A Guide to Safe Body Piercings From the Experts at Bay Ink Tattoo

At Bay Ink Tattoo, we’re committed to creating a fun, safe, and welcoming environment for everyone who walks through our door. While we promise to do our part to ensure your body piercing experience is smooth and enjoyable, there are preemptive steps you can take to prepare for your appointment—whether here with us or at another studio.

These tips will make the overall experience much more positive and enjoyable for you and the artist.

Choose the Right Piercing Artist

Before getting a piercing, interview the artist, look at their portfolio, and don’t be shy about asking what to expect from your experience. This will help you understand the piercing process and establish trust and comfort with the artist. But there’s another reason—not all piercers are created equal.

Our in-house piercer, Natalie, makes the job look easy. But don’t let her experience and expertise fool you. Piercing is a tricky business. Building this knowledge set takes time, dedication, and a lengthy apprenticeship with a qualified mentor.

Natalie not only has an artistic eye, but she’s also a master at what she does. She knows how to make our customers feel safe, informed, and prepared so that they leave feeling as good as their new piercing looks.

Choose the Right Studio

If you’re uncomfortable walking into a piercing studio space, keep shopping. Plenty of piercing studios are clean, welcoming, do great work, and meet safety guidelines. Bay Ink Tattoo happens to be one of them.

Most patrons don’t know this, but studio spaces should have five unique zones:

• A retail counter
• A waiting area
• A public bathroom
• A dedicated room used exclusively for piercing
• Plus, an additional sterilization room

Studios should also have a sharps container, an autoclave (sterilizer), licenses, and permits displaying their compliance with health and safety standards.

Swing by our studio. You’ll find all of that at Bay Ink. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same thing for every other studio.

Preparing for Your Appointment

While the technical work is in the hands of your piercing artist, you’ll enjoy the experience much more if you take these simple preliminary steps before your appointment.

Eat & Stay Hydrated

Enjoy a balanced meal about six hours before your appointment. This will give you energy, keep you comfortable, and help prevent nausea during the experience. We suggest you avoid heavy foods so you don’t feel overly full. And drink plenty of water to stay hydrated!

Get Plenty of Rest

A good night’s rest is just as important. Sleep not only helps reduce stress and boosts your immune system (essential for quick healing), but it also increases your pain tolerance and enables you to stay more focused and alert. Shoot for at least 7-9 hours of sleep before your body piercing experience.

Avoid Alcohol & Excessive Caffeine

Alcohol thins the blood. This can increase the risk of bleeding during the procedure. It also dehydrates you, can inhibit your ability to absorb nutrients, impacts sleep quality, and even weakens your immune system. In short, avoid alcohol before your body piercing appointment.

The same goes for caffeine. We love a good cup of coffee but suggest you keep your consumption to a minimum on the piercing day. Not only does caffeine increase anxiety and dehydrate the body, but it also increases blood pressure, which can impact blood flow and cause more bleeding.

Do a Quick Health Check

If you’re feeling under the weather, reschedule. Our staff will appreciate it. Plus, you will heal more quickly. A weakened immune system slows the healing process and can put stress on your body unnecessarily.

Aftercare

Different body piercings have slightly different aftercare processes. Rest assured, your piercer will give you aftercare instructions following the experience.

Be sure to ask about our saline spray solution, curated specifically for healing piercings, and follow this quick healing guide:

• Thoroughly wash your hands before cleaning your piercing to avoid spreading bacteria
• Do not remove your jewelry during the piercing process, or it will close
• Also, avoid rotating your jewelry
• Do not put creams, perfumes, or other products directly on the piercing
• Do not aggravate any dry or flaky matter that is connected to the healing tissue
• Try not to sleep on the piercing
• Keep the area clean until it is fully healed. Healing timelines vary with each piercing
• Use a presoaked saline wipe or apply a spray-on sterile saline solution to a non-woven sterile gauze and apply as a compress for five minutes in the morning, then again in the evening
• Gently dry the area with a clean, non-woven gauze

Your Body. Our Expertise.

Ready to turn your body into a living canvas? Our experienced Bay Park piercer is here to bring your artistic vision to life. Contact us today to schedule your consultation!