Botched ‘backyard’ piercing jobs are plaguing customers around the country, leading some in the industry to call for tighter regulations.
The woman was noticeably bow-legged when she walked into The Crystal Ball Clinic in Thames one grey afternoon. Gingerly ambling up to the counter, she explained to shop owner and veteran piercer Wendy Berkhan that she’d recently had the hood of her clitoris pierced, and was experiencing huge amounts of discomfort. They went out the back to the piercing room and registered nurse Wendy saw something she had never seen before in her 21 years in the industry.
“The piercing was nowhere near the clitoris,” she recalls. “They had pierced the labia lips at the top with a horizontal bar and it was pinching like you wouldn’t believe. I was shocked.”
This is just one of dozens of horror stories that Wendy can rattle off from her time in the piercing trenches, along with penises “strangled” by their Prince Alberts, infected nipple piercings “dug out” of swollen breasts, and ear lobes that have “swallowed” earrings. It was her own daughter’s dodgy piercing that originally got the registered nurse into the piercing industry. “It was done in Hamilton and was so badly placed and then got so infected,” she explains. “There was no piercer in [Thames], so we decided I’d do a course and set up a better service for people.”
As one of only three piercing shops in the country that has a registered nurse onsite administering piercings, Wendy and Pete at The Crystal Ball in Thames have welcomed pretty much every type of customer through their doors, from 78-year-old divorcees getting their belly buttons bejewelled to teenage girls getting their tongues transfixed. They are also very used to customers seeking advice on botched piercings that have been done elsewhere at bargain bin prices. “It’s profit before people,” Wendy says. “They rely on volume, and that’s when people get sloppy.”
Down in Ōtautahu at Absolution piercing, owner Eden has seen much of the same. The piercing studio has been in business since 1996 and has two members on staff who belong to the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), an international organisation dedicated to the dissemination of health and safety information about body piercing. “The most common troubleshooting we do is for clients who have been pierced in studios operating at below what are considered minimum standards,” he says. “We see this almost daily.”
Wendy from The Crystal Ball once called the authorities after discovering a piercing tent at the Keltic Fair in the Coromandel that was not only using an ear piercing gun to pierce noses, but wasn’t cleaning the equipment or wearing gloves. In 2011, Hawke’s Bay Today reported that customers of Trendez piercing and clothing store in Hamilton were being tested for hepatitis after a raft of infected piercings due to unhygienic practices. “There’s a real risk of cross-contamination and these infections can lead to septicemia,” says Wendy.
Safety is another ongoing concern, especially when it comes to intimate body piercings such as genitalia and nipples. “I knew of a piercer who used to tell girls that he had to put ice in his mouth and then suck on their nipple to get the nipple hard,” she says. “There’s a total lack of professionalism right through the country.” She says that piercing studios should provide a private area for piercings of this nature, as well as a towel for modesty. “Some places will just get you to take your top off in front of everybody. No privacy, your dignity goes out the door.”
The rise in poor placement, cheap jewellery use and bad hygiene and safety practices has meant that those in the piercing industry are now calling for stricter regulations. Last updated in 1998, The Ministry of Health guidelines for Safe Piercing of the Skin is in “desperate need of an overhaul” says Eden at Absolution. Wendy and her husband Pete, who contributed industry feedback to the guidelines back in the 90s, also agree. “If you tried to plumb your own house, the government would step in and say ‘you can’t do that’ and you’d get fined,” he says.
“But if you pierce someone from your house, they can’t do anything about it. There’s no real rules, there’s nothing to stop you doing it.”
When asked how they enforce their recommended safe piercing practices, the Ministry of Health pointed to local authorities and to Medical Officers of Health employed by Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ). “When there is an applicable council health protection bylaw in force, council employees investigate complaints,” a Ministry of Health spokesperson told The Spinoff. But not all local authorities have bylaws around piercing practices and those that do (such as Auckland and Dunedin) are “vague and dated”, says Eden at Absolution.
The Ministry of Health told The Spinoff that it has “long been aware of and concerned about the heightened infection risks posed by “backyard” establishments which may have poorly trained staff, inadequate sterilisation of equipment practices and unhygienic surroundings.” In 2018, Public Health embarked on a project looking at the state of the wider appearance industry in Aotearoa, including piercings, with the intention to eventually review the guidelines. However, due to “competing priorities, including responding to Covid-19”, the project has not progressed.
In the meantime, the responsibility largely lies with consumers to do their research ahead of getting a piercing. If the studio doesn’t use single-use disposable instruments, Pete says it is essential that they have a regularly-serviced autoclave machine to carry out adequate sterilisation. “It actually is the only way that you can kill the hepatitis virus,” he explains. “Running boiling water doesn’t do it. Alcohol doesn’t do it. You can’t kill a virus any other way except through an autoclave. And if your autoclave is not performing, it’s just pointless.”
Customers should also ensure that piercers are changing gloves (ideally three times) during the procedure, and are using good quality, nickel-free jewellery. “Unfortunately very few studios are using jewellery that is safe for wear in the body,” explains Eden, who uses 100% biocompatible metals at Absolution. “Some studios also can be quite misleading with what they offer and what is accepted among reputable professionals as safe.” Wendy at The Crystal Ball now sources all her jewellery from the UK thanks to their nickel-free market.
Aftercare is another crucial part of the piercing process, says Wendy. “It doesn’t matter how good a piercer you are, unless you give the right aftercare instructions and aftercare information, your piercing is going to stuff up.” Eden at Absolution agrees, saying that dated aftercare practices are “unfortunately commonplace” and can “say a lot about a studio and their willingness to stay current.” The most up-to-date aftercare instructions for the piercing industry can be found on the APP website.
Despite the rise of cheap Friday the 13th $13 piercing deals and free piercing at chain jewellery stores like Lovisa, Wendy says customers should expect to pay a bit more if they want the job done right. “It should not be costing you $20. If you’re using good quality jewellery and sterilising properly, that costs around $20 alone.” She says that people often go for the bargains because they think they are saving money, but end up spending more in the long term on doctors, medications and getting the piercing redone. “As a client, always question everything and always trust your instincts,” says Eden.
“And remember: good piercings aren’t cheap and cheap piercings aren’t good.”