So You've decided to get a piercing, congratulations! You've chosen a form of body modification that is as old as time. Now how will you avoid falling prety to an unscrupulous, unprofessional hacker who would take your money and butcher your body? The following information is provided to assit you in choosing a safe, qualified and professional piercer: Start by taking your time, educating yourself and locating the piercers in your area. Talk to people who have piercings and find out who did them. By doing this you should be able to get a basic idea of who is doing what. Then phone the piercer and explain what you want done and that you would like to be able to check out examples of his/her work, and discuss techniques, prices, etc. The piercer should respect you as a person and a client and offer his/her professional knowledge in helping you make your choices. And if the piercer is too high and mighty to talk to you... go elsewhere. Ask to see photos of previous piercings that were done by that piercer. Do not be fooled by books, magazines, or other printed material. Best of all, meet the piercer's clients. Check out the studio. It should be a professional place of business, not someone's garage, pawn shop or dog kennel. You should also not get pierced in someone's basement, the back room of a bar, or at your local street fair or flea market. Other things to ckeck out: Is the studio clean and well lit? Is it organized and not overcrowded? Does the piercer have enough work space? If you would like privacy, can that be provided without any problems? About the piercer: Does he/she appear to be clean, neat and, most important of all, straight and sober? Does the piercer require you to be straight and sober? Does the piercer have a good knowledge of the human body? Will the piercer be wearing gloves? Does the piercer use instruments which have been individually wrapped and were sterilized in appropriate sterilization bags? Does the piercer have an autoclave? Does it work or is it just there for show? Does the piercer use a fresh needle on everyone that gets pierced? Does the piercer follow sterile procedure, is everything disposable used one time only for each client? Remember you have the right to know the answers to these questions and any others you might ask. Trust your gut reaction. Does the piercer treat you with respect? Are you comfortable with the piercer? Choose your piercing and your piercer wisely. Your health and well being depend on it. A final note: Ear piercing guns are for piercing ear lobes only. When they are used on other parts of the body they are dangerous. We've heard far too many horror stories about people who were pierced with these guns and suffered permanenet damage. Also, no responsible piercer will insert regular earrings (studs, hoops etc.), safety pins, wire, etc., into a piercing. The only jewelry that should be used is body piercing jewelry made from inert, nontoxic substances such as surgical stainless steel, 14k gold, platinum, etc., and the jewlry should be free of any sharp edges. Practice safe piercing, please!