4 very personal tattoos and 5 piercings and it saddens me to say this review is fueled from a negative place. RD came highly recommended from an old and dear friend that got both sleeves, chest and si... Read More
4 very personal tattoos and 5 piercings and it saddens me to say this review is fueled from a negative place. RD came highly recommended from an old and dear friend that got both sleeves, chest and side pieces done here. I was timid & scared when I got my first tattoo and Rane made me feel so comfortable and the process was painless. So much so that he did my second, Danny my third and my most recent and favorite artist Elliot did my fourth. Needless to say, I LOVE my TATS!! & I will recommend over and over to get ink here. HOWEVER, ... I will not recommend piercings. I got both nipples pierced, 3 microdermals on my upper right chest and my belly button pierced at RD. Ironically the same piercer did all this work and I cannot remember his name (I have chalked this up to do with my brain blocking the root of my frustration, I remember him having slicked hair and he's partially in pictures I took of my piercings when he was finished). My micros are almost 2 years old, they're not fully healed, they're crooked (requested them in a straight line) and one of them isn't positioned properly. So why 2 years later for this review? Honestly, because I LOVE RD. The artists are so nice and comforting, the atmosphere is clean and inviting and their work is GREAT!! But when I went for ink #4 recently and asked to have my micros looked at by the current piercer, who is so sweet and informative (wish I had him first time around, because that first guy never cracked a smile or attempted small talk), he along with who I assume is another piercer first addressed that I should've been advised against getting all 3 of my dermals done at once, I pointed out the faulty positioning and crooked line and he agreed with me. However, at this point, he said I'm 2 years in, they look clean and they are not rejecting so I should rock them out. He's the expert so I complied, great news for me anyway b/c I thought they were rejecting and I would be forced to have them removed. So, what's my issue? Last night one of my dermal tops fell off!!! - ONE OF MY BIGGEST DERMAL FEARS! I called in the shop to find out what I can do and what my options are and after 5 unanswered calls, I got on the line with the friendly new piercer who repeated a lot of what he said before which is okay and we discussed the process if I were to have them removed. However, the conversation is over and there was no relief at the end of the call. Why? b/c RD does not sell Dermal tops, (and the suggestion to order tops online doesn't work in my favor considering, it's a micro and that anchor needs a top before my skin starts covering), the one that needs to be repositioned can't be and friendly new piercer is against me getting them removed. Asked him what can I do considering I have an anchor that needs a top and pretty much that concluded with I have to go somewhere else to get it done. If you're anything like me where you search for months to find the perfect spot to have someone do anything to your body and you're happy the first time around you stick to that spot. I get how tricky micros are, I get that I'm skinny and not a lot of meat to hold them that makes them trickier. I did months of research and met with people that administer dermals and that have dermals. I even had several convos w/RD before getting them done. So, I get it they're TRICKY! I'm just unhappy that the piercer that did them first time around wasn't very nice (yes overlooked b/c everyone else in RD made up for that, if he was one of my tat guys I wouldn't have went back), also unhappy that I trusted RD for the past 5 years and I feel like now that trust is being tested, I'm being failed. I'm now left to rely on short notice on someone new and unfortunately because of my current level of disappointment and the manner in which I do things, it also means this is the end of my r'ship w/RD and I will commence the search for a new shop. Again, I'll recommend these guys for tats but not piercings and my perspective unfortunately will forever be tainted. We had a great run RD, thanks for the meaningful ink! Read Less