This is a perfect example of what many states are doing to regulate body piercing.  They are regulating (certifying) the piercing establishment, not the individual.  Here is what the law states – According to the new law, tattoo and body piercing facilities must fulfill health and safety requirements, such as sterilization and sanitation techniques, to receive certification.

As you can see they are not certifying the “piercing knowledge or skill” of any individual piercer, just the sterilization techniques practiced in the piercing shop.  This is basically universal in most states – THEY DO NOT CERTIFY THE INDIVIDUAL’S BODY PIERCING KNOWLEDGE OR SKILL OF BODY PIERCING.  This is why learning the art, skill and techniques of body piercing are so important.

Train yourself to avoid using the word PAIN with your body piercing clients.  Substitute the word DISCOMFORT instead of using the word pain.

Your conversation could go something like this.  Sure you could experience some discomfort.  Most people experience pressure.  That’s about all the sensation you will have.

Or you could say, if you experience any discomfort at all, it will be just a little pressure.  Although it is difficult to eliminate the word FEEL from your vocabulary, I try to substitute the word EXPERIENCE for FEEL  as often as I can.  Experience something is a lot more exciting than feel something.  Experiencing “a thing” has a fun connotation, while “a feeling”  had a dual meaning.  Could be good, but generally means bad feelings.

It is never a good idea to use the word OOPS during a piercing.  That tells your client something is wrong.  Not a good thing in the piercing room.  Train yourself not to react to what is going on with the piercing.  Your conversation during the piercing, if any, should be comforting and reassuring to your client.

I personally think you should NOT always be asking your client “How are you doing?”  It is a good idea to never ask your client “How do you feeling” either.  If you ask that question, you are asking your client to evaluate themselves and give you a thoughtful response.  You don’t want that.  You want your body piercing client to be thinking – that wasn’t so bad.

You suggest that attitude in your client by saying: “You did great!”  Looking at any observers in the room and saying: “He/She did very well!”  Make all of the positive statements you can think of.

If you are confident in your body piercing skills in the piercing room, it will be very easy for you to be thinking of your client’s comfort during the entire piercing process.  This is when your client experiences true confidence in you and no certificate hanging on your wall can replace real piercing room skills.  Check out the  body piercing training videos.

The best body piercing success tip I can give you is to learn “how to talk” at the front counter and in the piercing room.  In body piercing, words have important meanings and those meanings can make you business or break your business.

In the body piercing business what you say and how you say it is just as important as the particular piercing skills you possess.

The words you use project security, safety, confidence, experience and skill to every one of your clients.  Your selection of words will either create fear in your clients  or comfort them making the piercing experience a happy one.

Your piercing client is frightened and apprehensive from the moment they walk into your door, if not then, at least by the time they make the walk back into your piercing room.

Everything you say and do should be comforting to your piercing client.  Good body piercing training will help you make a satisfying experience for your clients.

Asking probing questions will help you discover how you can help your clients.  Ask the questions in a non-judgmental manner.  Don’t act superior . . . your client will quit responding to your efforts to help them.

REMEMBER: Always listen after you ask the question.  By not responding immediately after your client has responded, will make them feel like they should keep talking — this is when you often get the “real” answer.  In other words, an awkward silence makes your client feel they should keep talking and you very often get an honest admission.  Just look at them nodding your head in an approving manner and say, “What else”?

If you do things to encourage them to keep talking, they will talk themselves out of their accusing tone.  Human nature is for them to walk into your studio and insinuate you caused their problem.  The more THEY TALK the easier it is for you to solve their problem.

REMEMBER: Never use terms like diagnose or recommend.  Always SUGGEST!

As body piercers, why do we insist on supplying jewelry for each piercing, instead of allowing people to bring their own jewelry off the street to be pierced with?

If I have pierced someone before and they bring in the jewelry that I pierced them with, and they want to use that jewelry, I generally will allow that. As long as the jewelry is not scratched or altered.

If I use their jewelry I used previously to pierce them with . . .  I charge them $5 to re-sterilize the jewelry in a Statum (Flash Sterilizer) before the piercing, and then charge the regular piercing fee less jewelry.

This is the only case where I will allow people to bring in jewelry for their piercing.

WHY NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO BRING JEWELRY IN TO BE PIERCED WITH OFF THE STREET?

1. It is seldom appropriate for the piercing (length, gauge, metal composition, etc).

2. It is generally used by someone else and is scratched and not sterile.

3. A “GOOD” piercer uses special tools, needles, and various shortcuts to make a piercing smooth and comfortable. Therefore the tools and jewelry must be compatible to complete a successful and comfortable piercing. This is the reason many people have a good piercing experience with a piercer that uses compatible tools and jewelry, while other people have a bad experience with a piercer that struggles with a piercing because he uses incompatible tools, needles and jewelry. The Piercee pays the price ultimately by experiencing a very uncomfortable piercing and one that may not last.

4. Economics – generally it takes the entire piercing fee to pay for the operation of your piercing business, therefore, the profit and income for the piercer is found in the margin between the costs and retail charge for the jewelry.

5. Many people believe the piercer is responsible for the jewelry they insert into a piercing . . . in that case it is highly irresponsible to allow people to bring in jewelry for you to pierce them from the outside. The Piercer may end up paying a very high price in the end if the jewelry was substandard.

Since I pierce in Arizona, the first question many people have is can I go swimming after the piercing.  Best answer is NO!  However, you must deal with reality.  Cancer patients swear they will smoke until their last breath, so we deal with that type of mentality in body piercing too . . . people will do what they will do.

Your personal family swimming pool that is protected with proper chemicals is the least objectionable body of water for your fresh piercing.  If people want some protection they can use a non water-permeable wound protection such as Tegaderm or Clean Seals available at  drugstores.  These are clear waterproof bandages you can put over your piercing to provide some degree of protection from the water.

Cleaning after being in the pool with your piercing can be helpful, but realistically is is not likely to be effective in preventing potential infection.  Dirty water of rivers and lakes is not recommended for a healing piercing.  Try to avoid bodies of water with children . . . they have a hard time leaving the pool for bathroom breaks.

How to keep your body piercing out of trouble!

There is something about adorning oneself that can become addictive. From jewelry to shoes and even tattoos.  It has to do with adding that little extra touch that either gives you individuality, shows personality or frankly, just looks great! On a physiological level the addictive nature all stems from the same thing. When you shop, or get a piercing or tattoo, natural endorphins or feel good chemicals are released into your body, and because it makes us happy—we keep going back for more.

Welcome To Your Next Obsession is our company motto at Body Creations.  That why training is so important to give your clients the best experience you can give.  If you do they will come back on a regular basis and bring their friends.

Recent publications advise AGAINST two currently marketed antiseptics.  The National Safety Council’s recent First Aid Pocket Guide states:  “DO NOT use hydrogen peroxide.  It does not kill bacteria, and it adversely affects capillary blood flow and wound healing.”  And the Handbook on Nonprescription Drugs states alcohol “is not a desirable wound antiseptic because it irritates already damage tissue.  The coagulum (curst) formed may, in fact, protect the bacteria.”

People should always read the label, and use the product appropriately.

If the label says “Not for Internal Use” it means that it is not intended for wound healing, such as a piercing.  Products such of batadine and neosporin are labeled “Not for Internal Use”.

Regardless of product choice for aftercare, our chief concern must be the effort to educate piercees to take great care of their bodies, and to emphasize that their body does the healing and growing, not what they put on it.

Aftercare suggestions are to provide a clean environment around the wound so  the body can naturally heal itself.

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all
use a little more calmness in our lives…    after a long day at the body piercing studio.
By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find
inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, ‘The way to achieve inner peace is to
finish all the things you have started and have never finished.’

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn’t
finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a
bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream, a package of
Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the
cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how
freaking good I feel right now!

Feel free to pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of inner peace….

Statements can be attacked.  Questions cannot be attacked.

It is just that simple.  As body piercers, when we make statements there is always someone who wants to challenge your statement, ant that puts you on the defensive.  When you are on the defensive you are not in a strong,  positive position to influence the person to do the piercing or have them take you suggestions about a problem piercing.

Questions are open-ended, therefore they are difficult to be attacked.  Asking questions puts you on the offensive and in control.  Questions make the other person respond.

A question can be asked in such a way as so it does not need an answer, but gets the point across.  For instance, you suspect a person is using too much sea salt and drying ou the tissue around their piercing.  Instead of making a statement, “You are using too much sea salt.”  You could ask a question like this.  Could it be that you are using too much sea salt and drying out your skin?

There are questions and there are questions.

Here is what I mean.  It is better to ask questions than make statements.  It is better to ask a more indirect question than a direct question.  For instance, you see an irritated navel and suspect sthe person is sleeping on the piercing and severly irritating it.  Instead of asking the question, “Are you sleeping on your stomach?”  Ask the question.  “Is it possible you could be sleeping on your stomach at night and maybe not realizing it?”

You have asked the same question, but the latter question puts you on the side of the piercee.  It makes the piercee feel better that you are on their side, yet you are still in control and has said nothing that they can attack.

Using these tactics will help you build your body piercing business successfully.  These concepts will also help your body piercing training for counter people and your body piercers.