Choosing the right place to be pierced is a vital consideration. You should not use any piercing venue unless you are 100% happy, for very obvious reasons. Not only does AIDS remain a threat, so do many other diseases that are even easier to transfer including Hepatitis B and C. The following guidelines are there to help you remain safe and happy with something which is, for many, a big step to take.

Never be afraid to ask questions. If the piercer becomes in any way abusive or evasive leave. There are plenty of professional body piercers who will be more than happy to answer your questions that you can use instead. Check out the guidelines below and ask questions of the piercer if there are any parts you are unsure about.

Autoclave (sterilizer) - ALL piercing studios should have a working autoclave. This should be inspected and maintained on a regular basis and there should be certificates available to prove this. Test strips should also be in use to ensure that the autoclave is performing to spec between service periods.

Working area - Needless to say this should be spotless. Couches or chairs used to pierce on should be made of a smooth, easily cleanable material and a new disposable sheet should be used for each client. No smoking signs should be evident and the no smoking rule should be made to be seen being enforced.

Equipment - All re-usable equipment such as clamps, scissors etc should be sterilized with each use. Needles should never be re-used and you should be able to see the sealed, sterile packets containing them opened prior to use on your body. The body piercer him/herself should be clean and using a fresh pair of disposable gloves with each client. Never let your body be pierced with a 'gun'. No professional piercer will use them for anything other than the earlobe and even then, they are frowned upon by many professional piercers. Apart from the gauge of the jewellery most guns use being too small, jewellery inserted with a gun can sometimes be prone to pulling into the skin.

Jewellery - Only surgical steel and titanium jewellery are recommended for initial body piercings. However, due to the high nickel content in the most common types of surgical steel, there is now an EC directive recommending that this is not used for the initial piercings as some people have allergies to the nickel. As this is the case we recommend only using titanium jewellery for the initial piercing.

Elizabeth Brodie is the owner of Hot-Jewellery a UK site specialising in quality body jewellery for most common piercings.

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