Insist on safety precautions

To make sure your piercing is done safely, ask these questions:

• Who does the piercings? Don't attempt to pierce yourself or allow an untrained friend to do the piercing. Go to a reputable piercing studio where employees are properly trained.

  Regulation requirements and licensing standards vary from state to state. Check with your city, county or state health department for information on local licensing and regulations.

• Does the piercer wear gloves? Make sure the piercer washes his or her hands and wears a fresh pair of disposable gloves for each piercing.
• Does the piercer use proper equipment? While some venues use piercing guns for earlobe piercing, the Association of Professional Piercers cautions that reusable piercing guns can't be properly sterilized and can damage ear tissue. For earlobe and other body piercings, look for a piercer who uses a fresh, sterile, disposable needle to create a hole and then inserts a piece of jewelry into it.
• Does the piercer sterilize nondisposable equipment? Make sure the piercer uses a heat-sterilization machine (autoclave) to sterilize all nondisposable equipment after each piercing.
• Does the piercer use hypoallergenic jewelry? Look for surgical stainless steel, titanium, niobium, or 14- or 18-karat gold.