Piercing FAQs

Here at Anatomic Body Arts, we are exclusively a piercing studio, not a tattoo shop that offers piercing.  You are NEVER just a number!!  We are always happy to spend as much time as is needed with our clients to answer any questions they may have and to ensure that you leave the best and most information possible.   We understand that you may have a few questions prior to visiting the studio, so we have addressed a few of the more common ones below.

 

Q: Do you accept credit cards?

A: Of course we do! We accept all major card companies including Amex and Discover, as well as Applepay, Googlepay, etc.

 

Q: What type of jewelry do we carry?

A: We have the largest selection of safe, quality body jewelry in the region. We will ONLY use threadless or internally threaded pieces which means there are no exposed threads to allow for a smooth insertion. All of our body jewelry that we use to pierce with is ASTM-F136 (inplant grade) Titanium, Niobium, 14K/18K solid nickle-free gold, platnium, or glass. All of our surfaces and ends are smooth, free of any nicks, scratches, burs, polishing compounds, and have a consistent mirror finish. We will NEVER pierce you with unsafe jewelry such as surgical steel or G23 titanium. We do not and never will stock externally threaded jewelry as there is no jewelry of this type made from materials safe enough to comply with implant-grade standards. We do also carry a variety of organics and metals for healed piercings. 

 

Q: Why are your piercings and jewelry more expensive than other shops?

A: A better question would be "What is my safety and happiness worth?" Sure you can absolutely get a cheaper piercing elsewhere, but in order to give you those prices what corners are they cutting? Are you in and out like an assembly line without giving you proper up to date instructions on aftercare and answering any questions you have? What kind of jewelry are they putting in you? Is it some poor quality, externally threaded steel, G23 titanium, or acrylic? Any of which can irritate your skin or even cause an allergic reaction. Are they using cheap needles, or skimping on cleaning supplies? There are still a number of studios that will " cold sterilize" a piece of jewelry before putting it in your fresh piercing. This is an incredibly dangerous practice of forgoing autoclaving your jewelry and instead soaking it in some disinfectant just before they install it. This disinfectant is never supposed to come in contact with your skin, and the FDA approved cold sterilants require 3-32 hours of soaking to be effective. Our top priority is safety. We want all of your piercings to be as happy and healthy as possible. That is why we use trusted name brand jewelry, state of the art sterilization equipment, professional up to date products. Those things will all add to the price tag. 

So yeah if you believe that you are only worth $20 -$30 then there are plenty of low end shops waiting to pierce you. When you are pierced with improper low quality jewelry and your piercing begins to migrate out leaving you with a nasty scar hopefully you won't regret trying to save a few bucks. Yes, quality piercings do cost more, but we think you are worth it. 

Q: Can I bring my own jewelry to get pierced?

A: The short answer is NO. One of the main reasons we will not pierce with outside jewelry is due to quality. Most places you can get jewelry (the mall, online, or other shops) do not carry the quality of jewelry that is safe.  Often they will sell 316L steel labeled as "surgical steel" which is meant to sound safe, but all that means is it is safe to use in a surgical setting, and is not meant for long term wear. Other times they will sell mystery metal that is never meant to be worn. They also usually sell externally threaded jewelry that is never going to be safe to wear in any fresh piercing. We will never pierce you with any of these things and instead stick to the safest high quality materials. 

Q: What piercings do you do?

A: We do almost all piercings that are safe and that your anatomy allows for. That being said, we will always check anatomy to make sure whatever piercing you are wanting will be safe and viable. The piercings with the most need for an assessment are : navels, tongues, surface anchors (dermals), industrials, forward helix, daith, rook, and genitals. We will not pierce you just to take your money if we do not believe that a piercing is viable. A professional piercer should always assess your anatomy before providing jewelry options suited for your anatomy. 

Q: What piercings will you not preform?

A: There are a few piercings that we will not do under any circumstances for your health and safety or the viability of the piercing. Snake eyes (the tip of the tongue) or any other horizontal tongue piercing, and surface anchors in the hands or feet make up the most asked for piercings we will not do. We would be more than happy to further explain why we wont do such piercings, the dangers they pose, and why no professional piercer should be preforming them. 

    Fun Fact

Snake eyes piercings are banned entirely in the state of Oregon as well as many other areas. It is unfortunate that there are piercers who care so little about the well being of their clients that state regulators had to step in to protect the public. 

Q: How much should I tip my piercer? 

A: While tips are not required they are always appreciated. Piercing is a service industry at the end of the day. Standard tipping practice is much like a server or hairstylist at 15-20%.

Q: Can I bring my child while I am getting pierced. 

A: Much like a spa or hair salon, the presence of children can be very distracting. We want you and other clients to be able to sit back and relax during your visit and not have to worry about little ones running around. We also need to allow our piercers to not be distracted so they can focus on performing the piercing. If you MUST bring in your child we require a second adult who will sit with them in the waiting area. Children who are not being pierced are NOT allowed in the piercing rooms for everyone's safety. Our staff will likely have other guests to help and will not be able to look after them.

Q: How do we clean and process our piercing tools?

A: There are only certain tools that will be reprocessed and sterilized multiple times, such as hemostats and receiving tubes. Jewelry is NEVER reused for another person, but is sterilized before it is used in a piercing. Needles are of course never reused but sterilized before a piercing and discarded properly after in a sharps container. After a piercing the tool(s) are placed in an enzymatic solution to prevent any organisms from drying and sticking to the surface of the tools. This step doesn't kill anything under the top layer of the tool but it does keep the person cleaning them in the next step safer. Next we place the tools into a heated ultrasonic and we add a solution that contains enzymes that break down and kill any living organisms to further disinfect the instruments. After the ultrasonic cycle is over we rinse and check to ensure any bioburden has been removed. Instruments are then placed into our bulk Tuttenhaure autoclave which then sterilizes them via steam and heat over 280 degrees celsius. Before a piercing procedure we will place any instruments and jewelry into a Statim autoclave cassette where we run it unwrapped in the actual sterile field that we will be piercing from. This means that our tools being reprocessed have done so TWICE, including immediately before your piercing. 

 Q: What do I do if I already have a bunch of piercings and don't know how to make them look better?

A: Simple! Book an appointment for a curation session with one of our piercers! They will be able to sit down with you and go over different jewelry options that match your style and budget! We have thousands of options to choose from so you are sure to find some fun pieces to pull everything together.

Q: I saw a piece in the studio a while ago, but it wasn't there last time I checked. Is it gone forever?

A: It does depend on the company it came from originally, but we can typically special order in pieces. That being said, some pieces are discontinued, so it's not always possible. Turn around times on special orders also depend on the company they are coming from, so they can take anywhere from 2 weeks to almost a year. Give us a call or stop in if you need info on specific pieces.