GUIDE - How to choose a piercer

[Woooooody]

Hi, I was just curious, are the EU rules about piercing with surgical steel are relatively new? I got all pretty much my piercings done during my early teens, over 10 years ago and they were all done with steel. I was recently inspired to get another piercing and it was my first with titanium! Also aftercare advice seems to have changed a lot too!

[Boo]

Hi, I was just curious, are the EU rules about piercing with surgical steel are relatively new? I got all pretty much my piercings done during my early teens, over 10 years ago and they were all done with steel. I was recently inspired to get another piercing and it was my first with titanium! Also aftercare advice seems to have changed a lot too!

If I recall correctly the directive came in in 1994 but as far as piercings etc that was in the mid-late 2000's so it's possible you got pierced before it. Not to mention a lot of piercers don't follow the directive anyway.

[Woooooody]

If I recall correctly the directive came in in 1994 but as far as piercings etc that was in the mid-late 2000's so it's possible you got pierced before it. Not to mention a lot of piercers don't follow the directive anyway.

Ah right, I had them done at various piercers so maybe they just weren't following it. I've never had any problems with steel myself, my body doesn't seem to care what I put in it! But then I've also had 5 sets of lobe piercings and two cartilage piercings done with guns (before I knew better!) and had no problems at all, I guess I've been pretty lucky! I can definitely see now why it's good to find a piercer who chooses to use materials that will minimise problems for as many people are possible though.

[crooked123]

how would you recommend asking all these questions without sounding like it's a full on interrogation?

[Boo]

how would you recommend asking all these questions without sounding like it's a full on interrogation?

They're all perfectly good questions to ask, some you can find out yourself by looking at their website, Facebook page, looking at reviews etc. If any piercer thinks you're interrogating them then they're one to avoid.

[Gill]

Wish I read this page a year ago, I've had two piercings done by trainees on a piercing course as I didn't know any better at the time. Thankfully both seem to have been done right. The piercer I'm thinking about using now seems to know what she's doing as she mentioned the courses being bad and has herself been doing piercings for 7 years

[NightGrind]

Personally, a general rule of thumb -
If they are a hairdressers who offer piercings on the side, I generally stay away.
If someone is doing all the jobs - tattoos, piercings, other stuff, then I generally stay away. I'm sure some of them are brilliant but for the most part, the dedicated piercers are a million miles better than the 'jack of all trades' types.

If anyone disagrees, please tell me why because I've had nothing but bad experiences with the above ^.

[Boo]

Personally, a general rule of thumb -
If they are a hairdressers who offer piercings on the side, I generally stay away.
If someone is doing all the jobs - tattoos, piercings, other stuff, then I generally stay away. I'm sure some of them are brilliant but for the most part, the dedicated piercers are a million miles better than the 'jack of all trades' types.

If anyone disagrees, please tell me why because I've had nothing but bad experiences with the above ^.

If there's a dedicated piercer with a business inside a hair salon I don't see the problem. If it's a hairdresser wielding a piercing gun then no.

My piercer does all kinds of modifications, piercing, implants, branding, beading, scarification etc, they've been doing this for 15 years (and are constantly learning) and are one of the best piercers in the Northwest of England. I don't see how someone with more than one skill can be branded poor on that basis alone. If it's a tattoo artist who has done a 3-day piercing "course" using it as an add-on, then no.

My "rule of thumb" is the guide I wrote and personal experience with my piercer.

[Gingerbob]

Thanks, that does help. Looking at the website does answer most of the questions, but of course until you see your piercer you can't answer all the questions

[Cranberry_beret]

Thank you!!! I had no idea about the sterilization technique. This is great.