Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Should you allow people with fresh tattoos to float? How fresh is “fresh”, anyway? Graham and Ashkahn share their experiences.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: And welcome. Our question for today is “if someone comes in with a relatively fresh tattoo, what do you do?”
Ashkahn: What do you do about the tattoo, huh?
Graham: What to do about the tattoo?
Ashkahn: Well, I mean, this one seems pretty straightforward. Well, relatively fresh, I’m assuming, is within a few weeks of them getting it?
Graham: Right. Yeah, yeah.
Ashkahn: What you do is don’t let them float.
Graham: All right. We’ll see you next week for …
Ashkahn: That’s pretty much it.
Graham: So, it gets confusing, though, when it does get up to that three, four, five weeks point.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: It can depend not only on the size of tattoo, but even how deep it went and how much concrete line work you had versus shading, stuff like that. So, once again, telling them to consult the expert in their field, which in this case is the tattoo artist who gave them the tattoo, is totally what you should do. They shouldn’t be floating until their tattoo artist says that it’s all right to.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Our general, like anything less than about six weeks is where I would still have some amount of concern. Around that four to six week mark is where things seem kind of to be on the safer side, but then the problem’s not for you. Nothing’s gonna happen to your float tank if someone gets in there with a tattoo that’s not properly healed.
Graham: Yeah. You’re not worried about the ink getting into the tank or some bloodborne bacteria getting in-
Ashkahn: The tattoo rubbing off.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: Now there’s a tattoo on the bottom of the tank, just stuck there.
Graham: So, yeah, you are very much just worried about the person’s experience and their tattoo, and not causing any damage to it. It can happen. I’ve definitely heard at least one really terrible horror story of someone who had a relatively new center, and they left one of their staff in charge of it, and the staff didn’t know to turn the person away who had come in with the tattoo, and it was several weeks old, and they were like, “Oh, it’ll probably be fine.”
So, the floater went in and comes out really soon, after 10 or 15 minutes or something, and it was way too painful to actually stay in the tank. But the worst of that is was that even that small amount of time in the float tank, the saltwater had already kind of irreparably damaged the tattoo, to the point where the center owner had to pay to have an actual coverup expert, tattoo expert, come in and fix the tattoo. So, even more expensive than the initial regular tattoo work.
I’m sure it also sucked for the person with the tattoo, because now they’ve had to get it twice, and it didn’t end up exactly how they wanted it in the first place, so just a terrible, terrible situation all around. So, it’s one of those things where you just don’t want to take chances on it.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Yeah, that sounds, that does not sound like a great situation.
Graham: No. It was an unfortunate call to get one day, yeah.
So, just say no.
Ashkahn: To tattoos. Yeah.
Graham: Just say no to the tattoo. All right. Short episode for today, but no worries, because we’ll be back tomorrow. And if you have any questions in the meantime that you want answered, just go to floattanksolutions.com/podcast and we will answer them.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Cool Obscure Stories from Early Float History – DSP 215
If you’ve ever met one at the Float Conference, you’ll know they have some of the best and most bizarre stories in the float industry.
Graham and Ashkahn share a couple of their favorites from the old researchers that they’ve heard.
Who to Trust in the Float Industry – DSP 214
The float world is a confusing place. The industry is known to disagree on construction materials, ideal float techniques or frequency, and even the benefits of using a float tank. How does anyone in the float industry know who to trust?
Graham and Ashkahn discuss why the industry often feels like it’s full of misinformation and how it compares to other industries. They also offer solid advice on how to find the best information available.
What is Chamber REST? – DSP 213
Every once in a while, during a talk that a researcher is giving, or when pouring over old data about sensory deprivation, it’s easy to come across something called “Chamber REST”. The REST part is an acronym for “Restricted Environment Stimulation Therapy”. But what is it and how does it relate to floating?
Ashkahn and Graham take the time to fill us all in on the nuances of old sensory deprivation research and how it helped influence float tank research, as well as the important differences between them.
Should People Wear Bathing Suits in Float Tank Ads? – DSP 212
Most float centers have people float naked as the day they were born, but most ads and promotional videos and stuff show floaters in bathing suits. What’s up with that? Well, obviously fully nude images on Facebook or something will probably get flagged, so how do you deal with this situation? Nude models? No?
Ashkahn and Graham break down the problem, their own frustrations with it, and how they’ve dealt with it at Float On.
Checking in on Float On’s Annual Summer Sale – DSP 211
Recently, Float On ran a big discount for the summer season. It’s become a bit of a tradition and the mailing list every year that gets this notification is really large.
In this episode, Ashkahn and Graham share the success of the sale, as well as comparing it to the previous few years. They dive into the real numbers from the shop and the impact of changing just a few words and numbers on the sale to get it to perform as best as possible.
Latest Blog Posts
What Time of Year Is Ideal to Open Your Float Center?
Like most businesses, a float center will experience seasonal slumps. Be sure you’re planning to open your center at a peak time of the year. Find out the pros and cons of opening a float tank center during different times of the year.
What Happens When You Give Out 700 Free Floats?
We’re all about giving out free float sessions as a marketing strategy. However, when you give out 700 floats, there can be some concerns. Find out what happens when we set out to make Float On one of “The Top Things to do When Visiting Portland.”
Wanted… Blog Topics!
We’ve written on a large number of topics about opening / running a float tank center… BUT we want to make sure your questions are getting answered. Use this form to send us blog topics to write about.
Building a Float Business Through Blogger Outreach
Floating is great for a vast diversity of people, but it is really great for travelers. Hours sitting on a cramped plane, surrounded by stimulation, going through the dreaded airport processes, disrupted bio-clock rhythms… the list can go on. All of these things can easily be mitigated by the float experience, wiping away the tensions of travel, and leaving people energized and refreshed for the next adventure!
