Piercing Information

In NY State, upon reaching the age of 18 one can be tattooed and pierced as they see fit, legally.

It is the legal responsibility of any body artist to verify the age of all clients, and it is a responsibility we take very seriously.

We require government issued identification that has a photo, the name, and date of birth of every person receiving any service other than "troubleshooting", jewelry changes, or repairs.

That being said, any service that requires disrobing will also require ID.

Our policies regarding services for minors will be outlined below.

Per NY State Health Law Article 4A, no one under 18 years old can be pierced without written consent from a parent or legal guardian. There is a specific form the state requires for this consent, and it must be completed in the presence of the artist or shop owner.

We also have to sign this form, stating that we verified that a parent or legal guardian signed the form. To verify that, we require Photo ID for the parent/guardian and the minor, along with proof of guardianship.

Photo ID for the minor can be Government issued ID of any kind, School ID (physical or digital), or Safe Child ID.

Social Security Cards and Birth Certificates do not count as photo ID, as there is no photo on them.

Proof of guardianship can be a Birth Certificate, Custody Papers, or School documents showing the relationship. Grandparents, Aunts / Uncles, and/or adult siblings / friends cannot give consent unless they have legal guardianship and can prove it.

No service of any kind that requires disrobing will be performed for a minor under any circumstance.

We will not pierce anyone that cannot convey to us that they are a willing participant, so that means no infants. Although toddlers and very young children can often verbalize the desire to be pierced, we ask you to wait until they are at least 5.

We limit our piercing services to Ear Lobes Only for minors aged 5-12. Ran is our artist who specializes in piercing very young children's ears, but their schedule can be tight as they tattoo full time as well.

At 12 we begin to offer basic ear cartilage piercings to kids who are "experienced" with piercing - we ask that they at least have healed a set of earlobe piercings first.

At 16 most piercings are available, excluding surface piercings / microdermals and "adult" piercings.

Any piercing requires proper anatomy and maturity, so there may be cases where we have to be more restrictive than our written policy appears.

Due to its superior biocompatibility, we use Implant Grade Titanium as the initial jewelry for all new piercings. The one exception is for some larger gauge piercings  borosilicate glass is a suitable substitution.

All jewelry sold at our shop also has no external threading. This means it is either "internally threaded" - where the "ends" of the jewelry thread into the post or bar; it is "threadless" - it uses tension to hold the ends on the jewelry or to maintain closure of a hoop; or by design it requires no "closure"

Hoops are not used for initial piercings due to the increased surface area leading to healing complications. Daith Piercings are the exception as that location is naturally protected from almost all angles by the anatomy of the ear.

As we cannot guarantee the suitability of jewelry purchased elsewhere, we also cannot perform initial piercings with jewelry that is not provided by us. There are a couple of local shops that also carry jewelry of suitable quality, material, & design - but they are not WalMart or Hot Topic...

Our prices (which can be found on our pricelist) include your choice from a selection of standard jewelry designed for your piercing. A variety of other options are usually available for an extra $5 - $30 per piercing. We can also make or order custom jewelry for your piercing if given adequate notice prior to your appointment.

The standard jewelry and the other options are all of the same material and quality - the difference in price comes from stone type, cut, quantity, and setting.

We are also able to anodize our titanium to any single color from a wide spectrum of choices for no additional charge. Gradients, patterns, and designs an sometimes be created with anodization for an additional fee, but may take extra time like other custom jewelry. Red and/or Black do not occur naturally during anodization, so we cannot make those colors.