IRIS - a piercing studio — Attraction in Denver

In April of 2023 I came to Iris to get three piercings on my ears. I got two on my upper cartilage in one ear and another loab piercing on the other ear. My piercer was Aaron. He was friendly enough during the piercing process. But the second I left and walked out of Iris is was incredibly painful to walk, which continued on for the rest of the day. I didn’t think that was normal as I have 10 ear piercings already and that has never happened before. About 5 days after the piercing I developed a staph infection on the two upper cartridge piercings. I can not 100% contribute that to Iris but it is worth mentioning. Over the next year my piercings would just not heal at all. I did all the right things, cleaned them with saline 2 times daily, didn’t touch them, was very cautious with anything around my ear, slept on a travel pillow..but to no avail. All three piercings hurt 99% of the time, scabbing over, bleeding, crusting. I finally went to another highly respected piercer and asked them if something was wrong with them and it took her one second to tell that the piercings were done at an improper angle. She could easily see this was done on purpose and not just a mistake as all three were incorrectly pierced. She said if they were not healed by now, a year later they never would and the only option was to take them out. Which of course I knew, since again I have multiple piercings already and understand the correct healing process/time. And a year is most definitely not that, especially for a loab piercing. I had to remove all three, almost 800$ spent at Iris down the drain, all that time I put in to trying to heal them. I called Iris to let them know my concerns and what had happened. I believe I spoke with Laurel (possibly Arhi?) and she really could not have cared less. Because of course they got their money, not their issue now (this is not what she said but it was abundantly clear). She tried to assure me that Aaron would not have let anyone leave if the piercing was not 100% perfect (that made me Lol…cause ya ok…) and this had to have been my doing, maybe I touched it one time (yes one time would have caused this according to her ) . Which is 100% false as again I have had multiple piercings in the past with no issue. Another piercer took one look at them and cringed (when I went in to get 3 new earrings from her, so she lost money telling me to take those out! No reason for her to lie, quite the opposite). I did ask to be compensated for some of the money I had spent at Iris, but no the only thing they would offer me is to be re pierced for free (ya freaking right, that’s laughable). Compensate me free piercings, how much is that $90, no thank you. I wouldn’t trust that shop with any...

Overpriced and won't do as you ask. My second nose piercing has ripped out because the piercer refuses to make the stud flush with my skin. He insists it needs to be long or risk infection. I get it - theoretically. But, dude, is having the stud catch on my hand, a shirt, a sheet or anything that comes close to it the solution? No. Sure, he's allowed to tattoo and scar his face all he wishes. But you? You must do as he says. Your request will be disregarded. The best part is he does it all with a holier than thou and annoyed-to-be-employed attitude. Get over yourself, man.

Thank you for your response. Let me clarify. Your employee did not put in my pierce. That was done 6 months before I went to the shop. I was replancing an initial pierce. Still, I was given a long stem. I went back after that one tore out and specifically asked for a shorter stem, communicating that the one he had given me (not my first) was catching on everyone and had ripped off. He said he’d make the stem shorter but, I learned very quickly, he had made it even longer. That second one ripped from my nose — again.

So, my hole was fine and healed. I was not seeking a holistic piercing. I sought (twice) a professional who would not insist (rudely) to insert a stud that sit a 1/4” off my skin.

See photo. This is his work. I’ve yet to replace it. But you can see the distance he insisted it be off my skin. You can see its bend due to catching on everything from my glasses to my shirts to … well everything.

I was charged to replace the first overly long stem which ripped off a few weeks after I got it. I asked him the for a normal stem. He refused. I asked him again whe ln I got the replacement that you see on the pic. He refused. And it’s tearing daily.

I appreciate the reply. I do. But to be clear, your shop did not give me the pierce. I got a replacement from your shop. Your employee won’t honor a request to make a stem flush — twice. And he charges me to replace a the torn out piercing, which only tore out because he refused to listen...

I got a piercing here about a year ago, and the guy who did the second hole on my left earlobe had to redo it which has made it difficult to put earrings in ever since. The way the hole lined up is off. I took the earrings out to clean them and after a couple hours I couldn’t get the earring through the back of my earlobe (the piercing was fully healed). I called and asked if they could help me get the earring back in since I can’t see where to line up the funky hole, and they said sure. When I got there, they said they couldn’t help me because I didn’t have “quality” jewelry. The only way they could help me is if I went home and got the jewelry they sell. The earrings they sold me started to bother my ears after awhile so I bought higher quality earrings which is what I brought to them. I was frustrated because at a minimum I needed them to tell me if I was lining the earring post up right when putting the earring in myself or see if they could guide me to the right area for the back hole. They were less than helpful and indignant. I had to have a stranger across the hall at my apartment help me. And guess what! Easy fix! Why they refused to help me simply put an earring in is beyond me. Just because their only business is piercings doesn’t mean they are the best. None of my experiences here have been amazing, and I’ve had better luck with piercings at tattoo parlors. Not the most...