Piercing FAQs

Q. How old do you need to be to get a piercing?
A. You need to be at least 16 for most types of piercings. However for genital and nipple piercings, you must be at least 18.

Q. What if I have parental consent?
A. If you are under 16 (but over 12) we can pierce with parental consent (not for genital or nipple piercings). Parents or legal guardians must come into the studio with their child/ward and they will also be required to sign our consent form.

Q. What method do you use to pierce?
A. We use disposable needles for all of our piercings. This is much more hygienic and better for you and the piercing than using a piercing gun.

Q. Do you use topical numbing cream on any of your piercings?
A. We do not. What we do however, is use clamps which briefly cuts off the blood supply to the area to be pierced, and reducing the discomfort to you.

Q. Why don’t you numb any piercings?
A. The simple answer is that we are not doctors. People react differently to numbing creams, and many of these are prescription only for that reason. You may have an allergic reaction to numbing cream, which may be painful for you and damaging to the piercing. Also, there is absolutely no need to numb any piercings as the act is very quick and any discomfort is usually over in a couple of seconds.

Q. What type of metal do you pierce with and could I bring in my own jewellery for a piercing?
A. In accordance with the EU Nickel Directive, we only use Titanium for all of our piercings. Most reactions to metal are caused by high nickel content. Titanium has very low nickel content and has been recommended as the metal used for all body piercings. You cannot bring in your own jewellery to be pierced with as we cannot verify what type of metal it is or whether or not it has been sterilised.

Q. Do your prices include the initial piercing jewellery?
A. Yes. All of our prices include the cost of the initial jewellery. All jewellery will be plain silver coloured (in titanium), however we do sell gem attachments from £2 that you may purchase and have straight away on your new piercing.

Q. How do you sterilise your tattoo and piercing equipment?
A. Tattoo and piercing needles are used once and then thrown away in clinical waste sharp bins, these are then collected by a certified clinical waste collection company. Other tools that are re-used (e.g. piercing clamps, ring openers and tattoo grips) are placed in a disinfectant solution overnight and are then placed in an ultrasonic bath for 15 minutes. The ultrasonic removes fine particles which can hinder the sterilisation process. Equipment is then scrubbed in warm water, dried and packaged in self-sealing pouches and placed in our top of the line vacuum autoclave (this is the same type used by doctors and in hospitals). The autoclave uses steam to remove any pathogens and contaminants from the equipment, by heating the tools to 134 degrees Celsius (note water boils at 100 degrees). The self-sealing pouches have an indicator strip that changes from grey to brown when sterilisation has been successful and the autoclave also delivers a print out that confirms that sterilisation has been successful. We keep all print outs from every sterilisation on record for up to three years.

Q. What do I do if I think my piercing is infected?
A. Infections are actually pretty rare. If you follow our aftercare advice you should be absolutely fine. If you do think that your piercing has become infected, we will ask you to come into the studio to let Ruth our piercer have a look at it. Many people mistake keloids (bumps caused by irritation on or around the piercing) for infections.

For additional tips on how to look after your new piercing or tattoo, we're happy to provide professional aftercare advice.