Tags
Ann Arbor, apprentice, body jewelry, body modification, diy piercing, Hepatitis, home piercing, J.C. Potts, Michigan, MRSA, mystery metal, Online retailers, Pangea Piercing, piercing apprentice, professional grade body jewelry, professional piercing, professional piercings, self piercing, sterilization, The World Health Organization
Self piercings, also called DIY piercings or home piercings are piercings done at home usually by a non-professionals. Under every circumstance, except when professional piercer pierces themselves, the act of piercing oneself is illegal in NYS.
There are a number of reasons people give as to why they choose to pierce themselves including:
- It’s too expensive to pay a professional/I don’t want to have to pay.
- It’s more personal/meaningful to pierce yourself.
- There is no difference between going to a shop and piercing yourself if you do it “the right way”.
- I am underage and legally cannot get the piercing I want.
Every one of these points is false. True professionals have years of training with knowledge of the workings of the human body and its anatomy. They understand that true sterilizations processes cannot be performed by boiling the equipment or holding it over an open flame. They understand what angles to use and what can and cannot work for clients on an individual basis and more. J.C. Potts of Pangea Piercing in Ann Arbor, MI has stated that any piercing apprentice he has must train under him for two years and then work at Pangea for another two years.
According to the APP, autoclave sterilization is the “universal standard” in the body piercing industry. There are no harsh chemicals that could irritate the skin. This sterilization uses heated water. The steam from this water gets hot enough to kill germs and bacteria.
Self piercing isn’t just harmful to the person piercing themselves; it is harmful to the piercing industry as a whole. When someone pierces their body instead of going to a reputable establishment, they take a sale away from that piercer.
As mentioned in the “Online Retailers” post, professional shops have a number of regular expenses that allow them to work to their standards. This means jewelry prices and piercing fees need to be cohesive with these costs. Also, professional shops will only stock industry standard jewelry. While this jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive, it can be more expensive than “mystery metal” that can be bought at the mall.
Professional piercers also understand the proper methods of sterilization. The APP says that these at home methods won’t kill ” Hepatitis, MRSA, or any of the other scary stuff you need to worry about.” The World Health Organization states that Hepatitis B, C, and D are spread through contact with bodily fluids and needles that are not brand new and sterilized can put someone’s health at risk.