$10 deal, not such a great deal afterall?

Alright ladies and gentlemen I am here in my first article for Pikes Peak Tattoo & Piercing to address an issue that, in my opinion, has reached its limits. That issue is the $10 piercing “deal” that is so abundantly rampid in this town. Now don’t get me wrong I know it sounds like a great deal and in fact have gotten a few of my numerous piercings in that particular way but I have learned my lesson the hard way and I don’t want you ladies and gentlemen to learn that lesson the way I had to.

 

First off let’s discuss why such a cheap piercing is not a great deal.

First is jewelry quality, which is the most important reason. Nice quality jewelry is made of many different materials there is 316lvm stainless surgical steel, grade 23 titanium, niobium, certain glasses and even bone and horn. The right quality of stainless surgical steel or sss contains less than .002% nickel content, at least 60% of the world’s population is allergic to nickel. It’s in everything even the air we breathe so why would you subject yourself to a known allergen in the cause of a cheap piercing? This can and will cause numerous problems for healing and overall health of the piercing. If you get the right material most causes for abandoning a piercing or having trouble with them will end right there. So first thing go find a piercer that stocks nice quality material if in doubt ask for the milling sheets. These are the chemical compound sheets that are supplied by most quality jewelry companies. If your piercer refuses to show these to you or jumps around about them chances are they don’t have them. This brings me to my next point.

 

Customer service

When you enter a store and buy goods you often deal with people that supply the access to these goods. Piercing and Tattooing is no different. I know from personal experience that if I go into a shop to buy clothes or food and the person behind the counter has an attitude or is not as helpful as they could be I think twice about going there again yet I hear from so many of my dear clients that other shops don’t have the right attitude that is conductive for altering your body. Lets face it folks getting a piercing, tattoo or other modification is in numerous ways scary so why would you want to go to a place that not only makes this feeling worse by not supporting your choices and helping you feel comfortable? So yea ten bucks is grand on your wallet but what about you’re mental state or your choices? They don’t care how you’re feeling or why you want that particular piercing or design all they care about is your money and how to finagle it away from you. What about if you have a problem with you’re piercing or tattoo? Can you go back to the shop and get help or will they not care because your business is done? I personally care about each and every single one of my client’s health and well being and in fact call many of them my friends so when they come to me with a problem I take the utmost care of them. I don’t want them going away unsatisfied or feeling rejected. In fact I offer many of my services for free such as aftercare, cleanings, stretching, jewelry switches ect. When was the last time that you went to a ten buck piercing parlor and got a free cleaning or got your jewelry switched because you couldn’t reach it or just couldn’t do it yourself?

 

Now for my last point, skill.

Anyone can poke a hole I can tell you, but it takes a great piercer to do it with skill. I have put in numerous years of research to be able to execute a piercing with skill, to make sure its placed aesthetically, it avoids veins and nerves and that its done correctly. I cant tell you how many times I have seen a crooked piercing or one that was placed in the wrong place so that it doesn’t fit the person its on and 90% of the time they are from a ten buck shop. Now to me piercing is very close to my heart, its what I live my life by I eat sleep and drink body modification. To me it’s an incredibly beautiful thing so when I see a messed up piercing I get a little sad and a little let down that there are so many people out there that just don’t care. We are all guilty of it how many times have you gone into a store and paid $100 plus for a pair of shoes or a dress that you may only wear a few times or that will fade away with age, yet numerous people don’t think about this when they want a piercing. Clothing fades people, shoes fall apart and material objects never last, you only have one body so why not take care of it and make the investment in a piercing that will last and you can be happy with?

 

In closing I would just like to say that Pikes Peak Tattoo & Piercing has been around a long time for good reason. We are clean, nice and offer a fair price for the skills we have gathered for you, the client and friend. We are the second oldest shop in Colorado Springs do you think any one else can claim they are around that long? Make the right choice and go with the best even if its not us make the investment in yourself and save a little bit to get a better quality piercing that you can be happy with for years to come, and also remember the great experience that you had while getting that piercing. I hope to do these articles on a semi regular basis ranging numerous subjects to help YOU make a more informed choice. Just remember folks “Piercing is not a crime but messing one up is!”

Angel T.
Body Modification Artist
Pikes Peak Tattoo & Piercing