Straight To the Point

This isn’t a place I would go back to again, but let me start with the positives. It’s clean, prices are reasonable, and the staff are friendly («friendly», not «helpful»). I had my tongue pierced, and the piercing is off-​center and crooked, but tbh I noticed the top dot wasn’t perfectly centered when he first marked it, yet figured it wasn’t too important that it be *perfectly* symmetrical. I didn’t see the bottom dot, so I didn’t know it would also be crooked, but that’s not even the reason why I would never recommend this place.
A pierced tongue can swell a lot, so the starter barbell was quite long (compared to the size of a mouth), and as the swelling went down, the excess length began to make talking both difficult and painful, and eating became extremely time consuming. Two weeks after the piercing, I was finally able to return to the shop for a smaller barbell, as instructed (by this time in so much discomfort that I didn’t eat all day before going there, and had been trying to avoid speaking for the past day). The piercer took a look at my tongue and told me the barbell was still the right size (which by that point was insane) and that I should wait a few more days for the swelling to go down. Since the barbell was already protruding dramatically and a few days wasn’t going to make any substantial difference (except in number of chipped teeth if I’d had to keep eating around it), I pointed out desperately that I could no longer eat or speak normally, and he must have seen the starvation in my eyes (or maybe it was the fact that I could barely talk?), because he took a second look and changed his mind, agreeing to put in the shorter replacement. Fast forward another 3 weeks and it was time to go back for the permanent replacement, since there was now no swelling at all, and even the intermediate barbell had become a lisp-​inducing nuisance. I decided to go on a day of the week when I didn’t expect my piercer there, in case of a repeat performance. As luck would have it, I got an equally pompous and clueless response from the staff member who was there, and this one would not be swayed by, y’know, my inability to speak clearly and protestations of discomfort and THE SIMPLE PHYSICAL REALITY THAT THE BARBELL WAS TOO LONG. I finally had to leave and buy a shorter replacement at the mall, put it in myself, and that worked out fine.
Of course actual piercing professionals know a lot about what they’re doing, and have done it a lot of times, and I imagine an actual piercing professional would have known what to look for and when to downsize, but –see– you’re not the expert any more if you’re obviously wrong and patently unreasonable. I’ve gotten 9 other piercings over the past 7 years (at Deep Roots and Laughing Buddha, both in Seattle, from a number of different piercers at each) and have never before met with unwillingness to provide for routine follow-​up including replacing the jewelry in any piercing that swells a lot when fresh. Also, let me point out that both of these people based their visual assessments on the appearance of my relaxed tongue. In case you’ve never had a super-​long barbell sticking through your tongue, the extra length naturally rests in the bottom of your mouth, below your tongue. It isn’t visible from above when viewed at rest. In short, the magnitude of stupidity involved here is almost unbelievable.
My tongue now feels great (thanks to me and some shop at the mall) and looks… healthy (crooked and off-​center only ever looks so good), but when I next get work done, I’ll be looking for a shop staffed by *professionals* who give a s**t, have a clue, and aren’t incapable of meeting a simple, necessary request because they have their heads crammed so far up their… Um… sense of self-​importance.

David was terrific and so nice. I ran in to have my belly button ring taken out, I did not call or make an appointment but he took care of it did not charge me anything and said if I ever changed my mind they would put it back. He was seriously the nicest person… Made my day! Thanks David!

I called this place last minute, I needed some assistance taking my nose ring out, I spoke with a lovely, young woman named Jenny, and I walked in and explained my situation, she finished her last client up, and explained my error, and placed a new retainer in for $ 10. Best experience I’ve had with such short notice. The customer service exceeded my expectations by far. If you’re looking for excellent, fast, friendly and professional service, look no further; go to Straight to the Point!

I saved my septum piercing for the big road trip we had planned. Specifically, I wanted to get it done in Portland.
During our brunch, I searched nearby shops. I was pleasantly surprised to find Straight to the Point. I don’t know how to describe this place, other than to call it a boutique piercing shop. Prior to this experience, I had my piercings done in a tattoo parlor. While there’s nothing wrong with a tattoo parlor, this place takes piercing to an elevated level.
First off, the space is awesome. Plenty of comfy seating and a great retail display area. I was a little surprised to see how many customers were browsing around on a Tuesday afternoon. David helped us all in the order in which we arrived. He was helpful, informative, and exceptionally professional.
I never saw myself as a candidate for a septum piercing because of the size of my nose. I told this to David and he took me to the display case that carried septum jewelry. He pointed out the ones that would work with smaller noses. I took a few minutes, deciding which jewelry to choose from before settling on the hoop. The piercing was $ 35, the jewelry was $ 10.
David had me fill out some paperwork and I waited until it was my turn. I watched as David sanitized the chair I’d be sitting in. He changed his gloves and had me sit. He explained the procedure to me and applied a gel to sanitize the area. I felt so bad for him as he stuck his two pinkies into my nostrils to prep/​massage the septum area. I watched him change his gloves again. He pulled out the individually wrapped needle and clamped my septum, talking his way through every single step. He had my deeply inhale, then exhale as he pushed the needle through. It was over in a second. Water immediately rushed to my eyes (which he warned me about), but the pain wasn’t there.
Following the cleanup was the big reveal. I turned in my chair to the large mirror behind me and I was absolutely thrilled. It was so cute and I couldn’t believe I held off on getting it all these years.
David told me that I should have no problem healing this time. I had told him of my failed piercing woes (teardrop and tragus) I asked if I should use peroxide to clean with. «No,» he said as I watched him change his gloves for the fourth time to clean the chair for the next customer. «Saline spray works best». He explained how peroxide/​alcohol will kill all bacteria good and bad and that saline was the gentle, effective way to go.
One week and two cans of saline spray later, and I’m healing nicely. Blowing my nose has been the biggest challenge, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Kudos to David for providing me a note to take to Red Cross for my next blood donation, listing Straight to the Point’s sanitation policy.

I got a double cartilage piercing here yesterday. Very informative, very fast, and very sanitary.
I Highly recommend, I love my new piercings!

I went in today and got my nipples pierced by David. He was AWESOME! Super professional, I was very comfortable with him being my piercer.
Along with that he did an awesome job on my piercings! He spent a good amount of time making sure they were going to be even.
Even when I passed out David was awesome, he made sure I didn’t feel rushed at all leaving so I could get my strength back, even though others were waiting.
Even the guy in the front, Oliver (I believe) was hilarious.
I will 100% go back. They were very clean and professional. Worth every penny!

I got my belly button pierced and had a great experience! A bit spending but worth it. I highly recommend them!

Such a fantastic experience. I highly recommend this studio. Professional, clean and nice. My six year old is thrilled!

I had David give me a double helix piercing and the experience was nothing short of pleasant! I showed David a picture for reference and he did a great job recommending the type of earrings and piercing placements. He was really thorough in walking me through all the steps and I felt oddly relaxed throughout the whole experience! I would recommend Straight to the point to anyone looking to get pierced. People here are not only artists who are super knowledgeable, they are really nice as well :) Thank you so much David!

Other then ear piercings at Claire’s I have never had a piercing.
I was in Portland on vacation right before my
birthday and decided to do something I had wanted for a long time, get my noise pierced.
As I wasn’t familiar with the area, I turned to Unilocal and this shop had amazing reviews and
for good reason!
The shop is beautiful and extremely clean. David seemed to be the only piercer in the shop when I came in with my cousins but he was very attentive to everyone and was very knowledgeable on everything piercings.
I didn’t have to ask anything as he really went through any question I could have had. The experience itself was amazing. Was in and out quickly and he explained everything to me.
Most importantly everything was so clean and he was very big on explanation of all things sanitation.
Wish I was a local so I could be back, great shop!

While having a nice steak dinner at Urban Farmer, the people in the bachelorette party came up with the crazy idea of either getting tattoos or piercings. Tattoos? I’m out. Call it commitment issues or call it fear of needles… I just can’t do it. Another piercing? That I could be down for.
Although Straight to the Point closes at 9pm, they were nice enough to stay open later to get four of us pierced. (We called at 8:45pm.)
After getting our forms filled out and jewelry picked, we took turns getting our ears pierced. The people there are awesome and make you feel at ease.
Cartilage piercing was about $ 73 after tip. It was definitely cool to get a meaningful piercing on one of my trips!

I got my first piercing here and they were so great! Oliver is very nice and welcoming and is available to answer any questions with lots of patience. David pierced my nose and I REALLY recommend asking for him. He’s very informative, kind, and gentle. If I could give them 6 stars I would, if you have the chance to go here, do it!

Emily is a graceful host and made my experience painless. The fact I almost fell out into the street from the blood rushing to my enormous ears wouldn’t deter me from seeking out another STTP experience. Ha, thanks again.

This is a beautiful space that definitely strives to present piercing as high end art. I was greeted by Jenni who was welcoming and knowledgable in answering all my questions. The hole in my left ear has been bugging me for a few years. I could never get an earring through and so I had assumed it had closed up. Instead of giving me a quote for how much it would cost to pierce again, Jenni had me sit down to see if she can get a small stud through, without piercing, just in case it wasn’t closed. Sure enough, she was able to get the earring through and I was only charged for the jewelry ($ 20 for both ears) as opposed to being charged $ 50 for piercing and jewelry! I’m extremely appreciative that she saved me $ 30, and the pain of assuming I had to get it re-​pierced. Thank you Jenni and Straight To The Point!

My friend and I went to Straight to the Point while visiting Portland a couple weeks ago. We were both getting ear cartilage piercings. We called on our way as they were closing and I think they stayed open a little late to accommodate us. The two people working (who’s names I can’t remember, sorry!) were really friendly and super informative. I felt really comfortable and was so happy talking with the woman who was piercing me that I hardly noticed when it happened. It’s now healing really quickly in comparison to another cartilage piercing I recently had done elsewhere. I highly recommend straight to the point.

Emily was amazing and professional! The gentleman who helped us was professional and very helpful! I would recommend them time and time again!

Me and my friend were debating on getting some piercings for a couple days but couldn’t align our schedules. Finally one night we decided to just go do it and went out on a mission. The woman working at Straight to the Point stayed open past closing time to help us, and was extremely friendly, professional, and informative.
Could not have asked for better service. This shop is also extremely clean and safe, which always makes it more comfortable. Would definitely come back and recommend here for any future work!

David helped me with my nose piercing. I’ve had my nose piercing closed and he was so patient and knowledgeable about the process. I’ve had bad experiences dealing with piercing shops where they let their egos get in the way but David was the polar opposite! I got a beautiful piercing and loved his awesome customer service skills! I felt like I knew him for along time. More shops need people like him to represent! Ty David!

This place was great. I got my septum pierced here last Friday and the staff was very friendly and professional. Everything was super clean as well.
I got a little light headed and embarrassed about being light headed, but the staff made me feel comfortable and made sure I was ok before I left.
I would totally recommend this place.

f you’re adventurous enough to pierce a part of your ear other than your lobes check in here. This place is so Artsy, They make you feel very comfortable and a year later I still have metal! This was one of those random «things to do» the piercing room is glass windows, but when they get down to business the swanky red velvet curtain gets pulled for privacy ;)
Chic Punk