Can You Bring Your Own Jewelry to Get Pierced With?
Tyler Martina
Can You Bring Your Own Jewelry to Get Pierced With?
Many clients ask, "Can I bring my own jewelry to be pierced with?" The short answer from nearly every professional piercer is no. But let’s expand a bit on that “no” so you will “know” why bringing your own jewelry to get pierced with is not only a bad idea, but a dangerous one….
Let’s get this out of the way first, not being allowed to bring your jewelry to get pierced with is not about making an extra buck on a piercing. Most piercing studios sell very inexpensive sterilized body safe jewelry so there is something for every budget. For example we offer base implant grade titanium jewelry starting at just $15 for most piercings.
The reason you can not bring your own jewelry for an initial piercing is because it’s a non-negotiable health and safety issue.
What makes bringing your own jewelry so unsafe?
I’m glad you asked, and that is exactly why we made this guide. In it we will cover:
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Jewelry Material Quality
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Jewelry Sterilization
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Jewelry Sizing and Type
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The difference between fashion jewelry and piercing jewelry.
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And more…
By the time you're done with this article, you'll know exactly why using the studio’s piercing specific jewelry is the ideal way to get pierced…
The Non Negotiable 3: Why We Can’t Pierce with Jewelry You Bring In
A new piercing is an open wound, and the initial piercing process is a “mini surgery”. The jewelry used for the initial piercing is considered an implant until the channel is fully healed. For this reason, professional piercers must use jewelry specifically designed for an initial piercing. This needs to meet or exceed public health standards regarding the materials, cleanliness, and size of anything that goes into your body.
Below we will dive deeper into what these are so important to your health and the health of your new piercing.
1. Guaranteed Material Quality (Biocompatibility)
The number one reason we use our own jewelry is to guarantee the material is safe for long-term implantation in the human body.
Implant Grade Metals
We only use the most body safe metals for piercing, implant grade titanium and 14K gold. These metals are the most hypoallergenic and safe for a piercing. Not only that, they are created specifically for a new piercing. This means they are mirror smooth that way bacteria can’t grow in any scratches or divots, and the rough surface will not irritate your piercing channel. To learn more about the metals we use click here
Jewelry bought from non professional sources (online, fashion stores, etc.) often contains low-quality metal alloys, which commonly include high levels of nickel. Nickel is a major allergen that causes irritation, allergic reactions, and prevents the piercing from healing.
Certification & Traceability
Reputable piercing studios like Mr. Inkwells use only certified materials like ASTM F136 Implant Grade Titanium. By law, studios must keep Mill Certificates (manufacturer documentation) proving the material's exact chemical composition. This guarantees the jewelry being put in your body is safe, and is impossible for us to do if you bring in jewelry.
That means that if we don’t have the material certificate, we cannot legally or ethically verify that the jewelry is safe to put in your body, which means you probably don’t want it in your new piercing either.
2. Guaranteed Sterilization
Again, a new piercing is like a minor surgery, this means that everything needs to be not only clean, but 100% sterile, this includes your piercing jewelry. This is why Health codes mandate that anything placed into a fresh piercing must be 100% sterile to prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens (like Hepatitis or HIV) and to help prevent bacterial infections.
Autoclaving Jewelry to Sterilize & Autoclave Compatibility
The way this initial piercing jewelry is sterilized is in an autoclave. This is the best way to ensure that your piercing jewelry is sterile, and Health codes require it. An autoclave is a high pressure, high heat machine, and the metals used for the initial piercing are of a quality and that they can withstand this environment and be safely sterilized.
On the other hand, most fashion jewelry is made with low grade metals, glues, plastics, or materials that would melt, crack, or dissolve in the autoclave, damaging the jewelry and potentially contaminating the machine.
All jewelry, even initial piercing jewelry, if touched with any unsterile item (a hand, a bag, anything.) Needs to be sterilized in an autoclave. So even transporting a piece of jewelry in your pocket or purse means it is not safe for an initial piercing.
Used Jewelry Risk
If you bring in a piece you’ve worn before, it's been exposed to bodily fluids and external contaminants. Thoroughly cleaning and sterilizing a used, intricate piece to a medical standard is extremely difficult, time-consuming, and an unacceptable health risk. That means you can not use pre-worn jewelry for a new piercing, this even includes jewelry that was your own.
Using a piece of jewelry that is not properly sterilized is not only below the professional standards and legal compliance of a piercing studio, it is also dangerous.
3. Proper Piercing Jewelry Sizing, Style, and Finish
Professional Piercers are trained and have the experience to know what piece of jewelry is right for an initial piercing based on each individual's anatomy. That means that the physical characteristics of the jewelry itself ( size, finish, style, etc.) plays a direct role in how easily your body can heal your new piercing. Below we will go more in depth on what these differences are and what they mean for your piercing.
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Smooth Mirror Finish: Jewelry for a fresh piercing must be perfectly smooth. Any, even microscopic, nicks, scratches, or imperfections can trap bacteria and cause tiny tears in the delicate healing tissue when the jewelry moves. These imperfections are very common in fashion jewelry because of the quality of the materials they are made with. On the flip side, jewelry designed for the initial piercing doesn’t have these issues and will promote safe and fastest healing possible.
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Piercing Jewelry Threading: Professional piercers exclusively use internally threaded or threadless tension fit jewelry. This means the smooth part of the post slides through your piercing and promotes healing. Many low cost jewelry pieces are externally threaded, where the exposed screw threads scrape and damage the tissue every time the jewelry is inserted or removed, and as mentioned above, become an area for bacterial growth.
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Anatomy-Specific Sizing: Initial jewelry must be selected to accommodate expected swelling for that specific piercing and your unique anatomy. Jewelry that is too short can embed into the skin, causing severe pain and requiring professional removal. Jewelry that is the wrong style (like a tight hinged hoop) puts uneven pressure on the wound, leading to irritation bumps and migration. That is why a Professional Piercer will check your anatomy and choose the right size and style for your specific piercing.
How Using Piercing Jewelry Helps You
Some people may feel that not being able to bring their own jewelry is an inconvenience, but as you can see from info above it is a much better (and safer) idea to piercing specific jewelry for the initial piercing. This will directly minimize your risk of complications, your safety, and ensure your new piercing gets the best start possible.
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Risks of Bring in Jewelry |
Benefit of Using Studio Jewelry |
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Allergic Reaction (due to nickel) |
Hypoallergenic Healing (guaranteed implant grade titanium/gold) |
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Infection (due to non-sterile jewelry) |
Sterility Assurance (autoclaved, certified jewelry) |
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Migration or Rejection (due to poor quality finish or style) |
Optimal Healing Environment (mirror polish, proper post length) |
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Tissue Trauma (due to external threads) |
Trauma Free Insertion (internal threads or threadless design) |
A Professional Piercer's job is to guarantee public health by using proven, certified, and sterile methods. Your piece of jewelry you want to use may be a beautiful piece, but introduces too many safety hazards, and it violates state and local health code requirements for material safety and sterility.
Start Smart, Heal Better
Your piercing deserves the best possible start. By using the jewelry provided by your professional piercer, you are ensuring that your new jewelry meets the highest standards for material safety, sterility, and fits right, this gives your new piercing the best chance to heal successfully and beautifully.
Are you ready to get a new piercing? Then make sure you get pierced with the right jewelry. At Mr. Inkwells we care SoCals largest selection of certified, body safe jewelry, and we will have something to fit everyone's taste.
See you soon!
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