Hygiene and safety.

Single-use materials

Needles, cartridges, gloves, barriers and equipment covers are sterile and used once. They are opened in front of you at the start of the session and discarded at the end. Nothing that touches your skin is reused.

Certified inks and supplies

The inks used are certified for tattoo use. If you have known allergies, pigment sensitivity or a previous reaction to a tattoo, say so in your first message — it changes what is used and how the session is planned.

Disinfecting the space

The work surface, the bed and the equipment are disinfected between sessions. The space is shared, and the protocol applies the same way to every session.

Informed consent

Before anything starts, you are told what will be done, where, at what size and what to expect while it heals. You sign consent with that information in front of you. If you want to stop at any point, you stop.

Minimum age

Nobody under 18 is tattooed. Bring photo identification — you may be asked for it.

When Hugo will not tattoo

No tattooing over irritated, sunburnt, broken or infected skin — in Madeira, sunburn is the most common reason a session gets postponed. Nobody is tattooed under the influence of alcohol or other substances. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or on medication that affects clotting or healing, talk to Hugo before booking. None of these is a flat no — some are just a question of timing.

What Hugo does not claim

Some tattoo websites advertise licences or health certifications. Portugal has no such regime for tattoo artists, so Hugo does not claim one. What is true is what is described above — and you can verify it on the day, when the materials are opened with you.