The Chron speaks to piercing professionals about the rules of the trade
Tattoo Phil's, Bridge Street. Apprentice tattooist Karl Fiott has his ear pierced by Mitch Tighe.
PARENTAL debates with teenagers tend to hit the same subjects, generation after generation, with one hot, recurrent topic being the tender matter of body piercings.
While my parents forbade me from having my ears pierced before the age of 13, the other day I listened to my friend explain how she was taking her one-year-old daughter to have her’s pierced in the coming weeks.
Opinions over the rules and restrictions of ear and body piercing seem to be varied, but who should be making these decisions?
The issue of piercing hit the headlines recently when the Welsh government launched a consultation over the introduction of a minimum age of consent for all piercings, including the ears.
There is currently no minimum age of consent for piercing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although children under 16 are not allowed to have nipples pierced and genitals cannot be pierced under the age of 18.
But many professional piercers working in Northamptonshire believe more restrictions should be imposed.
Tattooist and piercer Damian Thomas, who works at Tattoo Phil’s of Northampton, said: “There is no legal regulation and I do think there should be, definitely.
“At the moment it is set in place that studios will do their own thing.”
Instead of using their legal freedom, most conscientious piercing studios have to put their own rules in place to protect the young and vulnerable from making a drastic decision regarding their own bodies.
Damian said that certain age limits and consent requirements are put in place at Tattoo Phil’s, depending on the piercing.
But one problem faced by licensed premises is the number of people carrying out their own piercings - or other people’s - at home, often with equipment simply bought on the internet.
Damian said: “It is difficult as there are so many people who are doing tattoos and piercings at homes, parents are so frightened that their children are going to have this done at someone’s home so they bring them in here instead.
“My opinion is they should be clamping down on that side of things more than the studio side. I have been to the local MPs, council and environmental health about it.”
He continued: “People should not be able to get hold of equipment without being registered.”
He said: “It is a difficult one, personally I think anyone under 16 should be accompanied by a parent, but if you start saying to people ‘you can’t have it done because you are under age,’ well look at how many young kids have tattoos now, they will find a way to have it done. There should be restrictions though. The sale of equipment needs to be restricted so you must be licensed for that equipment.”
Although there is still demand for body piercing, it had died down, according to Damian.
But there is always a trend for something new and, he said, in the last two years it has been for dermal anchors in which a small plate is inserted into the skin and the skin is forced to grow through small holes to keep the piece in place.
Part of the problem with all piercings is that people fail to look after them properly, says Damian.
He commented: “The biggest problem we have got is if we try to tell someone who is young how to look after their piercing, they don’t always listen and will think they know best or listen to their mates.”
Nigel Barden, the owner of Suns and Roses tattoo and piercing studio in St James, also agreed there should be a tightening of the rules regarding piercings.
He said: “There are too many under age, or I should say, young people trying to get piercings and they don’t look after them. I would like the rules to be 18.
“People go into places and get ear piercings at six months old, I don’t do a child for ear piercing until they are five and that is so you can ask a child if they want it done, it isn’t forced on them. I’m not forcing anyone to have things done, I think it is really wrong.”
Sophie Menday is a senior piercer at Pulse in Northampton town centre. She also agreed that laws need to be more restrictive regarding piercings, although Pulse has its own rules on piercings to protect younger customers.
She said one problem is that youngsters will try to come in for piercings, sometimes even pretending that someone else is their parent. So, great care has to be taken with regard to consent issues.
She said: “I don’t think age affects infection but it is just about being able to make that decision, it is a big decision. We pierce ear lobes from the age of seven with parental consent or they are 16 without parental consent. Everyone else is 17 without consent and 13 with consent. We don’t pierce anyone under the age of 13, other than ear lobes.
“Most customers want it to be younger, they find it an inconvenience that they have to ring their parents or provide ID.”
She said there are risks involved when untrained people start trying to do their own piercings at home.
“We have licences, we have environmental health coming to check us, we are completely clean otherwise we wouldn’t have a licence. If they are doing it themselves it wouldn’t be very clean, if you don’t know what you are doing. We go through lots of training.”
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MissK
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 12:35 PMI think anyone who gets their babies ears pierced are disgusting for forcing that on a baby. I think it should be 16 to get piercings and 18 for tattoos or genital piercings. Anyone who self pierces at home without the correct equipment are idiots and deserve any infection they get.
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