By Julie Taylor, April Berardi, and Lou Quino
The informational brochures available through the Association of Professional Piercers can be used in a variety of ways to educate the public about safe piercing. To help you better make use of these resources, we have summarized some of these pamphlets in our three part series by outlining the numerous ways in which studios have successfully utilized this vital information. (See The Point #60 and #61 for more information.)
In this, the last of the series, we will turn our attention to the brochures geared towards minors and to our international users. Remember: The Outreach Committee supplies these brochures FREE of charge to any member interested in doing outreach at a local convention or conference. (If you are attending a convention or conference in your area, please contact outreach@safepiercing.org.)
Brochures for Minors
The APP has a series of aftercare brochures which are specifically geared toward minors. These brochures provide young piercees with a simplified, easy-to-read outline on how to take care of their new piercing. These brochures are extremely useful for piercers working with schools or youth groups, as they have been edited with their young audience in mind. They offer more basic text and remove any mention of genital piercings—making them acceptable for use in elementary, middle, and high school presentations.
International Brochures
Reaching people in their preferred language can reduce confusion, help bridge communication barriers, and help to serve as a relationship building tool to gain the trust of varied clientele. For those very reasons, many of the APP’s brochures are also available in Spanish and French. (The North American population contains not one but three recognized national languages; for this reason it only makes sense that the APP publish brochures in all three languages.) This increases both the numbers of piercers and piercees who have access to proper and vital piercing information and allows for more outreach opportunities.
The following brochures were previously discussed in issues 60 and 61:
What is the APP
Picking your Piercer
Jewelry for Initial Piercings
Oral Piercing Aftercare
Oral Piercing Risks
Taking Care of your Piercing (updated from “Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Body Piercings”)
Conclusion
Studios are always looking for more ways to get involved in their community, to spread the word and to support the APP’s mission. We hope that you have found new ways to use the brochures to promote safe piercing. The resources provided by the APP are invaluable and, when used by the entire membership, can impact our communities on a larger scale.
To download these as well as other APP publications, or for more information about the APP brochures and other resources, visit the APP’s website. You can place an order on the website or by calling (888) 888-1APP. You can also access and download web and quality print versions of PDF files for free.