When people think of body piercing, many associate it with a spooky, dungeon-like tattoo parlor, where a scary piercing artist takes them into a dark room and stabs them with a needle, enjoys their pain, and then lets them go without any further information. I’ve talked about the importance of communication between a piercer and a piercee before, and I really hope that my clients do not think of me as scary (neither is my studio spooky, nor a tattoo parlor). I most definitely do not enjoy their pain, but I can imagine how, for people who haven't gotten a piercing in a while or ever, these misconceptions can make the whole experience seem very stressful and scary. Today, I’d like to talk about what happens to your body when you experience intense fear, other emotions, or are not physically ready for a piercing.
I will always remember my first experience with a fainting client. It was in 2017. I was doing a septum piercing. As always, I prepped and marked the client, put the clamps on, and got the needle through. My client had no reaction and kept their eyes closed the whole time. I said that we were almost done and turned to take the jewelry as my client started shaking violently. I had never heard of that happening, but I stayed calm, held them so they wouldn’t fall to the side, and it was over in a few seconds. My client then opened their eyes, confused. I asked them if they’d ever fainted before, to which the answer was no. Furthermore, my client did not realize they had fainted! The funniest part was when they asked me if we could still do the piercing. I informed them that they were sitting with a needle through their nose and I just needed to get the jewelry in. The piercing was so painless that fear was the whole reason for fainting! That is when I started looking into it more.
With fear (in our case, usually the anxiety of getting pierced or needle phobia), fainting happens all because of how your brain works. The brain's emotional centers activate, leading to a drop in blood pressure and a slowed heart rate. Our body also has the "fight or flight" response that doesn’t always work - sometimes this response can cause the heart to rapidly slow down instead of speeding up, leading to fainting. The shaking experienced by my client, although not always a symptom, can happen due to temporary oxygen and blood flow deprivation in the brain. This happens a lot during piercings where the stress is more emotional than physical. The adrenaline released can rush your blood to the legs instead of the head, increasing the chances of fainting, especially if you’re already prone to it. This is not the only reason people faint. I also have clients faint after seeing their piercing (because of the shock, similar to fear), after standing up too fast (blood pressure drops after changing positions), when it’s very hot (the blood vessels dilate and body fluid moves into the legs by gravity) or because they haven’t eaten enough (low blood sugar). Some of these reasons can be controlled by making sure you eat before your appointment and don’t jump up to take a look at your new piercing the second it’s in, but some are a bit more complicated to control.
So, what do we do to prevent fainting from happening when it’s all in our head? I usually notice when my clients are nervous and try to talk through it with them, tell them about how quick the procedure is, and continue chatting the whole time to take their mind off it. For some, having a friend in the room or holding their hand can help a lot. For others, all they need is not to see any of the things I use - especially the needles (I try not to show them anyway, just in case). I also have clients who know they’ll faint if they see their new piercing, so they choose to do so after a while, at home. However, of course, sometimes nothing works, and I can see my clients go white as paper, notice them talking less or getting a little disoriented. I have a trick for preventing fainting that I learned from a client's dad - he performed this on her when she passed out after her piercing. What I do is lay my clients down and have them lift their legs up in the air at 90 degrees. This causes blood circulation to increase, helps blood get back to the head, and stops you from fainting. Then I give them water, some candy to increase their blood glucose levels, and keep them sitting until they feel completely fine (usually within 5 minutes). After I started doing this, I haven’t had a client fully faint. And that’s in about 4 years! (Not counting the few times where clients felt completely ok, stood up, and passed out too quickly for me to do my anti-fainting magic).
In conclusion, the fear and anxiety that we associate with body piercing can often lead to fainting, but it’s more about the mental response than the physical act itself. I really hope that this knowledge helps those whose main fear is the pain of piercing. To fight any phobia, it's essential to understand and manage it. Keep the techniques I mentioned in mind - talk about your feelings with the piercer and have a friend present if it helps your anxiety. And of course, remember that lying down with your legs up can prevent fainting! That’s very useful not only when it comes to body piercing. And as always, since the main aim of both us piercers and you, clients, is a safe and comfortable experience, now hopefully this will help you reach the goal by understanding some of the psychological aspects of piercing.