If you decide to get a body piercing, do a little investigative work about a shop’s procedures and find our whether it provides a clean and safe environment for its customers. Every shop should have an autoclave Sharps Disposal (a sterilization machine) and should keep instruments in sealed packets. Ask questions and make sure:
- the shop is clean
- the person doing the piercing washed his or her hands with a germicidal soap
- the person doing the piercing wears fresh disposable gloves
- the person doing the piercing does not use a piercing gun on anything (they’re not sterile)
- the needle being used is new and is being used for the first time
- the needle is disposed of in a special sealed contained after piercing
- there are procedures for the proper handling and disposal of waste (like needles or gauze with blood on them)
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.