Your child’s safety isn’t something we ask you to take on faith.
At Tribal Expression, we want parents to understand exactly what happens to the equipment and jewellery used for their child’s piercing.
The components required for your child’s piercing — the single-use piercing needle, the selected jewellery, and any forceps or other required instruments — are prepared and sterilized together as one complete procedure setup, opened for that appointment. The needle is single-use and never reused.
For more than 23 years, sterilization and cross-contamination prevention have been fundamental parts of Tribal Expression. Our Statim cassette sterilization workflow allows us to prepare equipment for individual procedures while minimizing unnecessary handling between sterilization and use.
You are welcome to ask questions, see the equipment and understand the process before your child’s piercing begins.
Sterilization should be proven, not presumed.
We want you to understand the process, see the process and feel completely comfortable asking us to explain it.
What actually touches your child?
One of the most important questions a parent can ask is simple: what is actually going to touch my child’s ear?
At Tribal Expression, these are not three unrelated items. The components required for your child’s procedure — the single-use piercing needle, the selected jewellery, and any forceps or other required instruments — are prepared and sterilized together as one complete procedure setup, opened for that appointment.
A sterile, single-use piercing needle
The piercing needle used for your child’s procedure is sterile and single-use — and it is not an unrelated item. It is part of the complete sterilized procedure setup prepared together for that appointment. After the procedure the needle is appropriately discarded and never reused.
Your child’s selected jewellery
New does not automatically mean sterile. Even brand-new jewellery has gone through manufacturing, finishing, inspection and handling before reaching the procedure room. The jewellery selected for your child’s initial piercing is therefore prepared and sterilized before insertion. Tribal Expression produces much of its implant-grade titanium jewellery locally in Calgary, allowing greater control over the journey from manufacturing and inspection through preparation, sterilization and placement.
Any reusable instrument required
If a reusable instrument is required for the procedure, it goes through the studio’s reprocessing and sterilization workflow before use. Reusable instruments are not simply wiped down and reused. They must complete the appropriate reprocessing and sterilization process before returning to a procedure.
The full safety program, organized by topic
Tap any topic below to keep reading — each one opens in place, right where you are.
Inside our sterilization room
Real photos of the space where your child’s procedure setup is prepared — the room, the equipment and the workflow. No stock photography.
Individual sterilization for the individual appointment
A major part of the Tribal Expression sterilization philosophy is preparing the equipment required for the individual procedure rather than unnecessarily handling sterilized equipment through multiple additional steps.
Our Statim cassette sterilization system allows sterilized equipment to move efficiently from the sterilization process into the procedure workflow while limiting unnecessary post-sterilization handling.
For your child’s appointment, the complete procedure setup — the single-use piercing needle, the selected jewellery, forceps or other required reusable instruments, and any other sterilizable components needed for that procedure — is prepared and sterilized together specifically for that individual appointment.
This is one of the reasons cassette sterilization became such an important part of Tribal Expression more than two decades ago.
Why Tribal Expression uses Statim sterilization
Statim is a professional cassette steam sterilization system. Steam sterilization uses controlled combinations of steam, pressure, temperature and time to sterilize appropriately prepared instruments.
The cassette-based design is particularly useful in a busy professional piercing environment because it allows equipment required for an individual procedure to be processed efficiently and incorporated into a tightly controlled workflow.
Tribal Expression was an early adopter of Statim cassette steam sterilization within the professional piercing industry in North America. At the time, cassette sterilization was still relatively uncommon in many piercing studios.
For Tribal Expression, the appeal was straightforward: prepare the equipment, sterilize the equipment, minimize unnecessary handling, and use it within a controlled procedure workflow. More than two decades later, this remains a fundamental part of the Tribal Expression approach.
- More than 23 years of studio experience.
- More than three decades of professional piercing experience behind the studio.
- More than two decades of building sterilization into the core operating philosophy.
Follow your child’s equipment
- 1
Choose the jewellery
Your child chooses the appropriate initial jewellery with the assistance of the piercer.
- 2
Assemble the procedure setup
The complete procedure setup for the individual appointment — the single-use piercing needle, the selected jewellery, forceps or other required instruments, and any other sterilizable components — is assembled for preparation.
- 3
Sterilize the setup together
The assembled procedure setup is processed together through the studio’s professional Statim cassette steam-sterilization system.
- 4
Monitor the cycle
The sterilization cycle must complete according to the sterilizer’s operating requirements.
- 5
Minimize handling
The workflow is designed to keep unnecessary handling between sterilization and the piercing procedure to a minimum.
- 6
Open the sterilized procedure setup
The complete sterilized procedure setup — needle, jewellery and required instruments, sterilized together — is opened and prepared for that child’s procedure.
- 7
Perform the piercing
The piercing is performed using the contents of that sterilized procedure setup, opened for this child’s appointment.
- 8
After the procedure
Single-use sharps are discarded appropriately. Reusable instruments return to the reprocessing workflow before they can ever be used again.
Inside our actual sterilization process
These are real photographs of the sterilization and reprocessing areas at Tribal Expression in Calgary — not stock images. Ask us to walk you through them in person at your child’s appointment.
New does not automatically mean sterile.
Parents sometimes understandably assume that brand-new jewellery must already be sterile. “New” and “sterile” are not the same thing. A piece of jewellery can be brand new but still have gone through manufacturing, inspection, packaging and handling. That is why the jewellery selected for a fresh piercing is prepared through the appropriate sterilization process before placement — as part of your child’s complete procedure setup, prepared and sterilized together for their appointment.
Keeping clean and used equipment separated
Used side
Instruments that have been used in a procedure are handled in a controlled, separated area. They never move directly from one client to another.
Clean / sterile side
Only after completing the appropriate reprocessing and sterilization workflow can equipment return to the clean side and be used again.
This separation is a fundamental part of cross-contamination prevention. Used reusable instruments must move back through the appropriate reprocessing pathway — they do not move directly from one client to another.
Cross-contamination prevention doesn’t begin and end with wiping a counter.
Preventing cross-contamination requires attention throughout the entire appointment. Our workflow is designed to reduce opportunities for cross-contamination at every step:
- preparation of the procedure area
- hand hygiene
- appropriate glove use and glove changes
- separation of clean and contaminated items
- sterile and single-use equipment where appropriate
- minimizing handling of sterilized equipment
- appropriate sharps disposal
- controlled handling of reusable instruments after use
- reprocessing before reusable instruments return to service
- cleaning and preparation of procedure surfaces between appointments
Questions worth asking any children’s piercing studio
You do not have to take our word for what makes a professional piercing studio. Ask questions.
Is the piercing needle sterile and single-use?+
Yes. The piercing needle used for your child’s procedure is sterile and single-use — and it is not an unrelated item. It is part of the complete procedure setup prepared and sterilized together for that appointment, along with the selected jewelry, forceps or other required instruments, and any other sterilizable components for that piercing. After the procedure the needle is appropriately discarded and never reused.
Is brand-new jewelry automatically sterile?+
No. “New” and “sterile” mean different things. The jewelry selected for your child’s initial piercing is prepared and sterilized before insertion.
Do you sterilize reusable instruments?+
Yes. Any reusable instrument requiring sterilization must go through the studio’s reprocessing and sterilization workflow before it can be used again.
What kind of sterilizer do you use?+
Tribal Expression uses professional Statim cassette steam sterilization as a central part of its sterilization workflow.
How do you know the sterilizer is actually working?+
Sterilizer operation is monitored through the required cycle parameters and documentation, and Tribal Expression also performs routine biological-indicator testing to verify sterilizer performance.
What is biological-indicator or spore testing?+
A biological indicator is designed to challenge the sterilization process using highly resistant microorganisms. It is processed and evaluated according to its testing protocol to help verify that the sterilizer is functioning effectively.
How often do you perform biological testing?+
Tribal Expression performs biological monitoring more frequently than the minimum frequency required of us by the applicable health authority.
Can I ask to see your sterilization equipment?+
Absolutely. We want parents to understand the systems protecting their children and are happy to explain our sterilization process and equipment.
Can I watch my child’s needle and procedure setup being opened?+
Absolutely. At Tribal Expression, we individually sterilize the components required for your child’s procedure together as one complete procedure setup. That means the single-use piercing needle, the selected jewelry, forceps or other instruments required, and any other sterilizable components needed for that specific piercing are prepared and sterilized together for that individual appointment. This is an important part of the Tribal Expression sterilization philosophy: rather than treating each component as an unrelated item, we prepare the equipment required for that person’s procedure as one controlled setup. Parents are absolutely welcome to watch the sterilized procedure setup being opened and prepared for their child. The piercing needle is single-use. Once it has been used for that procedure, it is appropriately discarded and is never reused.
Your child. Their jewelry. Their instruments. Their procedure set. Prepared together. Sterilized together. Opened for their procedure.
What is the strip that goes through the sterilizer with my child’s equipment?+
It is a 3M Class 5, or ISO Type 5, steam chemical integrator. We place a Type 5 integrator within every client sterilization cycle. It responds to the critical variables of steam sterilization — time, temperature and steam — and provides an ACCEPT or REJECT result after processing. We retain the processed integrator with the documentation from your child’s procedure.
Do you keep my child’s sterilization record?+
Yes. The applicable sterilization cycle receipt and the processed 3M Class 5 integrator from your child’s procedure are retained with the child’s release/consent documentation. This means there is a procedure record associated with the sterilization monitoring used for that appointment.
Does a Class 5 integrator replace spore testing?+
No. They serve different purposes. A Class 5 / Type 5 chemical integrator monitors exposure to the critical variables of an individual steam-sterilization process. Biological-indicator testing separately challenges and verifies sterilizer performance. Tribal Expression uses both systems.
Do you use Class 5 integrators occasionally or with every cycle?+
Every client sterilization cycle. A 3M Class 5 / ISO Type 5 integrator is included in every sterilization cycle processing components for a Tribal Expression client.
What happens if the Class 5 integrator does not show an acceptable result?+
The affected procedure equipment is not released for use. An unacceptable indicator result means the sterilization process must be investigated and the equipment handled through the appropriate reprocessing procedure before it can be cleared for use.
Who prepares the equipment?+
Equipment preparation and sterilization are handled within Tribal Expression’s controlled studio workflow by trained staff operating according to studio procedures.
Does Iliana have sterilization-specific education?+
Yes. Iliana Kennedy completed the Medical Device Reprocessing program at SAIT and gained practical experience through hospital sterilization/reprocessing placements as part of her education.
Why does Tribal Expression use Statim?+
Cassette steam sterilization allows us to efficiently sterilize equipment required for individual procedures while minimizing unnecessary handling between sterilization and use.
How long has Tribal Expression focused on sterilization?+
Sterilization and cross-contamination prevention have been foundational parts of Tribal Expression throughout more than 23 years of studio operation.
How experienced is Keith Kennedy?+
Keith Kennedy has approximately 32+ years of professional piercing experience and has spent decades developing and refining the systems used at Tribal Expression.
What if my child changes their mind?+
We stop. A child’s comfort and willingness to continue are important parts of the Tribal Expression Kids experience.
Want the technical explanation?
Learn the science behind the process at KidsPiercing.com — our dedicated education library for parents and children.
Inside our actual sterilization process
These are real photographs of the sterilization and reprocessing areas at Tribal Expression in Calgary — not stock images. Ask us to walk you through them in person at your child’s appointment.
Where to go next
Want to know everything about kids ear piercing?
KidsPiercing.com is our dedicated comprehensive kids ear-piercing knowledge centre — for children and grown-ups alike.
Ready when they are.
A great children’s piercing appointment should feel exciting, informed and comfortable for both the child and the parent. We are happy to answer questions before you book or when you arrive.
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