The Piercing Bodz
- Registration
- Piercer training
- All piercers are not the same
- Piercing premises
- Piercers and piercing equipment
- Piercing qualifications and certificates
- Wild claims
- So how do you find a good piercer ?
- Questions you could ask
Quick-links - Our standards CIEH Guidelines
FAQ - Finding a good piercer.
There's a piercer on every corner and they are all the same, right ? WRONG !
You have to be a good piercer to be registered, right ? WRONG
Piercing and tattooing go together, right ? WRONG
Please read on - you're in for a bit of a shock.
Registration
In England, if you set up as a piercer you must register with the local authority.
The local authority is not allowed to refuse to register a piercer.
I left a space for you to think about that..
That means the the local authority has to register a piercer, even if it is obvious that they are incapable of doing the job. Even if that person would be considered a danger to the community the local council can't refuse to register them.
It also means that anybody that feels like it can set up as a piercer, without training, qualifications or experience.
Registration only applies to those piercers who work out of commercial premises. If they choose to start piercing from home, nobody can stop them. There are no laws and the local police and trading standards have no powers to enter their home and seize equipment.
Piercer training
Now you know that just anybody can set up as a piercer, it's time to look at what is involved in training a piercer properly.
Training takes 3 years
The first 6 months of training consists of learning aseptic technique, learning how all the equipment works, learning how to clean properly, how to deal with clients and watching.. ...lots of watching. Some trainees show promise and can start to learn how to do simple piercing.
The following 6 months is spent learning each piercing, starting with the simplest, working up to some of the more complicated, but safe, piercings, usually on volunteers who don't mind if it goes wrong. During this time they will have a Senior or Master Piercer stood over their shoulder to ensure they do not get into any bad habits.
The second year is spent practicing as a Junior Piercer. A Junior Piercer can only work when there is a Senior or Master Piercer present. This year is spent consolidating everything learnt so far and improving piercing technique.
The third year is when things get interesting. Training continues with the dangerous and seriously complicated piercings, like the tongue, uvula, intimates, surface piercing and Microdermal placement.
It takes 5 years to become a senior piercer
Once a piercer has completed the correct training, they will practice for another 2 years before being considered a Senior Piercer. A Senior Piercer is considered to be capable of training piercers and can work safely in their own studio, confident that they can handle all eventualities.
There are no shortcuts
Training to become a piercer takes a long time because there is a lot to learn. You can't learn to pierce properly from a book, a video or even a short training course that costs thousands of pounds. The only way to learn piercing is as an apprentice or trainee from someone who has already trained properly and has pierced successfuly for at least 5 years.
Not all piercers are the same
Everybody knows that hairdressers have different levels of training and skill. There are chefs that produce superb food and chefs that produce poor food. There are different levels of skill and knowledge in all industries, but it's surprising how many people think all piercers have the same levels of skill and knowledge.
Someone who sets up as a piercer with no formal training, or after completing a short course, has to be considered a bad piercer. Some of these piercers aren't aware how dangerous they are and some of them simply don't care. No amount of experience can make up for lack of training, so even piercers who have worked for many years must still be considered bad piercers if they have missed out on that training.
If someone has completed a year of proper training with a Master or Senior Piercer, they are at the very basic level, similar to a junior in a hairdressers, or a commis chef in a kitchen. They should be capable of the more simple piercings like the earlobe, eyebrow or lip, but should always be supervised by a Senior or Master Piercer.
A piercer that has completed 2 years of training can be considered to be a Junior Piercer. This means that this person has learnt all the simple piercings, but needs to practice to improve technique. A Junior Piercer should never be left piercing alone, because they may not be experienced enough to deal with some complications or emergencies that can arise.
After 3 years of training a Junior Piercer becomes a Piercer. This is the minimum basic level. A piercer is capable of performing most piercings, including the tongue and intimates, but is considered to be in need of more practice before attempting surface piercings, microdermals, some of the more complicated genital piercing and uvula piercing
After 5 years of succesful piercing, improving technique and keeping abreast of new developments, a piercer can be considered to be a Senior Piercer. Levels of skill and knowledge should now be at the point where that person can perform any piercing and deal with any emergencies that could arise. A Senior Piercer should also be able to diagnose common piercing problems and know how to treat them. A Senior piercer can be responsible for training apprentices and managing a studio.
A Piercer is considered to be a Master Piercer once they have been piercing for a minimum of 10 years. A master piercer can perform all piercings, is responsible for passing on knowledge through training and must always work for the good of the industry, developing techniques and systems that improve and evolve piercing further.
Piercing premises
During training a piercer will learn about all the different ways in which bugs and germs can be spread, and will learn techniques to avoid passing disease from one person to another.
There are 3 types of 'pathogens' that need to be considered:
1. Airborne
2. Waterborne
3. Bloodborne
Bloodborne and Waterborne pathogens can be controlled by using the correct aseptic technique and by using sterile water for sterilizing instruments etc. All the guidelines and training available to piercers, including those courses run by the local council to improve standards, concentrate on these 2 types of pathogen, but completely ignore airborne pathogens, which can be far more dangerous.
High risk airborne pathogens in tattoo studios and hairdressers
If you know anybody that deals with cutting hair you will be aware of a problem called 'hair splinters', where small bits of hair become embedded in the skin. They get everywhere. We know of a hairdresser in Liverpool who was constantly plagued by hair splinters in her nipple. Imagine the dirt and grease and other nasty things that stick to hair and ask yourself if you would like these hair splinters in your fresh new piercing. It doesn't matter if there is a seperate room used for piercing, as the airflow caused by opening and closing doors is enough to spread hair splinters everywhere.
Tattoo studios are just as bad.
When a tattoo is made, the action of the needles going in and out of the skin releases a microspray of blood and ink into the air. This microspray is fine enough to move a good distance by air currents, even into rooms that are seperated by a long distance.
This airborne blood poses only the smallest risk when tattooing, because the tattoo will bleed and scab, ensuring that anything in the air will, more than likely, not find it's way under the skin. When piercing, though, these airborne pathogens become really dangerous. In preparing for a piercing the piercer will lay out all the equipment, needles and jewellery that will be needed for that piercing. Anything that is floating in the air will settle onto this equipment. That means that airborne blood will settle on the needle and the jewellery, which are going under your skin, pushing any disease present directly into the body.
It gets really scary when you consider that the hepatitis virus can survive for 7 days outside of a host body. That means that if somebody who suffers from hepatitis has been in for a tattoo during the week before you have a piercing, there is a risk you will catch hepatitis.
We hear lots of tattooists say that the UK is a clean country and that we don't have to worry about spreading disease, but hepatitis is the fastest spreading disease in the UK and every year hundreds of people become infected. Many people who have hepatitis are not even aware they have it until they suffer the more severe symptoms like liver failure. A tattooist in Greater Manchester managed to infect 30 people with hepatitis before being closed down.
GOOD piercers know about airborne pathogens and will not work in tattoo studios, hairdressers or anywhere other than in a proper piercing studio.
Piercing studios
Piercing should only be carried out in a piercing studio. The premises should be used for nothing except piercing - no tattoos, no hairdressing, no beauty therapy and no bongs !
It costs upwards of £16,000 to set up a piercing studio, which is why many of the bad piercers will set up in spare rooms in tattoo studios and hairdressers.
Those piercers who go to the trouble of training properly will usually get help from their trainers when it's time to set up their own piercing studio and a lot of care and thought will go into the design and layout to ensure that you are safe.
Piercers and piercing equipment
As with any occupation, those who do the job best are those who have a genuine interest. All good piercers develop an interest in piercing from having piercings themselves.
All good piercers have piercings
There is no exception to this rule.
I don't care how many nail technicians, beauty therapists and ex-nurses send me rude emails. It's common sense. Would you trust a chef that didn't like and enjoy food ? You have to assume that any piercer with no piercings is very obviously not interested enough in piercing to do the job properly.
Piercers who have no interest in piercing and just want to earn money will cut as many corners as possible to ensure that the profit margin is as high as possible. This means using sub-standard equipment, needles and jewellery. The cost of needles ranges from as little as 10p to over £5. Titanium rings can be purchased for as little as 7p, whereas good jewellery can cost an awful lot more. A good autoclave for sterilising jewellery and instruments costs upwards of £4000, but cheap autoclaves that do not do the job properly can be bought for as little as £100.
A cheap needle will be blunt and any cannula will be cheap, thick plastic that buckles when you use it. Piercing can be REALLY painful with cheap needles. Cheap jewellery that doesn't comply with surgical specifications can be extremely dangerous and cheap autoclaves can spread fatal diseases. We all like to get things cheap, but good piercing costs. You can't do it properly on the cheap and you really do get what you pay for !
Piercing qualifications and certificates
There are a large number of organisations that will send certificates to those who are willing to pay for them. A number of unscrupulous piercers are giving certificates of competence to anyone who pays for a short course. These are NOT an indication of a piercers ability. Some unscrupulous piercers are now offering training courses as a way for them to generate income and are passing on their own bad practice to others. Some of these even have backing from training councils ( Just a way of getting money from the government ). I was horrified to learn that the government has sanctioned a course offering a diploma to anyone who completes a 6 month correspondence course !!!
There are no recognised qualifications for piercing and any certificates that are displayed are simply not worth the paper that they are written on.
There is, however, a certificate that should always be displayed :
The registration certificate from the local authority is the most important one. It is so easy to become a registered piercer that you have to wonder why a piercer would set up without registering. What do they have to hide ? The registration is for a particular premises and for a named piercer. If the piercer is not listed on the certificate they are not registered.
Proof of experience
A registration certificate will not neccessarily mean that your piercer is trained properly, but it can be a good indication of how long that piercer has been piercing. It is sad, but a lot of really bad piercers will say that they have far more experience than they really have, to lull you into a false sense of security. When we worked in Liverpool, one of the piercers there was constantly being chased by the advertising standards authority for telling lies to get customers and claims to have 35 years experience, even though everybody knows that she started piercing in 1998 with no training. She's nice to the kids, though, and has the 'gift of the gab', so gets away with it. Most adults that know better give the place a wide berth. A piercer will be able to show registration documents that prove their experience - ask to see them.
Wild claims from bad piercers
Watch for those piercers who obviously aren't telling the truth. If you can't trust the piercer - it's simply not worth the risk.
We have pioneered a piercing technique that is now used as an industry standard
This was from the same piercer that lies about experience. This has to be the claim that made me laugh the most. If you've read the piercing history page, you'll know that pioneering piercing techniques were not developed in Liverpool. You'll also be aware that there is no 'Industry Standard'. All piercers use different techniques. All piercers use a technique that suits them. None of the methods of piercing that are used today are necessarily wrong (providing the piercer is fully trained, is following the CIEH guidelines and using the best equipment), but some methods can cause more pain and damage than others. (There is an awful lot of pain and damage caused by untrained hacks no matter what method is used.)
Hospital standard sterilisation
All piercers should be using dental standard sterilisation. You can't achieve hospital standard sterilisation from a benchtop autoclave. The piercer would need an autoclave capable of the prion cycle, serviced and callibrated 3 times a year, to HTM 2010 standards, AND a Washer/Disinfector serviced to HTM 2030 standards, just to come close.
Highest possible levels of hygiene
Some unscrupulous piercers will tell you that their hygiene standards are the highest possible, but don't cover the treatment chair or couch in paper roll, have hand operated taps, leave uncovered ultrasonic cleaning machines next to clean instruments that they use for your piercing, use paper rolls instead of paper towels to dry their hands or don't clean their hands after removing gloves. All very basic hygiene measures.
Health Authority Registered
No such thing. Local authority registered, maybe ? The Health Authority doesn't register piercers or tattooists.
So.. How do you find a good Piercer ?
The 4 step plan:
1. Find a PIERCING STUDIO
Make a list of piercing studios.
This seems really simple. Piercing studio for piercing, Tattoo studio for tattoos, Hairdressers for hair cuts, Butchers for meat, Plumbers for plumbing.
Stay away from tattooists, nail bars, hairdressers, beauticians, market stalls, nurses, your mates dad and anyone who doesn't work in a proper piercing studio.
That will eliminate from your list a large majority of those piercers that could cause you serious harm.
2. Search the internet
You obviously have internet access. Type the name of the piercing studios you have found into a search engine, like google, and see what you find. You should find reviews, client experiences, mentions on forums and other articles that can help you to decide whether they are worth contacting.
Please remember, though - some people leave bad reviews for piercers when they are too stupid to look after their piercings and just want to blame someone, so read between the lines.
There are links to websites that mention our studio on the links page and also a link to bme-zine, which is a fabulous source of information.
If you're clever you will be able to tell which of your list of studios are worth following up and eliminate even more piercers from your list.
Are you surprised at how little choice there is left ? Most major cities have only 1 or 2 good piercers. Some cities don't have any good piercers. You might have to be prepared to travel. If you've got to this stage and haven't found any piercers then you should extend your search to include anywhere you could reach in less than 2 hours. If that doesn't work, start looking further. Don't settle for a bad job just because it's easier. It won't be easier in the long run.
3. Contact the Piercer and ask some questions
Contact the piercers you have found and ask questions. Some piercers can be really busy and it's not always possible to answer all the questions you might have if you just turn up. Telephone the studio and ask if you can speak to the piercer. Look for a website and see if there is a contact form or an email address. Be patient if you're emailing as most good piercers are very busy people, wtih lots of emails to answer.
4. Go and see the piercer and the studio
If you've picked right, you'll feel welcome as soon as you walk in. At this stage you've already done all the groundwork and you can relax a little. A quick check of the basics is needed, but you are here to make sure you get on with the piercer more than anything. Your piercer will have piercings. Ask if they have the piercing you want and what they thought of the experience. Ask for a tour of the studio. There should be a special room used just for piercing. This is really important for both privacy and hygiene. This room should look and smell clean and be a relaxing atmosphere. The walls, floors and furniture must be wipeable. The room must be sparsely furnished, as clutter makes it difficult to keep clean. Make sure there are at least 2 sinks (one with elbow or foot operated taps), a vacuum autoclave, Ultrasonic cleaning bath, Medical waste bin and Sharps bin. Make sure that there are "Fainting Zones" around all the furniture, so if the worst does happen you won't end up with concussion, or worse. Check the piercers appearance and manner. If they look clean and professional it is usually a good sign. Check the piercers hands to see if they are clean . Check the piercers clothes and get close enough to see if they smell.
Most of all Use your common sense. If it doesn't feel right, or the piercer is dirty or has infected, migrating piercings or you know they are lying to you is it really worth taking the chance with your health and risking your life for their bank balance ? You only have one body - and you are the only person who can protect it.
Questions you could ask
If you've already checked the internet, you probably won't need to ask too many questions. Try not to ask anything that needs a long answer in an email, as most of us don't have time to sit typing. If you need lengthy explanations, its better to phone.
The single most important question you could ask is :
Do you pierce people who have hepatitis or HIV and what special precautions do you take ?
If the piercer says no, or they go into an explanation of the extra precautions they take, you need to walk out immediately. A good piercer will assume that every person who comes into the studio has every disease imaginable and will treat them accordingly. That's what proper aseptic technique is about. Many people who have hepatitis don't even know they have it.
Sample questions
Where did you train and how long did your training last ?
How long have you been piercing ?
What piercings do you have ?
What do you use to clean your surfaces ?
What type of autoclave do you have ?
How much experience do you have with this particular piercing ?
Can you explain the procedure ?
What aftercare would you advise ?
The list of questions you could ask is limitless. This is just a small selection. Think up some questions that test the piercers knowledge. Ask their opinions to see if they match what you believe.
Oh.. and Good Luck