For body and face artists who decorate bodies with shiny ornaments and "wearable art," October, November, and December are busy times. November is also the peak demand for permanent makeup: ladies hurry to have any signs of interventions disappear by December. But in December, "piercers" diligently update the decorations on their bodies for the New Year.
"Only for subscribers of my Telegram channel, 15% discount on orders for gold jewelry," says an announcement from one of the salons, accompanied by illustrations of jewelry in a New Year style: gold rain, silver lightning, snow-covered branches, and more. "In November, we have more customers coming in for piercings, but now we have more people buying jewelry, replacing jewelry, and buying gift certificates," shared Maria Orlova, a piercing artist, with "MK."
As New Year approaches, people often replace their jewelry with new ones and buy more rhinestones and expensive decorations. For example, with the arrival of winter and New Year's, people started asking for add-ons (the decorative part of the jewelry) for piercings with snowflakes. Snowflakes and microdermals are inserted into noses, ears... Recently, a girl came in wanting a "winter" set: she found a decoration with a star, resembling a snowflake, for her navel, and put rhinestones with snowflakes in her ears.
Clients are also interested in snake-shaped jewelry, in honor of the Year of the Snake. Snakes are inserted into ears, in the cartilage of the ear - it looks very good in that spot. (The price of a titanium snake with rhinestones is 2,700-2,900 rubles, but the simplest version without rhinestones costs 1,500 rubles).
Many customers come to me for updates (from 18 to 40 years old). For example, there was a girl, and we updated her collection of numerous ear jewelry, picking out new ones. Sometimes friends come in and want to "change together" to be in the same style for the holiday. The most common piercings updated for the holiday are in visible places - earlobes and cartilage, nose wings and septum, lip piercings, and add-ons on microdermals - the area under the neck, or more precisely, the suprasternal notch. It looks very beautiful there, like a lone rhinestone.
"Oh, but isn't it dangerous to insert a 'diamond' into the suprasternal notch?" "No, it's not dangerous, in that place, a subcutaneous mini-implant is installed - an anchor for a microdermal, and interchangeable add-ons are attached to it. But with this piercing, you have to be a careful person, so as not to catch on anything..."
Regarding gift certificates for piercing and tattoo procedures, they have become very popular. Websites and social media pages of piercing and tattoo salons are filled with announcements like "If you want to give your friends and loved ones a piercing or jewelry for the New Year, we have gift certificates available for any amount from 1,000 rubles; they are valid indefinitely." Another piercing artist, Kristina Antonova, told "MK," "You can buy a gift certificate for any amount and give it to someone important. It is an unusual and memorable gift. Piercing procedures are usually very emotional for people. First and foremost, it is related to physical sensations. Clients are worried that it will be very painful, but in almost 100% of cases, it is just uncomfortable. But then the worries quickly turn into a feeling of relief and joy from the new beauty on their bodies."
Intimate piercings are also given as gifts to partners. A Moscow-based artist confirmed that there is currently a demand for 5,000 ruble gift certificates, which can be used for permanent makeup or small tattoos.
When it comes to snake tattoos and their designs, it's not that people specifically request snake tattoos for New Year's. I think not many people want to have the symbol of the year as their tattoo. Usually, a request for a snake tattoo is not related to the year. Snake tattoos vary in the style of the drawing, the placement on the body, and the specific symbol that a person wants: a totem, something memorable to them, a symbol, a charm, and so on. Inna also added that there won't be any complications if the tattoo artist follows all the necessary precautions and if the client follows the aftercare recommendations. Only the top layer of the skin is affected, she noted. Nowadays, non-traumatic spraying methods are used. To protect yourself, you should ask the artist for their medical book, education documents, check the cleanliness of the conditions and the procedures they perform on other clients, and ask for documents and certificates for consumables. The artist should also inquire about your medical history before the procedure to understand if there are any contraindications, what medications you take, and other details.
It's important to note that these procedures are not cheap. For example, the price for a tattoo in the Moscow region can range from 15,000 to 35,000 rubles, depending on the complexity of the design.
