Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few important things to know about visiting our studio. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
- We have a strict minors policy. Read more below.
- We encourage visitors to schedule an appointment online. Appointments can be scheduled for piercing services, consultations, jewelry reviews, and more. You can do this here.
- We only take walk-ins from 12pm to 5pm. Appointments always take priority. We are often times completely booked in advance which means we often don’t take walk-ins at all.
- We require all visitors receiving new piercings to complete an online consent form on the day of their visit only.
To make things simple, and to help our new clients know what to expect, we’ve created this FAQ for anyone looking for body piercing information regarding our studio in Long Beach.
We’re very passionate about what we do. We have a great studio and expert staff that genuinely wants you to have a fun experience.
What will prevent me from being pierced at New Flower Studio?
Not having proper I.D. (See below)
Not being at least 16 years old.
Not having suitable anatomy for the piercing you want.
Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Being disrespectful to our staff and policies.
Our schedule being booked for the day with appointments.
What is required for a piercing?
Anyone receiving services must be at least 16 years old with a government ID and meet the criteria above. read more about minors below.
New Flower Studio accepts driver’s licenses, state ID’s, military ID’s, and passports from all states and countries. We do not accept school IDs, learner’s permits, or photocopies from adults. There are no exceptions, please don’t ask.
What do minors need to be pierced?
We are an 16+ studio only. There are no services for anyone under 16. Minors who are 16 or 17 years old need to have a photo ID, a birth certificate, and a parent who also has an ID. A parent must be present during the piercing. There are no exceptions to our policies, please don’t ask.
What if I want a specific piercer?
Our staff piercers work different days and hours and we have visiting piercers often. If you prefer a specific piercer you’ll need to contact them directly to learn their schedule or see it on our appointments page.
- Squeeze – squeeze@newflowerstudio.com
- John – john@newflowerstudio.com
- Kenny- kenny@newflowerstudio.com
- Brielle- brielle@newflowerstudio.com
Do you offer nipple and genital piercings?
We do offer these piercings on adult clients with proper identification. Like every piercing, anatomy is important and needs to be examined. Not every person wanting a specific piercing will have suitable anatomy.
As with all piercings, piercers determine what they do and do not offer. Speak to your potential piercer to ask what they may offer you. Their email addresses can be found above or you can call the studio at 562-363-5003. Genital piercings can not be scheduled online at this time to prevent services being scheduled for a piercer that may not offer them.
What questions should I ask a potential piercer?
Whether you call piercers on the phone or visit their studios, there are some great questions you should ask before asking for price. If your primary concern for a new piercing is price, you may be compromising quality and safety.
- Ask to see the autoclave where your jewelry and piercing implements are sterilized.
If there is no autoclave for you to see be very concerned. A steam autoclave is the only practical means a piercer has to sterilize jewelry and instruments in the studio. Accept no exceptions. Soaking jewelry and instruments in liquid disinfectant is not sterilization and not suitable for body piercing. However, many instruments are disposable and arrive at studios pre-sterilized in proper packaging.
- Ask if there are spore tests on record for you to see.
If the piercer says no, or doesn’t know what you’re asking for, be cautious. A spore test is the routine certification done by a laboratory to verify the autoclaves are working properly. This should be done at least monthly. These test results should always be available for the public to see. Just ask.
- Ask the piercer if they use internally threaded (or threadless) barbells.
If the studio uses externally threaded barbells for initial piercings then it’s not likely any of their jewelry is of good quality. Not many studios will sell both internally and externally threaded jewelry. It’s almost always one or the other. Externally threaded jewelry is a bad sign and should never be perceived as high quality.
Ask the piercer if they’re members of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP).
APP members have met personal minimum requirements and the studios they pierce in have also met environmental minimum standards. You can find a current list of member piercers here. APP members have all signed a contract with the organization to continue to meet these minimum requirements during their membership. If your potential piercer is not a member ask why, it’s easy and inexpensive.
- Ask them if they attend the APP’s annual professional conference or online education events.
The APP’s annual in-person event is the best educational opportunity in the world for body piercers and it happens every summer in Las Vegas. It’s open to anyone in the industry and every piercer should strive to attend. The association also has online educational events each year.
- Ask if the piercing service you’re interested in is available from the piercer or studio.
Not every piercer provides all piercing services. This is normal and an accepted part of our profession.
- Ask your future piercer if their portfolio features healed images of the piercings you’re interested in.
Piercers tend to have pictures of their work to showcase their experience, but pictures of fresh piercings aren’t an indicator of successful healing.
What is your piercers’ schedule and availability?
Body piercing information and schedules will vary from studio to studio, and piercer to piercer, even in the same studio. With very few exceptions such as holidays, we offer piercing services nearly everyday. Our piercers however, have irregular schedules. If you wish to see someone specific please email them directly or see their schedule on the appointment page.
How much do piercings cost?
In most professional studios you will pay two basic charges, a service fee and jewelry costs. Service fees can range from $55.00 to $85.00. Sold separately, jewelry can be inexpensive or cost many hundreds of dollars. In California, there is no tax on your service fee, but you will pay tax on jewelry.
Can I bring my own jewelry?
Many clients would like to save money by bringing jewelry with them. Most of the time it’s not suitable. It’s never appropriate to wear jewelry in a new body piercing that has been previously worn by another person.
Also, California has regulations for piercers that require certain quality materials be used in fresh piercings. Unfortunately, jewelry sold in clothing stores, most tattoo studios, online, and even many piercing studios do not meet these standards and can not be used at New flower Studio.
Most non-piercing sellers of body jewelry don’t actually have much professional body piercing experience and may not be able to help you make the best purchasing decisions. Jewelry comes in many materials, styles, and sizes and an expert piercer will help you determine the best fit for your particular anatomy. Let your piercer sell you your new jewelry.
Additionally, jewelry needs to have a mirror finish free from scratches and all barbells need to be internally threaded or threadless. It’s New Flower Studio’s policy to not pierce with jewelry from another studio, store, or website.
You may bring your used jewelry in if it’s from our studio only. We will study it closely to make sure it’s maintained the quality necessary for a fresh piercing. If the piercer agrees to use it, please be prepared to leave it with us for a few days to be properly cleaned and prepared for use. You will not be pierced the same day.
Does it hurt?
Most clients describe a new piercing as a pinch or some pressure. There’s definitely some discomfort with a piercing, but it’s usually minimal and very fast. We will walk you through your new piercing and give you the most comfortable experience possible.
Do you numb the area first?
No, this isn’t something we offer and isn’t necessary. Clients who are relaxed and calm usually report that their piercing wasn’t as intense as they expected. We’ll walk you through your piercing and give you the best experience we can.
Do you take credit and debit cards or digital payments?
Yes, we take all major digital payments, credit cards, and cash. We do not accept checks.
What are your piercing hours?
Appointments scheduled online are from 11am to 6pm. There is little time for walk-ins at New Flower Studio in Long Beach but you may arrive between noon and 5:00pm. Appointments scheduled online are always given priority. You can use the Scheduling buttons to see availability and schedule your visit.
Do I need an appointment?
We strongly suggest all visitors to our studio schedule their visits online. This is for all services and sales. Walk-in hours are from noon to 5:00pm but often aren’t available at all.
How do I learn more about body piercing?
We post content you might find interesting on our blog. Our website gets more than 100,000 visitors from all over the world, every year, looking for body piercing pictures and information. Of all the pages on our website, many of our blog posts are the most visited.
We also send a monthly email that you can subscribe to. This is a great way to stay informed about what’s happening in our studio, read piercing articles, and learn more about what’s happening in the body piercing industry and our local community here in Long Beach, California.
