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In North Carolina, the law asks almost nothing of a piercer. Every safety standard you’ll find at Inkvictus is one we chose to hold ourselves to, and we’ve chosen to build them on APP standards without paying for the APP logo. Here’s why.

The bar is lower than you think

When we started building our piercing program in 2024, I went looking for North Carolina’s piercing requirements. I couldn’t find much, so I emailed our contact at Wake County to make sure I wasn’t missing something.

Here’s the exchange, word for word:

From: Natascha, Inkvictus Studios To: Lisa, Wake County Thursday, July 25, 2024, 6:09 PM

Hi Lisa,

I hope you’re doing well! I’m not sure if this is in your wheelhouse, but I have a question regarding piercing requirements. I tried researching online and found that there are no specific prerequisites other than the age restriction of not piercing anyone under 18. Is this accurate?

If this is something you can clarify, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for your ongoing support and assistance. I’m grateful to be able to get direct answers to questions not easily found.

Thank you kindly, Natascha Fuchs

From: Lisa, Wake County Thursday, July 25, 2024, 10:38 PM

Natascha,

That is correct. There are no prerequisites other than the age restriction of not piercing anyone under age 18 without parental consent.

I suggest you make copies of proof (birth certificates, drivers licenses, etc.) if you pierce anyone with parental consent to protect yourself.

Hope this helps.

Lisa

So that’s it. An age check. No required training, no jewelry standards, and no sterilization rules specific to piercing.

Being completely honest, my first goal was simple. I knew we were going to be better than Claire’s. But once I realized how little the law required, I knew “better than the minimum” wasn’t going to be good enough. If nobody was going to set the bar for us, we’d set it ourselves.

How we built our piercing program on APP standards

We started with single-use disposable tools for every piercing and jewelry from a recommended wholesaler, advertised as ASTM F-136 implant-grade titanium.

That was a safe, solid start. But we kept learning that things could be better, so we kept raising our own bar. Since then we’ve:

• Invested in an FDA-cleared, Class B medical-grade steam autoclave with monthly spore testing, and moved from disposables to professional reusable tools
• Built out a dedicated room used only for sterilization
• Switched to Invictus Body Jewelry exclusively, with mill certificates for our jewelry

The biggest lesson we learned: advertised isn’t always accurate. A label on a website is a claim. A mill certificate is proof. That lesson shapes how I think about every badge, logo, and credential in this industry.

If we follow APP standards, why not pay for the logo?

First, a quick clarification, because it comes up a lot: the APP doesn’t “certify” piercers or studios. It offers membership to individual piercers who meet its requirements and pay to join. So terms like “APP Certified Studio” or “APP Certified Piercer” are inaccurate.

We’ve reviewed those requirements more times than we can count. They’re a genuinely useful thing to compare ourselves against, and APP standards are the foundation of our setup. What we haven’t done is pay for the membership itself.

Think about the verified checkmark on Instagram. Once, it meant someone had earned recognition. Now you can just buy it. When you see one, you can’t always tell whether that account is truly reputable or whether they simply paid.

A membership has real requirements behind it, so it’s not quite the same. But it shares one weakness: it shows a piercer met the standards when they applied. It can’t show you what happens in the room on an ordinary Tuesday. Anyone can mind their P’s and Q’s long enough to be recognized. I’ve even heard of piercers borrowing an autoclave just to get approved. What matters is whether those standards are kept up every single day.

It’s also worth knowing what membership doesn’t measure. The APP’s requirements focus on safety, like bloodborne pathogen and CPR training, a clean and properly equipped studio, and approved jewelry. Membership doesn’t evaluate a piercer’s skill: their placement, their angles, or how well they read your anatomy. That comes from training, experience, and a piercer who never stops learning.

Safety shouldn’t be optional

That points to the bigger problem. The standards that keep you safe shouldn’t depend on who chooses to pay for a logo. They should be the law. North Carolina’s tattoo laws haven’t been updated since 2002, and as you saw above, piercing has almost no rules at all. That’s why I’ve been working with legislators to update our laws and set a real safety baseline every studio has to meet. You can support that work by signing the petition on our website.

Until then, a logo is optional, and anyone can buy something optional. Just like with name brands, sometimes you’re paying for the name, which doesn’t always mean you’re getting something better. In my experience, a logo can also become a reason to manipulate and raise prices. We’d rather put that money into our space, our tools, and our team.

We’re not going to pretend we’ve been perfect

There have been times we didn’t meet our own standards. Every time, we made it right with the client and tightened our systems so it wouldn’t happen again.

I’m sharing that because it proves the point of this whole post. No badge, membership, or written protocol prevents every mistake. Standards only mean something if someone is enforcing them every day and owning it when something slips. That’s the job, and it never stops.

Here’s what that looks like for us today:

• Our studio supplies every tool and every piece of jewelry used on you. No individual artist brings in their own supplies, so the standard stays the same no matter who’s in the chair.
• Your downsize is built into the price, so we see every piercing again and can catch problems early.

And if something about your piercing ever doesn’t feel right, tell us. We’d much rather hear it and fix it than have you walk away unhappy.

What our pricing says about us

Every piercing at Inkvictus is a flat $65 per poke. That includes your initial jewelry and your downsize jewelry. No hidden fees or surprise charges when you come back.

The downsize is a necessary part of getting a new piercing, and charging extra for it feels unfair to us. More importantly, we want you to come back. Your downsize appointment lets us see how your piercing healed, help you navigate any problems, and answer questions you didn’t know you had.

We’re not in the business of taking your money and never seeing you again.

Who we trust with your piercing

When we bring a piercer onto our team, we look for education and understanding first. Do they know why each standard exists, not just what it is? Beyond that, they need to mesh with our established team and believe in our business model, because how we operate affects everyone here.

And our model is something we’re proud of. Our team members are W-2 employees, not independent contractors. Everyone gets a guaranteed base pay, and the studio’s profit is split equally among the team. When the studio does well, we all do well. Tips always stay 100% with the person who earned them.

For you, that means your piercer isn’t under pressure to upsell, rush, or squeeze extra out of every appointment to make rent. They’re free to focus on doing it right. And if you’re a piercer who wants to work this way, we’d love to hear from you.

APP membership isn’t a factor in our hiring. But having it isn’t frowned upon either. We judge piercers on what they know and how they work, which is exactly what we’re asking you to do with us.

Don’t take our word for it

We want you to ask questions, at Inkvictus and in any space you walk into. A good studio will be happy to answer. Here’s what to ask any piercer to see if they truly meet APP standards, logo or no logo:

• Can I see your spore test results? These prove the autoclave is actually sterilizing.
• Can I see the mill certificate for my jewelry? This proves it’s implant grade, not just advertised that way.
• Will I see my tools and jewelry come out of sterile packaging? You should.
• Do you include the downsize, or is it extra? Know the full cost before you sit down.
• Do you use piercing guns? A professional piercer shouldn’t.

At Inkvictus, we keep all of this handy. You’re welcome to see our spore tests and mill certificates, watch us open your tools, and take a peek into our sterilization room.

And pay attention to how a space feels. Does someone greet you warmly? Is pricing clear before you’re in the chair? Does anyone take the time to explain aftercare? People care more about the overall experience than a logo by a name, and the experience tells you how a studio really operates.

Why I’m proud of how we do this

I built this studio’s standards from the ground up, and I keep rebuilding them every time I learn something better. That same drive is why I’m working to update North Carolina’s laws today.

Skipping the logo was never about cutting corners. It’s about where the money goes. This is a studio that offers Pay What You Can, runs community care programming, and provides areola restoration at no cost. Every dollar we don’t spend on a badge goes back into the people who walk through our door.

Not everyone will agree with how we do things, and that’s okay. Disagreement is how an industry grows. But I’d rather be judged by what you see when you walk in than by a logo next to our name. Our door is open. Come see for yourself.

Credit where it’s due: why we respect APP standards

I genuinely respect the APP. In an industry with few to no rules, they created a baseline. APP standards help make piercing safer, and our own program wouldn’t look the way it does without them.

There are excellent APP members and excellent piercers who aren’t members. There are shops in both groups that fall short. A logo alone can’t tell you which is which.

That’s why I believe APP membership should be seen as a goal, not an expectation. APP standards are what matter. Ask questions, look for proof, and choose the space that earns your trust every single day.

If you have questions, about us or anywhere else you’re considering, ask. We’ll always answer. And when you’re ready, we’d love to see you in the chair. Feel free to book your piercing today. ◡̈

Chat soon,

Natascha Fuchs