Firstly, it should be said that blades are always single-use and must be disposed of after every treat- ment. There are no cleaners or sterilisers that can sterilise the tiny needles reliably enough to allow them to be used again with confidence. With other tools such as the blade handles (pens), you have a choice of whether to clean, sterilise and re-use, or to use pre-sterilised disposables.
Cost plays an important role in the decision whether to save or sling your tools but, if you do opt for re-using, you have to absolutely confident that you're able to remove 100% of the potentially harmful pathogens hidden on your tools before they can be safely used again. Using a disinfectant, such as Barbicide is not enough for any tool that comes into contact with broken skin.
If you do choose to clean and sterilise your own tools you will need a professional vacuum autoclave machine and an ultrasonic cleaning bath. Pressure only, sterilisers are not suitable for microblading pens as they can only sterilise solid, unwrapped metal tools. Microblading tools have cavities that can harbour microbes so, to ensure they are properly sterilised, they will need to be processed in the more expensive vacuum type machine. These machines will sterilise solid and hollow implements that are either wrapped or not. They will also carry out their sterilising programme automatically and provide a printout or electronic log of the process for your records.
It seems wasteful to throw away tools but you will need to be doing a lot of treatments to justify the cost of the equipment needed to properly and conveniently make them safe to use again. You will also need to keep records and ensure that your autoclave is maintained. Your licensing authority inspector will check to see that you are maintaining accurate records and that you have a maintenance schedule for your machine. Ensure that you follow the machine manufacturers instructions in selecting an appropriate sterilisation programme for the items that you are processing.
I bought a very expensive autoclave sterilisation machine but found that the time and effort needed to sterilise my own tools properly just didn't make sense. I now use disposables.
The Dermagraph Microblading Pen Hand Tool is a good compromise between quality and economy. It's solid aluminium with an anodised hard coat so it has a good weight and feel. It can be cleaned and autoclaved for reuse but it's also economical enough (£3 each if you buy a pack of 50) to make it viable as a single use pen. It comes in a sealed pack, already sterilised, so I don't need to keep records of my sterilisation procedure and the client is immediately reassured when you pop open a brand new, sealed pack before treatment.
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