Frequently Asked Questions

What are your identification requirements and age limits for piercings and tattoos?
You must be 18 years of age or older and present a valid, government-issued form of identification to get pierced without parental consent. Forms of ID include a driver’s license, state-issued identification card, military ID, passport, or birth certificate accompanied by a photo ID. 

If you are under the age of 18, we do offer certain piercings depending on age. Please call us at the studio to discuss specific piercings and the age limits for the piercer on staff. Please also note that we do not EVER perform nipple or genital piercings on anyone under the age of 18. Tattooing on anyone under the age of 18 would need to be discussed with the legal guardian, the person to be tattooed and the artist, sometimes we might feel it could be appropriate, but more often then not, we do not tattoo anyone under the age of 18.

Minors are required to arrive with their consenting parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian must provide a valid, government-issued ID, and the minor must provide their birth certificate as well as a form of ID if they are age 13 or over, such as a school ID, passport, or government-issued ID. If you are a legal guardian and/or are not listed on the birth certificate, we also require legal guardianship papers or other documentation indicating custody of the minor getting pierced. We require this documentation to comply with Board of Health regulations. 

Please feel free to call or email us with any questions about identification requirements and/or age limits for piercing services.

Under what circumstances am I unable to receive a piercing or tattoo?
We cannot pierce or tattoo anyone who does not present a valid ID and/or a minor who does not have parental consent and the required documents. We also cannot pierce or tattoo anyone who is intoxicated. We do not perform piercings or tattoos on anyone who is pregnant or nursing. If you take any medication or have any medical issues that may affect the procedure or your healing of the piercing, please consult your doctor before getting a piercing or tattoo.

What is your return policy?
Per Board of Health regulations, we cannot accept any returns on body jewelry once it has been sold and has left the studio. We are always happy to determine the correct size for the jewelry you need and to insert your jewelry for you. However, we cannot be held responsible for any jewelry issues if you choose not to have us insert jewelry for you and/or if the person the jewelry is for is not present.

Can I bring my own jewelry for a piercing?
The short answer is no. Per Board of Health regulations, we cannot pierce you with jewelry from outside the studio as we cannot determine the quality of the materials. Furthermore, the jewelry you bring in may not be the right size or style for the piercing you want done. We have a wide range of jewelry options for any initial or healed piercing, and we are happy to spend as much time as you need discussing different jewelry options and choosing a piece you love prior your piercing.

Should I make an appointment?
(Please see the COVID-19 note on the Home Page, as this section my no longer apply.) Appointments are preferred as they allow us to block off a certain amount of time for the client and ensure that you do not have to wait for our piercer or tattooist to finish providing services to other clients when you arrive. However, we always accept walk-ins if time allows. If you choose to come in as a walk-in, we cannot guarantee what the wait time will be, if we can get you in at all, and we appreciate your understanding.

What kind of jewelry do you carry?
All jewelry used for initial piercings is made of implant-grade materials: ASTM F138 stainless steel, ASTM F136 titanium, ASTM F1295 titanium, or solid 14k nickel-free gold. This jewelry is completely safe and is the best material possible for piercings, whether fresh or healed. We also offer an extensive selection of organic jewelry for healed piercings, including stone, wood, glass, metal weights, and hanging designs. We can also place custom orders for jewelry; please call or email us to inquire further.

Do you use a piercing gun?
We absolutely never use piercing guns; we use sterile, single-use, disposable piercing needles for every procedure we perform. As professional piercers, we do not condone the use of piercing guns for numerous reasons, including the fact that they cannot be sterilized; the inappropriate quality, style, and size of jewelry utilized in piercing gun procedures; the fact that they are dangerous and cause blunt-force trauma, etc. Our piercers are always happy to further discuss the reasons why we do not use or condone the use of piercing guns for any piercing procedure.

What do “disposable” and “freehand” mean?
We are an all-disposable studio, which means that any implements used during the piercing procedure are single-use and discarded after. Piercing needles are also single-use and sterilized in our autoclave prior to all procedures and disposed of appropriately in a biohazard sharps container after each piercing. All implements used for cleaning and marking are also single-use and disposed of either during or after the procedure. 

Freehand means that we are minimal in our use of tools for piercings. When we do use tools such as clamps, tapers, hemostats, etc. they are single-use, sterilized prior to the procedure, and disposed of appropriately following the piercing. Jewelry is never re-used on another client, and all jewelry is also sterilized prior to each procedure.

Do you have policies on harassment and discrimination?
We strive to provide a safe and welcoming space for all individuals and do not tolerate any forms of harassment and/or discrimination. We never discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity or expression, race, class, age, religion, sexuality, nationality, ability, ethnicity, personal appearance, minority status, or any characteristic protected under state and/or federal law. If you ever experience an instance of discrimination or harassment in our studio, please report it to one of our staff either in person, via email, or by phone, and it will be dealt with accordingly and immediately.