What if I'm under the age of 18?
If you're under the age of 18 adn want to get a piercing, the following things are required:
- Parent and/or Legal Guardian
- State or Federally issued ID (birth certificate or guardianship papers)
- Parent/Guardian State or Federally issued Photo ID
- Minor Photo ID (school, state, or passport)
It is still up to our discrestion whether or not we will pierce said minor, please call ahead.
What does a piercing cost?
Piercings are $25 plus the cost of jewelry, with the exception of Industrials, Orbitals, and Surface, which cost $40 plus jewelry. Standard earlobe piercings cost $15 each plus jewelry.
We have the largest selection of jewelry in the South Bay, therefore jewelry costs can vary according to your personal taste.
Below is a list of the cost of some piercings, basic jewelry included:
Does it hurt?
Most piercings hurt for a split second during piercing, and then are sore or mildly swollen for a few weeks thereafter. Every person experiences pain differently, and some piercings hurt more than others. We generally describe piercings to our clients as “pressure, and then a pinch”.
How long will my piercing take to heal?
The amount of time your piercing will take to heal is dependent on your body, what piercing you get, and how well you take care of it. There are average healing times for each different piercing. If you are in excellent health and do what the piercer suggests for appropriate aftercare, your piercing should heal with ease.
When is it okay to change my jewelry?
It is okay to change your jewelry when your piercing has been through what we call the initial healing time -- generally 6-8 weeks for most piercings. This means that you have taken great care of it and that your piercing has the first tube of tissue surrounding it (fistula) and is on its way to becoming a permanent hole. If you decide to change the jewelry, make sure you’re as gentle as possible and use high-quality jewelry. This will help it reach the goal of a happy, well healed piercing. If you wish to change the jewelry sooner, it is suggested that you come in and have your piercer do it for you.
When can I take my jewelry out and keep it out?
Almost never!
Although many piercings are capable of staying open with no jewelry in them after about a year, there really is no way of knowing it will stay open. Some piercings that have been in existence for years can start to immediately shrink when the jewelry is removed. This is especially true for oral piercings -- tongue, lip/labret, and monroe. A good general rule to keep is: if you’re taking something out, put something else in to keep the hole open.
My piercing looks red and hurts – what’s wrong?
These are two indicators of potential infection. Try increasing the cleaning regimen that we gave you at Pierce Ink and see how it feels. However, be careful not to clean your piercing too often – four times a day will suffice. If that does not seem to help, call us or stop by so we can take a look at it.
How long should I wait between stretches?
We suggest that you wait a minimum of six weeks between stretches and only stretch one gauge at a time.
Internally vs. externally threaded jewelry: fact vs. myth
A question we hear on a daily basis is, “Why does your jewelry cost more than Hot _____ or Cla_re's?” (names changed to protect the “Guilty”)
Our response? There are massive quality differences between our jewelry and the aforementioned.
To simplify matters, here is a basic explanation:
Externally threaded jewelry is when the threading is on the barbell shaft, and the balls are “hollow”, which often causes tearing and irritation to piercings. Internally threaded jewelry is when the barbell shaft is a solid piece, with the threading pattern drilled into the ends, allowing for smooth, bacteria-free insertion. From our perspective as highly trained professional piercers, externally threaded jewelry is generally made from inferior metals and can cause a “happy, healthy piercing” to become aggravated and potentially infected. On a daily basis, we remove externally threaded jewelry from “angry” piercings and replace it with high-quality internally threaded jewelry. Almost immediately, we see positive results.
At Pierce Ink, we only sell 316LVM Implant Grade Stainless Steel, H4M3 Titanium, 14-18kt Gold, and Platinum. Additionally, all of the metal jewelry we sell is made in the USA, allowing for quality assurance and consistency.
I have reactions to certain types of metal – can I still get a piercing?
Most metal allergies are caused by a reaction to Nickel. The advantage of our high-quality jewelry is that 316LVM Steel, H4M3 Titanium, 14-18kt Gold, and Platinum are all Nickel-free metals. It is our experience that people who cannot wear commercial-grade jewelry can absolutely wear our body piercing jewelry.