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.

Wearing body jewelry is much different than wearing a ring on your finger or wearing a bracelet or necklace.

Body jewelry is a foreign object placed into the body.  The body must adjust and co-exist with the body jewelry.  The body does not have any responsibility when you slip a finger ring, bracelet or necklace on.  The body acts only as a structure that is adorned with jewelry hanging from it.  The body does not react to this type of jewelry, unless, for instance a ring is too tight on your finger.  You simply remove the tight ring and the problem is solved.

When body jewelry does not fit correctly, the body starts reacting and communicating with you immediately.  It communicates by becoming red, swollen, and festered – producing liquid discharge.  If the jewelry is not corrected it can migrate out of the body leaving a scar behind.

When selecting appropriate jewelry for a body piercing, always select gauge, diameter, or length  that will easily co-exist in the body.

In addition, high-traffic areas of the body such as navels need special consideration when selecting jewelry.  High-traffic areas get a lot of movement from the jewelry and thicker jewelry is necessary to reduce irritation.  Play areas such as nipples and genitals also require thicker jewelry to avoid severe discomfort from play.

Discuss with your client the concept of how their body must adjust to and co-exist with the jewelry you insert into their piercing.  If they understand that the body is conforming to the jewelry, they will understand that the jewelry you select is very important, and must be of a certain size and gauge.

Therefore, don’t let other piercers intimidate you.  Just because they put big, unattractive jewelry in their clients.  Don’t let that persuade you to do the same.  They are not doing their clients a good job by putting big gaudy jewelry in their piercings.

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!

In the quest for the perfect beach body and to fit into that teeny, weeny bikini you may have come across EA Sports Active. This is a game that can be played with the Nintendo Wii and can even incorporate the Wii balance board from Wii Fit.

The most potentially harmful flaw for people using EA Sports Active and Nintendo Wii is to those people with Body Piercings.

Many women, especially when in the comfort and privacy of their own home, exercise with just a sports bra on. If you happen to have a navel piercing, I would advise against this. EA Active Sports involves a lot of holding the Wii remote in one hand and the nunchuk in the other. You are then expected to punch, kick and dance like you’re in a 60’s nightclub, all the while with the cord connecting the remote and nunchuk flailing wildly about your abdomen.

So far there are no reports of any navel piercings being ripped out due to EA Sports Active use, but would you really like to be the first? Make sure to keep navel piercings covered or remove them entirely during EA Sports Active use.

The second, and probably more likely to be a cause for alarm for both pierced men and women, is that the cord also poses a danger to facial piercings.

Exercises such as shoulder presses, dance and basketball require you to lift the remote and nunchuk up over the head, and in the case of the latter two, requires a very quick motion to do it. I, personally, nearly had my lip ring ripped out during a basketball shooting exercise, which is what prompted me to write this and inform others of this little known danger.

Lip ring problems can easily be solved by using a captive bead ring, which will have no opening or cap for the cord to get stuck on.

Septum piercings can also cause a big risk, but can be solved with a septum retainer flipped up into the nostrils.

Eyebrow piercings, anti-eyebrow piercings and other facial surface piercings may be kept safer if a bandage is placed over them during exercise.

In body piercing there are aftercare products that work extremely well and some that don’t.  If you will suggest to your clients they use the aftercare products that work you will experience very few piercing problems, assuming you did the piercing properly and selected appropriate jewelry.

Let’s deal with solving most of your problem piercings.  Since most problems are really IRRITATION, NOT INFECTION,  you need to find out what type of activity your piercee is doing to irritate their piercing.

That is why you need to know how to draw out what your piercee is really doing to irritate their piercing.  Here are pointed questions you can ask your piercee.

Always ask a question non-defensively.  Don’t make your piercee feel like an idiot with your question.  It is the way you ask you questions that is very important for you to get accurate information.  You may need to ask the same question in different ways to really find out what they are doing.

For instance:  You are asking about the jewelry they have in their piercing to find out if it has been changed, which could be a realy clue to their problem.  ASK . . . Have you changed your jewelry?  They will generally tell you no because they were told during the piercing not to change their jewelry until the piercing heals.  They do not want to be the cause of the problem, so they often tell you a fib.  That’s why you must continue to ask questions.

You suspect that indeed they have changed jewelry so you ask the question differently in this way . . . Is this your original jewelry that you were pierced with?  This is the same question, but asked differently and generally gets a different answer.  If people fib to you after you ask the first question, they will generally not fib to you the second time you ask the same question differently . . . and the hardly ever fib to you on the third question . . . if you are persistent enough to ask the same question in three different ways.

Another example of asking a  question differently is: — You suspect they may be sleeping on their navel piercing which is irritating it, therefore,  ASK — Do you sleep on it?  The will generally say no (same reason – they don’t want to be responsible for the problem).  Ask again saying this:  Is it redder in the morning than in the evening?  They may respond better to that question and admit they are sleeping on it at night, therefore, irritating it.  All you want is the right answer to help them with their piercing problem.  So learn how to ask the same question at least three different ways.

In all of my Body Piercing Training Materials, and conversations working with clients during piercings you will observe that I use very general language. There is a reason for that. General terms are used so no one can “Fence Me In” or “Corner Me” into an indefensible or uncomfortable position.

There are very few absolutes in the body piercing business. That is why I use the word “generally” often.

For instance, people can heal their piercing many different ways, and somebody out there has used some product to heal their piercing successfully which you strongly suggest that they not use. In some cases people don’t use anything to heal a piercing and do it successfully. If you make an absolute statement, “you cannot heal your piercing with that particular substance, someone out there can prove you wrong.

During your piercing career you will learn to pierce a certain way. It is a way you feel comfortable with and is successful for you. That does not mean other ways will not work too. An example would be, you don’t feel a certain piercing should be done free-hand, but somebody else always does that piercing free-hand and seems to be successful with the piercing.

I am not a fan of free-hand piercings and OSHA is certainly not a fan of free-hand piercings – we will discuss this issue later . . . for now let’s get back to protecting you backside with careful, general-in-nature conversations with your clients.

Avoid arguments at all costs. As the piercer you will never win an argument . . . at least winning arguments will not pay your bills. Avoiding arguments means never talk in “Statements” or “Absolutes” with your clients and other piercers. Learn to temper your statements with questions. Questions take the edge and argument out of the important point you are trying to make.

Don’t misunderstand, you must communicate proper aftercare, jewelry selection, and a host of other information to you client, and you expect your client to follow your suggestions. The key is how you communicate that information to them that makes you a hero instead of a zero.

Watch for further conversations on how to stay out of trouble with focused conversation in your piercing business. Your words will make or break you body piercing business.

According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) an employee with the potential for exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material (OPIM) is required Universal Precautions training annually.

Universal Precautions are infection control procedures that involve the use of protective barriers. These barriers include gloves, gowns, aprons, masks, and protective eyewear, which can reduce the risk of exposure. These measures also include personal hygine practices like hand washing and the disposal of contaminated materials.

Body Piercing is not a universally regulated industry, therefore, there are NO universal procedures and requirements throughout the United States. That is why body piercing training is so different coming from various providers . . . there are no common standards practiced and required by governing agencies. Therefore, it is very important that you do your own research to determine those standards that specifically apply to you in your individual state.

Operating a successful body piercing business starts with excellent records of your daily sales and piercings. The best way to do this is with a Sales Sheet.

It should contain the date, type of piercing, piercing fee, and your charge for the piercing jewelry. Your sales sheet should also contain space to log in non-piercing jewelry sold, and a method to keep track of after care products purchased.

The DAILY PIERCING SALES SHEET should be kept weekly, and start over with a new sales sheet at the beginning of the week. This way you can keep track of your statistics on a weekly basis. Although your financial accounting may be recorded on a monthly basis, the sales sheet is better if it is record strictly on a weekly basis . . . 52 weeks a year. Most of the time, you will have a partial week at the beginning and end of each year. . . that’s OK, it will work out better to keep all of your piercing statistics on a weekly basis.

Sadly there are no Universities, State Colleges, Communities Colleges, or Technical Schools where you can learn the skills and techniques of body piercing. Surprisingly, there are no industry sponsored programs to help you learn the art of body piercing either.

That leaves it up to YOU, to try and find help, in your quest to learn more about how to pierce.

It is obvious, at this time, if you are going to learn how to pierce, you must learn it from someone else who knows how. If you can learn it face to face with a mentor, that is great and desirable. However, if you do not have a personal mentor, you need to find other means to learn how to pierce. Most people tell me that they end up feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and ready to give up. Help is on the way.