Thinking about getting a piercing?
Getting a piercing is a serious decision. It is important to arm yourself with as much information as possible. Health regulations vary from state to state, city to city and in some cases, there are no health regulations in place.
This is a basic guideline for what to look for when choosing a studio and a piercing artist. Included are precautions meant to help prevent cross-contamination of blood borne diseases from one client to the next and instructions on how to care for your new piercing.
These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience, common sense, research and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute for medical advice from a doctor. Be aware, however, that many doctors have no specific training or experience regarding tattoos and may not be educated on how to best assist you.
For more information, please feel free to
call us at: 508.533.1369 or stop the studio.
NOTE: OUR NEW STUDIO HOURS ARE: TUESDAY
- SATURDAY: NOON - 8 PM, SUNDAY/MONDAY: CLOSED.
Education is of the utmost importance to us at Visions
Tattoo, Piercing & Art Gallery, Inc. Please familiarize yourself
with the following piercing guidelines. Any studio you select should abide
by these basic rules for your safety:
Always insist on clean and sterile equipment. Only ultrasonically cleaned
and freshly sterilized instruments should be used for piercing.
Ultrasonic units use ultrasonic waves to disintegrate blood and plasma
off of piercing instruments ensuring superior uniform cleaning.
The only acceptable means of sterilization is by an autoclave. The autoclave
should be spore tested, at least, monthly to ensure that it is functioning
properly. Any reputable studio should have no problem producing
these test records upon request.
Needles should be single-use only.
Make sure your piercing artist removes new needles from sealed autoclave
bags in front of you. Autoclave bags have color indicators to show
that they have been sterilized in an autoclave. However, these indicators
can change colors even if the autoclave is not working properly. This is
another reason you should ask to see autoclave test records.
Be certain that your piercing artist places fresh ink into a new disposable
ink cap to mark your piercing or uses disposable removeable marker tips.
Under NO circumstances should ink that has been poured out or used, be poured
back into the ink bottle or markers used on more than one person.
All piercing artists should wash their
hands and put on a new pair of gloves when prior to starting a piercing.
Make sure that any item that may be touched during the piercing process
is covered by plastic or barrier film, to avoid cross contamination. Cross
contamination is the act of spreading potential pathogenic (disease-causing)
organisms from one item or surface to another. Even if a piercing
artist has on new gloves but touches a cross contamination item or surface,
you are then in danger of those pathogens being transferred to your freshly
broken skin. The best way to prevent cross contamination from one client
to the next is by covering all surfaces that a piercer might touch during
the piercing process with disposable plastic or barrier film. Be sure
your artist does not touch anything with dirty gloves, and that all items
are wiped down with a disinfectant in between clients as an extra precautionary
step.
Your piercing artist should be clean in appearance and sober. The furnishings
in a studio should also be clean and orderly in appearance. All containers,
work stations, and floors should be made of hard non-porous materials so
they can be cleaned with a hard surface disinfectant.
Feel free to question the piercer about any of these basic guidelines and procedures. If the piercer is a professional, they will have no problem complying with these standards. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable or if piercer appears evasive when questioned - go elsewhere!
Choosing an Artist
In choosing an artist for a piercing,
you should never "price shop." Piercing prices are based
on quality as well as time, and prices will vary from artist to artist,
region to region. This is not a trade where there are fixed prices. Look
at portfolios showcasing examples of piercings by the artist that will be
working on you. These photos are the best way to determine if the
piercer is worth what you pay them or is capable of the style you seek.
A professional will refer you to someone else if they feel they can not
do the piercing you want correctly. Bargain piercings, however, are often
a sign of someone more interested in your money than your health. If a deal
sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don't gamble with your skin.
A cheap piercing now, may cost you later to fix or even worse, may cost
you your health.
So you want to be a Body Piercer?
This was written by friend and fellow body piercer Jef Saunders. Thanks
Jef!
1) I need to have a place for you to work.
Why? Well, let’s say I train you and you become a competent piercer. Won’t you be frustrated that you aren’t actually piercing for a living? I know it would bother me that I could pierce well and wasn’t actually making money doing it. If you find yourself working one shift a week, or just substituting for the other piercers, you are going to go stir crazy. Eventually, I’m going to lose you to another shop, and now I have trained someone who will be my competitor. Keep in mind, taking on an apprentice is extra work for me, and now I’ve worked for months (or years) on someone who will be a competent competitor. That’s bad business.
2) I need to know that you are really motivated to be a great body piercer.
Being really motivated seems easy enough, right? I mean, you are already really motivated! Well, at least you think you are. To work at my shop, you must attend the Fakir Musafar Basic Piercing Intensive. When I hear you say, “I’m really passionate about body piercing, but I can’t afford the school or the flight right now” it means to me that you aren’t really all that passionate. Essentially, you will need to save about $2500 to take the class and stay in San Francisco. If you can’t save that in a year, it means to me you are either too irresponsible to save money or you want instant gratification. Neither of those qualities is especially compelling to make me want to take you on as an apprentice.
3) Getting an apprenticeship is a popularity contest.
Rockstar doesn’t need the brooding, quiet, introverted type. We need the body piercing equivalent of a cheerleader. We need happy, friendly, positive folks that can light up a room with their smile. Body piercers need to be clean, smart, creative and passionate, but they also need to be likable, approachable, and able to command the center of attention for the length of time it takes to perform a piercing. If you hate people, hate public speaking, and hate awkward social situations, why on Earth would you want to be a body piercer? Make no bones about it: body piercing is a job for people who like people.
4) My shop is not the stepping stone to a tattoo career.
Piercing is not the way to get into tattooing. That’s sort of like becoming a dentist so you can eventually be a gynecologist. Don’t waste either of our time. Start drawing.
5) When your apprenticeship is over, do you want to open your own shop?
That’s good! You’re an entrepreneur and I can relate to that! You will need to pay for your apprenticeship, though. No one wants to train another piercer out of the goodness of their own heart. We, the established piercers, need to see a profit in the future, whether that is from your work as our employee or from actually being paid for the apprenticeship. I think you will save us both a lot of drama by being up front about this. By being forthcoming and being prepared to pay for your apprenticeship, you also nearly guarantee that you’ll actually get taken on as an apprentice. This also goes back to #2, and if you pony up a large chunk of money for an apprenticeship, I know you are serious about becoming a good piercer.
Here are some final tips for making yourself into an attractive piercing apprenticeship candidate not only to me, but to most good body piercers:
• Wear good body jewelry. Better yet, wear bodyjewelry from my shop.
• Have retail sales experience.
• Take a bloodborne pathogens class from an OSHA approved instructor.
• Learn CPR/First Aid at the American Red Cross.
• Take anatomy and physiology classes at your local community college.
• Volunteer to promote my shop by flyering.
• Read a lot about piercing. Learn its history.
• Work on your people skills.
• Go to Sky Renfro’s apprenticeship primer class from Professional Piercing Information Systems. More info is available at www.Propiercing.com
• Go to the Fakir Intensives Basic Piercing class.
More info is available at www.Fakir.org
**SORRY WE NOT LOOKING FOR ANY APPRENTICES AT THIS TIME.**