How to Find a Good Piercer
There are a lot of bad piercers out there and a lot of people who don't know how to spot them. Going to bad piercer means risking infection, rejection, migration, scarring, delayed healing, AIDS, hep C and a whole host of other bad stuff. So pick a good one and be willing to spend a little money; after all, this is a permanent change to your body.
[edit] Steps
- Ask around to see where people in your town get their piercings done, look on the internet (good sites are http://www.safepiercing.org/ and bmezine.com), look through the phone book, find out where the piercing stores in your area are.
- When you pick one, go by and visit; look around the store... Is it clean? Do they have a private area where they will do the piercings? Do they have a range of jewelry available? The answer to all these should be yes.
- Ask to see their autoclave, spore test results and operating license. Look at pictures of HEALED piercings they have done. If they can't show you any of this, or are not accommodating, leave.
- RUN away as fast as you can from the shop if; they use a piercing gun, they do not ask for ID before piercing, anyone in the store is intoxicated (alcohol or otherwise), they offer aspirin or any other sort of pain relief (except possibly freeze sprays).
- Ask if they have done your particular piercing before. How many times; how well did they heal? Particularly if you are getting an unusual piercing.
- During the piercing they should wear gloves, use disposable needles (and dispose of them properly), be sober and respectful. If at any time before they do the actual piercing you get "bad vibes" about the place, leave.
[edit] Tips
- Many doctors will do piercings also, so ask your doctor if he/she will do it. That way you know who is doing it and you know that they are using a safe, clean procedure
- Take care of your piercing after you get it
- Most piercings cost around $50-$75 bucks, plus a tip for the piercer
- It's your body and it's your right to ensure you get a safe piercing... the staff should be friendly and helpful, as long as your requests are reasonable (and anything mentioned above is reasonable)
- It may sound nerdy, but often the best piercers can be found in Pharmacies. These people have been trained and, well, you're in a Pharmacy, what could go wrong!?
