GETTING YOUR BODY
PIERCING
What you see and don't see from set up to finish.
When most people get a piercing, they often don’t realize how much work and care
actually goes into it. It looks quick and easy, right? Here’s a rundown of
things you may see and some things you might not see during your piercing.
As you walk in the door, you are greeted by a body art technician, receptionist,
or sales person. Once it is established what you would like to get pierced, your
sales person will then assist you in choosing jewelry that is appropriate for
the type of piercing you are getting. You will then fill out any paperwork
required by the establishment and local Health Board, and your identification
will be verified.
From there, you will be taken to the piercing area and if you have not yet met
your body art technician, now you will. And it is here where your tech will go
over the procedure with you, aftercare instructions and do your piercing.
Concerning the piercing, things you will see include cleansing of hands, and
donning of gloves. You may also see other protective gear such as safety
glasses, masks, and protective clothing cover.
The work station should be “blank” when you come to the area. That means that
the technician should open sterilize packages and set up everything in front of
you: forceps or tubes that are needed, gauze pads, q-tips, cork, needle, jewelry,
and pliers are all things you may see in this area. Chemicals that you may see
include Technicare Surgical Scrub, rubbing alcohol, and other skin surface
sterilizers may also be used (Betadine is often seen). For mouth piercings, you
will also see antiseptic mouth rinse.
A side note about rubbing alcohol: It should never be used by itself as a skin
surface sterilizer. For rubbing alcohol to be used as a skin surface sterilizer,
it would have to be rubbed vigorously on the area for 30 minutes, and lets just
say, that would not be very fun for either the piercer or you. Technicare
Surgical Scrub is the fastest skin surface sterilizer - usually does its job in
about less than a minute.
After thoroughly cleaning the area, you will most likely be marked for
placement. At that point, there’s not much left to do but pierce you.
Congratulations and enjoy your piercing!