You might think that snazzy septum piercing is at the cutting edge of fashion - but piercing has actually been around for thousands of years.
Holmfirth body piercer Sam Booth from GypsyBlades Piercing in Holmfirth has been piercing people for more than a decade - and with more than 70 piercings of her own, she knows a thing or two about the industry!
Sam answered 20 questions about her job - read on to find out what it's really like to be a body piercer!
1: How did you get into body piercing?
Completely by chance. I walked past a studio advertising for a trainee so I had an informal chat. I received a phone message call about 2 hours later; I was asked if I was serious about the job and would I like to be a part of the team. I was very happy to say yes and continued to victory dance around my living room. I started my unpaid training the following week and worked many hours to learn with no payment, but it was worth it considering where I am today.
2. Was it something you've always had an interest in?
Yes, I have always been alternative, I got into the metal and grunge scene when I was 12 and had my first body piercing at nearly 13. I managed to persuade my parents to let me have my navel (belly button) pierced. My mum wasn't too happy and my dad said, 'let her she will only regret it later on, but it's a learning curve'. They didn't know back then what they had started. Following that the next thing I did was to start stretching my ears at 15. The second I turned 16 I started planning what else I was going to have because I didn't need to take my parents. However I did stay away from facial piercings, I didn't start on those until I was working in the industry as I didn't want to limit my career prospects.
3: What does a normal day look like?
Opening the studio, ensuring all the surfaces are clean and tidy, sweeping, mopping, antibacterial sprays over everything - this is one part of the job that never stops. I am a really good cleaner. I answer questions through my website, emails and Facebook and take phone calls. Sometimes more than half my day is taken up cleaning and answering questions. I market my business, share recent work and try to get decent pictures of the beautiful jewellery. Then finally I get to do some piercings! I help people decide what they want and which jewellery to have and how they want it to look. One piercing takes about 30 seconds - preparation and advice are what takes the time. Being a body piercer isn't always the most glamorous job - you are first and foremost a cleaner, secondly a good customer service representative, and thirdly and for the shortest time are you actually a piercer. Only 10% of your day is actually the fun of piercing.
4: Is there anywhere you won't pierce?
I completely refuse to pierce children under the age of three. I also don't do male genitalia, and I don't do some piercings if the person's anatomy is incorrect. The classic is a scaffold or industrial piercing, but not everybody has an ear shape that is suited to that piercing.
5: What do you think is the most painful body part to get pierced?
I don't think there is a standard most painful part to get pierced. Everybody has different pain tolerances including dealing with pain on different parts of their body, so just because one friend said that part of their ear was very painful doesn't mean it would be for everyone. I always say no matter what you will feel something, be it pressure or a nip or a sting or sometimes a burning sensation, but it isn't that bad really and it doesn't last long. It's very rare to find someone who says it was more painful than I made out. Generally people are quite surprised by how simple and straightforward the procedure is and also they are sometimes shocked that it didn't really hurt.
6: What is the worst thing about your job?
Trying to fight the constant battle that piercings are actually meant to be more expensive than they are. So many people have walked away to get a piercing cheaper only to come back with problems later. A piercing professional is skilled in what they do and as such you should be paying for that skill along with paying for the best jewellery. There are so many people out there that see £35 plus for a piercing as expensive. This is not true. I paid £35 for my navel when I was 12 and I'm 29 now. Inflation dictates it should be more expensive. And it would be nice to not have the fight every day with people trying to get something done cheaper and cheaper. Good jewellery is not cheap, cheap jewellery is not good. I have done offers, but I always feel like I am undervaluing myself - I don't make any money when I do this as I don't compromise the procedure or the jewellery I use. I hope readers think about this and see where I am coming from. Save up and go get something beautiful done by a professional who is worth paying that extra money for. Remember the old saying - buy cheap buy twice. This is very true within our industry.
7: What's the best thing about your job?
Making people smile. I often listen to people's life stories and many customers have become friends which is amazing. Also receiving lovely reviews - just yesterday I received a message from a lovely lady saying I made her feel pretty and more like herself again which is priceless. It is wonderful to offer a service that can improve a person's perspective of themselves and in many cases to help people regain their identity. Many people I pierce say they are having a 'midlife crisis'. I believe it's something they want done to make a statement of their individuality. It makes me happy to help my clients feel special. Helping them pick out a piece of jewellery that will suit their style and then fitting it for them is great because that smile when they see it is just beautiful. I absolutely love this part of my job.
8: What is the most memorable thing that's happened to you at work?
Probably meeting my husband. He came into the studio I used to work at to get a tattoo about 7 years ago. We ended up chatting and have pretty much been together ever since. I met somebody who was very much an admirer of the tattooing and piercing industry. As he was getting his tattoo I managed to talk him into a piercing as well and we just got on amazingly. He still has that piercing and we got married in May this year. Other than that, probably giving one of my clients his piercings before he died. He had been given weeks left to live and was adamant he wasn't leaving this planet not looking like himself so he came to me to have them all put back in. He had to take them out throughout his treatments and they had all healed and he couldn't look in the mirror without seeing someone looking back that didn't look like him. It was very very emotional and something that will stay with me forever, but giving him that sense of himself back was his final wish and it was truly touching to be asked to help him achieve this.
9: Have you pierced anyone famous?
I honestly don't know if I have, I don't think so but it's possible throughout my career that I have and didn't even know.
10: Who was the first person you pierced and what did you do?
One of my old friends - it was a belly button piercing and it ended up wonky and I have never lived this down. It taught me a lot, though it's still standing the test of time! He still has the piercing and it is still wonky but it's a testament to how hard I have worked and where I started to where I am now. I have tried to change it and redo it for years and he is adamant that is stays as it is so he can periodically wind me up. But it's all good fun and it really did teach me a lot just in doing that one thing wrong. The second piercing I did was perfect and I definitely learned from my mistakes.
11: What's the most common piercing problem you see?
People changing the jewellery too soon, fiddling with them, and getting beauty products like make up and fake tan clogging the fresh piercings with grime and bacteria. No matter how much advice you give there will always be people who think they know better and cause major problems by not taking it.
12: Are there piercing trends?
Yes definitely. There was a time when everybody and their cat was getting a tragus piercing and then there was the summer of snakebites. This last year the trend has been the triple forward helix or triple descending rim at the front of the ear. And also the daith piercing that is doing the rounds on social media as the holy grail of migraine cures. I have done a lot of these piercings and even though there is no scientific research, a lot of success stories have come back to me. A lady who had it done six weeks ago came back to thank me for what I had done because she hadn't had a migraine since and had finally stopped taking three types of painkiller a day, which is awesome. It's not something that is guaranteed but it can be worth a try, because even if it doesn't work it is a beautiful piercing.
13: How many piercings do you have?
I currently have 52 but have had over 70 different piercings done - some I have lost by accident and others I took out because I wanted to change my look.
14: How do you feel about young children and babies having their ears pierced?
When I first started my career I had to do babies' ear piercings and I hated it. As soon as I got my own business I stopped doing babies' ears. I choose to do them now for kids aged three and over. If they are old enough to come and ask me themselves and tell me they want it done and then can understand it's going to nip and hurt a little bit then that's fine. Most children's ear piercings I do now are aged five and over. I do not use a gun for any piercing - this is a very unhygienic and questionable method. Everyone has heard horror stories of children in A&E having to have an earring cut out. The gun has studs that are more blunt than a needle so cause more trauma to the flesh. I always grimace when I hear about parents who are charged a fortune by shops with minimum training who use guns and give poor service after if there are any problems. I'm not surprised some kids end up traumatised. I try to make the experience fun - I have stickers or lollies to give out and most children leave my studio smiling with earrings that are suitable to allow for the swelling. If this makes even one parent reconsider where they take their child and it saves one child from trauma and poorly done piercings I will be happy.
15: Are there any misconceptions about your job?
The biggest misconception is that because you are registered with environmental health and have a license means you are good at what you do. This is unfortunately not always the case. Secondly people think I have a glamorous job and am lucky that I can look like I do. In a way that's true but people don't see the amount of other work that goes on behind the scenes, the sheer amount of cleaning. Yes that's right I am a glorified cleaner that is trained in cosmetic body piercing, not the other way around!
16: Have you ever seen anyone try to pierce themselves and it's gone wrong?
I have seen many bodged piercings by people who thought 'oh it can't be that hard' - trust me, save yourself the pain, hassle and possible infection and pay someone to do it properly - your health is something you can't put a price on. Piercings done by people on themselves usually look poor which gives the industry a bad name. It's a shame as a properly situated piecing with beautiful jewellery really can enhance a person's beauty and be very fashionable. Poorly positioned piercings stick out like a sore thumb and make onlookers think all piercings look bad.
17: Have you ever had any disasters?
Once I left the tap running by mistake and flooded my studio. This was years ago and I never made that mistake again, it took me three hours just to clean the floor up and get it back to being reasonably dry. I was very late home that night!
18: If you hadn't been a body piercer what career would you have chosen?
I was looking into being a teacher when I was younger as I wanted to make a difference in children's lives and give them a strong role model. That didn't work out for me as I didn't agree with how the government organised the curriculum. I felt it was essentially stealing childhoods so I quit university. It was probably three months after that while I was still undecided what I wanted to do that I came across the advert for a trainee body piercer and I have never looked back.
19: What about flesh tunnels/stretching? Do you think this is a good idea? Have you seen it go wrong?
Yes I love my stretched ears - I have three of my holes stretched but they are not very big. In fact mine are tame in comparison to some. And yes I have seen ones that have gone too far and split and then that person has ended up having to have their ear stitched back together. But there will always be some people who try to push it to the extremes. I personally wouldn't go that big but I do love the jewellery so there is always a possibility that I might take mine up a bit further. Never say never.
20: Have you ever refused to pierce someone? Why?
I have refused to pierce people who have been under 16 and not had parental consent. I have also refused to do certain piercings because they would end up badly - for example a hairdresser who wanted her finger done. Not a chance I am being responsible for that one. There is always somewhere else you can have pierced that won't cause problems and will heal better than what you think you want. If you go to a piercer and they say no then by all means get a second opinion but ultimately most reputable piercers will agree that a hand piercing and cutting people's hair are a recipe for disaster. The only exception I have found is with tongue piercing - I have been the second opinion on tongue piercings many times and have had no problem doing it. But just because I felt confident I could do it doesn't mean every piercer would have that same experience and confidence as me. It is within our rights to refuse any piercing we don't think would heal properly or that is going to cause problems because we are professionals all working towards one goal - a better and safer more regulated piercing industry that shows off our unique skills as something of beauty rather than something to be scared or indeed scarred by.
