Frequently asked questions
- Do you offer free touch ups?
- Do I have to leave a deposit to book a tattoo or permanent cosmetic procedure?
- Do you offer exchanges or refunds?
- How much do body piercings usually cost? (E.g. navel, eyebrow, tongue.)
- What do you find better for an initial piercing? CBR’s or Barbells?
- What type of material do you recommend getting pierced with?
- How long does a piercing take to heal?
- What should I use to clean my piercing?
- What should a body piercing studio look like and what should it contain?
- I really want a piercing but I’m terrified of getting infected. How can I prevent this?
- I’ve just started a new job and my employers don’t appreciate my piercing in the same way as I…
- I’m pregnant. Do I have to take my navel piercing out?
- Will my clothes affect my piercing?
- Will it hurt?
- How much does a tattoo cost?
- What are the best and healthiest practices to look after a tattoo once it’s done?
- My friend’s piercing hasn’t done any of the stuff mine did. Why?
- Do I need to leave a deposit?
- What if I am from out of town and I want to book an appointment.
- Do you need to book an appointment for a piercing?
- What ID do I need?
Answers
Do you offer free touch ups?
Our Touch Ups for tattoos are offered up to three months of the inital appointment date.
While the touch up is absolutely free of charge (the artist do not get paid for touch up services of their work) there is always a $35 setup fee for all tattoo services, including touchups at each of our locations.
After an unfortunate string of no-shows for touch up appointments, we will be implementing a cancellation policy for all touch ups booked.
We will require 24 hours notice to cancel and rebook a touch up appointment once it is booked.
Failure to notify us of a cancellation in a timely manner, or in the event of a no-show will forfeit the free touch up offered.
You may certainly re-book for a touch up if you no showed or cancelled last minute, but the touch up will be subject to the minimum tattoo charges.
Thanks for your understanding
Do I have to leave a deposit to book a tattoo or permanent cosmetic procedure?
Yes.
Leaving a deposit ensures the time of both you and your artist won't be wasted by securing your appointment time.
On leaving a deposit, you agree to the following terms:
*Tattoo Deposits are a $100 +tax NON REFUNDABLE deposit and can be paid by Cash, Debit, Visa, Mastercard, E-transfer, Account Payment, or Gift Card.
*Your deposit will be deducted off the final price of your tattoo, provided you arrive for your appointment on time or reschedule with adequate notice.
*We require 48-72 hours notice to reschedule/move your appointment. Your deposit will be carried over to your new tattoo appointment time. Failure to provide adequate notice will result in the loss of your tattoo deposit and you will need to leave another deposit before rescheduling.
*A $35 set-up fee will be applied to each tattoo session to cover the cost of one-time use, sterilized and disposable tattoo equipment to ensure the highest standard in health and safety.
*For appointments longer than 3 hours, an additional account payment may be required up to $500. This will be held on your account and will be used toward the final price of the tattoo and may be subject to the same cancellation policy as above.
*Touch ups will be charged the $35 set up fee if booked within 3 months of the initial appointment. After 3 months, any touch ups may be charged the minimum shop rate.
*You must be 18 years or older with government issued photo ID, be sober and free of injury including sun burns, rashes or abnormalities on the area to be tattooed and at least 3 months postpartum if recently given birth.
*Please do not bring animals or children/infants into the shop at the time of your appointment.
*If you have a medical condition that may affect the healing of the tattoo or your response to stress during procedure (ie: diabetes, heart condition, epilepsy, etc) it is important to see your doctor prior to your appointment for any pre or post procedure care.
Do you offer exchanges or refunds?
We do our absolute best to be sure you get a quality experience.
We do not offer refunds or exchanges on any jewelry or piercing or tattoo services or fees.
For any concerns - please speak with management.
How much do body piercings usually cost? (E.g. navel, eyebrow, tongue.)
Our body piercing service fees can vary in price depending on the area, and complexity of the procedure.
The jewelry will be a separate cost on top of the service fee. Due to the varying prices, we suggest to call in to the shop you plan to visit to have these priced out.
At the same time we can let you know the jewelry costs for what we have available at the time.
What do you find better for an initial piercing? CBR’s or Barbells?
The type of jewelry we would recommend for the piercing will depend on the piercing, your anatomy as well as what you were hoping to be the final look of the piercing. Any of our trained body piercers would be more than happy to discuss with you the different options for the piercing of your choice if you stop by the shop.
It's important that you discuss with your piercer if you hope to change the jewelry style in the future (for example, if you want to wear a ring in your nose after it's healed with a nostril screw)
What type of material do you recommend getting pierced with?
All of our metal piercing jewelry is made exclusively by Anatometal and Industrial Strength. We do not pierce with any outside jewelry, and we do not re-use jewelry.
We can also pierce with solid gold from Anatometal and Body Vision Los Angeles.
For large guage piercing, we can also pierce with glass. We like to use Gorilla Glass body jewelry for that.
We carry ASTM F-138 certified implant grade stainless steel on a regular basis in stock and can also get any of the other following materials which are perfectly suitable to be pierced with:
- ASTM F-136 certified implant grade titanium
- Niobium
- 18 karat solid gold
- Glass (We carry the Gorilla Glass line)
How long does a piercing take to heal?
There are several factors that will help estimate how long a piercing could take to heal. Your age, health, the type of piercing you're getting and your lifestyle are a few examples.
Typically, if you're following our suggested aftercare regime, most common piercings will appear healed within about 8-12 weeks.
Average healing times are as follows:
- Surface Piercings, Navel, Nostril, etc.: 8 - 12 weeks
- Oral Piercings: 6 - 8 weeks
What should I use to clean my piercing?
Your piercer will be sure you leave with all of the information you need on how to take care of your piercing including written instructions with our contact information in case you have further questions.
We suggest the Punk Medics aftercare line which includes Simple Care Spray for body piercings and Natural Oral Rinse for piercings inside the mouth.
What should a body piercing studio look like and what should it contain?
A piercing studio should be an actual store-front business. Anyone offering body art in a residence or hair salon is not operating up to industry standards.
Staff training and education is crucial. All of our staff have been educated in both sterilization as well as blood borne pathogens courses, and we do our best to set the bar for the level of knowledge we have as far as these matters go.
Every shop, by Alberta Health standards, should have a Spore test certificate as well as a business license, a working autoclave and a blocked off sterilization room where tools and any tubes that are used are scrubbed.
The staff should be able to provide mill certificates to prove their jewelry is of IMPLANT GRADE quality and not just "surgical" quality.
All needles should be one time use and pre packaged until just before the piercing.
Jewelry should be sterilized with proof - an Indicator Strip inside the jewelry package will show that the piece is sterilized.
I really want a piercing but I’m terrified of getting infected. How can I prevent this?
You can rest assured that we uphold the highest standards possible to maintain a clean environment with sterile supplies to prevent any chance of infection from our staff and studio.
Our piercers will make sure you understand the precautions to take and how to take care of your piercing when you leave to help promote the safe and healthy healing of your new piercing. You will also recieve written aftercare instructions in case you forget.
A lot of people mistake an irritation to the piercing site as an infection. If you suspect your piercing is infected, you should pop in and let us have a look at it. While our suggestions do not superceed the advice of a medical professional, we can certainly help you troubleshoot.
I've just started a new job and my employers don't appreciate my piercing in the same way as I. How can I make it discreet?
Not to worry!
We carry an array of clear, glass piercing retainers to help conceal piercings from grumpy bosses!
They work well for MRI and X-Ray procedures as well as the glass does not show up on the images.
While the glass retainers work very well for concealing piercings, they are not safe to wear for extended periods of time, overnight or during sports.
I’m pregnant. Do I have to take my navel piercing out?
If your navel piercing is well healed, many clients have had no problem removing the jewelry during pregnancy and having the piercing carefully tapered (or "stretched") back in postpartum.
You can leave the piercing in, but most of our clients have reported discomfort and extra stretch-marks around navel piercings with jewelry worn in them during pregnancy.
Will my clothes affect my piercing?
We don't recommend wearing super tight clothing on any fresh piercing as it does have the potential to irritate the piercing. The only time this is different is for nipple piercings as we do recommend for females to wear a bra during the healing process.
Will it hurt?
In short: Yes, it will hurt.
The good news? Not as bad as you think!
Our piercers are trained to utilize the most comfortable techniques during the piercing procedure and try to utilize as much of a tool-less procedure as we feel that it's more comfortable.
You can make your experience more comfortable by showing up well rested with a full belly and in comfortable clothes.
How much does a tattoo cost?
Our tattoos start at a minimum of 125.00 and go up from there, depending on the tattoo as well as the size and placement of it will affect the price. For anything that is a larger piece, quotes start at $165/hr.
What are the best and healthiest practices to look after a tattoo once it’s done?
Please see our section on tattoo aftercare.
My friend’s piercing hasn’t done any of the stuff mine did. Why?
Everyone heals differently and you will not necessarily heal the same way that they do. We do not recommend getting any type of advice from anyone aside from your piercer or doctor during the healing process.
Do I need to leave a deposit?
We do take a $100 non-refundable deposit for your tattoo appointment. For all-day appointments a 50% deposit is required.
This amount will be deducted off the final price of your tattoo provided you show up for your appointment on time or call to reschedule within 24 of your appointment time.
Tattoo deposits are non-refundable. We are happy to work with you to ensure your design is perfect for as long as it takes.
What if I am from out of town and I want to book an appointment.
We have many clients who come in from out of town and we do our best to accommodate them accordingly.
Email some design ideas in to us and give the studio a call to confirm we recieved it.
From there, we will have an artist quote the time it will take and make revisions to the piece and get it back to you to view in a timely manner.
When you're ready to book, we can organise a PayPal invoice for you to pay the deposit (all you need is an email address and a debit or credit card) to book the appointment for when you'll be in Edmonton.
Do you need to book an appointment for a piercing?
All of our piercings are done on a first-come-first-served Walk-In basis. Typically, we can get you in immediately, but in the rare occasion, you may have a few minute wait time.
What ID do I need?
For a tattoo you need government issued photo ID, drivers license or passport. Unfortunately, under no circumstances do we tattoo under the age of 18.
For piercings, we also require photo ID. If a parent is signing for a minor, we require photo ID for the parent as well as the minor— a birth certificate or health care card are acceptable IDs for a minor.
If you have a legal guardian they must have legal guardianship papers with them as well.