http://www.store.yahoo.com/abodyjewelrystore/index.html

is this a decent quality company to order from?

i've also looked at http://www.labodyjewelry.com/index.html ...are they any good?

thanks in advance

well, im not a pro at these and all, but they both claim that their stuff is 316L ss, which is ok, but the top site said that it isnt good for new piercings b/c of a high nickel content, which i dont beleive is true. all in all there wares dont look to bad, but you never know. to make sure you get what your looking for, go to your piercer. on what i see as a definet bad note, both of the sites sell piercing needles and other supplies like corks. the lower site even has bent needles for piercings requiring such, and recieving tubes for "blind or difficult piercings", which to me, they seem to be promoting self piercing; cuz when is your piercer gunna not be able to see what he/she is piercing? their jewelry looks ight, but im worried about the needle sales. as i sed, im not a pro at this, but i had nothing to do, so i took a look.
cancerboy

Just my opinion:

The first one I find lacking in many ways...too many to go into.

Of the two sites, Labodyjewelry seems to have at least some good quality jewelry.

Both companies sell PVD jewelry (Titanium colored black or "gold"). While this MIGHT be safe, especially on barbells, the coating can flake off of CBRs.

Neither site even mentions ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials). This means that even though the steel might be 316L series, it doesn't mean it meets the ASTM standards for long term implantation into human skin. The same can be said for Titanium.

What about this stuff Nickle-Free It is on the candles wesite...
It doesnt say about astm, but it does say it meets the implantable material criteria. I wish I could believe it wasn't crap, there is a beautiful banana bar on that page. Probably not curved enough anyhow....I did notice that the ends were threaded though...

I have ordered from both places. I have never had any problems with their jewelry, and I am extremely allergic to nickel. Another plus is that they are fairly cheap... and Candles is my favorite place to get jewelry from!

The European Union has passed a law saying jewelry for initial piercing must be nickel-free, in order to head off any nickel reactions. No such law applies in America.

We have had some spectactular arguments here about the merits of such a law, hopefully this won't start another. One side says "freedom of choice, I know I have no problems with 316L so why should I be banned from being pierced with it?" The other says, "why wouldn't you use jewelry that was absolutely safe if there was some chance a customer could have a reaction?" Take your pick, choose a side, and line up for roll call (LOL, just kidding).

As a side note, in my five or six or whatever years piercing, my partner and I only had one client with problems from steel jewelry. I did an informal poll on the piercer side awhile back, and most folks either had no clients with problems or only one or two in their entire careers.

Unless you are terribly paranoid, or know you are one of the extremely rare people with problems due to the nickel content in 316L stainless steel, or happen to live in any EU country, then you really have no need for "nickel-free steel" jewelry. Besides, there's always titanium. The downside? I have yet to find a company that will actually reveal the metal content in their "nickel-free steel". I KNOW what's in 316L, I KNOW what's in Ti6Al4V. I like it that way.

maybe its kinda like hot dogs, maybe you dont want to know whats in the nickel-free steel. just a thought, albeit a stupid one.
cancerboy

ok...thanks for the help! i shouldnt really bother getting this stuff for at least another month anyway...not healed up enough yet

I dig LA's Buffilo horn plugs....

-spud

hahahaha.....

You should do some real extensive research. When buying body jewelry just stop into your local studio. Or if you really want a good place online try www.anatometal.com or www.goodart.com they are both excellent places to buy jewelry from. Since you are already on Tribalectic, order from Tribalectic.