Wanna be a Body Piercer? Body art is all about aesthetics. You can barely see a person tattooed or pierced and not look twice. It’s just something that is pleasing to the eye.
Beyond the piercing or tattoo, there’s something deeper than just the piercing or tattoo. For example, the process or processes required, etc. It makes you wonder where they got the tattoo or body piercing and what inspired the body artist to engage in such.
This takes us to our blog post for today. Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a professional body piercer? Do you ever wonder about the experience and the daily routine of a body piercer? Then this blog post is for you.
As an aspiring body piercer, you may be assisted by observation of a video, magazine, seminar or a training class. These can not only assist you in providing the required information and training to become a professional piercer.
You need to do lots of practice and work as an apprentice before you can become a professional. There are different work ethics that need to be observed before you can be a certified professional in the body art business.
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How Long does it take to become a body piercer?
It will take 6months to 1 whole year to become an expert body piercer. Most people who want to become a body piercer don’t know it takes a while before you become licensed and certified a professional.
Even though piercings look simple, they are quite technical and only a professional can perform a piercing that does not lead to complications.
Everyone sees a piercing and be like, “I bet I can do this on my own”. The truth is that you can not. You need to go through a certified professional school, so they can teach you the standard procedures for this.
It’s nothing new that piercings can bring infections and often lead to complications. Without being taught properly, you may be on the path of injuring yourself and whoever you’re piercing.
How long does it take to get a piercing license?
It takes a minimum of 1 year or maybe sometimes about 2 years to get a piercing license.
It’s illegal to be a body piercer without a license. It’s a misdemeanor and you can spend as much as a year in jail. So it is advisable you just go through the due process and become licensed.
Becoming a body piercer actually takes time and a lot of patience. It may take a while, but it’s worth it in the end. To become a piercer, you’ve to first check the requirements needed.
The requirements differ from country to country. In this blog post, we are going to be focusing on two countries – the United States of America(USA) and the United Kingdom(UK). Most countries actually employ the same rules in these two countries.
Before you become a piercer, you would have undergone quite a number of training sessions. It’s no news that body piercing is a rewarding career. It’s also an enjoyable one if you have a passion for the job.
Over the years, a number of people have tried to learn the art of piercing as apprentices. Based on statistics, you need about six months to about two years of experience before you can be independent and become a professional piercer. Piercings are quite delicate depending on the body part, so it takes a while before a layman gets the whole concept.
Training needed to become a body piercer.
During the course of becoming a professional piercer, lots of training will be done. The training will focus on improving your
- Communication skills – You need to have good communication skills do that you can assist your customers. Polite, clear speaking and friendly behavior of a piercer attract people more.
- Studio experience- You must have a good experience of working in a piercing studio. Your studio must be clean and well managed.
- First Aid- Keep first aid box always ready and you must have the proper knowledge to treat wounds in an emergency.
- Infection control- You should take extra care of cleaning your tools jewelry and even your hands.
- Sterilization- Lear properly the technique of needle and jewelry sterilization. This step is vital to avoid unwanted infections.
- Confidence- The most important thing to become a piercer is confidence. For confidence, you need to do more and more practice and master the art.
How much does a body piercer make?
A well-reputed piercer can make 40-50 thousand dollars in a year.
Everybody wants to do a business that is lucrative. Nobody wants to work all those long hours without getting paid. This career is lucrative if you invest a lot of time and passion into it. Some artists charge as much as 40$ per piercing and some even charge based on an hourly contract.
Also, with the piercing market increasing rapidly, there’s a huge demand for body piercers. Piercing is a lucrative business as explained before. As a body piercer, you can make as much as forty-five thousand dollars in a year. A career that makes about forty-five thousand dollars in a year is not a bad business. Or what do you think?
Looking at the figures that are made monthly and daily, you can also make as much as four to five thousand dollars every month and as much as two hundred dollars daily. You can charge as much as two dollars per hour. That’s not bad for a business in which you’ve passion.
Age limit for a piercer
You must be 18 years old to become a piercer. Based on the general rule that minors can not engage in contracts without the supervision of their parents or guardian, a minor can not get a body piercing except required medically. Anything other than that will be taken as an offense.
A minor can not get his body pierced in almost every country in the world. Although, there are some exceptions to this general rule. There is an exception to the guardian or parent’s consent.
The same way a minor can not be a body piercer. From the ages of 1 to 17, you can’t be a body piercer. But from age 18, you can. At least in most states in the United States and the United Kingdom. It’s believed that only adults can engage in such since it has to do with body modifications.
Do you need qualifications to become a body piercer?
Yes, you need qualifications to become a body piercer.
According to the UK standards, you’ll need an apprenticeship to become a body piercer. Also, you need injections against a number of diseases that can be harmful.
You’ll need to register with your local authority before you can be referred to as a professional body piercer. The qualifications in the UK are pretty straightforward and easy to understand. Also, you must have attained the age of majority, which is 18 years old.
The requirements in the United States are quite similar. First and foremost, you need to go through a piercing apprenticeship under professionals who are members of the Association of Professionals Piercers. Then you need to be 18 years or older before you can enroll.
Do you need a license to pierce body parts?
Yes, you need a license to be a body piercer.
Most professional careers require licenses before you can begin to practice. For example law, you need to have a license to practice. Failure to do this will constitute an offense.
In the same vein, a potential body piercer needs to get a license before he or she would be regarded as a certified piercer.
Before you can pierce the body parts of another individual, you’ve to own a license to that. Licensing is an integral part of the piercing. Without it, you can not pierce. The license is given by the state. After fulfilling the requirements, you can apply for a license and it will be given to you.
Benefits of being a body piercer
There are tons of benefits to being a body piercer. To start with, the primary benefit is improved communication. When you’re a body piercer, you’d be able to communicate well with your clients.
Discussing what they want, helping them with what they want and how best to go. Another benefit is improved studio experience. By being a body piercer, you’d be good at the studio. The third benefit is confidence. With body piercing skills, it instills more confidence in you.
Cons of being a body piercer.
There are not a lot of cons of being a body piercer. The major con is probably the stress that comes with the job. There can be a lot of stress when it comes to body piercing. Also, another con is that you’re only paid commissions. Apart from those major 2 cons, every other thing is still very much easy to cope with.
FAQs
Are there any piercing schools available in the US?
There are quite a number of professional body piercing schools in the United States of America. There is a professional body piercing school in Los Angeles, California.
If you do a little more research, you can find one in your state of residence. It won’t be easy going from one state to another to learn. So it’s better to look for a place that’s nearby, where you can access easily.
What does a normal day in the studio look like?
When a body piercer enters the studio, the first thing they do is to make sure that every surface is clean and tidy. Basically, they sweep, mop, use antibacterial sprays on every surface.
As a body piercer, you’ve to be extremely clean and neat, it’s just one of the requirements of being a body piercer. Being a body piercer is not always as cool as it seems. You’ve to do a lot of cleaning first.
Must you be passionate about it before you can be one?
Yes, The truth is that passion drives humans a lot. So if you’re passionate about it, you may do better than someone who just likes body modification.
So, develop your passion, check and ask yourself, do I really have a passion for this? If yes, then you can begin your journey. Also, you can develop “passion” during your career.
We’ve seen cases whereby the body piercer develops passion in the middle of the career. So, do not let anyone fool you into thinking you can’t be passionate later. Just start the journey and see for yourself.
What is the worst thing about the job?
The worst thing can be the work pressure for a body piercer. Every job has its perks and its cons, so it’s best to know your worst fears right now. There is a constant battle that piercings are supposed to be more costly than they actually are.
Many individuals go and get cheap piercings then come with a lot of complications. So in the end, you end up doing double work for the same charge. Helping with complications and piercings.
Basically, piercings should not be extremely cheap, it should be a little expensive. Although, expensive is relative, as a professional, you’re skilled and people should be paying much more for your services.
There’s a hard balance between pricing and getting customers. The reason being that, most customers feel piercing should be cheap. And it won’t be nice fighting with potential customers about the price of piercing when they want it cheap. That’s probably the worst thing about the job.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The job basically makes people smile. You’ll see people smile every time, narrating their life stories and you’d just be working in excitement. Also if you’re professional and good at what you do, you’ll get good reviews. Good reviews are also a good thing, the more the reviews, the more the customer base.
Conclusion
Becoming a body piercer depends on the requirements of the location you are in. With this post, you should be able to know exactly what is required. Although the licensing is different from one location to another. So you need to do a little research in accordance with your location.
YOu should start your training with a reputed piercer. Learn the basics, earn proper knowledge. Know about the types of equipment, tools, and techniques.