With video content booming online we are seeing a lot of content where non sterile/contaminated setups are being used for piercings, which is pretty scary.
A high end professional shop will only use pre-sterilised single use equipment, everything from a single use marker (or equivalent) to the sterile gloves they use to pierce you.
In a sterile set up, they will open everything into a sterile field using sterile techniques, Skin marking and preparation are normally done before this with single use Skin markers, swabs, etc (wearing non sterile examination gloves at this point).
Non sterile set-ups vary a lot, most common things you see are:
Non sterile markers being used over and over again.
Lack of a sterile field/barriers, usually seeing things like paper, dental bibs or clingfilm etc being used as a surface to work from.
A lack of sterile gloves and next to no glove changes causing cross contamination.
Strike through, our biggest fear as professionals (seen in the end of our little video), when a surface is penetrated by moisture from another surface, this contaminates everything in contact and is no longer fit for use.
FUN GAME....Next time you get a piercing, watch how many times the piercer does or does not change their gloves.....