Someone needs to do something about this, so I will. In regards to piercing, most people assume that it is just a hole in your body with a piece of jewelry in it. That's it. Just make a hole, stick something in it, and voila, you have your piercing.

Then why are there professionals? If you can do it yourself, then why are we here?

I don't know how many times in a day I hear "But its just my earlobe". I have some news for you, believe it or not, your ear is connected to your body. It has blood,nerves,hair.

"But I want to use the gun, the needle is going to hurt". Lets break this down logically first. The way a piercing gun works is it puts a sterling silver stud in a sort of holster, then jams it through your ear. Compare this to the use of a surgical needle. Imagine a blunt object being shoved through your skin, not piercing you, just being shoved through. Why would this seem like it would hurt less than a tri bevel needle? Something that was specifically designed to go through you skin with minimal effort, and maximum comfort? The needle is designed to quickly and cleanly cut out the skin it is coming in contact with, as opposed to the gun with pushes through it, shoving it off to the side. Sounds pretty traumatic, doesn't it?
In the same token, lets bring up the actual equipment itself. The gun is non-autoclavable. This means that is has NEVER BEEN STERILIZED. The alcohol wipe by no means kills all the dirt and bacteria on it. It wouldn't even be considered sanitized, let alone sterile. So that means when the part that shoves jewelry through your ear pulls back, it is trapping in your skin and blood where the jewelry loads. Now, I know you aren't scared about your skin and blood, but what about all the people before you? As opposed to a surgical needle, which is SINGLE USE and sterile.

Now the point that I really want to make. You need to educate yourself. When you are going to talk to a piercer, question why they are telling you the information they are giving you. Don't let a nice smile and big words fool you. Just because they are nice and have been piercing for a long time doesn't mean they care, or that they are doing it right. Ask for a portfolio,credentials, so and and so forth. More so than just insurance information. Go online and find what they should have, and what they should know first. If you don't feel comfortable with the information and reasons they give you, then don't get pierced. Simple as that.
There is A LOT that needs to be taken into consideration when doing a proper piercing. Placement, jewelry size and style, aftercare..etc…etc… You are not going to get a good piercing on accident, and there is no such thing as an o.k. job. This is your body, this is something you are doing to decorate yourself. Someone is puncturing your skin and installing a piece of jewelry, don't you want to know that you are getting the best you can for yourself?
Question aftercare and healing times. Make sure they know why a navel takes 6 months to a year to heal. Does soap in your piercing sound right? Read the label, "external use only". Does rotating it sound right? Why would you rotate the jewelry, other than to destroy the healing skin tissue. When you touch your jewelry, you are filling it with the bacteria that causes infections, then rotating it will constantly put you back at square one, except this time with all the dirt you have on your fingers with it.

Are they just saying things to make you happy, so you will sit down and get pierced? Be weary on this. It is NOT OK to go swimming the next week, under any circumstances. Its an open wound in your body that you are trying to heal. There is more bacteria in the water than I could name. Pools aren't any better. If you think that there isn't enough skin on something to pierce, and your piercer says its fine, ask him why he thinks it can heal, other than " I could do it".

Are they a tattoo artist/piercer? The majority of improper piercings are caused by a tattoo artist trying to pick up some money on the back end, because "its just a piercing, anyone can do it". Well, anyone can cut your hair, but you go a hair stylist? Anyone can throw a burger on grill, but you go to a restaurant? Anyone can take a scalpel to your skin, but you go a doctor..don't you? Why would this be any different. Now, I'm not saying that tattoo artist cant be piercers, I do know a few that are great at both, and that love doing both. But that isn't always the case. And even then, I know failed tattoo apprentices that went to piercing because they wanted to stay in the business. Is that the guy you want piercing you?

There are piercers out there who really care. Not a lot anymore, but they are there. Piercers that stay educated for you, and want you to have a good piercing before anything. But it is more important that you stay educated, so you know when the answers are right. There are more kinds of piercings out there than most people realize, and there are constantly being new techniques discovered. There IS RIGHT AND WRONG WAY TO DO THINGS. For example a 45 degree angle surface bar WILL NOT HEAL. It has as much of a chance as a curved barbell, or a straight barbell. You need to know this before having it put in you, and before shelling out the money.

Don't be scared away by high prices, and at the same time don't be fooled by them either. Just because someone is expensive, doesn't mean they are good. But at the same time, most people that are good and doing things right are expensive. Why not ask them why they cost as much as they do. Ask them the grade of their jewelry. Is it internally threaded? I usually recommend walking out if they a(don't know what internally threaded means or b(use externally threaded. If they are charging a lot and using externally threaded, then you know that your money is going straight into their pockets, not into your piercing. You want at least 316lvm, not to be confused with 316l, which is NOT surgical grade. 316l is not ASTM f-138.

I could write pages and pages of this, but I am not. I just want people to know that they have a choice to get pierced right. You have the choice to make sure your piercer really is knowledgeable, without saying "I have been piercing for yadayada years".

Check out http://www.safepiercing.org , http://www.propiercing.org and educate yourself.
Thanks for reading!
www.myspace.com/bodymodbakersfield
www.explicitpiercings.com
Meatloaf@explicitpiercings.com
(i did not author this, i am just reposting, but i agree 100%)
PLEASE REPOST!