Making Sure the Piercing Shop is Safe and Sanitary

Check list on Where to get a Body Piercing


If you decide to get a body piercing, do a little investigative work about a shop's procedures and find out whether it provides a clean and safe environment for its customers. Every shop should have an autoclave (a sterilizing machine) and should keep instruments in sealed packets until they are used.

Ask questions and make sure:

#1) the shop is clean

#2) the person doing the piercing washes his or her hands with a germicidal soap

#3) the person doing the piercing wears fresh disposable gloves (like those worn at a doctor's office)

#4) the person doing the piercing uses sterilized instruments or instruments that are thrown away after use.

#5)the person doing the piercing does not use a piercing gun (they're not sterile)

#6) the needle being used is new and is being used for the first time

#7) the needle is disposed of in a special sealed container after the piercing
there are procedures for the proper handling and disposal of waste (like needles or gauze with blood on them)

It's also a good idea to ask about the types of jewelry the shop offers because some people have allergic reactions to certain types of metals. Before you get a piercing, make sure you know if you're allergic to any metals. Only nontoxic metals should be used for body piercings, such as:

surgical steel
solid 14-karat or 18-karat gold
niobium
titanium
platinum

If you think the shop isn't clean enough, if all your questions aren't answered, or if you feel in any way uncomfortable, go somewhere else to get your piercing.

Article from kidshealth.org