So, once upon a time, there was a thread calling the 'Piercings Thread'. May the discussions ensue. That said, I have a question. A dilemma [cue that infuriating, can't-get-it-out-of-my-head duet between Nelly and Kelly]. I'm planning on getting a tragus piercing sometime this month, and have been to two salons so far asking about. I'm having a hard time choosing between them. I have a funny preference, when dealing with matters of piercings and tattoos, for tattoo parlours where the personnel have tattoos/piercings, themselves, that don't look so clinical. That said: Place No. 1: tattoo parlour. Reasonable price, includes earring, no anaesthetic. Not sure about after-care solution. Tattooed personnel. Appears to know what she's talking about. Place No. 2: tattoo/piercing centre, something of a clinic. Same price, includes anaesthetic, earring, after-care solution. Gave my friend and I 'constant buyer cards', giving us 10% off the piercing price. Personnel dressed professionally, appear to know what they're on about. Where do you usually get pierced/tattooed?
I've only had one 'unusual' piercing and I have one tattoo to date. The piercing was done at a local place and it was kind of on a whim. I didn't shop around or anything like I should have but I no longer have that piercing anyhow. As for my tattoo, it was done by a friends boyfriend. I looked at some of his work and trusted my friends opinion. I probably should have been a lot more selective than I was and less trusting but I got lucky and ended up with a great tattoo. A couple years later, I find myself wanting more tattoos. I have moved since then so now I am in a dilemma of my own and trying to find a new place to work out my ideas.
I have both of my tragus' pierced, and had them done by two different people. The first was in a shop that had both piercings and tattoos, it was also the place I got my first tattoo at. The guy who did my piercing was heavily pierced and tattooed. It was by far the better of the two, he had it done and over with in a matter of seconds. The second time was the worst. It was a piercing shop only, and it was just one person working there. She had me lay on my side rather than sitting up, and it took her almost 2 minutes to get the needle through. Appearance wise she was more professional looking, and I didn't find this to be a good thing. Best thing to do is talk to people who are pierced, ask their opinions. It's going to give you a lot better of a feel for the work and whether or not they know what the hell they are doing than just going in and asking questions. A place can look fine, but whether or not the piercer has a clue as to what the fuck they are really doing, you need to ask around. That aside, that particular piercing doesn't really hurt, its more pressure than anything. For after, get a box of q-tips, and in addition to the cleaning solution, I would clean the area a few times a day with just warm water. If its anything like mine were, there will be lots of oozing and it gets uncomfortable after a while.
I'm just wondering, though. Both places have impressive catalogues and all that stuff. Plus, well, the discount. There were quite a few people in both places. And I don't know anyone with tragus piercings... well, now except for you.
From the information you provided, it seems to me that the second place you mentioned would be the best choice. Since they both seem to know what it is going on, I'm really only going off what they give you and the discount. Have you tried looking up both places for the reviews on the internet yet?
Ok, well in that case, do both places seem sterile? Ask about their sterilization techniques, do they have an autoclave? (a machine for sterilizing their clamps and such). If they say no, leave. Ask how many piercings of that nature would they estimate they have done. The discount may seem promising, but at least to me that seems like they are fishing for business. I have always been of the mindset that people that are tattooed and pierced that are doing it for a living are better than someone who just set up shop one day and decided, hey, I am going to do piercings. And you can usually tell the quality of a tattoo artist by looking at their tattoos, because everyone I know that does them has practiced on themselves before they ever thought about tattooing someone else.
Yeah I kinda agree with you, Jen. I've only ever gotten normal ear piercings done, and I did it at the Piercing Pagoda at the mall. There was nothing necessarily wrong with it, just more that the girl doing it was saying how she was having a bad day...not so great when you're about to poke me with a needle, . The tattoo/piercing shop I went to, I went with a friend when she got her nose pierced and my boyfriend when he got his back tattooed, and I would say this was a much better place. Same as Jen said, the guy that does piercings looks like he fell into a tackle box, which says that he has a lot of experience, and the lady working there doing the tattoos also has many tattoos/piercings. When my friend got her nose done, it was done quickly and as painlessly as possible. Random, but I REALLY want to get my belly button pierced, I'm just under 18 and need my parents consent...my dad wouldn't be cool with it. One of my friends has like the double piercing, where its on top and on bottom of the belly button and I really like that. I want a changeeee. And oh, my friend just recently got her tragus pierced. She kept up with all the cleaning and stuff but it became infected and stuff so...I dunno. My guess was that she cleaned it too much and got rid of good bacteria.
Oh, and one more thing, when you do have it done Mali. When you go to clean it, you are supposed to move it back and forth with the cleaning stuff on the ring, so it gets inside the hole, but you want to make absolutely sure you get any debris off the ring before you do that, because if it flakes off inside the piercing itself, you could get a major infection.
Jen, both places seem sterile. And as soon as I find out what 'autoclave' is in Russian, well, I'll ask. I've always had problems with infected piercings, so I'm a bit worried about this, but I really want it done. You need parental permission for belly-button piercings? I didn't know that. I'm getting this done without permission.
http://www.supplierlist.com/photo_images/27495/autoclave.jpg That's what it will look like or really similar. Definition is An autoclave is a device to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure steam at 121° C or more.
Jen, I know what it is. I just don't know the Russian word, so I can't ask it. I doubt they speak English. =]. It's not in the dictionary.
Oh ok. Maybe just ask what they use for sterlization? They might even know what it is as its a common place thing in piercing shops, or it should be. Here its required for licensing by the state.
I've been looking at the sites; no one asked us how old we were when we went in and asked about the piercings, but apparently place number two - probably the first, too - do them after 18, before that with permission. There are a couple of negative reviews in their guest-book. Most are positive. They also detail the sterilizing procedure. Place number one doesn't have a guest-book on their site. All right. Could some of you look at this and, if you can, tell me which place has the, well, best tattoos? Place number 2: http://www.arbattattoo.ru/index.php?option=com_datsogallery&Itemid=51&func=viewcategory&catid=4 Place number 1: http://tattoodragon.ru/tatu.html
Both of the places have some really nice tattoos. I don't think you have to worry about the tattoos as much as just worrying about whether or not the equipment they use is sterile. I think it's pretty hard to mess up a piercing when both places probably do them on a daily basis.
I looked through all the pictures on both sites, and this is one from arbat tattoo, its amazingly good http://www.arbattattoo.ru/index.php?option=com_datsogallery&Itemid=51&func=wmark&oid=69 Overall, they both have good work, but I would go with arbat personally.
That's the place that's all professional-like. The first is 12 years old, this one's a newer place, but apparently the staff are experienced and come from other salons. I'm a bit worried they'll ask for written permission or a phone call. They didn't mention it when we came in, though. No one did.
I would call and ask before going in and trying to get in done. I know that in the US they need a driver's license ID number and some places even make a copy of your license or ID.