing. DO NOT 'turn' or 'twist' the piercing (unless during cleaning), it can do more harm than good! Tight clothing next to a piercing can irritate it, prolong healing and promote swelling. Do not interfere with your piercing or touch it whilst it is healing unless you are cleaning it. During the early stages of the healing process you may notice a yellowy-white liquid seeping from it and forming a scab (this is actually blood plasma and not puss). Using a cotton bud clean the piercing 2 or 3 times a day with hot salt water. Dissolve ½ tea spoon of table salt in a CLEAN vessel (ideally an egg cup or shot glass, freshly cleaned in a dish washer) containing hot water from the kettle. Make sure you let the water cool before using! We sell BPA Piercing Aftercare® solution, our clients report a lot of success using this. This is to be applied after cleaning, not instead of cleaning. Use AFTER you have cleaned your piercing using the above method! Apply one drop to the pierced area and gently massage any excess to the surrounding skin. Apply 2 to 4 times a day as required. Can be used for all piercings performed at Renaissance except for the tongue. BPA Piercing Aftercare® from The Aftercare Company was formulated using high quality essential oils to lubricate the skin and allow for easier and more controlled cleaning of piercings. It can be used for exterior piercings from ears, navel to dermal implants, as well as during the stretching of plugs and lobes. The solution is applied to the skin with an internal dropper for controlled and hygienic use. This gentle but very effective aftercare is easily absorbed and will not tarnish jewellery. Approved by Cruelty Free International, Piercing Aftercare® uses 100% natural ingredients, is vegan, paraben-free, and safe for all skin types. Its formula is based on a unique blend of Lavender, Tea tree and Niaouli, is rich in vitamins A, D and E, and has been specially-designed to nourish and enrich the skin. Please note that swelling is very normal and in most cases it does not mean the piercing is infected, if you experience some swelling, an over the counter anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen can help (as can an ice-pack). A navel or nipple piercing can take from six to nine months (sometimes longer) to heal properly. An oral piercing is relatively easy to look after; you can rinse the mouth with a sea salt solution do this about twice a day. If you have a tongue piercing you will notice that you have a long bar fitted, this to allow for any swelling that may occur. A tongue piercing should heal within two to six weeks and you may find it difficult to eat solids easily during the first few days, for this reason it is a good idea to eat soup and yogurt and drink milkshakes during this period.

Ear lobes (including 2nds & 3rds): 8yrs+ Helix, Rook, Daith, Conch, Tragus, Orbital industrial/ scaffold etc: 13yrs+ Lip configurations: 14yrs+ Belly Button/ Navel: 16yrs+ Tongue: 16yrs+ Nipple: 18 years+ There is no legal age restriction in England to have a Body Piercing. However, at Renaissance Tattoo we firmly believe in age restrictions (for a number of reasons), therefore we impose our own. PLEASE BRING I.D (Passort or driving licence) WITH YOU!

We offer both 'gun' and needle piercing methods at Renaissance but mainly recommend the piercing ‘gun’ method for ear lobes due their speed and efficiency. Ear lobes pierced using this method almost never, ever bleed but ears pierced using the cannula needle method almost always do bleed. The 'gun' method literally takes a split second, the stud is pushed through the lobe by a simple spring-loaded mechanism and the traditional 'butterfly' back is attached automatically. It is very simple, quick and safe. No initial bleeding = faster and easier healing. The sight of a long cannula piercing needle can be intimidating and unsettling for younger clients, especially those who are already nervous. Piercing ‘guns’ are guaranteed 100% hygienic because they don’t actually touch the skin, the attachments that hold the piercing jewellery and slot into the ‘gun’, are taken out of sterile packets in front of the client and disposed of in a clinical waste bin afterwards (this is taken away by a specialist, licensed carrier). The idea that the piercing gun method causes unnecessary trauma to an ear lobe is a myth and completely untrue. This is because lobe tissue is very soft and the ends of the stud posts are adequately sharp. The many thousands of safe, successful gun piercings we’ve carried out are testament to this. We use the ‘gun’ method for ear lobes only and never for any other kind of piercing. We can of course pierce ear lobes with cannula needles (at extra cost) if that is your preference.

You can be sure you'll be made to feel comfortable, safe and welcome in our Rickmansworth piercing studio and that all of our apparatus are ALWAYS sterile and in sealed packets. We will ALWAYS open the autoclave packets in front of you. We ONLY use new piercing needles for every client which we will ALWAYS open in front of you. All our piercing jewellery is packaged and sterilised in-house, that is our guarantee that your procedure is carried out in the most hygienic manner possible.

At Renaissance we don't believe that piercing the ears of very young children and babies because most aren’t capable of making that decision yet. Children aren't fashion accessories. Ear piercing can be a very unnerving and frightening experience for very young children, especially if they are coerced into it. Young children are often incapable of keeping their piercings clean (not poking/ prodding them with dirty fingers) and often lack the awareness to remember not to get clothing (etc) caught on new piercings. General ‘rough & tumbles’ such as clambering around in soft play parks, up and down netting and through tubes with other kids climbing on them really isn’t a good idea with pierced ears when you’re very young.

Whilst a family member or friend is very welcome to accompany you and wait in reception, they will not be permitted to join you whilst you are being pierced. The exception to this is young children having ear lobe piercings, they may be accompanied by ONE parent or guardian only.

Yes we stock a range of beautiful body piercing jewellery!!

LOBE PIERCING JEWELLERY ALL our lobe piercing studs are hypoallergenic and skin friendly. They meet or exceed European Union standards and FDA regulations. The surgical steel used in our ear lobe piercing jewellery is a stainless steel with the 316L designation. This is a very pure stainless steel, which is highly corrosion resistant and skin friendly. Just like any other steel, this steel contains nickel. However, the nickel release rate for our earrings is well below the allowable value given in the EU Reach Regulation, which makes them hypoallergenic and well suited as piercing studs and fashion earrings. This steel is also used for medical purposes, such as surgical implants, which remain in the human body for a lifetime without any harmful side effects. BODY PIERCING JEWELLERY The jewellery we use to pierce with is made from 316L surgical stainless steel, ensuring that they will not deteriorate or become damaged easily. When properly cared for, this jewellery will last a very long time as it is strong, durable and robust. It will not bend or distort when being inserted into the skin. We have been successfully using the same supplier many years and we continue to trust their quality.

We have a private, clean and welcoming piercing studio!

No we do not offer piercing jewellery changing or removal service, sorry.

If you've had a badly performed piercing elsewhere, the best thing you can do is take it out yourself and wait for it to heal before booking in with us. If you'd had a piercing done elsewhere and you think it may be infected, we suggest you ask the opinion of a qualified medical professional such as your GP (via emergency appointment) or by visiting A&E at your nearest hospital.

We don't offer dermal anchors, surface piercings and 'below the waist'/ 'personal' piercings.

THE NEGATIVE POINTS OF HIGH STREET FASHION/ ACCESSORY SHOPS AND PHARMACY CHAINS Quite often, the staff are inexperienced! We see so many people who have been to these establishments and received wonky piercings that are badly positioned. They pierce children as young as 3yrs (some even pierce babies), this shows very questionable morals in our opinion. Two staff will use a ‘gun’ on each ear of a young child at the same time. This is extremely distressing for a young child and we think it is is deplorable. They pierce very visibly in the shop window and in front of other customers to act as a form of advertising to passers-by. This is an especially bad idea if the client becomes unwell or faints in full view of everyone around them! They pierce noses and ear helixes with a piercing gun, these piercings should NEVER be performed with a gun because there is a high change nose and ear cartilage can be shattered! No experienced body piercer would ever consider dong this! The staff don’t have ambitions to be Body Piercers before working in these places, they are general shop staff that are expected to do basic piercings as part of their other shop floor tasks such shelf filling and working the tills etc. They sell aftercare solutions that are unnecessary large. The 180ml solutions are enough to last a few people for a lifetime of piercing! They advise to ’turn’ a new piercing a few times a day during healing but we know this to be counterproductive as it can prolong healing. If you had a wound, would you rub it a few times a day? Some advise that you should only wait 24hrs after a new piercing before swimming, this bad advice that will likely cause problems, including infections. We advise that you wait at least two weeks. Some claim that if you use their solution, it can reduce healing time from 8 to only two weeks. There is no evidence to support these claims and we would NEVER advise changing piercings sooner than 8 weeks, under any circumstances. YOU WON'T BE IN THE HANDS OF A PASSIONATE, EXPERIENCED PIERCER WHO REALLY KNOWS WHAT THAY ARE DOING!