The piercing of adolescents is a touchy subject, and it is something I personally deal with on a daily basis. I work for a large body piercing studio in the downtown Fort Wayne area, and we constantly have young customers coming in wanting piercings. Now there are, of course, legalities concerning the piercing of minors. As there are no laws pertaining to piercing to begin with, we've had to contact our attorneys and find out what we can and cannot do. As for myself, I was totally hell-bent on not piercing minors at all, mostly for anatomical reasons that anything else. Ear lobes are one thing, but a naval piercing on a twelve year old who is not finished growing yet is positively ridiculous. From my own experience, I grew 2 feet between the ages of 12 and 16, and I have read enough on the subject to know that in a young person, their abdominal wall is very close to the surface of the skin until they reach the end of their "growing" stage. Piercings on a young person at that stage is dangerous, and the healing would more likely than not take a long time and be quite painful. You'd also be running the risk of a piercing migrating out for the simple fact that that person is not done growing. I know that there are responsible teens out there, but from my experience there aren't many who would take care of their piercing the way it should be taken care of.Take for example the case of the parent who brought their 14 year old in to get her tongue pierced. I explained to the teen that it would be very difficult for her to take care of her piercing at school, and that for different reasons, including legal ones, I refuse to pierce her. The parent was relieved, the teen was pissed. This is a daily occurance in my work place.
At least we do have requirements that a minor has to meet to get any piercing. First of all, a parent with a state issued I.D. must be present at all times. Unless we're piercing earlobes, they must be at least 16 years old and be able to prove it. We will take either a state issued I.D. or a school student body card along with a notorized copy of their birth certificate. Emancipated minors are not pierced by us, nor minors who bring in a brother or sister posing as their mom or dad. The parent is required to sign all legally binding paperwork, and must be in the operating room during the procedure. Teens, there are reasons behind the policies we instill. These policies are in place to protect you, our customer. We are providing a safe and sterile environment, and we will not compromise our professionalism just to make an extra buck. Be patient, your time will come sooner or later!
Thank you!
Inez Palmer
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Primal Urge Body Modifications