onodrim

I received a PM from one of our male members in response to my question, and it's full of great information so I'm gonna put it up here for everyone to read.

"The only thing APP membership means is that they paid dues and may have passed cursory checks of the shop.

The best way to find a good piercer is to search through stories at http://www.bmezine.com/pierce/bme-pirc.html and see who has a decent number of good experiences (look for people saying that the piercer paid close attention to sterility, took everything from a new bag or autoclave bag, and gave good aftercare instructions, and had no problems with healing, or if they had problems healing, that the piercer knew exactly what to do.)

A good piercer will be glad to show you a portfolio of their work (refusal or not keeping a gallery are both red flags,) and autoclave spore test records.

Everything should be clean and well-kept, and the studio should be separated into counter, waiting room, piercing room, sterilization room, and bathroom. None of those should be combined.

If something makes you uncomfortable, don't get a piercing done there. Listen to instinct.

The last one is a biggie for establishing basic credibility in my eyes. If they answer wrong, don't get pierced there because they're not concerned about your safety or health. Ask if they use piercing guns. Good piercers will tell you that they wouldn't touch a piercing gun with a ten foot pole, and even better, will explain that they 1: are a big risk for blood-borne diseases because they can't be sterilized, and 2: piercing guns insert studs with a spring (if you're lucky enough to have it penetrate fully on the first try,) and that a stud forced through tissue rips through via blunt force trauma rather than the clean incision of a piercing needle."

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"The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides"
-Carl Sagan