FAQs

You must be 18 or over to receive a piercing. Clients under 18 years old most have a parent or guardian present at the time of a service. Please check age restrictions regarding specific piercings before you book. Legal guardians must be prepared to show all necessary paperwork.

If you are under the age of 18 the only person that can sign for you is a parent or legal guardian. In order to have a legal guardian sign for you, we require proper documentation for proof of guardianship.

Tribal Rites requires a government issued ID or passport each time a client receives a service. Even if you have been here in the past, we still must see proper documentation. Clients under 18 years old most have a parent or guardian present, who has an ID, along with any other necessary paperwork.

Tribal Rites is happy to pierce earlobes on any child seven years or older with a parent present.

Yes! We always try to take walk-ins on a first come first serve basis. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to take every walk-in, but we will definitely try, so please stop by.

Definitely! Piercings should be be completely healed before switching jewelry, but feel free to stop by anytime to browse our selection, or feel free to bring jewelry from home. Sometimes there is a small charge depending on the situation. We never require an appointment to switch jewelry.

Sometimes. Please bring your jewelry on and let us take a look. We are happy to let you know if we can use it and why. We follow certain standards in regards to material and size for initial piercing.

For best practice we always use single-use hollow needles. This is much safer than using a piercing gun, which uses the blunt end of the jewelry to create the piercing. That forceful impact of a blunt end can tear through your tissue, which results in more trauma to the area and can be more painful than using a needle.

Ideally we say it’s best to wait the entire healing period before submerging your piercing in a body of water as fresh piercings are susceptible to waterborne bacteria. Any body of water, no matter how clean you may think it is, is going to have bacteria in it. Swimming can introduce this bacteria to your piercing and lead to infection. That being said, we understand that swimming in summer months in particular seems to be more unavoidable. If you would like more information on how to keep your piercing safe you can give the shop a call and we can give you more guidance depending on the situation.

We recommend coming into the shop if possible. It is always better to see a client in person to determine the issue. If you cannot come in, please give us a call or email us and we will do our best to help you.

Come into the shop! We are happy to help.

If you feel confident in your own abilities, you can definitely switch your jewelry out at home. However, much of the jewelry today is small and slightly tricky to use, so feel free to stop by for help anytime.

For best results wait until the entirety of the healing of the healing is finished. However, Tribal Rites changes jewelry at many stages of the healing process and we are happy to consult with you in order to determine whether it would be safe to change yours.

Tribal Rites does not impose a limit on number of piercings a client can receive. Clients may consider pain tolerance, budget, and experience. If you are a side sleeper, you might not want to get multiple piercings on both ears at the same time.

Everyone has a different pain tolerance, so it varies from person to person. Truthfully, no piercing is going to be painless, but having an experienced piercer insert excellent jewelry using a refined technique is the way to go.

Typically, yes! Depending on the amount of scar tissue surrounding the area, we may not be able to re-pierce in the same exact spot. We always suggest coming in to let a piercer determine if your tissue is safe to re-pierce or not.

We do! We normally recommend coming into the shop with some sort of budget or general idea of the amount of piercings you would be ready for. Our counter staff can help suggest particular piercings that would coordinate well and find jewelry that you like, works well cohesively, and works within your budget. We highly suggest scheduling an appointment ahead of time for multiple piercings, but you can stop by whenever to just look at the jewelry.

We won’t pierce anyone who is breastfeeding or pregnant. We want to ensure the health of you and your baby and although rare, want to make sure no infection is able to spread. Hormones are also fluctuating throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding which can make healing a piercing more difficult. We will be more than happy to pierce you once you’re no longer pregnant and breastfeeding.

Every piercing is priced a little differently. It depends on the location of the piercing, as well as the jewelry you pick out. We have a very large selection of jewelry that you can get pierced with, so jewelry pricing depends on your personal style and preferences. We are always happy to help you pick out jewelry and assist with the placement of piercings. If you want an estimate of pricing for a piercing, please give us a call at (970)221-9712 and we’ll be able to answer any questions.

In a nutshell, high quality materials and fair wages. We only carry implant-grade materials, which result in a higher cost than bargain jewelry. The difference in cost of lower versus higher quality jewelry boils down to the alloys used in the jewelry itself as well as fairly compensated staff in the facilities that make and distribute our jewelry. Our goal is to have your piercings heal as easily as possible and having jewelry that is bio-compatible is a key part of the healing process.

All of the jewelry we carry is made from implant grade materials. These materials include titanium, surgical steel, and 14k solid gold. Implant grade materials are biocompatible and designed for long-term wear. Many people are sensitive to metals so we always do our best to know our clients are leaving the shop with the best option for their needs.

Implant grade jewelry and the materials used in the jewelry itself have been certified by the International Society for Testing and Materials Standard (ISTM) and/or the International Standards Organizations (ISO) and are safe for long-term wear. This is a way of determining the quality and biocompatibility of body jewelry.

We do! In order for piercing with hoops to be successful we ensure the jewelry will be large enough to accommodate for swelling given your anatomy. We emphasize that any excess movement can result in irritation bumps, so be extra aware of touching and twisting your jewelry. As always, if there are any issues that arise in the healing process, regardless of the jewelry, we recommend coming in right away so a piercer can take a look and help with any resizing of jewelry or aftercare suggestions.

We are unable to take returns or give refunds on any of our body jewelry. We always want our clients to be happy and although we’re pretty strict on this policy once you’ve left the building, we make exceptions on a case by case basis.

We only tattoo 18+. No exceptions.

We are appointment only for tattoos. You can give us a call at (970)221-9712 for updated wait times, but our soonest available artists are generally booking out around 1-2 months. We do sometimes have some last minute openings, so feel free to call and check!

If you’re coming in for your scheduled tattoo we’ll need an ID. If you don’t have an ID, a passport or a card that has your full name, your picture, and birthdate on the same card will work as well. We can’t allow people to get tattooed without seeing their ID beforehand.

Unless you already have a particular artist in mind, we suggest taking a look at the portfolios on our website to see which artist will be the best fit for the design and style you have in mind. Each artist has their own unique style that they tend to tattoo in, so one artist may be a better fit than another.

Once you’ve decided who you would like to work with, give us a call and we can give you some next steps. Most of the time we start off with scheduling a consultation with the artist to discuss all of the details involved with your tattoo concept.

After your consultation with the artist, you will have the opportunity to leave a deposit and schedule a tattoo appointment. Most of the time we take a $100 cash deposit, but we will let you know prior to your consultation.

The artist will have your drawing ready for you at the time of your appointment.

All of our artists have experience with cover-ups! The size and darkness of the existing tattoo determines what we will need to do to cover it up. Some tattoos do require some amount of laser removal to make a cover-up feasible.

We recommend waiting 3 weeks before submerging your tattoo in water.

We do not. All of our tattoos are permanent.

This is not something our artists specialize in. Cosmetic tattooing is essentially its own genre of body modification. We always suggest visiting someone who specifically specializes in this style for the best results.

When it comes to tattoos there is always some sort of pain involved. Smaller tattoos tend to hurt less than longer tattoos but other factors like placement can also affect sensitivity. We like to think it’s well worth it!

First off, a good night’s sleep is important before and after getting a tattoo. It’s also extremely important to eat a good healthy meal before getting tattooed. Staying hydrated and fed throughout the day is imperative so make sure to pack some drinks and water. There’s never any harm in over preparing!

All of our artists require a deposit in order to secure a tattoo appointment. This is to insure the time they put into drawing in case of a no-show or complete design reworks. Deposits are cash only and are refunded to you at the end of your last appointment as long as we get at least 24 hours notice for all cancellations/reschedules. We will require another deposit if you don’t give

us 24 hours notice to reschedule an appointment.

We accept cash, card, or apple pay.

We only allow registered service animals in the shop.

We do! There are quite a few spots in front of the shop on College Avenue. If those spots are filled we do have a parking lot in the back of the shop which is accessed via the alley behind us.

We are not! Although we were under the same ownership back in the day, ownership split off in the 90’s and we’re now our own entity.

Yes! We do allow children in the shop, but there are quite a bit of breakable items within the shop, so we ask that children be with you at all times. If you’re getting tattooed, please check in with your artist prior to your appointment to see if having a child present is okay.

Absolutely! Feel free to bring some friends with you to get pierced or look at jewelry! When getting tattooed we do limit guests to one person.