I agree with you, but -- people are dumb. All over, about everything.

--is it enough to just ask for and receive spore test results, do you think, John? I mean, is just the fact they are available to be shown to a customer enough?

How is the general public supposed to understand the results--I certainly couldn't. I mean, I could see that they have them, and the date, but that's about it.

This is an AWESOME post!!! I go to a shop called Primal Urge (shameless plug) in New Hope, PA owned and operated by Ron Rotatari. He was one of the people in the forefront in the Eastern region to push and push HARD for safer piercing practices. His is the only shop I will go to to get pierced. I have been patiently waiting until I get back to PA in Sept. to get a VCH and nipple piercings done. I am in New Jersey right now, and in reading his articles about safety here, there is no shop I would walk into down here at the beach points to get pierced. Everyone should be concerned about saafety, AIDS and Hep C are very real and people need to understand the consequences of getting pierced in a "bad" shop. Thanks for the blog.

I'm not suggesting that simply doing spore tests is enough...but it is an indicator of professionalism.

Of course, asking to see the Pass/Fail spore test results usually leads to more questions which get answered. THIS is where the education happens.

So, Cloud, you're right...it's not enough. It's a first step. But that's my point. The LEAST a customer can do to seek out professional, safe shops is to ask the basic safety related questions. My point is that even these simple questions aren't being asked.

Actually spore test results are not as complicated as you may think. In our shop we frame our results and certificates and hang them on the walls for people to see. The spore test results are very easy to understand, though they may sound complicated. They simply have the autoclave number, the date tested, and if it passed or failed. There's also usually a key at the top too.

Along with spore tests our shop also uses integrators each time we run the autoclave, these make sure that the machine is getting to the right heat/pressure/etc. We keep a log book of every time we use the autoclave and the integrator is with each entry. You may want to also ask the shop about this too.

Excellent post, cat. I've not been keeping up with Tribe until recently, but having come back in the past few months and having only just started looking into the blog feature, I'm deeply gratified to see someone laying out the basics for folk preparing to have a needle shoved into them.

It's distressing sometimes seeing the utter lack of personal responsibility people take with their own meat. Although I can understand walking into what appears to be a 'professional' shop and expecting the headwork to be done by the employees--well, I don't hold much faith in anything that might have long-term health repercussions without doing the research first. Unfortunately, looking into the particulars doesn't seem to be the norm, but how much can really be expected of people whose parents took them to the 'Piercing Pagoda' or similar mall franchises as kids?

I'm glad someone's looking out for the customer, much less the welfare of the shops and their workers, assuming they care beyond the next piercing and a bit of cash. Either or, good show, and keep pushing--better-informed customers can only be a bad thing where terrible shops and incompetent piercers are concerned. Good someone's looking out for the eejits.

Mind letting me in on where you worked in San Diego? I was down that way a couple of years ago to get some work done at Pacific Tattoo and I attended a convention. I visited about a dozen tattoo/piercing shops while I was there. Feel free to drag this'n into PM if you don't to clog up your blog's comments section with it.

Definately agreed! As a health care professionnal i'm more than aware of the consequences of bad sterilization cross contamination. And YES clients are dumb. They care more about the price of they piercing and the looks of the jewelry than important this such as bedside manners, competence and safety issues. Might sound dumb but when i first wanted to become a piercer a shopped for a trainer. First thing i did was to go use the bathroom of the shop. Tells you alot about the importance of sterilization and osha the owner beleives in.

I asked simple question about how«long does sterilization takes.... trust me... you'd cry for hours at the answers i got. I was lucky to find my trainer.... a very competent person who has similar views about body piercing industry image and the role of the piercer in his community.

Impeccable post...

I am pleased to be apart of this blog - and some really fine points have been made, especially about the restroom. I am part owner of UniQue Ink here in Ft.Myers,Fl and what my partners & I have tried and finially gotten across to all our artists & apprentises - Is to consider after every client - Air Born everything - so now they totally understand where we are coming from - I mean our studio is one of the cleanest & safest around - ( wish there were more like it) ...and most of our customers especially for piercing are 17 & above - and we can usually tell those that are nervous so we actually take them on a tour and show them step by step what the jewelery , instruments etc...all go through and how we actually set up for a piercing. before long they are back out at the counter filling out the forms and calling their friends to come and get a piercing with them ...
I love educating the young adults in what to look for if they happen to go to another shop and what questions to ask...but generally once they step through our doors - for either a tattoo or piercing ...not a single customer leaves us.. That I am thankful full ... Cause in one way we do run a tight ship so to speak ... Someone has to watch out for the clients since they are totally unaware of what could & can happen to them ...

Q ( Known as The Gentle Touch Piercer)

so true i wouldn't want to walk into a shop and not see nothing on the walls of the shop no license no tests results nothing of the sort on the walls i would be pissed and walk right out the shop. Thanks for the write i will be printing this out of course if you would give me permission first so that i can be on my marry way to getting the piercings of my dreams of course there are still more information out there for me to learn and understand this is just the first step thanks John... very informative

Excellent points man. I just had my pa done at Adornment Deluxe which was very successful. I walked out of 3 other Detroit Area shops. I had to research it for quite awile before I would let anyone touch me. Excellent points man. Everyone should read this post. You sound like a true professional.