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The World's Oldest Professional Piercing Studio!
SINCE 1989
Body Manipulations
3234 16th Street @ Dolores
San Francisco, CA 94103
USA
Phone: 415-621-0408
Fax: 415-621-0553
Email: staff@bodym.com
We are open 7 days a week
12-7pm
All of our services are available by Walk-In everyday 12 noon to 7pm
Closed on the following holidays:
New Year's Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas
We accept the following forms of payment:
Service Prices
(jewelry sold separately)
Piercing Service
Traditional Earlobe $15 or $25 pair
(18g - 16g)
Larger Earlobe (14g - up) $20 or $30 pair
Outer ear cartilage
Inner ear cartilage, Facial $30 or $55 pair
or other Body Piercing
Industrial, Orbital, Surface, $40 or $70 pair
Dermal Anchor
Genital Piercing $50 or $80 pair
Insertion Service
If you just can't figure it out, don't force it! We will happily disinfect and install your jewelry back to its original hole for a small set-up fee of $5 . Jewelry removal is free of charge. Nostril screw adjustments are free within 30 days of piercing, $5 after.
Stretching
Time for the next size? Stop forcing that thing in there!
We use sterile spiral radiant stretching tapers to stretch your piercing as gently as possible. We have a large selection of smooth edged plugs and eyelets ranging in price from $16 for 10g to $24 for 00g each. Stretching fee is $10 per pair.
Tattoo
Shop rate is $150/hour with a minimum of $100.
There is a non-refundable deposit of $80 when you schedule your appointment. This deposit will go towards the final sitting upon completion of your tattoo.
We no longer offer the service of Branding
"Laboratory testing has shown that bacteria, mycrobacteria, fungi, and viruses are present in pryrolized smoke. Researchers have recovered DNA of HIV, HBV, and HPV from surgical smoke and were able to isolate intact viruses. The presence of intact viral DNA suggests that transmission through surgical smoke is a possibility."-Garden, Jerome: “Viral Disease Transmitted by Laser-Generated Plume (Aerosol),” Archives of Dermatology, Volume 138, October 2002
Here's a link where you can read it all:
Hazards: Surgical Smoke
Shop History
Body Manipulations was first opened in August, 1989 by Vaughn and Esther Saldana on Fillmore street at Haight. Esther moved to Amsterdam and opened a Body Manipulations there (since closed). In 1995, Vaughn moved the shop to its current location in the sunny mission district. Now it is in a much larger space with tall ceilings giving it a light and airy feel.
April 2002 Vaughn sold the shop to his long time employee Paul. This not only gave Vaughn a "get out of business free card" but it also put some young blood into the company. Paul has since given the shop a new paint job, enlarged the waiting area, and built a new front counter among many other improvements.
After years of focusing soley on piercing, we brought the service of tattooing to our faithful and trusting customers in 2003. We figured if the health department always catagorized us as a tattoo shop, we might as well do that too. We were able to get some of the finest tattoo artists right off the bat. Heading our tattoo department, Japanese born Colin Stevens previously of the famed Ed Hardy's Tattoo City. His long time associate from the same shop, Chris Conn joined him making the new studio an immediate success. Conn retired from tattooing in 2006 and refers all his old customers to Colin.
Old enough to have a second generation, Body Manipulations continues to bring you only the best quality in piercing, tattoo and jewelry be it the smooth edges of a steel ring or the finest low profile setting for your favorite gemstone. With our world renowned service you can trust us with your most precious body parts.
Body Manipulations has performed many times on the stages of various fetish balls and parties. We have cut people open, hung them from their skin, pierced them with hundreds of needles, and sewn a number of items into their skin. Now the company produces a yearly performance with The Flying Tiger Circus, where the side show is the whole show. Check out our shows section for more information and any upcoming events.
Original owner Vaughn with his Dr. Drill n fill.
©2001-Body Manipulations
To Tip or Not to Tip?
"TIPS" at one time was an acronym for "To Insure Prompt Service." Nowadays the server must earn your tip after the fact as a reward for good service. Some folks have never been to a piercer before, and some come all the time. Both kinds of folks often ask the awkward question at the counter about tips. Shyly we may reply "Oh, don't worry about it." Truth is, we do take tips. The unknown etiquette for our service is like any other service in the city, especially of the small business kind. You can base your tip on 15-20% of your final ticket depending on how much you enjoyed the pain. We often do maintenance services at no cost, a good tip in this case would be $5 to $20 depending on the amount of maintenance received. A tip on these free services, like nostril screw adjustments, is a great way to reward your piercer. Bottom line, if you feel the piercer has done a great job, reward them. A few bucks is a good way "To Insure Piercer Smiles" for next time.
Attention Minors!
If you are under 18!
You must come in with you parent or legal guardian. Bring with you your parents/guardian's ID and a copy of your birth certificate/guardianship papers. No exceptions!
Shop policy limits the age of all body piercing to 16. Earlobes can be pierced after age 4.
Federal law prohibits any genital or nipple piercing on minors.
State law prohibits tattooing on minors even with parental consent.
In the News
Body Manipulations pushes for New State Law
AB 517 is now AB 223
AB 223 has passed through the senate with no opposition! Our challenge lies within the governor's office. We need the governor's signature. Help us flood the governor's office with support letters, send yours in today!
Letters of support.
Citizen/client support letter Clients, concerned citizens, print out this PDF, fill in the date, your name and address, and sign it. Send it off to the governor or bring it in to us and we will send it for you.
Practitioners, facility owners, health inspectors, and association members here is a link to the new CAEHA support letter that you can use as a template. Send it off the Governor right away!
The history of AB 517
AB 517 (Fiona Ma) establishes the Safe Body Art Act to provide minimum statewide standards for the regulation of practitioners engaged in the business of tattooing, body piercing, and the application of permanent cosmetics in California.
April 14th, 2009 Body Manipulations was invited to speak at the hearing of the public health committee in Sacramento. Paul Stoll (Body Manipulations) and Steve Joyner (APP) argued in favor of the act.The committee voted unanamous 13 votes "aye"!
July 15th, 2009 Paul Stoll was called back to testify in front of the Senate Committee. After some new ammendments to the bill, the Senate passed the bill and picked up 2 more co-sponsors from the senate.
The first step in making your piercing experience clean, experienced, professional, and safe wherever you go. California will pave the way for enforceable standards nationwide.
October 12th, 2009 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB517 with the following message:
"To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 517 without my signature.
While I appreciate the author’s attempt to provide minimum statewide standards for body piercing, tattooing and the application of permanent cosmetics, I do not see a compelling need at this time for additional legislation. Body art guidelines were developed several years ago, and
local jurisdictions have the option to establish these requirements in their own county. Many counties have chosen to do so, and I am unaware of why the state must take further action to regulate these businesses.
For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In truth there are no minimum standards or guidelines in current state law. There are only 6 counties of the 62 districts that have even hinted to establish these requirements. State legislation will not only update a "several years ago" unfinished bill, but it will also create enforceable statewide minimum standards.
Assemblymember Fiona Ma has reintroduced AB 517 as AB 223 this year and remains as committed as we are to get a signature on the bill.
The Action plan is quite simple: We intend to get hundreds of letters of support from local health/EH, the industry, customers and health groups in the next month or two and put the same bill (with whatever minor fixes we may need) back on the Governor's desk.
We have been given the assurance that the State Department of Public Health was supportive of our efforts, so our challenge lies within the Governor's Office.
Budget crunch hits Body Arts Sector!
Your voice was heard!
This year the City and County of San Francisco had increased the permit to operate any tattoo parlor/piercing studio from $109 to $1372 without any notice, or any public comment period.
After many public letters were written to the Mayor Gavin Newsom, frequent personal visits to city hall, and an article in the San Francisco Examiner www.sfexaminer.com, the head of the health department called a meeting with the industry leaders.
Admiting their fault of raising the fee without proper notice the head of the Safe Body Art Program of the Department of Public Health took it upon himself to write a bill extending the fee increase over a span of 5 years. For these first 5 years, the City of San Francisco will help subsidize the Safe Body Art Program. I salute the City of San Francisco and the Department of Public Health for recognizing the public health issue in making regulation affordable for all facilities. I thank the Board of Supervisors for approving this bill.
Thank you all for sending in those letters and voicing your concern!