Nine Moons Piercing — Local services in New York

I really, really don't recommend this place for cartilage piercings. I received a double helix piercing from Nine Moons in December, and was told by my piercer that simply running the piercings under warm water for 30 seconds in the shower was fine, and I didn't need saline solution to clean it -- which is wrong, and probably led to the problems I started having with it.

The first thing that went poorly was getting the posts changed out to be shorter, which Nine Moons recommended to do within 2 months. The day after getting my posts changed, one of the piercings swelled and started pushing against the back of the jewelry, which hurt. I went back the next day and got that post changed back to the longer one.

Two weeks later, the backs of the piercings were again very inflamed. Nine Moons told me to come in to get it cleaned, and they wanted to put in a longer back in the other piercing, so I had to purchase a third post. (They also charged me for the cleaning.) Again, I was told that rinsing with warm water in the shower was all I needed to do, and the buildup that led to the inflammation was normal.

After another two weeks, the inflammation calmed down, and they put in the shorter posts. Things were ok over the next five months, although I did notice a lot of buildup on the back of the jewelry, which I know now you're supposed to clean with saline spray.

Finally, 7 months after getting the piercings (they still weren't healed), the bottom helix piercing embedded in my ear. I had to go to another piercing studio to get the piercing removed. There, I learned that:

the piercings were pierced crooked. I had irritation bumps and that the piercings were generally in a state where they had to be removed and healed over. the posts were too short, even for a fully healed ear. The piercer recommended to keep longer posts because it's possible for cartilage piercings to swell even after they are healed (e.g., they can swell during different times of the year, or if you sleep on them). the jewelry itself was too small, leading to the risk of embedding. The piercer recommended jewelry of that size only for maybe a frontal helix, but not a normal helix or other areas. finally, you are supposed to clean your piercings regularly with saline solution.

Especially considering how much Nine Moons charges for their services (a lot), my experience with them was beyond disappointing, and I unfortunately was not able to keep...

I got my first lobe piercings done here by Johnny Pearce about a month ago and have had a checkup appointment as well. Since these were my first piercings, I was very neurotic about finding a place that knew what they were doing, cared about their clients, and provided the best possible care/experience, and Nine Moons has exceeded my every expectation. I was detail-oriented enough to be prepared to bring and use a ruler to measure the placement myself at my appointment, but to my surprise, they had their own ruler and was even more meticulous about placement than I was, and would not pierce me until they were confident I would be happy with how it turned out. It honestly felt a bit like starting a group project preparing to do all the work, and then finding out your group has an even smarter kid preparing to carry the project. If you are being very careful about a permanent body mod and looking for an expert piercing place that can answer your every question and are passionate about what they do, Nine Moons is the place for you! Of all of my friends with lobe piercings, I have had the best healing experience (hardly any pain after the first/second day and then no issues with my piercing whatsoever), which I attribute at least partially to my piercing experience and aftercare guide. They are also super responsive by email and are open to answering questions about your piercings after the appointment. Tip: ask lots of questions at your appointment to make the most of their expertise - you won't be...

Incredibly poor impression of this place. If you are very strict about appointment time, I expect you to be on time — I arrived 5 minutes early and was left waiting with no explanation for over 20 minutes before another piercer (not the person I booked with) said she wasn’t busy and could see me. My entire appointment was supposed to take 15 minutes.

I barely blinked when getting any of my actual piercings done and generally have a high pain tolerance. But the downsize here was incredibly painful, felt like she was twisting and yanking my piercing out. In response to my pained face, the piercer said “oh I’m barely touching you, just doing everything I can to make you as comfortable as possible.” If you can see a client is clearly in pain, please just focus on working quickly & smoothly instead of telling the client again and again what a great job you’re doing.

I found the staff very condescending to talk to — the person at the front desk gave me a look when I asked to see the itemized receipt. The person who did my downsize kept trying to explain to me how different backing sizes work (I kept trying to tell her I got it and she just kept cutting me off to repeat the exact same thing).

Just this downsize came to $90, which is definitely higher than standard. I’m willing to pay a higher price for excellent service, but had an incredibly poor experience here all around. Disappointing because I came recommended from a different studio...