STORY BY GIULIANA LAMANTIA
For students interested in expanding their horizons in terms of body decoration (we know the youth today are notorious for that), Iron Heart Tattoo certainly delivers great service, affordable prices and an overall chill experience.
(While I, unfortunately, cannot speak on the tattoo portion of Iron Heart, I would assume the experience would be similar to that of receiving a piercing there.)
My freshman year rebellion came in the form of a belly button piercing I got at Iron Heart last September. Being my first piercing since my ear lobes (which I received at an age too young to remember what it was like) I was a nervous wreck the entire car ride there, questioning why I would put myself through such agony for a little jewel in my stomach. But I digress.
Simply walking into Iron Heart began to put me at ease. While some tattoo and piercing parlors have a shady aura or look as intimidatingly sterile as the inside of a doctor’s office, Iron Heart meets in the middle with a sort of rustic atmosphere, making it very approachable. Picture frames of its various body artwork line the wooden walls, and a comfy couch resides in the lobby area.
In the next room, the workers are very relaxed. They chat with each other and customers, making drawing on someone’s skin with ink and needle seem like the most casual thing in the world.
While I was definitely still nervous being led into a small room right beyond the lobby area for my piercing, the piercer was so chill it was difficult to not relax as well. He was super knowledgeable, personable and funny. The process was quick and painless (well, minus the pinch of the needle) and I walked out with a bedazzled belly button for $40 flat, and to this day I haven’t had any issues with it.
This school year, I returned to Iron Heart for triple ear lobe and cartilage piercings. Once again, they delivered with awesome service. While cartilage piercings are typically $30 and ear lobes $40, the piercer gave me $10 off for getting all three.
In addition, he realized the original two piercings on one of my ears were not even with that of the other. So before piercing my triples and cartilage, he re-did my first piercing to even out the earrings for no extra cost. It was an insanely nice gesture that serves as an example for its great customer service.
Based on my experiences, I definitely recommend Iron Heart to students looking for new piercings, as its prices are much more affordable than most places. The inside is clean and non-intimidating, and the staff is so genuine and cool it makes the experience relaxing and enjoyable. It is easy to see they enjoy what they are doing and care a lot about customer satisfaction.
Iron Heart Tattoo is a five to ten minute drive from campus at 2815 Beaver Ave. They can be reached at 515-270-1500.
