I have never had any piercings, aside from the normal ones in my ears, which I found out at the tender age of 11 caused me to break out and itch like mad. I have just recently discovered that I can only wear things that do not contain nickel. So I am assuming I have a nickel allegy. That being said; I have always wanted two piercings: A Labret, and a tongue. I figure I would try the Labret first, and if I have no problems with it then go for the tongue. I live in the Philadelphia area, (across the bridge in New Jersey but close enough :p ) and was wondering if any of you could offer a good "first timers" place. (taking into consideration my allergy.) Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sorry, I'm not from the area... There is a shop directory to the left that can probably help you more than I could.

Welcome!

The girl who did my industrial, Jen Minuti, just left her job at Spider-Bite in Manchester, NH, to go to a respectable place in Philadelphia called Infinite Body. The address is 626 South 4th Street, and the phone number is (215)923-7335.

It's just a piercing shop, no tattooes, so I think you'd be pretty safe there. Let them know about your past experiences. Nickel is usually only found in cheap jewelry from Claires and such, and piercers should always use medical grade stainless steel, which has little to no nickel. Jen is awesome and she did an awesome job with my industrial, and I was ****ing picky about the barbel, the angle, etc.

Post back and update us! I'd love to hear what it's like at that shop if you go there.

With steel, there is still enough nickel in it that I would recommend against it for those who have a sensitivity to nickel.. I'd say go for titanium instead which happens to contain no nickel and is hypoallergenic and a great metal to use for piercings IMO

Also, there are other non-metal materials that you could use such as bioplast and PTFE, but I've never actually used those much so maybe someone else can give info on those ones

Thank you all very much