Jewelry
Integrity Piercing only utilizes materials for initial piercings that are biocompatible: proven to be compatible with the body so they will not cause irritation or infection, and have a very low risk of allergic reaction. Biocompatibility is often verified through mill test certificates, which are documents that provide evidence of a specific grade of metal and verify the quality of the jewelry we purchase.
Materials
Titanium is a lightweight metal that can be anodized to create jewelry of different colors without affecting the safety. Because titanium is ideal for people who have concerns about metal sensitivity, we stock all basic jewelry options in titanium. There are many grades of titanium, but we only use implant-certified titanium: ASTM F-136 and ASTM F-67 commercially pure titanium. (Note: If you choose to have your jewelry anodized to a color, the color will gradually fade over time. How quickly the color fades will depend on the area on your body, the products you use, and your individual body chemistry.
Niobium is similar to titanium, but without an implant-grade designation. (Note: If you purchase black niobium jewelry, the color is achieved with a heat treatment and cannot chip or flake. Also, unlike anodized titanium, the black heat-treated color will not fade.)
Surgical steel There are many different alloys of surgical steel used for body jewelry, but only one grade has an ASTM designation proving biocompatibility. The surgical steel jewelry options we offer are made from ASTM-F138 compliant surgical steel. While we offer titanium in most jewelry styles, we offer steel for some styles of jewelry where steel is easier to bend when necessary, such as seam rings and nostril screws.
Glass – Fused quartz glass, lead-free borosilicate, and lead-free soda lime glass are all inert glass choices that are considered safe by the APP for initial piercings.
14k or 18k gold in solid 14k and 18k yellow, white, and rose gold. All three gold options are appropriate for initial piercings because all of our gold is nickel-free, and is alloyed for biocompatibility. (Note: Keep in mind that gold higher than 18k is too soft for body jewelry because it is easily scratched and gold-plated/filled/overlay jewelry is never acceptable for piercings because the gold surface will wear or chip off and expose your skin to the non-biocompatible base metal below.)
How It Works
Your piercer inserted your jewelry securely, although most jewelry styles can come loose over time from everyday activities. We suggest checking your jewelry on a regular basis, which helps to ensure that you do not lose your jewelry and risk having the piercing shrink or even close.
Threaded Jewelry can gradually come unthreaded over time and should be tightened monthly to ensure that it stays tight, if it is in a location that you can tighten on your own. Locations that are difficult for you to tighten have most likely been inserted securely by your piercer. As with most threaded items, you will need to hold both ends when tightening your jewelry "righty-tighty" to your right. Single-point piercings and surface piercings are the exception when you should not attempt to tighten the jewelry.
Captive Bead Rings have a bead that is held in by pressure, and can come loose from catching or bumping the jewelry. Sometimes it is normal for the bead to spin freely in the ring, without that being an indication that the bead is loose. You can check the tightness of the bead by holding the side of the ring firmly and giving the bead a light tug. If the bead feels like it might come out of the ring easily, you are welcome to contact us to schedule a free checkup to have the tightness of your jewelry checked.
Septum Retainers should always be worn tucked up inside your nose while sleeping and participating in sports or other physical activities, because the staple shape of the retainer does not stay in place as well as other styles of jewelry and could be knocked out while playing sports or sleeping.
Nostril Screws are not as secure as other styles of nostril studs, because they can get caught and come partially or completely out of the piercing. If you are participating in any activities where the jewelry has the risk of getting caught, it is suggested to place a small piece of medical tape over the top of the jewelry.
Threadless Jewelry can also come loose, although in a very different way than threaded jewelry. Instead of slowly coming loose over time, the removable end can instantly come out or become loose if it was caught or bumped hard enough to pull the end away from the post. Periodically, you should visibly inspect your jewelry to ensure there is no visible gap between the post and the removable end. If you see a gap between the post and end, or if you feel like you might have caught your jewelry hard enough to loosen the top, put one finger on each side of the jewelry, and gently but firmly press your fingers together, applying even pressure on both sides. Note: gold threadless ends can become loose easier than titanium ends because gold is a much softer material. Whether you are wearing a titanium or gold end, if you feel that your end is not very secure, we strongly encourage you to contact us to schedule a free checkup to have the tightness of your jewelry checked by one of our piercers.
Single-Flared Plugs and Eyelets have an o-ring on the back to keep them from falling out. It is suggested to check your o-rings daily to ensure they are sitting comfortably against your skin, without being too snug. Wearing the o-ring too tight can lead to the o-ring ending up inside the piercing. If you need to purchase extra o-rings, we have them available for only a quarter apiece.
Septum Retainers should always be worn tucked up inside your nose while sleeping and participating in sports or other physical activities, because the staple shape of the retainer does not stay in place as well as other styles of jewelry and could be knocked out while playing sports or sleeping.
"Clickers" are rings that have a bar or segment that "clicks" in and out of place. This is one solid piece of jewelry, so there are no parts that can separate from the ring. However, if the jewelry is caught at the right angle, the bar can come undone from one end of the ring, and will need to be clicked back into place.
Threading
We offer internally threaded and "threadless" jewelry, which is an APP standard for initial piercing jewelry. This means that the part of the jewelry that passes through your skin is smooth and there are no threads on the removable end. Internally threaded jewelry has the threading on the removable ends, while threadless jewelry has a pin on the removable ends. Both styles of jewelry avoid any possibility of scraping your tissue with sharp threads, which is especially important with fresh piercings.
We do not utilize externally threaded jewelry, which has the screw pattern cut into the post and this comparatively rough surface is passed through the tissue when inserting and removing the jewelry. This can be damaging to the inside of the piercing channel for even well healed piercings.
Jewelry Guarantee
All of our jewelry has a lifetime guarantee that covers manufacturer defects, which does not include loss of your jewelry. (See Jewelry Styles tab for information about the various jewelry styles and how they work.) Manufacturer defects covered by the guarantee include:
Gem/opal coming out of the setting
Gem/opal cracking
Gem/opal discoloring
Threadless jewelry having the pin break off of the removable end
Threaded jewelry having the thread “strip” on the post or the end (this is when the end keeps spinning and won’t lock into place)
If you suspect that your jewelry is broken or otherwise damaged, please contact us right away. If your jewelry has experienced any manufacturer defects, we will have you bring in the defective piece for an exchange, and we will replace it for free with no concern about when you purchased the jewelry from us.
Sizing
“One size fits all” does not work for many things, especially things that we wear on or in our bodies, and that includes body jewelry. We stock a large variety of jewelry sizes and styles to ensure that you receive jewelry that fits properly. While some piercings need to be performed with jewelry that is a bit long for the initial swelling, it is ideal to return to have the piercing “downsized” to a smaller piece of jewelry when the initial swelling has subsided. Most healed piercings look and feel best when the jewelry fits properly.
Body parts come in a wide variety of different shapes and sizes, and we understand that better than other jewelry retailers in the area, and we proudly offer the largest selection of jewelry sizes and styles in Central Washington. While this is important for all piercings, this is especially important with oral piercings because properly fitting jewelry will reduce the risk of long term tooth and gum damage.