Tattoo & Piercing

Tapers- The Truth Behind this Tool Today we are talking about tapers! Tapers are a very handy and useful tool both inside and outside the studio, but are also unfortunately one of the most misused tools in body piercing. To start- what is a taper? It’s a long, often graduated metal stick, that gently tapers (hence the name) from smaller to larger. Tapers I would say have two primary uses when it comes to piercing. As a jewelry insertion tool, and as a stretching tool. Tapers for Jewelry Insertion At my studio we both use and sell tapers to help […]

Surface Piercing 101- What to Know Before You Pierce! Lets talk about surface piercings! These fun little piercings came about in the 90’s and 2000s’ after years of experimental R&D to discover what works. During that time the industry tried a whole mess of things to see what worked. From coiling up nostril screws to pierce with, to using plastic weed wacker line and trimming it down, even trying with Cather tubing. We were determined to make something that allowed us to pierce parts of the body we never before could have. Ad eventually, we settled on two different things! […]

Sweat and Piercings So, you’ve just gotten a piercing you are really, super excited about! You’ve been waiting a while, and today is the day! Your piercer is discussing aftercare and how to heal your piercing and a thought creeps up. What about working out. You have gym plans right after this, or perhaps you play a sport for school, or you’ll be seeing your trainer later this week. Will sweating and working out hurt your piercing? Is it bad if sweat gets into it? These are questions I get asked often by my active clients, and I’ve got great […]

Sterile Wound Wash Saline VS Sea Salt Mixtures When we review aftercare with clients, we always discuss using a sterile wound wash saline to clean and care for new piercings. Many times we have clients ask “That’s just salt water right? Can I make my own at home?”; and although this used to be something we all suggested as part of aftercare back in the day, through some extensive research, the recommended aftercare changed to no longer include the option to DIY saline at home. If you’re curious as to why store bought is better, we’ll go a little more […]

Smilie Piercings 101 Today let’s talk about smilie piercings! These piercings grew in popularity thanks to the internet, and remain popular through social media. This is a piercing through the frenulum of the upper lip, the webbing that connects the lip to the gums. These piercings are hidden, and usually only visible when you smile, hence the name. While these piercings are cute, and the appeal is easy to understand, these piercings also carry some serious risks for your teeth and gums. Thanks to these risks I actually no longer offer these piercings. I do not feel that any piercing […]

Size Matters: Initial Piercing Size Matters! At least, when it comes to piercings it does. Now, in piercing size could refer to a number of different things: The thickness of a piece of jewelry, aka the gauge, the length of straight or curved jewelry, or the diameter of round jewelry. For this article, we are focusing on length and diameter, specifically for initial piercings! How long or short a piece of jewelry is makes a huge difference! It can effect how well a piercing heals, jewelry choices that can be worn, and the over all look and fashion of a […]

Skincare and Piercings Having healthy skin is a priority for many of our clients. The journey to healthy skin usually includes some kind of product regimen; whether you use a simple daily moisturizer or sunscreen, a prescription cream for acne, or a super in-depth daily course of toners and masks, we know it’s all part of the process! With healing piercings though (particularly facial piercings), balancing your skin-care with keeping your piercings clean and healthy can be tricky. We’ve written this article to give you a few tips and tricks to help you keep both your skin and piercings happy! […]

Size Matters: Downsize Size Matters! At least, when it comes to piercings it does. Now, in piercing size could refer to a number of different things: The thickness of a piece of jewelry, aka the gauge, the length of straight or curved jewelry, or the diameter of round jewelry. For this article, we are focusing on downsizing! This is a crucial step for a majority of healing piercings, and it’s importance can easy to overlook. Unfortunately, due to covid, many clients are left unable to downsize, and are experiencing first hand exactly why this is so important. So, what exactly […]