PICKING YOUR PIERCER
This brochure is brought to you by the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) to help you get a safe, clean piercing. Because it breaks the protective barrier of the skin, piercing has some health risks, including the potential to transmit an infection or bloodborne disease. As training required for piercers and regulation of piercing studios is inconsistent, you can’t assume basic safety standards are in place in your area. Your safety is in your own hands, and you need to be an educated consumer. The information below can help. Members of the Association of Professional Piercers uphold the standards outlined in this brochure, and your piercer should too, even if they are not an APP member. Check out the following aspects of any prospective piercer and studio:
Piercer Qualifications
Performing body piercing is not easy; it takes time and dedication to acquire the ability to safely and skillfully perform the procedure. Piercing is a hands-on profession that must be learned through practical experience, which generally involves trial and error. Sound instruction ideally involves a lengthy apprenticeship with a qualified mentor (though many piercers are self-taught). It is advisable to inquire how long your piercer has been piercing, how they learned, and what they do to keep their knowledge-base current – such as taking continuing education courses on anatomy, aftercare, aseptic technique, etc.
Your potential piercer should earn your trust by demonstrating knowledge and competency. Before taking your money, a piercer should be willing to provide a consultation to inspect your anatomy, discuss jewelry selection, the procedure, potential risks and complications, the healing process, and aftercare guidelines. If you are not impressed with their qualifications, think twice about having them pierce you.
Studio Set-up and Hygiene
The studio premises and the staff should be noticeably clean. Smoking or drinking alcohol should never take place there. If studio policy permits customers to try on piercing jewelry – run!
A studio should have five separate zones including a retail counter, waiting area, and:
• A public bathroom that is never used for cleaning contaminated piercing equipment.
• A separate room for performing piercing that has bright lighting and good ventilation. It should not be used for anything except piercing. Ideally, it will contain a hand-washing sink for the piercer that is stocked with liquid soap and paper towels, not reusable cloth towels.
• A sterilization room (separate enclosure for processing contaminated tools and equipment). The public should not have access to this area. Keep in mind that an all-disposable studio may not have a sterilization/ processing area.
Piercing Set-up
Ask if you can watch the piercer set-up for a piercing and be present in the room when they set up for yours. The piercer should first wash their hands then put on gloves. . The needles, tools, and jewelry should be sealed in individual sterile packages and placed on a tray, or sterilized in a cassette. The piercer should change gloves if they touch anything in the room other than you and the sterile equipment. These packages/cassettes should be opened while you are present. Never let a piercer use a needle on you that was soaked in a liquid.
Sharps Container
Each needle must be used to pierce only one client, and then be carefully discarded in an approved sharps disposal, a special container for contaminated (used) piercing needles. This is usually a small red box marked “biohazard,” often mounted on the wall like in a doctor’s office. If the studio doesn’t have one, they may fail to dispose of needles properly, or even be re-using them.
Autoclave/Sterilizer
An autoclave is a necessary piece of equipment that uses steam under pressure to sterilize jewelry and other equipment used for piercings by killing germs and their spores. For piercing studios, sterilizers should be front loading and/or cassette-based (such as a Statim). Top loading, “Dry Heat”, and liquid soaks are not acceptable sterilization methods for piercings. To ensure proper functioning of the sterilizer, studios should perform regular spore tests (biological indicators). The results should be posted publicly or are readily available for you to review.
Licensing & Permits
In many cases, a studio with a license to operate meets minimum requirements and has passed some sort of inspection – though it may mean only that the owner has paid a fee to a city or state agency. To find out whether there are established standards and inspections in your area, contact your local health department. If a studio is operating unlicensed in a location where permits are required, report them to your health department and/or city business license division.
A license does not guarantee that the piercer has received training to perform the job properly. Even in regions with the most stringent laws, there are usually no specific requirements regarding the abilities or education of the piercer.
Aftercare Instructions
Aftercare instructions should be provided for all piercings, preferably available for you to review on the studio website. While each studio will have their own personal spin on recommended care, it should be similar to the APP aftercare guidelines. Outdated care like antibacterial soap or ointment is a red flag. You should also receive written or electronic instructions when you come in for your piercing, and your piercer should explain them to you and answer any questions.
Age Requirements
Even if local legislation is more lenient, the following is an appropriate minimum standards policy on piercing minors: a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a consent form. Proof-positive, state-issued photo identification is required from the legal guardian, and a bona fide form of identification from the minor. In the even that the parent has a different last name and/or address from the child, court documentation is needed to prove relationship – i.e., divorce or adoption papers, or a marriage certificate. Under no circumstances is it appropriate to pierce the nipples or genitals of an individual under 18 years of age.
Portfolio
Look at the piercer’s photo portfolio. Are the piercings placed to accent the anatomy or do they look awkward and poorly matched to the individual? If the portfolio features unusual piercings, are there pictures of healed clients to show the viability of the placement?
APP Membership
APP Members should have a certificate posted in the studio. Check the expiration date to make sure it’s current. Membership certificates are printed in vertical format, while those for attendance at our educational events are printed horizontally. For a list of APP members, check out our Member Directory at www.safepiercing.org. If you find a studio that claims to have an APP piercer and they are not on this list, please email info@safepiercing.org to let us know.
Studio Etiquette
At the counter:
- Don’t handle your piercings (even if they are healed) or jewelry as you may spread germs to the studio’s common areas, endangering staff and fellow patrons.
- Bring previously worn jewelry in a baggie or other sealed container; never place used jewelry on the counter.
In the Restroom:
- Don’t handle your piercings or jewelry (see above)
- It is never appropriate to insert jewelry in the restroom or other area of the studio. If you want to have your jewelry changed, it should be done by studio staff in the piercing room.
In the Piercing Room:
- Turn off your cell phone. Before setting anything down, ask your piercer to direct you to the area where personal belongings should be placed.
- Camera flashes can be very distracting during a piercing procedure, so check with your piercer before taking pictures.
Ear Piercing Guns
A number of states have made it illegal to use a piercing gun for any piercings besides the ear lobe, and with good reason. Most ear piercing guns can’t be sterilized, and anyone being pierced by them is at risk. A reputable professional won’t use a gun for any piercing – even for ear lobes.
This brochure is brought to you by the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) to help you get a safe, clean piercing. Because it breaks the protective barrier of the skin, piercing has some health risks, including the potential to transmit an infection or bloodborne disease. As training required for piercers and regulation of piercing studios is inconsistent, you can’t assume basic safety standards are in place in your area. Your safety is in your own hands, and you need to be an educated consumer. The information below can help. Members of the Association of Professional Piercers uphold the standards outlined in this brochure, and your piercer should too, even if they are not an APP member. Check out the following aspects of any prospective piercer and studio:
Trust your instincts
Your instincts are a valuable tool, and you should listen to them when it comes to selecting a piercer. Trust your intuition and never stay in a situation that feels wrong. Don’t act impulsively or be seduced by a low price as you generally get what you pay for.
CHECKLIST:
• Piercer is well trained and has continuing education Yes/No
• Studio is clean and well organized Yes/No
• Autoclave, either front-loading or cassette-based Yes/No
• Regular spore tests available, all passed Yes/No
• All jewelry/tools sterilized in packages or autoclave cassette Yes/No
• Needles sterilized, NOT soaked in liquid Yes/ No
• Sharps container mounted on wall Yes/No
• Licenses/permits current (if applicable) Yes/No
• Aftercare instructions provided, reflect current industry standards Yes/No
• NO ear piercing guns Yes/No
• All jewelry is internally threaded/threadless, well-polished (NO external threads) Yes/No
• Age requirements Yes/No
• Portfolio/social media pictures look good, healed pics a bonus Yes/No
• A wide selection of jewelry to ensure the proper fit Yes/No
• I am treated with kindness and respect by the staff Yes/No
• The piercer provides me with detailed written aftercare instructions Yes/No
• BONUS: APP Membership (membership means 3-10 are covered) Yes/No
Body Jewelry
When choosing body jewelry – especially for a fresh piercing – remember that quality can drastically affect the health and healing of your piercing.
- A large selection of body jewelry is important. A studio carrying only a handful of styles or sizes will be unable to meet the needs presented by a wide range of human anatomy.
- The surfaces and ends of body jewelry must be smooth, free of nicks scratches, burrs, and polishing compounds, and metals must have a consistent mirror finish.
- APP members only use internally threaded jewelry for initial piercings. This means that any screw threads used in closures are on the removable end, such as the ball or spike – not on the shaft of the jewelry. Passing exposed threading through the skin can cause unnecessary trauma. For detailed information on body jewelry, including suitable materials, see Jewelry for Initial Piercing and Jewelry for Healed Piercings.
Even if local legislation is more lenient, the following is an appropriate minimum standards policy on piercing minors: a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a consent form. A state-issued ID or passport is required from the parent or legal guardian, but identification required for a minor may vary. Be sure to contact your local studio to inquire about identification requirements for minors before going to the studio. Under no circumstances is it appropriate to pierce the nipples or genitals of an individual under 18 years of age.
All of the information in our brochures (and on our website) is available for reprint and re-use according to the copyright terms listed below. We freely allow anyone who needs this information to use it and distribute it in any way they deem useful—we just ask that we are properly credited, the content is not altered, and the use is not a commercial one. (You can’t re-sell our content.) The APP logo is the trademark of the Association of Professional Piercers. This brochure is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
[…] studio was for quality and hygiene. The Association of Professional Piercers warns that “Most ear-piercing guns can’t be sterilized, and anyone being pierced by them is at […]