Home Piercing Harm Reduction
It is no secret that professional piercers are not a fan of home piercings. And for honesty, quite valid reasons- we are who fix things when they go wrong. We are who break the news to someone that they need a hospital visit or a trip to the dermatologist. And that’s a hard thing to do, time and time again, and not become bitter and resentful over. We care about our clients' bodies, and it's hard to see people get hurt. At the same time, I would be remiss to pretend that many piercers didn’t start out piercing themselves at home. And I’ve always been a staunch believer in bodily autonomy and the right to do with your own body what you please. Which led me, after over a decade, to want to sit down and put out some harm reduction information for those who may be piercing themselves at home. This blog post is designed to allow you to try to do these things in a safer manner and help you understand the risks. This is a nonjudgmental post, and please note that the tone is intended to be informative.
Working Clean
The first step to safely working is ensuring you are clean. Most folks assume this starts with supplies, but it actually starts with the space. Our homes are full of all sorts of bacteria and germs that are normal in a home, but could be the source of an infection or serious complication. So if you do intend to pierce yourself at home, you need to create a clean space to do so. The first step would be a space with no carpeting or soft fabric surfaces, as carpet can not be cleaned to the level needed for safety during piercing or tattooing. For many, this leaves the bathroom or the kitchen. Due to the complexity of food storage and preparation, most folks end up using a bathroom.
One of our big concerns in the bathroom is MRSA and staph. Another is bacteria from urine and feces. You’ll want to thoroughly clean the bathroom before doing any piercings. What I would do is remove everything from your bathroom. I do mean everything- all towels, all soaps, all cosmetics, hair brushes, etc, everything from every surface. I would pre-wipe down all the surfaces with soap and water to remove dirt and grime, especially around the shower and the sink. You’ll want to use a fresh sponge or scrubber to prevent old bacteria from ending up back in the area. You should be thoroughly scrubbing all areas, including the toilet (inside and outside), the entire shower, the sink, the backsplash, the mirrors, the floors, base boards, and other surfaces (washer and dryer, shelving, etc). You want to focus on the hard-to-reach areas, like behind the toilet or behind any fixtures. These are the areas where bacteria can lurk. Then, you will want to scrub the bathroom down a second time with a surface disinfectant. You can get a store-bought one, or use a bleach mixture (1/3 cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water). Please wear gloves and ensure proper ventilation or a face mask while cleaning with bleach. After the first scrub with soap and water is dry, go back with the bleach mixture or a surface disinfectant over every surface. Rinse the area with clean water and ensure it is allowed to dry. If you need to move the bathroom objects back in, you can wipe them all down with the bleach mixture, as long as it is safe to do so, before placing them back in the bathroom. It would be safer to wait to return anything to the space till after piercings are done.
This should be done before ANY piercings occur in the space, every time.
Sometimes when I discuss this, folks will respond with “That seems excessive, surely we don’t need to clean that much,” and this is sadly not the case. We clean our studios like this once a week at least, if not more frequently (My poor apprentice is doing baseboards just about every other day). And in studios, all surfaces that come in contact with anyone's body are being constantly wiped down with disinfectant during the day, every day. We also only have wipeable surfaces in the shop, no carpet, no towels, no products that could harbor bacteria. We are cleaning to this level all of the time. It’s just a bit easier in a space designed to be cleaned like this regularly- we engineer the room to make this level of cleaning attainable regularly. At home, multiple people have potentially used this space, exposed it to who knows what bacteria, and it hasn’t been thoroughly wiped down between every person using it. So the initial cleaning is going to be extremely important to make a space to pierce in! This goes doubly if you have any animals or pets in the house, as they can carry bacteria that humans don't, which can have an even more serious risk.
Correct Supplies
The next step is having the correct supplies to do this safely. I’ll be honest, the vast majority of quality supplies are going to require a business license in order to purchase. This system exists to prevent individuals from getting supplies and materials that you should have an industry-specific license to purchase. It does mean that for folks piercing themselves at home, accessing quality and safe supplies can be difficult. I can not advise people to attempt to circumvent the law or insurance policies to try to get supplies from safe makers, but I would like to specifically address some supplies that I know can be safely accessible at home.
Gloves: Many “home piercing kits” include gloves, which are often “one size fits all” gloves, or one single size. These can often be food safety gloves or similar ill-fitting and low-quality pieces. I would strongly suggest getting a box of nitrile gloves from your local pharmacy, in a size that suits your hands. These will allow you to protect your hands, keep things clean, and have a safer grip while working. Most piercers work in sterile gloves to perform the piercing itself. I am unaware of anywhere trusted in the country selling sterile gloves accessibly (although sometimes I have found them on e-bay. I wouldn’t say its a trusted source, but its a source), so please be aware that the gloves you wear could be a potential source of bacteria for the piercing.
Markers: I often see folks mark themselves with a Sharpie or a pen to decide where to pierce. Please do not do this. These inks can end up staining the skin when pierced through, and leaving a “piercing tattoo” behind. Sometimes these can even spread, and I am aware of multiple clients with permanent black spots on their nose or ears from being marked with a Sharpie. If possible, you can try to find Gentian Violet over the counter. This is a naturally anti-fungal, anti-microbial pigment often used as a dye for different medical purposes. It’s safe to use to mark the skin as opposed to a Sharpie. It is toxic if ingested, and it will stain everything you have ever owned purple, so still be careful with that. Using this on a small toothpick can be a good way to make safe marks.
Skin Prep: You’ll want to clean the skin thoroughly before piercing. Alcohol swabs work great for an initial clean, and clean more than you think. You can then make a mark, and then use an iodine swab to wipe down the area after to clean away bacteria on the surface of the skin. Most of us have various bacteria that live on our skin and is a normal, healthy part of the flora and fauna of the human body, but can become harmful if introduced to the inner tissue of the body. Cleaning the skin properly and thoroughly before piercing is a major step in preventing infection.
Needles: At the time of writing this post, every reputable manufacturer for piercing needles requires a business license to purchase them. I have emailed and triple checked with over a dozen companies and suppliers, from the personal ones I use in my studio down to companies whose needles I honestly probably would not use. And every last one of them requires a business license to purchase. So- what does this mean about needles you can find online without a license? Well, they are most likely lower quality. They may not be passivated, a process that removes free iron from the surface and forms a protective chromium oxide layer on the needle that prevents rust and other issues. Yes- this means there's a chance the needles you purchase could be rusty- and if it's on the inside where you can’t see it, that could be serious. It also means there could be burrs or imperfections in the needle that can cause additional trauma during piercing. My only suggestion would be to closely inspect anything you want to use first, and understand that inherently there is a risk with that.
Jewelry: This is another section I don’t have fantastic advice for. All reputable companies require you to have a license to order from them. Your best bet would be getting something quality from a reputable piercer or their online store, to use for your piercing. Please avoid anything plastic, externally threaded, plated, coated, or painted. If the price seems too good to be true (a gold barbell for 20$?) It probably is. I talk at length about safe materials and what makes jewelry safe here, which is worth a read. But outside of materials, sizing is my bigger concern. Too short of a piece of jewelry and things can embed in the skin and become a serious infection risk quickly. Too long and things can get caught and snagged, risking tearing and migration. Sizing is a complex task; it's something I spent 8 months on in my apprenticeship, and still to this day, occasionally under- or overestimate how much a client may swell. I do not know how to convey something that takes months and months of in-person studying and learning in a single blog post, aside from saying please be careful with sizing, and when in doubt, please consider seeing a local piercer if something feels off.
Know What to Watch For
Perhaps the biggest advice I can give you in this post is to please understand what you need to watch for when piercing yourself at home. Infection is, of course, our biggest concern. If you notice any severe swelling, to the point where there's no room for your jewelry, any large amounts of secretion coming from the piercing, especially when touched or moved, if the area is hot to the touch and very tender, and if you have any fever or flu-like symptoms, please seek medical attention immediately. Infection is no joke, especially on the ear or face, and can become very serious very quickly. In breast tissue, it can become mastitis very easily. I know that going to a doctor can be intimidating, but your health and well-being are worth it.
Our second major concern is irritation. While irritation can happen to any piercing, when it’s done at home, we often see higher rates of migration, rejection, and scarring occur. If you notice any bumps, hyperpigmentation, abnormal redness, or secretions on your piercing, your best bet is going to be getting in touch with a local reputable piercer. Now I know that for many folks who pierce at home, it can be intimidating to reach out to a piercer. The assumption is they are just going to shame you for piercing yourself at home, and I wish I could say this assumption was entirely off base, but it isn’t. Especially for a while, most piercers, myself included, were very negative about home piercings. I still don’t love the practice, but I respect that people are going to do it, and ultimately, my biggest concern is that you are safe. I’d rather you reach out to me to ask for help with a home piercing than suffer silently and end up with severe scarring, irritation, and issues. Most piercers I know feel the same. At most, you may get a gentle reminder that this is why we don’t suggest home piercing, as well as good advice for how to heal things correctly. I promise, the majority of us aren’t going to be ruse or nasty about you piercing yourself at home- just honest and straightforward about the risks and the next steps. These may be uncomfortable things to hear (such as the angle or placement is wrong, meaning it needs to be removed), but we aren’t going to yell at you for doing it- we aren’t your parents.
You can find some good resources like my guide to irritation bumps here, a guide to moisture bumps here, and a guide to rejection and migration here. These will give you some good ideas about what to watch out for with your piercings.
As a professional piercer, I’m the one who often fixes things when home-done piercings go wrong. I’m also the one who sees the end results of it. For many piercers, we just care about our clients' bodies and people's bodies and we want people to be safe. It’s heartbreaking for us to tell someone they can never have their navel pierced because of scarring from a home piercing, or have to send someone to the ER for an infection. We don’t enjoy doing these things, and that's where our bias against these practices comes from- a place of compassion and care. I hope that by writing this guide and at least trying to encourage folks to be safer and understand the risks and how to work as safely as is realistically possible in a home, it shows that. And to the piercers out there- perhaps we can find a way to hold more compassion and more understanding when we interact with folks who pierce themselves at home, and not let our own biases come through. We are all seeking to explore our bodies, adorn them, and see what they are capable of together, and there's a beauty in that.
<3 Lynn
