Shinelle Bethelmy raises the piercing bar

PIERCER Shinelle “Nelly” Bethelmy has spent a lot of time honing her craft, and it has paid off.

Bethelmy received a scholarship to attend the Annual Association of Professional Piercers five-day conference in Las Vegas from June 23-28, where she met and interacted with some of the top piercers and tattoo artistes from around the world.

“It was amazing. The international community was very welcoming and there was a lot of sharing of information and discussing of techniques. The networking was one of the primary benefits – something I think is necessary in the industry.”

As a member of the piercing group The Real Piercer Babes, Bethelmy was selected by the group to attend the conference because of her dedication to her craft. The group has over 2,000 members from around the world. Its Facebook pages says it is "A safe place for women, nonbinary, gay, lesbian and trans people in the body modification industry to discuss industry-related things, critiques but educationally focused."

“The conference is industry-based, so you need to be a part of the body piercing industry in order to attend. But that could mean you work at the front counter, selling jewellery, or any aspect in the studio. It’s an annual event, now in its 27th year.”

She said she was part of sessions that were dealt with human anatomy, technique, jewellery, do’s and don’t’s of piercing and tattoos, and even some business classes.

“We got tips on how to run a business, HR-related things, and also some history lessons and exhibits which delved into the history of body piercing and the popularising of it.”

Bethelmy started body piercing in 2017, and in 2020, she left her full-time export sales job to do piercing full time.

“I opened my own small studio in Valencia, then I moved on to a larger studio in Movie Towne where there is more traffic.”

But before making that bold move, she made sure she was trained.

“I had my physical apprenticeship for months and was shown techniques and the different physical things that need to happen. I also immersed myself in the theory by reading about it and watching educational videos.”

She has also taken a number of classes in first aid and has blood-borne pathogens certification.

“All of these are necessary because it’s very easy to make a mistake. I continue to learn, and for the past three years I’ve done an abbreviated form of the conference. After the conference, the organisers select a few classes and make them into an online package for people who are interested.”

Generally, she said, piercing and tattoos go hand in hand. But even though she is a trained tattoo artist, she prefers to stick to piercing.

“They both fall under the body modification realm, but I am just a piercer. I spent my time perfecting this and bringing a sense of safety, style, innovation. There is a lot of work that needs to be put into it.”

And although it’s a lucrative business for her because of the time and effort she puts into her work, she believes the artform is under-appreciated here in the Caribbean.

“Some members of the public are used to a lot of poor-quality jewellery, and untrained practitioners who simply watch a YouTube video before you walked in as a client. What the public needs to understand is that they are implanting metal into in their bodies and are hoping to wear it either on a full-time basis or for an extended period of time; that maybe the quality of metal should be safe to actual keep in their bodies and not turn green.”

Slowly, she said, because of the high standards she maintains, her clients are beginning to appreciate her training and that they need better quality jewellery.

“Thirty dollars for a piece of jewellery retail should make you question what this person paid for it wholesale. I often get people coming with tarnished jewellery and incorrect piercing. I try my best to educate them, and hopefully in time we will move toward standards in the industry. Right now, anybody could open a studio. There is no certification requirement, no legislation. Hopefully that will change with time.”

And as far as the pain that is usually associated with piercings goes, Bethelmy believes that the severity is dependent on both the piercer and the client.

“I always tell every client when they ask me about pain, ‘Pain is personal; pain is temporary; pain is mostly in your mind.’ Once a piercing is done professionally by someone who knows what they’re doing, with the correct tools and equipment, it can be done quite quickly with minimal pain.”

Bethelmy said that’s where the importance of consultation comes in.

“A great part of my appointment time is spent in consultation. I assess their anatomy based on the type of piercing they want, but the actual piercing itself is quite quick. A lot of times clients ask, ‘oh, that’s it?’ because they were expecting more pain.

“For the general part, like I said, it’s personal and will depend on your relationship with pain.”

And while many piercers choose to use numbing agents to alleviate the discomfort of their clients, for her it is not an option.

“Firstly, if I use a numbing agent I won’t be able to tell if the client is in distress. And if they are in distress, then something is wrong and I need to know that.

“Secondly, most of these numbing agents are meant to be applied topically, and should not get in the bloodstream. So if I apply it topically and then I pierce the skin, it is going to end up in the bloodstream. Some of these agents contain things like steroids in them, and not everybody will have a good reaction to that. It can also run the risk of the client having an allergic reaction or skin irritation after the fact.”

Bethelmy said while the body modification industry is quite popular in Trinidad and Tobago, people still tend to be a bit conservative.

“We don’t do heavy body modification here, which includes things like split tongues and suspensions, which takes you to the ritual sides of piercings. Some people say it has a therapeutic side to it.”

She said these are the things you learn when you take a more theoretical approach to piercing.

“In Trinidad and Tobago, the piercing services are usually offered by tattoo artists who may have decided to buy a bunch of needles online and just do it and learn as they go. Sometimes they make mistakes as they go, and that is generally how they learn here, which is sad.”

Bethelmy's plan is to bring a little more awareness to the public and raise the standards of her craft.

“A lot of my clients are return clients. Piercing is a commitment and requires care and proper use of material, and I am seeing more of my clients becoming aware of this…My commitment is to offering exceptional service and quality jewellery.”