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
Thoughts on floating with a pacemaker – DSP 130
Sometimes you have customers with very specific needs or concerns about their float. In the case of medical concerns in regards to floating, there’s a lot we don’t know. Always always always have your customers discuss any serious medical concerns with their doctor. If for no other reason, if something does go wrong, even if it’s completely unrelated to their float, you’re not on the hook and have to deal with it.
Levels of noise that can affect floats – DSP 129
Soundproofing is costly and difficult, especially for float centers. Most recording studios don’t have to worry about showers or a solution that eats up concrete. It makes sense that we might want to quantify the challenge of sound in a very straight forward way, but the reality is much different than that. Different types of sound can penetrate float rooms at different intensities and different floaters will care more than others.
Graham and Ashkahn share some of their own frustrations with creating their ideal soundproofing for Float On and some helpful tips for identifying noise as well as some advice on how to keep your sanity.
Thoughts on non-compete clauses for employees – DSP 128
Float centers require a lot of upfront capital to get started up, and because of that it can feel like float centers should operate like big business, or perhaps bigger businesses than they actually are. Some centers may consider, at some point, having their employees sign non-compete clauses to prevent them from sharing trade secrets with competitors. Graham and Ashkahn have been at this for a while and express their opinions as to why this probably isn’t the most practical approach for your float center.
How often do you float? – DSP 127
This episode takes the time to have Graham and Ashkahn share their experiences in the tank. They take the opportunity to explain their relationships to floating and how they differ, and in some ways, how they are very similar.
Thoughts on floating with tinnitus – DSP 126
About 15% of people have tinnitus, at least in the United States. It’s one of the most common medical conditions in the country, but most people don’t think about how to accommodate it. Many people who have it don’t even notice it unless they’re in total silence, which adds a particular challenge to float centers.
Graham and Ashkahn talk about their experiences in floating people with tinnitus and how to approach the situation when and if a float becomes problematic.
Latest Blog Posts
2013 Start-a-Center Giveaway Winners Announced!
Look, this wasn't easy. When we launched this, we didn't expect nearly as many submissions as we ended up getting, and certainly not as many that were so compelling. All in all, there were over 140 participants and after reading through all of them, floating on it,...
‘Post-Float Environment and Interaction’
I don't have a lot to offer on this subject, as it has been a long time since I have operated a float center.... But, 'back in the day', it was rather simple: it was really up to the customer/floater how they wanted to be treated, post-float. Some customers wanted...
Lightening the Load Through Meaningful “Post Float” Conversation
The post float environment is as important as the environment in the float room because people are still in slower brain wave states after a float, and they generally seek time to sit down, relax, and process what happened during their float. Probably the best way to...
February Topic: Post-Float Environment and Interaction
The second month of our industry blog has arrived. The topic for February is 'Post-Float Environment and Interaction.' We'll be putting up the first post tomorrow, and you'll hear my take on things a little way through the month. I wanted to take a moment, however, to...
