Booking & Policies

All metals are implant grade or biocompatible, therefore safe to be worn inside the human body. All gemstones are either natural and genuine (including sapphires, opals, diamonds) or lab-made for strength (like cubic zirconia and synthetic opals, also known as fauxpals) and are hardware-set meaning no glues or adhesives ever come into contact with any jewellery purchased at Golden Fern.

Because of these reasons, the cost of a piercing will vary greatly depending on your final choice.

Pricing things when in the studio together is no problem and we can help work toward budgets, providing the bottom line is a safely done piercing. The minimum fee, which you will be made aware of upon booking. is non-negotiable and discussed before consent forms are filled out, procedures performed or payment taken. You are under no obligation to get pierced should you have a change of heart- a booking fee is the only charge you will incur.

A piercing procedure is broken down into a few separate costs:

• 
  Piercing fee- this is the service charge to safely and expertly perform the piercing you require and varies from £30-£45 per piercing depending on location.
• 
  Non-decorative, implant grade jewellery in an appropriate shape and size (labret, barbell, captive bead ring, circular barbell, retainer etc) £25-£40
  
• Decorative choices (optional) vary from £20 to upwards of £1,000 as many are made from precious metals and gemstones. We have a huge array of styles, designs, colours and shapes suited to all budgets. Pricing is discussed verbally, visually and documented prior to commitment.

• Sterile saline aftercare (suggested but optional) £8.50-£12

 Other procedures such as jewellery removal or changeover, tapering an existing piercing open or stretching have a £5-£15 procedure fee.

Minimum cost for most popular piercings made with non-decorative jewellery will likely be £60-£70 though any and all pricing is finalised verbally, visually and on your piercing consent form (if you're getting pierced) before committing to the total on the day so no shocks or accidental overspends. Figures on this page represent a guide and not a contractual confirmation of amount.

After you have made that commitment, it is your responsibility to pay what you owe.

Payment can be made via cash, most debit/credit cards, bank transfer or split over several of those methods for your convenience.

• Transaction receipts and breakdowns are provided digitally as well as the totalled amount noted on your consent form.
• All sales are final. If an item has a fault and needs replacing, you will be given options involving repair of the original piece or replacement where appropriate. 
• No refunds. If you make a payment you later regret, we will not be able to cancel or refund that payment.

All purchases of jewellery and aftercare products are final and cannot be returned, refunded or exchanged. This is for a number of reasons but primarily- health and safety. Golden Fern Piercing cannot accept stock that has left the studio back into inventory as it negates our ability to guarantee it's remained unworn, new, and free from defect. Every person getting pierced or buying jewellery here has the right to know their piece is brand new and flawless at point of purchase.

All jewellery stocked is warrantied for life against mechanical or setting defects but that doesn't mean your jewellery is unbreakable and you should endeavour to be gentle and careful with your pieces, particularly those made of solid gold as they can be marred by tools or harder metals. Damage through misuse is not covered under warranty (removing your own jewellery at home and warping a ring, snapping a pin, breaking fine chain for example) but can still be repaired by manufacturer, though there may be a small charge for insured shipping back to the USA and any labour fees incurred will be passed onto the client. Repairs and replacements can take many weeks to complete and are out of our control. Any breakage occurring 1 year after purchase will be considered user error and not the assumed responsibility of the company or piercer to replace or repair uncompensated though of course we will still help resolve issues. Things like pins snapping on pieces after a year, especially at the point of you removing the jewellery is wear and tear. When we get your piece repaired we will demonstrate to you the perfect install/removal method!

We are not liable for any jewellery lost in your possession (even if we installed it), therefore we do not offer replacements for lost jewellery or repairs unless you can present the jewellery.

All repairs and replacements can only be issued once the piece in question is returned to us for inspection. You may either pay the return shipping to us or drop it off in store in a sealed baggie and appropriately protective bag/box labelled with your name and any details you can recall about the contents.

If you are unable to collect your jewellery from the store after a repair or replacement  we can post it to a UK address using RM Special Delivery at an £8 cost to you. 

When you book an appointment you are confirming that the person getting pierced is of required age and has in-date Photo ID (passport or driver's license)

Those ages are as follows:

8-16 for lobes ONLY. Parental/legal guardian* permission, accompaniment, and co-signing as well as Government issued, in-date Photo IDs for both parties (piercee and consenting parent) are necessary and adult must remain present throughout the procedure. The piercee can withdraw consent at anytime and that wish will be respected by the piercer, resulting in the appointment ending and being rescheduled for everyone's comfort and safety.

16-18 for nostril, septum, eyebrow, navel, helix and a few other ear piercings. Parental/legal guardian* permission, accompaniment and co-signing as well as IDs for both parties (piercee and consenting parent) are necessary. 

18+ you can now consent for yourself (yay). You may now safely get facial, oral, nipple, and genital piercings. ID is still necessary, particularly if you think you look under 25.

Failure to supply these things at the appointment forfeits your appointment and booking fee You will be reminded of the policies and invited to rebook with a new booking fee.

*legal guardianship will need to be provable via supporting paperwork in addition to both IDs.

ID must be government issued with a photo, date of birth and be in-date. Your safest bet is to bring Driver's license or Passport. 

If you are bringing 2 IDs for a minor's piercing then they must both be in-date and either have the same last name or be able to bring a further piece of documentation to support relationship. These will be photographed and attached to your consent form prior to procedure.

Membership, bank, college or uni cards will not be accepted as primary ID though can be used in addition as applicable supporting evidence- as can birth certificate. 

- In-date photo ID with date of birth (driver's license or passport)

- Phone or tablet with internet ability (our studio provides WiFi)

- Credit/debit card, cash or the means to pay via PayPal (app only) or bank transfer

Advised but not necessary:

- Comfortable, loose-fitting clothes if getting a body piercing

- Hair tie/styled back if you have long hair and are getting an ear piercing

- Bottled water is fine but no other food or drink will be permitted in the piercing room.

- Disposable or clean mask if you choose to wear one. You will only be asked to remove it if your booked procedure is otherwise inaccessible (nose or mouth piercings)

- Arrive alone (if over 18 or with one parent/legal guardian if under) on time, anyone later than 10 minutes will forfeit their booking fee and may be denied service due to other commitments- the next client should not have to wait because you were late.

- Pay minimum price listed for your piercings/procedures booked.

- Listen to and follow the recommended aftercare procedures and take appropriate daily care of your piercing.

- Return for a free 1 month check up. Failure to do this may have negative impact on the health or success of your piercing.

- Downsize your jewellery at the appropriate times and pay for any necessary services and products at those times.

- Give 48 hours notice of intent to reschedule if via email. You can reschedule your own appointment if you used the booking system. Booking fees are non-refundable.

- Read and abide by all terms, conditions and policies on this site. Failure to do so may mean your service cannot be performed and you will be noted as a no show which forfeits your booking fee.

All first-time attendee's appointments require a non refundable, non transferable booking fee to secure the date and time as yours. 

We need 48hr (2 days) notice to adequately rebook you through email and have chance to fill your original appointment, anything within the 48hr window is an automatic forfeit (extenuating circumstances apply and we will be lenient wherever possible).

Outright cancellation forfeits the fee no matter how far in advance but rebooking your date is fine providing the new date and time is confirmed (by us) outside of the 48 hours prior to your original appointment.

If you use the booking system to set your own appointments you can reschedule yourself for free!

Our schedule is often back-to-back with appointments. We book sessions in realistic windows with an additional comfort buffer- should someone have extra questions or be indecisive in their choices. This means we need to run on time else there is a knock-on effect where a late arrival can push back the start time of the next customer's appointment, and the next one after that and so on.

For this reason (and several others) if you are more than:

5 minutes late for a 15 - 30 min appointment

or

10 minutes late for a +30mins - 1hr appointment your booking fee will be forfeited as a late fee and you will no longer be able to use it as credit during your session. 

If you are so late that we can no longer perform the service we had originally scheduled for you, it will be noted as a no show and you will be invited to rebook with a new booking fee. You are welcome to use the remaining time for something else but you will not have your pre-paid fee as credit.

We will not be ruthlessly enforcing this rule as there will be occasions where we have time to spare but please be considerate of other clients and allow extra time for your journey so we can keep things running smoothly without having to make up the deficit from other's experiences or our breaks.

Check-Ups

If your appointment is for piercing we will book a complimentary check-up for 4 weeks after the appointment. This is free and strongly encouraged for your piercing's health. All it takes is part of your aftercare routine to be neglected or misunderstood and your piercing will exhibit signs of being unhappy. At this point, if you stick with your check-up we are usually able to get ahead of the problem before it becomes too established. We will discuss what's been happening between the two dates and get to the bottom of the potential source of irritation, eliminate it and tailor your aftercare routine to reflect that. Then, schedule another check-up for X weeks later to see progress. 

If, at your check-up, everything seems happy and healthy, it usually suggests that you have a good handle on things and to continue as you have been. We strongly encourage you to check in with us if that changes.

Some people need more help than others in the healing of a piercing and that is precisely what we are here for, if you have questions or doubts, do not play the 'wait and see' game. Be proactive and contact us to schedule a further check-up. Check-ups will always be free to our piercing clients unless you have previously no-showed/cancelled a session, then you will be asked to leave a booking fee for all future sessions69. This fee will either be credited to you during your final appointment or it will be absorbed if forfeit by further no show/short-notice cancellation.

Downsizing

This is an important part of your healing piercing's journey and demonstrates progress (yay) from it being fresh, one step closer to that goal of a fully healed piercing!

Downsizing is when the jewellery you were pierced with starts to feel/look like it's getting too long and sticking out. If left at that length it quickly becomes a potential for snagging and, in some piercings, can cause the angle to irreparably tilt, affecting how jewellery may sit at a later date or even result in the need for jewellery to be removed and let the piercing heal over.

In order to get the jewellery back to an appropriate length, the original bar is removed and a new, shorter one is put in its place. The decorative end(s) you chose at the time of getting pierced will fit perfectly into this new bar and the old, longer one is given back to you in a sealed bag for safe keeping- we may need it later if you experience unexpected swelling or you lose the bar (always better to have a spare and not need it than the other way around).

Being able to downsize your piercing does not mean it is healed but it is certainly good news, and well on its way to becoming a stable, mature piercing rather than a fresh wound. Stick with your aftercare routine, only changing if advised directly by your piercer.

If you got more than one piercing at the same time, that does not mean they will heal at the same time nor be ready to downsize simultaneously, it's important to treat them individually and give them what they need at the right time. Sometimes this is demonstrated by a pair of lobes where one side seems to weep more, stay swollen for longer and generally be the 'problem child' in comparison to the other perfect little angel. As annoying as this can be there is always a reason, perhaps you favour sleep on that side or talk on the phone a lot. Whatever it is, if we treat each piercing individually they will get the care and attention they need, resulting in happy, healed piercings.

Downsizing is not free. We waive service fees on downsizes for piercings done by us, electing to help you get to the ultimate goal of a healed piercing ASAP. However,  the jewellery replacing the original piece(s) will need to be paid for at the time of service, the majority of the time this will likely be a £20 jewellery charge per downsize.

-You are currently pregnant or have given birth within the last 1-4 months.

-You are breastfeeding a child under 6 months old. 

-You are under 18 and don't meet the conditions stated in the minimum age section.

-You will be going on holiday or regularly swim/hot tub/sauna within 2-3 months

-You will have to remove the piercing for work/school/have a scan coming up

-You are/will be intoxicated at the time of appointment. Whether this is due to any kind of medication/drugs or simply just a drink with lunch, it makes you unable to consent to undergo any procedure and could have complications. If we believe you to be intoxicated at our appointment it will be marked as a no show which is an automatic forfeit of appointment and booking fee. You will be invited to rebook with a new fee and reminded of the policy. Abuse is never tolerated and you will not be welcomed back.

- You have an active outbreak in the area of piercing such as psoriasis on ears or cold sore on a lip.

- You have had/plan to get injectable fillers in the area of piercing.

- You have had surgery in the area of piercing in the last 12-24 months.

- You are the recipient of a donated organ and are taking antirejection medication.

- You are immunocompromised or are taking medication that affects your white cell count or body's ability to heal.

- You are a haemophiliac

- You have recently recovered from serious illness or injury. This is for your safety. Prolonged or serious illness takes a toll on a body's ability to heal. If you have recently been ill or had severe physical trauma (as result of an accident or surgery) your body needs to focus on healing itself first before you overload your system with something new to care for. Additionally, some illnesses can affect your white blood cell count which is what keeps infections and viruses from running amok throughout your system. Getting pierced could add far too much risk to your personal safety.

Consult with your doctor and get written consent from them for any of the following and book a consultation:

- Remission from cancer or any other life-threatening illnesses in the past 12 months.

- Reconstructive surgery in the past 12-24 months

- Surgical or cosmetic implants in the past 12-24 months

- Have a condition that involves seizures (whether they be full or partial) and have had one in the last 6 months.

Masks are now optional, we will still be wearing masks for our comfort and your safety in procedure rooms during services but not in reception/waiting area to enable clear and easy communication.

As of Sept 2021 we reintroduced a safe service for oral piercings. Please do not book this service (you should reschedule if already booked) if you are ill or showing symptoms of cough, cold, flu etc.

We are not willing to compromise ours and others' safety and wellbeing. You will be reminded of this policy and invited to rebook with a new booking fee if you haven't followed this section and are clearly unwell.