All titanium is titanium....just like all beans are beans.... RIGHT?

It’s my first blog post in a long while, so I’m going to make it good.

.....Beans.

I often find an analogy is easier to understand when describing something that has been understood in another way forever. Today that analogy is beans.

Over the last few years my studio, way of working and way of thinking has drastically changed. This is down to meeting some of the most amazing peers I could have ever wished for. At times the piercing industry can feel like an exceptionally lonely and confusing place. However, that feeling for me is no more.

In piercing we hear the word titanium thrown around a lot. Going back 5 years now, I would have said “all titanium is the same”. Now, to the general person it is. Fast forward to now, and we realise that is just not the case.

Beans. We have two tins. Both are filled with baked beans. That is the generic name of the product. However, all of us bean ‘connoisseurs can easily tell you how we can differentiate between the supermarkets lowest cost option, mid range and then luxury version. Once again, the product is ‘beans’ but the title ‘beans’ is not enough.

Now, coming back to titanium. The main difference to me as a buyer of it is the pricing. Prices vary (just like beans) massively. Again, as someone buying a tin of beans you know the difference between the value can and the luxury version. The value can will have less tomatoes in the sauce and more water to dilute it down and save money. There could be more sauce than beans themselves, and even the actual quality of the beans can differ. Some lower cost brands may have more damage beans in a can compared to its more expensive predecessor. This is why there is a difference in pricing. For it to be cheaper, the quality will be less. It has to be.

The above image shows you some images of real labrets I have had in my presence. One is from a client I removed from another (Not local) studio. One is an old externally threaded bar I used to use, one is an internally threaded bar from a wholesaler I used until quite recently and lastly is a labret from a company I currently use called Junipurr.

So, 4 examples. Most people will look now and obviously see a difference. Others may notice the more obvious things like the thread style and finally some may notice the difference in polishes.

BUT... for all intensive purposes, they are all titanium, so that’s fine, right?

Nope.

It goes deeper than that. Not all titanium is titanium. Not all jewellery is polished to a good standard, not all titanium is suitable for implantation and not all jewellery is supplied with Mill certificates to prove it is what it says it is. Obviously, we know some people might be alright with random metals, however it isn’t something that we feel as a studio is worth taking the risk on. You pay to get pierced safely, and not understanding metals and the legalities behind them is not safe.

If you would like to know more about this subject please contact us online, or in the studio.