We will only pierce with jewelry that meets our specific requirements. These requirements follow guidelines from the Association of Professional Piercers. In addition to these requirements, we will not use posts that have been brought into the studio. You must purchase a new post. All jewelry must be unworn or only worn by you.

These are the standards for the jewelry that we use.

• • It must be made from one of these materials  
    • Steel that is ASTM F138 compliant or ISO 5832-1 compliant 
    • Steel that is ISO 10993-6, 10993-10, and/or 10993-11 compliant [Note: The EEC Nickel Directive is a regulation that requires a low rate of nickel release for all materials used for costume or fine jewelry, belt buckles, watches, or other metallic accessories with direct skin contact. It does not specify nor prove that a material is safe to wear in the body; therefore, compliance with this directive alone is not sufficient for meeting the APP initial jewelry standards.] 
    • Titanium (Ti6Al4V ELI) that is ASTM F136 compliant or ISO 5832-3 compliant 
    • Titanium that is ASTM F67 compliant 
    • Solid 14 karat or higher, nickel and cadmium free yellow, white, or rose gold 
    • Solid nickel-free platinum alloy 
    • Niobium (Nb) 
    • Fused quartz glass, lead-free borosilicate or lead-free soda-lime glass
  • And meet all of these requirements 
    • All threaded or press-fit jewelry must have internal tapping (no threads on posts). 
    • For body jewelry purposes, surfaces and ends must be smooth, free of nicks, scratches, burrs, polishing compounds and metals must have a consistent mirror finish. 

Each piercer has a minimum age for different piercings. Please give us a call and we will determine if you are able to get pierced and who would be the best piercer for you.

Yes, we would need an appointment to allocate time for you to come in and purchase what you need.

We would have you book a Jewelry Purchase appointment. It is going to ask for a $5 deposit fee that will go towards your purchase. To book this appointment, head over to https://www.laughingbuddhatattoo.com/piercing-appointments-seattle/

Please note that we are not selling nostril rings at this time, as we cannot guarantee fit as we can not see where the piercing is on your nostril (unless you know the exact size you are looking for and are okay with all sales being final).

Please be sure to bring your ID with you even though we are just buying jewelry so we can put you in our system.

We don’t currently have an online store set up, however if you email us we would be happy to help you find the jewelry you’re looking for and will happily ship to anywhere within the US!

This can vary with each person and involve a lot of different factors. Typically the most we will do on one person is 3 or 4. This is something we will go over once you are in the studio and can talk with you one on one.

Threadless jewelry is still a relatively new innovation in the body jewelry industry. The end or top of the jewelry is essentially held into the post by tension. 

How does it stay together?

The removable end has a small insertion pin, which is slightly bent on all straight-shaft threadless jewelry, or unbent on all curved-shaft threadless jewelry. When inserted into the shaft, the curvature between the insertion pin and the inside of the shaft creates spring tension, holding the end securely in place. 

How do I adjust the fit?

The tension of the pin keeps the end securely attached to the post. The greater the bend in the pin, the greater the tension, and therefore a tighter fit.

To adjust the fit of your threadless jewelry, follow these instructions:

1. Insert the pin about one-third to halfway into the shaft.
2. Bend the pin slightly. It is important that you make slight adjustments in the bend;over-bending could make the fit too tight.
3. Push the loose end back into the barbell and test the fit. If it is too tight, take some of the bend out of the insertion pin and try again.

Still have questions?
Here is a helpful video from our friend Jef Saunders at Gamma Piercing about how threadless body works

Aside from specific piercings, we strongly advise against getting pierced with a ring. We want your healing process to go as smoothly as possible and a ring can interfere with that healing process. Rings tend to move around a lot in a piercing by twisting and contorting if bumped, laid on, or just regular wear. The constant and added movement can slow down and extend the healing time of the piercing or make it not want to heal at all. For these reasons, we don’t actually perform most piercings with rings except for a select few such as septum and daith piercings. When your piercing is healed, we have a lot of different styles of rings to put into your piercing and will be happy to help you with that when the time comes!

Yes! Surface piercings (anchors and surface bars) technically can go anywhere, however, that doesn’t mean it’s a great idea to put them anywhere. We want to make sure you are getting the best chance of success for your piercings. Areas of the body that experience high movement are areas that we avoid for surface piercings.

The areas we DO NOT provide surface piercings for include hands, fingers, arms, legs, feet, toes, etc. 

The places we do recommend getting surface piercings are places that don’t have a lot of movement or too much friction from clothing. The best places tend to be areas of the face or torso where movement is reduced. For each area, we will choose either a surface anchor or a surface bar, depending on what will be the most appropriate for the area you’re looking for.

The Association of Professional Piercers (APP) is an international health and safety organization. It is a nonprofit voluntary alliance dedicated to the dissemination of information about body piercing. Governed by a voluntary elected Board of Directors, the APP is a united group of piercing professionals that freely shares information to help fellow members, piercers, health care professionals, legislators, health inspectors, and the general public get the best and most up-to-date information about body piercing.

The APP…

• Provides a professional association for piercers
• Encourages piercers to meet and/or exceed the APP Member Requirements and provides an avenue to show the public that this standard is being met.
• Provides piercers, legislators, and the public with support and assistance in drafting appropriate legislation in the industry.
• Provides piercing technique, business, and health education classes at our Annual Conference & Exposition for piercers, health inspectors, and others related to the industry.
• Provides educational and informational materials, including consumer-oriented brochures available in the APP Store, and resources for piercers, like our Health and Safety Procedure Manual, Online Courses, Suggested Apprenticeship Guidelines & Curriculum, and other Publications.
• Publishes The Point: Journal of Body Piercing, a quarterly professional journal dedicated to piercing related news and information for individuals in the industry.
• Attends and is involved in health related conferences.
• Provides information and professional opinions to the media, when requested and in response to erroneous information and articles about body piercing.
• Presents lectures to students, health care professionals, and other related groups.
• Has Membership Types for professional piercers and non-piercers who support safe piercing.
• Staffs an email/phone response system for individuals with questions regarding piercing.
• Maintains a comprehensive website with information for piercers, piercees, educators, legislators, health care professionals, and anyone else with questions about body piercing.