A transparent guide to our piercing prices and services
We pride ourselves on being different from high street piercing brands. We don’t cut corners
and provide the best possible service we can, which does come at a price. The quality and
selection of our jewellery, the skills and knowledge of our practitioners, our safety standards and
hygiene levels are a few reasons why you may have heard we’re a cut above the rest. We want
to give you a full view of how we set our pricing so you can understand exactly the value of what
you are getting for your money. After reading this, we hope you’ll be just as proud to be pierced
here as we are.
After Care
Firstly, we provide a change down appointment for some piercings which require a longer bar at
the initial piercing to allow for swelling. We’ll have you back in a few weeks time to change the
bar to an appropriately fitting one once the swelling has gone down, at no additional cost,
instead of piercing with a ‘one size fits all forever’ bar and waving goodbye.
Our aftercare is thorough and in-depth, providing you with an emailed version aswell as a paper
copy.
Also, we maintain a continual relationship with our customers offering thorough, ongoing care,
always being there for advice and telling people to reach out with any questions. We have a
genuine care for our customers that doesn’t finish as soon as you’ve paid and walked out the
door.
Professional Staff
We are registered on the elite list of UKAPP (United Kingdom Association of Professional
Piercers – https://www.ukapp.org.uk/find-a-member/. This means, in an unregulated industry,
we have chosen to align ourselves with the national authority on piercings to ensure we keep
up-to-date with the latest practices and information. Our piercers regularly attend global industry
conferences and online webinars to improve their skills and stay on top of their game in this
ever changing industry.
We will advise on piercings specifically suited to your anatomy, and will make suggestions on
jewellery and placement to suit your body type. If what you want doesn’t work, we will not just
take your money, pierce you, and send you out the door with something that can potentially
cause discomfort or harm. We can offer informed alternatives, maybe a floating navel instead of
a classic belly piercing for example, or sometimes it can be just helping with jewellery that is
more suitable for your own anatomy.
We aim to make ourselves accessible to all members of the public, so are happy to make
allowances for customers with special requirements. Please reach out to discuss any requests
or needs you may have prior to booking.
Specialised Equipment/ Hygiene
To be a member of UKAPP, certain standards must be met. These include piercing in an
aseptic environment, which is why, alongside providing privacy, we have an enclosed piercing
room. Having an autoclave (sterilisation machine) and documented proof of sterilisations is also
required for membership. We take cleanliness very seriously and consistently maintain a
sterilised field including sterile gloves, fresh tools for each piercings and cleaning between each
customer with surgical grade products.
We pierce exclusively with needle blades specifically designed for piercing. These allow for a
cleaner piercing, gliding through the skin with minimal trauma which aids healing, as opposed to
spring loaded machines (guns) which tear a hole in the skin by forcing the blunt jewellery
through. Piercing practices have modernised and we provide far better options than what used
to be available, so why play Russian roulette with outdated equipment with yours or your loved
ones’ health?
We also consider environmental factors. We seek out recyclable packaging, biodegradable
gloves, bamboo marking equipment and reduce plastic where possible, which unfortunately are
set at higher prices than un-environmentally friendly plastic options.
We choose to provide the best standard of care available, and such measures of course come
with a cost. We certainly think it’s worth it to be at the top of the game.
Jewellery
We stand out in the market for the quality and variety of our jewellery. It’s a passion of our staff
to select the most unique and exciting pieces to share with our customers, to allow you to have
a special sparkle that stands out from the crowd. We partner with international brands so you
won’t have the same old pieces off the high street, and our knowledgeable staff provide the
option to curate your collection, even collaborating with our partners to design bespoke pieces
to really set your statement style.
Our price range includes all budgets, with affordable options in medical/surgical grade (ASTM-
F136) titanium in a selection of shapes and colours. It’s possible to find other grades of titanium
online or used by other piercers, but these are not necessarily suitable for piercings as lower
grades can contain mixed metals, which could be highly irritating. We also offer 14 and 18 karat
solid gold (lower karats and plated contain too high a quantity of mixed metals, which as you
know, can be irritating for piercings). Gold prices are notoriously volatile, so you will see our
prices change over time to reflect the prices we ourselves must pay for the jewellery.
Glass/Pyrex are also offered as a temporary solution if a client needs to remove their jewellery,
for example, for an operation. We aim to meet your needs wherever we can.
Our jewellery partners use verified, traceable materials with products that are certified and
approved by UKAPP to ensure safety and responsibility to both our clients and partners.
You can find more information regarding some of our jewellery suppliers here:
https://www.ukapp.org.uk/jewellery-verification/
If you want to know more about our beautiful jewellery collection, take a read of our Importance
of Using Quality Jewellery blog. https://picturesoflily.co.uk/the-importance-of-good-quality-
jewellery/
You get what you pay for, know your worth!
Behind the Scenes Costs
We are totally transparent about our pricing, sending a message at the booking stage and also
discussing in person at the appointment, but there are behind the scenes costs that accumulate
when running an independent business that might never occur to you. Like subscriptions, such
as for the online booking service, which allows our clients to have the smoothest booking
experience possible. Or our Spotify contract to keep the vibes rolling! Then the clinical waste
contracts to dispose of contaminated waste, which are not always used by other companies
who choose not to operate at the same standards, therefore don’t have such additional costs.
Our piercing team as mentioned before attend conferences, which all costs money. All this and
much much more have to be accounted for.
Consider you were running a marathon, you’d want to get the best shoes to set you up for your
best performance, so similarly if you have a new piercing you’d want to get the best possible
start! You’re paying for the expertise of service, a history of knowledge, a standard of trust and a
level of care that simply is not offered as standard practice elsewhere.
It’s a pleasure to be an independent business and have the freedom to choose to set ourselves
apart from fast fashion chains and soulless high street copies. We all here have a passion for
our work and take pride in our services. We love bringing sparkle into our customer’s days and
truly do what we do with our clients in mind. We want to be the best and show you that you and
yours deserve the best.
