CHEAP?

So this post might be a bit of a rant.. bear with me.

A friend and I were talking on Saturday, she’d recently had her hair cut at a local salon. The hair dresser was sporting a new septum piercing and my friend asked where she had it done as she had previously recommended me. Anyway, this lady had not come to me, but a studio out of area. She paid £50 more than I charge!

When quizzed as to why she went elsewhere the hairdresser informed them it was because my prices seemed too low. Should higher prices reflect higher quality or competency? are they more qualified?

Obviously this hit a nerve! I was originally trained by the British Body Piercing Association, with an emphasis on teaching how to pierce as safely as possible.

Body piercing by law requires no qualifications, such so piercers may be ‘self taught’ which is fine. I chose to gain the qualification to ensure I was providing the best service possible.

Unless the jewellery she had put in was BVLA or ANOMETAL (Which it could have been) I’m puzzled as to why a piercing would cost £70. I charge £20 for most piercings - I personally believe this to be a reasonable price. Which may increase slightly in the future, only to cover inflation.

I have a lot of teenagers coming in to get pierced and prices as high as £70 might not be affordable. Obviously I have to cover the cost of materials and make some profit, £20 covers both.

Hopefully not many others have the same thought process as this lady and if you do then you may now understand I’m not cheap.. Just fair :)

ANATOMY

The inspiration for this post came yesterday, Several clients were in for tragus piercings. All of which had the PERFECT anatomy (for a tragus piercing). (Photos on Instagram and Facebook, Link at bottom of page)

Whenever a client requests a piercing, I have to check their anatomy. There is huge variation in human ears! so sometimes the request is impossible, or I cant provide a high standard of piercing. Due to the shape of the ear.

The most common piercing I find myself turning away is the Forward Helix. I think I have been shown the same picture from Pinterest a million times - you know the one, the triple helix with gems! You need quite a large area to fit one - let alone three! Thing is, most of the time I could SQUEEZE a piercing in but 1. This would not look good and 2. the likelihood of the piercings lifespan being any longer than 6 months is pretty slim, as it would migrate.

The Daith is another piercing that I often have to say no to. Trick with the Daith is to get as far back as possible, especially if the customer is wanting the piercing due to migraines. Most females in particular have a fairly small area to pierce, but with a bit of manipulation and faffing I can figure out a way to get it done in a good place! but again if this is too close to the surface it will often migrate, therefore the lifespan of the piercing will be short, which just doesn’t seem like an option to me.

Some people are, as I like to put it - ‘Tragless’. Do you know what I mean? Just no area to clamp and get a needle through, or if it has been tried then the jewellery sits flush to the face and again, this is not an option.

EAR LOBES.. now I loooove piercing ear lobes, something really simple but sweet whether its first, seconds or if your lucky to have enough space - thirds. However marking the perfect place makes my eyes go funny! Unless you are very very fortunate you will not have a symmetrical face, which means that one ear is going to be different to the other, lower, different size, one droopy lobe and one non-existent! Just allll kinds of different!

A Smiley or any kind of frenulum tissue piercing also requires a fair sized area. I am victim myself of not enough frenulum for a smiley which upsets me greatly!!

Also Veins! this is not often a problem but sometimes interferes with placement. Particularly with conch, eyebrow, tongue or cheek piercings. So this something to consider when thinking of getting any of these piercings, as you don’t want to rock up to the studio all hyped and ready, just to be turned away.

All in all, everybody is different! Different ears, noses, nipples and all that stuff! So if you visit me or another piercer that turns you away, because of these reasons or anything else, It is only with your best interests at heart!

Better Healing!

Some top tips for better healing..

• Do not twist or turn your piercings - I know, I know, the lady in Claire’s told you to twist the jewellery however this is not advised by any professional. The way I explain this; when you turn or ‘knock’ the pierced area you are reminding your body there is a foreign object present and your bodies natural reaction to this is to try and get rid!!

• Cleaning your Piercing - Only clean when necessary, so only if there is any kind of discharge do you need to clean the area. I would advise to only use a salt water solution to do this! Here are the instructions on what to do: submerge the area in a bowl of saline solution (1/4 teaspoon of sea salt per egg cup of warm water) for a few minutes at a time. Alternatively, you can wet a clean cloth or gauze in the solution and apply it as a warm compress.

• Sleeping on the other side to the freshly pierced area is a big one! The new piercing needs room to breathe and heal which it is unable to do if it was to be shoved in a pillow or mattress! Also, sleeping on a new piercing can prevent it healing straight and no body wants a wonky piercing!

• Now on to the dreaded ‘Keloid’ - A keloid is a build up of scar tissue which can present as a blister like bump. Although slightly annoying and some unsightly they are nothing to worry about and will go down over time. These can be prevented by being careful to not ‘knock’ or ‘pull’ the piercing. They are most common with cartilage piercings and if you do happen to get a keloid at some point during the healing process just continue to clean and care for the piercing and it will eventually disappear!

  All in all, the best advice I could give is to leave the piercing alone as much as possible, let your body do it’s thing!