Rings of Desire - Piercing

Information about apprenticeships & learning to pierce:

I am frequently asked if I can teach someone to pierce or offer them an apprenticeship. This is my reply.

Much legislation has recently been passed as piercing has become more popular. Always check with officials in your area to determine local laws. But there are many factors beyond the legislation that are extremely important.

Something that might help is to become educated about what is involved in producing a good, safe piercing performed by a qualified expert. Much is requisite in the way of sterile disposable equipment. An autoclave (which is a vital, but very expensive piece of sterilization equipment) and ultrasonic must be on the premises, and lots of time and training is also involved on the skill level. Further, insurance, rent, utilities, taxes, and a host of overhead costs to run a business are part of any retail operation. Much like dentistry or medicine, is certainly not something to undertake offhandedly or as a hobby; it is a profession demanding much training, skill, and know-how.

I have had a great deal of experience during my lengthy piercing career in training my employees to pierce. It takes a year or longer, and literally hundreds of piercings done under close and constant expert supervision to become a skillful, qualified piercer who is not a danger to one's self or others.

There are several folks offering training courses in piercing. The bad news is that they are a few days, or perhaps a week long, which will NOT produce a trained, skillful piercer. They will teach you about how much more you need to learn. Many are fly-by-night operations hoping to capitalize on the recent popularity of the field. These unscrupulous individuals have little knowledge or expertise to share.

The most respected and responsible of those offering training courses are:
David Vidra at Health Educators in Cleveland, Ohio at (216) 623-0744
Sky Renfro at Professional Piercing Information Systems in Southern California at (909) 763-9728

A "how-to" video will NOT do the job, and a piercing kit is extremely inappropriate. (Doctors don't sell appendectomy or tonsillectomy kits!) Any break in the skin is a very serious matter, especially with the prevalence of hepatitis and other blood borne pathogens these days. There is a great deal to know.

Some piercers will take on an apprentice for a fee, and train them for a month or longer. This could be better than a course that lasts for only a few days. The problem I've seen is that many of these folks don't actually have much training, experience, or skill themselves, and therefore they don't have a lot of sound information to pass along. It can cost $1500-$5000. Very carefully check the references of anyone you plan to pay for an apprenticeship. Don't take their word for it!

I have never taken an apprentice for money. That is, I train my staff, and I pay them to work for me. After that enormous investment of time and energy, I want them to stay. So I don't have apprentices, per se, but long-term employees who I train myself. My first apprentice/piercer from 1993 (Bryan Civello) and another employee hired as an apprentice in 1995 (Pat Roig) still work here!

Anyway, the upshot is, piercing is such a new field, with so many neophytes (pretending to be experts) that learning how is difficult, indeed.

We are fully staffed at this time (and I hope to remain so). Therefore, I will not be planning to undertake the training of any new apprentice/employees in the foreseeable future.

Feel free to peruse the web site for the Association of Professional Piercers for lots of valuable information on piercing health, safety and education.

Angel

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