If you told friends and family that you're thinking about getting a body piercing, you'd probably hear them tell you a campfire-worthy horror story about a distant friend who knew someone who had a bad reaction to the exact same piercing you plan to get. *Cue creepy music.* There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding piercings, mostly from misunderstandings of proper piercing methods and outdated advice. Below, we debunk some common piercing myths as shared by the body artists at our Central Florida piercing shops.
Twisting the Piercing Promotes Healing
This was common aftercare advice for anyone who got a piercing in the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s. If you were pierced back then, you were probably told to twist the jewelry a few times a day to prevent skin from growing around it and being unable to take it out. However, piercers (and medical personnel) realized moving the piercing irritates the skin more than leaving it alone. There is also an increased risk of infection when you're constantly touching and poking at the piercing site with dirty fingers. Infection can cause the skin to grow over the metal—not the piercing itself. So, feel free to toss out this outdated advice and follow your body artist's instructions for aftercare instead.
Piercing Doesn't Require Skill
Although getting a piercing takes less than five minutes in many cases, it's an art form that takes years to develop. Body artists at piercing studios are certified and educated in proper piercing techniques, which require annual continuing education and examinations. "The piercing itself takes two seconds, but nobody sees what we do before and after to prepare and to clean, sanitize, and all the studying that goes behind it," shares Alyssa, a body artist with Fine Ink Studios.
Kids Should Get Their Ears Pierced at the Mall
Retail employees at places like malls are usually thrust into performing piercings as a part of a wide range of daily responsibilities. They're given little training and inadequate equipment before being allowed to willingly puncture a hole into someone else's skin. They often provide customers with insufficient explanations on how to properly care for the piercing afterward. Nor do they have the space for the medical-grade sterilization equipment you'd find at a qualified piercing shop in Central Florida, which could increase your child's risk of infection. Overall, getting pierced at a piercing studio like Fine Ink Studios is much safer and less traumatic to the skin than going to a mall, especially for kids. As Fine Ink Studios body artist Poki shares from first-hand experience, "Malls are typically very loud and boisterous. If you're bringing a kid in, especially for their first piercing, being in a quiet, clean, sterile environment makes it more comfortable."
Plus, there's the issue with piercing guns (the piercing tool of choice at malls), which we discuss below.
Piercing Guns are Safe
Piercing guns, commonly used at retail locations like malls, pierce skin using a blunt instrument that thrusts the piece of jewelry into your earlobe and tears it through the cartilage. The problem with these machines is that piercing jewelry isn't sharp enough to penetrate the skin, so it's forced through—with painful and sometimes permanent side effects. This could trigger a blunt force trauma reaction, causing infection or tissue damage. Plus, it's much more painful than the needles used at piercing studios. If that wasn't enough to convince you, piercing guns are usually made of plastic, which is impossible to sterilize properly. Most of the time, they're simply wiped down between uses, significantly increasing the risk of infection.
Aftercare Doesn't Matter
Piercing aftercare is extremely important to your overall health and how well your piercing heals. The piercing site should be treated like an open wound. It should be cleaned often and kept free from dust, dirt, and germs. If you don't do this, you'll be more susceptible to infection or jewelry rejection (a process where your body literally pushes the jewelry out of the piercing site). This is the last thing we want to happen! At Fine Ink Studios, we discuss aftercare procedures in detail before your leave our shop. We're also available to answer any questions you may have once you get home to ensure your piercing heals properly.
Body Piercings Cause…
Keloids
Keloid scars are fleshy growths caused by skin trauma. They develop when collagen builds up on your skin, usually near a wound as it heals. Keloids are sometimes confused with piercing bumps, which are small, circular areas that can form around a piercing and are a normal part of the healing process. See this article to learn the differences between keloids and piercing bumps. Keloids don't go away on their own and are much larger than a pimple or bug bite. While anyone can have keloids, you're more likely to get one if they run in your family. If they don't, it's rare you'd get one from a piercing.
Nerve Damage
Some believe certain facial piercings (like ones on your eyebrows) cause nerve damage. However, piercings don't go deep enough into the skin to "hit a nerve," as some may think. In addition, certified body piercers are trained to avoid these areas. A piercing shouldn't affect regular nerve operations.
Paralysis
Temporary or permanent paralysis from a body piercing is extremely rare. This myth is part urban legend, part rumor, based on a 13-year-old news story about a British teenage dancer who became paralyzed after getting her ears pierced. However, an undiagnosed auto-immune disorder caused the reaction, not the piercing. It is very rare that a body piercing would cause any sort of paralysis.
Piercing Studios Aren't Regulated
This is a Herculean-sized myth. Piercing shops in Central Florida, including Fine Ink Studios, must be licensed by the Florida Department of Health. Our body artists are certified and receive annual training on proper sanitation and sterilization techniques. Our studios are inspected regularly to ensure we follow applicable laws and guidelines, and we regularly exceed these state safety standards. Even the type of jewelry used for our piercings is regulated. All body jewelry must be made of implant-grade stainless steel that is ASTM-approved. Your safety is our first priority!
Fine Ink Studios: Central Florida Piercing & Tattoo Shop
From the moment you book a consultation with us or step inside one of our Central Florida studios, you become part of the FIS family. We're dedicated to providing our family with the safest, cleanest, and most comfortable piercing experience in Central Florida and beyond. That's why we want to make sure these myths are busted! Meet some of our body artists and see what they
say about these common piercing misconceptions here. Whether it's your first piercing or fifteenth, we're happy to help you achieve your desired look. Book a consultation to get started!