PIERCING

General
This page is intended to shed some light on what you the customer can expect when visiting Magic Needles Tattoo and Body Piercing Studios when looking to receive a piercing. We are happy to receive both 'walk-in' customers and pre-arranged bookings. On entering the shop you will be greeted by a member of staff who will be happy to forward you advice, answer your questions or address any concerns you may have regarding body piercing. Magic Needles has been carrying-out body piercing for the past fifteen years and has a very mature, robust and hygienic process in place which has served both Magic Needles and our client's very well.
At Magic Needles we refuse to use 'surgical steel grade' jewelry, but only 'Hospital Implant Grade Titanium'. This minimizes any allergic reaction to our piercings. These items can be viewed in our body piercing jewlery cabinate which is permently on display.

Age

All our piercings carry a minimum age of 15, except tongue and nipple which are 18 years of age and ear piercing minimum age of 5.

Hygiene
All our piercing equipment is sterilized daily via our Vacuum Autoclave Sterilization unit and each item is individually sealed in it's own vacuum sealed container.

As with tattooing, the very same process is under-taken before each and every piercing. The dedicated piercing room is firstly disinfected and all necessary equipment for the following piercing unpacked from their sealed Vacuum Autoclave Sterilization containers. All our needles are 'single use' and arrive in gas sterilized bubble packs, these too are readied. This set-up process is carried-out for each and every piercing. A new set of latex or latex free gloves are also used for each and every session, if you have an allergy towards latex please inform our staff and the appropriate gloves will be readied.

The Consultation Process
Please note that the consultation process is not regarded by any member of staff as a sign of commitment.
In most cases the client may already have in mind, not only the jewelry they wish to purchase but also the location on the body where it is to be applied. However, there are a few occasions when for various reasons our trained and experienced staff may advise that the location of the piercing to be moved slightly, and further, on rare occasions they may even advise that different jewelry be used from that which was chosen on a temporary or permanent basis. Our staff reserve the right to refuse to apply a piercing where they believe it will not be beneficial to the well being of the customer. During this consultation process you will be made aware of all the requirements regarding the aftercare of your piercing. Our staff can only advise, the implementation of aftercare has to be left in the hands of the customer. A piercing will remain an open wound until healed, usually around 6 to 8 weeks. During that period failure to implement good aftercare can result in an infection or even permanent scaring of the pierced area. Well implemented aftercare can greatly accelerate the healing process. Before you commit you will also be given a verbal quotation for the piercing.

The Commitment Stage
Once you have decided to commit you will be presented with an 'Aftercare Sheet' and taken through it step by step, extra verbal information will be forwarded regarding your individual piercing. After which you will be asked to sign a 'Release Form', this simple form only requests you read and sign a declaration confirming that you are the required age for the piercing (anyone under the age of 16 will require parental consent) do not suffer from various health conditions and have fully understood all the requirements of aftercare. Following this you will be taken through and receive your piercing.

General requirements of After care

* Clean the piercing three times a day with a saline solution
o First thing in the morning
o Afternoon
o Last thing at night
* After a day or two the piercing will begin to weep, clean off any residue with a cotton bud and a saline solution. Pat dry and then leave alone.
* Avoid anything that will aggravate, pull-on or rub the jewelry or piercing.
* Again, leave the piercing alone and to not pull or touch the jewelry.
* Hair contains oils and grime therefore keep hair away from the piercing.
* Do not cover with sticky plaster, the residue will collect grime.
* The tattoo needs to breath to heal, only cover with loose clean material such a wearing a clean cotton shirt.
* Use antiseptic mouthwash three times a day with oral piercing especially after each meal.
* Failure to carry-out good personal hygiene can result in an infection, localized swelling and trauma to the pierced area.