Body Piercing Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you accept walk-ins for piercings?
If we can! Both of our body piercers are also tattoo artists and stay quite booked with appointments! It’s always best to call or email ahead to make an appointment. If you make an appointment with either of our piercers please be on time. Since body piercing is quick our piercers will squeeze them in between their tattoo appointments. If you are more than 5 minutes late we cannot guarentee your spot in our books and you'll either have to wait or reschedule! *
- How old do I have to be to get a piercing at Revolution Ink?
You must be at least 18 years of age with a valid I.D. (drivers license, military, passport or state issued I.D.) to be pierced without parental consent.
- What if I’m under 18 and want a piercing?
Legally, we require any patrons under the age of 18 to be accompanied by their parent/legal guardian as well as a proof of legal guardianship (i.e. birth certificate, court ordered legal documents, etc.). Our body piercers will not perform certain piercings on minors under the age of 16. To have a child’s ears pierced we require that you call or email to set up an appointment and that your child must be old enough to have a conversation with our body piercer about the procedure and agree that they want to have it done. If you bring your child and they are upset and/or crying we will not be able to pierce them. We want to make the whole experience as relaxed and enjoyable as we can for your tiny humans! We do not pierce babies ears. Ever. EVER.
- Will it hurt?
Any type of body modification will have discomfort! Everyone has their own specific pain threshold and the pain level will depend on the area being pierced. Our needles are so sharp and the actual piercing is so quick that by the time you feel it – it’s over! The best way to prepare yourself (mentally) is to expect it to hurt but not to get yourself worked up.
- Can you numb my skin before you pierce me?
Correctly done body piercing is so quick and fluid that there is no need for an anesthetic! Topical anesthetics can really only do so much without your skin being broken before it’s applied - it would be a waste of time and money to try and numb the area for a procedure.
- Can I take pain medication before I get pierced?
Pain medication thins your blood and will actually cause excess bleeding during the procedure. So does alcohol! If possible please refrain from taking pain medication until after being pierced.
- Can all of my friends come and watch?
Please no! We understand some people need a little moral support (which is completely okay) however our body piercers choose to allow no more than one extra person back into the piercing room during the procedure – we will make exceptions for very few cases such as a child who would like both parents to be in the room. We like to have a calm, low energy during our body piercing experience to ensure that you and our piercer are both relaxed and not distracted – we do not like trying to pierce a moving (or snapchatting) target!
- What is your body jewelry made of?
Our basic body jewelry (which is included in the price of all of our piercings) is made of hand polished 316L surgical stainless steel and we offer upgrades in all styles of body jewelry made of ASTM F-136 implant grade titanium for those who may be hyper-sensitive. We also have surgical grade silicone and glass retainers for those looking for jewelry to wear to work or during medical procedures! If there is a specific type of jewelry you are looking for once your new piercing has healed we are able to custom order just about anything – stop in and talk with one of our body piercers to place an order!
- How much do your piercings cost?
See our price list, here!
- Can you re-pierce something that I’ve already had pierced?
In order for a re-piercing to be successful, your skin must be stable. If your skin is still red/pink, sore or you still have a discharge coming from the pierced area it’s best to wait until your skin has healed completely! In general it’s best to wait at least two months depending on your body’s specific healing rate. If you feel like you have a bit of scar tissue in the area you are wanting to have re-pierced we suggest massaging the area daily for 5-10 minutes at at time using an oil (such as carrot seed, cedarwood, or geranium essential oils diluted down with coconut or vitamin e oil...just to name a few) to help break up your scar tissue so it’s easier for your body to absorb! This page has some wonderful tips and tricks on using oils to help reduce scar tissue!
- How long will my new piercing take to heal?
Every person heals differently. Some people take longer and some may heal quicker than the average rate. Your specific heal time also depends on what area you’ve had pierced! Here’s a little chart to give you an idea of how long your new piercing should take to heal!
Earlobes: 4-8 weeks
Ear Cartilage: 2-12 months
Eyebrow: 6-8 weeks
Nostril: 6 months – 1 year
Septum: 6-8 weeks
Bridge: 8-10 weeks
Tongue: 4 weeks
Smiley/Frownie: 1-2 months
Lip/Labret: 6-8 weeks
Monroe: 6-8 weeks
Cheeks (Dimples): 6 months – 1 year
Nipples: 6 months – 1 year
Navel: 6 months – 1 year
Surface Piercings: 6 months – 1 year
Dermal Anchors: 2-6 months
Prince Albert: 6-8 weeks
Reverse P.A.: 4-6 months
Frenum: 6-8 weeks
Hood: 4-6 weeks
Inner Labia: 4-6 weeks
Outer Labia: 3-6 months
And remember! Your piercing will go through a few stages of healing:
The inflammatory stage. This happens immediately after being pierced. Your immune system reacts causing redness and tenderness. Your body begins sealing off the tissue separating it from the jewelry. Minor swelling and drainage are normal.
The reconstructive stage. This stage takes the longest. Your body begins to create a fistula or “flesh tunnel” to form a barrier between your body and the jewelry. The new tissue is more delicate than your old skin and can easily tear. This is why it’s important to leave your jewelry alone and allow your body to heal itself!
The maturation stage. This is when your new tissue will strengthen and the scar tissue diminishes until your wound is fully healed! Congrats! You’ve done it!
Here is our little aftercare sheet if you’d like to print it at home!
- I have a bump on my piercing! Help!
AND/OR
- I think my piercing is infected! What should I do?
DON’T PANIC! Bumps are quite common! A bump doesn’t necessarily mean infection! There are a few types of “bumps” that may form on a piercing, and multiple reasons as to how they got there. Most of the time they appear after trauma (bumping, switching jewelry too soon, excessive handling/cleaning), improper technique, incorrect jewelry style or a sensitivity to the material. If you are sensitive to certain materials let us know! We can use titanium to prevent reactions such as bumps or excessive sensitivity! There are follicular cysts, keloids and abscesses. If you can figure out what caused that little friend to appear you can decide on the best route to take to get rid of it! We have done quite a bit of research on the “best” way to get rid of them – there is no definite answer. Since everyone reacts to treatments differently, we can only suggest the methods we feel have worked the best for us and our clients and leave the treatment decision up to you!
Rules for treating a bump or infection:
1. BE PATIENT.
2. Do not remove the jewelry. Leaving the jewelry in will allow your body to drain and your form of treatment to penetrate the bump deeper and be more effective. If you remove the jewelry your skin will seal the wound and everything inside making it insanely more difficult to heal and prolong the tenderness you are experiencing.
3. Wash your hands. Always wash your hands before handling a piercing, especially when dealing with irritation/infection. Germs people!
4. Do not try and pop it. This will just irritate the bump even more than it already is and cause it to scab and look much worse. Or if done incorrectly with dirty tools or hands could actually cause an infection! If the bump wasn’t caused by an infection popping it won't even help because it doesn't contain infected materials and fluid.
5. Only try one treatment at a time. If you try multiple types of remedies at once your poor angry piercing will only become more irritated! Try one treatment for a week. We always recommend taking photos of your bump every morning and night to track it’s progress – sometimes if it’s only changing a little (which bumps usually do) it’s hard to tell without having something to directly compare it to! If you feel like the treatment has done nothing after a week, switch to the next one!
6. Always start with the gentlest method first. Sometimes your body might just need a little help rather than calling in the big guns right away!
7. If you are seriously worried about infection – see your doctor! If your piercing truly is infected you will notice excessive dark redness, yellow/green pus, warmth to the touch, fever, chills, nausea etc. There are some remedies for infection – one of the most popular being tea tree oil because of it’s antiseptic, antimicrobial/antibiotic properties! I’ll explain below how to use it! However if you’ve been through a few home remedy treatments and you feel as though they haven’t helped at all or the bump/infection has gotten worse your doctor will be able to give you antibiotics that may do the trick!
TREATMENTS
(Remember, try one at a time!)
The first treatment we always recommend is a warm sea salt soak. You can mix 8 ounces of warm (as warm as you can stand it without burning yourself) distilled water with ¼ teaspoon of sea salt. Soak a clean cotton ball with your mixture and hold it on your bump for 5-10 minutes at a time 2-3 times a day. You may gently turn the jewelry to coax out fluid - this will help to draw out waste.
You may also try a chamomile tea soak as another gentle method, and this one is actually okay to do along with the sea salt soak alternating between the two because it is so soothing!
Lemon juice may be diluted with water and applied 1-3 times a day (depending on your sensitivity level) by a q-tip.
Tea tree oil is a very popular treatment, especially for infection. We always suggest diluting it with a carrier oil such as jojoba, emu or vitamin e. Only apply a couple times a day and do this every other day for a week. Some people will apply the tea tree oil without diluting which will cause the bump to dry out quickly. Applying the tea tree oil without diluting it is very intense and should not be done more than once a day a 2 or 3 times a week.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used to remove dead skin cells and wash out fluids but should only be used 2-3 times a week.
Aspirin is most commonly used for keloids. Take a regular uncoated aspirin tablet, you may crush it into a powder or just wet the tablet directly, mix it with distilled water to create a paste and apply it to the bump. Allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes and then rinse it off. This is a pretty intense method and should only be done once a day 3 days a week.
With the more intense treatments start slowly and see what works for you! If you feel like your skin is becoming more irritated or “chapped” return to a gentler method. Always feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need help!
- Why is it better to be pierced by hollow needles rather than a piercing gun?
We could go on for days with all of the reasons why getting your ears pierced via piercing gun in the mall (or anywhere for that matter) is terrible – but we’ll try and break it down.
The technicians they stick behind these torture devices have usually little to almost no training on technique, or even more horrifying, bloodbourne pathogens and cross contamination. The most important part of working with blood and bodily fluids is having knowledge, understanding and practicing safe sterilization techniques. Most companies that offer ear piercing wipe the gun with an alcohol towelette and are ready for their next victim which is NOT sterile. Our body piercers have apprenticed under a body piercer with 15+ years of experience and have been in the body modification for over 5 years. We use a mixture of disposable and surgical stainless tools and our needles are NEVER EVER EVER reused. Any surgical stainless tools that are used during a procedure go through a series of soaks, then they are scrubbed, bagged and dated then ran through our autoclave. The next time you are thinking about swinging through the mall to get a “drive-thru” piercing by an 18 year old who was trained by piercing a teddy bear - do yourself a favor and google Hepatitis C/piercing gun statistics. You’re welcome!
Another main concern with piercing guns is the fact that they cause so much trauma to your skin! The gun forces a blunt stud earring through your skin literally causing your skin to rip to make room for the jewelry. OUCH. Once the jewelry is through it pinches the butterfly back tight onto the ear leaving little to no room for swelling. This is why they always tell you to play with your jewelry and spin it – so your body doesn’t try to eat the jewelry! We use super sharp hollow needles that glide through the skin effortlessly to create the perfect sized hole to fit your new body jewelry. As with any new piercing the jewelry will have a little extra room to allow your body to slightly swell and breath properly ensuring a quick happy healing process!
Obviously some people can heal fine from being pierced by a gun - but why risk you or your child's health?
- I have to have an MRI/CAT scan and my physician has instructed me that I must take out my body jewelry, why is this?
Many studies have shown that it is generally not necessary to remove body jewelry for an MRI, X-ray or any other type of scan unless the jewelry is in the area of examination and can get in the way while reading test results. High quality jewelry is non-ferromagnetic (non-magnetic) and will not react to the MRI equipment, however low quality jewelry could be a problem. Metallic jewelry will be visible in scan test results and can actually blur CAT or CT images – so it is always best just to be safe and remove the jewelry. If you are concerned that your body may close up in the time your jewelry is removed we do have implant grade silicone and glass retainers that may be worn, after consulting with your physician.
What to do before you come in for a piercing:
- Drink plenty of water.
- Make sure to be well rested.
- Do not drink heavily the night before it can thin your blood and cause excess bleeding, even the next day!
- Try to not drink a lot of caffeine before coming in as they will also thin your blood.
- If you feel like you are sick or getting sick wait until you feel completely better. Your immune system is already under stress and getting a piercing will only make it worse and hinder your healing process.
- Ask your doctor if you have any medical concerns.
- Make sure to have your state issued I.D.
- Bring a hair tie or bobby pins if you have long hair that may get in the way.
- The area being pierced will be cleaned before the procedure so if you are getting a facial piercing try to not wear makeup or be ready to have the area scrubbed clean of makeup. (And DO NOT reapply makeup to the freshly pierced skin afterwards!)
- If you are getting a piercing that will be under your clothing make sure to wear something comfortable that will not constrict the piercing and make it easy to get to and pierce.
- Please make sure to shower beforehand and if you are getting an oral piercing brush your teeth!
- Eat a meal at least 6 hours before being pierced.
- We will not pierce you if you come in drunk. It’s actually illegal!
- And don’t forget, tip your piercer! :)
As with any body modification done at Revolution Ink, we will do absolutely everything we can to ensure a quick easy healing process for you. However you are in charge of following the provided aftercare instructions and taking care of your new piercing. There are no written or implied guarantees if you do not take care of your piercing. And remember – everyone heals differently. Be patient and listen to your body!
* Indicates a new or updated policy.
