When people ask me for a piercing shop recommendation, I always point them to Future and to Chris. Prior to coming here, the three ear lobe piercings I had were done by piercing guns in a swap meet. T... Read More
When people ask me for a piercing shop recommendation, I always point them to Future and to Chris. Prior to coming here, the three ear lobe piercings I had were done by piercing guns in a swap meet. Those healed up fine for the most part, but that was before I knew better.Fast forward to 2011 when I got my tragus pierced by Chris. I definitely felt some pain as the needle went through, but my piercing was quickly put in and it was over before I knew it. The healing process after was incredibly easy on my tragus.A year later, I got my belly button also pierced by Chris. I was even more nervous for this piercing than I was with my tragus, but I was in the best hands and the piercing was again quick and easy, and healed up nicely.Then, I made the mistake of getting three cartilage piercings at a different shop because it was convenient. The girl that pierced me was incredibly rough during the process and I almost passed out from the pain. From the trauma she put me through, I ended up developing keloid scarring on the three piercings, and retired those piercings because I didn't know what to do with them. I still have the raised bumps on the back of my ear to this day.I had been wanting to get my nose pierced for a long time, and had always been putting it off. I moved away to the Bay Area for school, and was patiently waiting until I went home over the break to get my nose pierced at Future. Chris wasn't there this time, but Kayla was. I was a bit nervous to trust someone else again, especially knowing that I could be prone to developing keloids, but I was there and I decided to go with it. Kayla was just as quiet as Chris, although both were very helpful whenever I asked follow up questions. Kayla pierced my nose and I was surprised at how little pain I felt. I didn't even tear up as a reflex. The most painful part was transitioning the needle to the piercing, but I suppose that was because it was a nose screw that was getting twisted into my nose. I left, happy with my nose piercing which had been healing very nicely for about three weeks when I snagged it twice on a shirt and on my watch within the span of about 3 days. I dealt with some piercing bumps that keep coming and going for a couple months, but a bit of emu oil along with regular cleanings helped get rid of them. They permanently went away when I had Chris help me change them out for higher quality metal and a shorter post. I have since then switched it back to the original one they pierced me with and worn it for an extended period of time without a problem, now that it's fully healed.My most recent piercing experience (at another shop) reminded me of why I should stop going anywhere else for my piercing needs. I wanted to get my conch pierced the night before thanksgiving and Future appeared to be closed so I went to another highly rated shop. I called the other shop and asked what time they closed because we were on our way. We showed up about 20-30 minutes before they said they were closed and asked to get pierced. The piercer made it seem like it was a huge inconvenience (we showed up no more than 10 minutes after the call). My friend got his nose pierced and while he wanted a ring, they had to pierce it with a stud, which I understand. I asked the piercer what size ring he would recommend and he said "I don't know, you need to come in and I'll figure it out when I switch it." What?? Chris has easily recommended a size to me in the past just by looking at my placement (which I have since forgotten so I need to pay him another visit soon). As for my own piercing, he pierced me with a needle but placed a normal earring post in my ear. None of my cartilage piercings done at a tattoo shop have ever given me a normal earring as my cartilage earring. It caught on my hair constantly as it was healing and it was noticeably bulkier behind my ear compared to a typical ball or flat back. I can't even change it out to one of my other cartilage earrings because they're too thick compared to a normal earring post. I'll probably be back sometime in the near future to get it stretched out to place a normal cartilage ring in there. Long review short, I hope I've learned my lesson (twice) and will only return to Chris to get pierced. Read Less