✦ For healing, aftercare, and troubleshooting information, please visit the “Aftercare” tab above! ✦
-
Established October 2024, Rosefinch Body Piercing is a dedicated piercing-only and fine body jewelry studio located in West Town, Chicago. We are committed to providing clean, safe, and high-quality body piercing services. We are active members of the health and safety organization, the Association of Professional Piercers.
-
Monday | 11am - 6pm
Tuesday | 11am - 6pm
Wednesday | Closed
Thursday | 11am - 6pm
Friday | 11am - 6pm
Saturday | 11am - 6:30pm
Sunday | 11am - 6:30pm
-
Rosefinch is comprised of a very small team! Because of this, appointments are the best way to keep the service flow as seamless as possible.
Of course, we’ll try to squeeze in a walk-in if we can—but an appointment guarantees we can help! You can book an appointment up to 1 hour in advance and no deposit is required. We want to make it as easy as possible to book.
For health and safety reasons, all jewelry sales are final. Purchasing jewelry can be tricky, so it’s important that we assist with placement, sizing, and insertion so that you receive the right piece for you!
It’s really difficult to place price tags on tiny 2mm pieces of jewelry, haha. There is a huge, ever-evolving inventory of pieces, and factors like metal, gemstone, and gem cut greatly impact price. A huge part of your jewelry shopping appointment is to help you make an informed decision about your jewelry—giving you quotes, letting you hold pieces up, making styling recommendations, etc.
-
Please use our online booking form here! All available appointment timeslots for the next eight weeks are displayed in real time.
You can book up to one hour in advance, as well as reschedule/cancel via the link in your confirmation email up to one hour before your appointment. We do not take a deposit or charge any cancellation fees.
All we ask is that if you need to cancel/reschedule, that you either do so via the link in your confirmation email up to an hour before your appointment, or please just send over a quick message if within the hour. Thank you.
-
Until we are at the point where we can have jewelry specialists manning the front of house on a regular basis, we do not have a phone number publicly available.
When we are working with a client, that appointment is really our whole world—we want to make sure we’re prioritizing your time during your appointment! (And when we have gloves on, we really can’t answer the phone on a logistical level).
So, email is really the best way to get ahold of us; we’re pretty quick to respond to messages.
General Studio: hello@rosefinchpiercing.com
We do have an emergency landline should you need to let us know you’re running late — check your appointment confirmation email!
-
Via public transit:
The studio is a 0.6 mile walk north from the brand-new Damen Green Line Station. You can catch the northbound #50 bus from the station; the bus will drop you off either one block north or south of the studio (either Damen & Ohio or Damen & Huron).
Driving/Parking:
The parking situation is surprisingly easy for Chicago! There is free street parking all along West Erie St and along North Damen (only the 2 block radius for the latter).
-
Every piercee must provide a form of government-issued ID with a date of birth listed on it in order to get pierced. This is a Public Health Department requirement. Acceptable forms of ID include a driver's license, state ID, or passport.
For minors: We need government-issued identification for both parent and child to be submitted with the release form (e.g. the child's birth certificate + the parent's driver's license). A birth certificate, passport, state ID, or driver's permit/license is acceptable. If the parent/legal guardian and child's last names do not match, a birth certificate is required.
This documentation is needed to show that a) the minor fulfills age requirements for the specific piercing they are getting and b) that it is indeed the minor's parent/legal guardian who is consenting with them.
-
Age minimums are as follows:
Earlobe: 12+
Helix/flat/faux rook, conch, nostril: 14+
Tragus, forward helix, rook, septum, daith, lip, eyebrow: 16+
Industrial, navel, nipple: 18+
For minors:
We need government-issued identification for both parent and child to be submitted with the release form. e.g. the child's birth certificate/passport/state ID + the parent's driver's license
We will need a parent or legal guardian present in the studio during the appointment.
The following pertains to everyone, but commonly comes up with kids’ earlobe piercings!
Please note that new piercings should not be submerged in unhygienic enclosed bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc. for a minimum for 6-8 weeks; make sure to account for swimming plans when scheduling your appointment.
Note that we will not pierce tissue that has been numbed within the past 24 hours. Topical anesthetics such as Lidocaine distort/contract tissue, meaning that piercings performed on numbed tissue may appear angled/crooked once the anesthetic wears off.
-
Single Piercing: $50 service fee for one piercing + cost of jewelry.
Example: A single conch piercing comes out to $50 + cost of jewelry.
A single piercing starts at $100 in total with basic titanium jewelry (a ball or disc)
A single piercing starts at $150 in total with basic gold jewelry (a 2mm gold ball)
Multiple Piercings: $50 single piercing fee + $25 service fee per each additional piercing + cost of jewelry.
Example: A tragus piercing + conch comes out to $75 + cost of jewelry.
Two piercings starts at $175 in total with basic titanium jewelry
Two piercings starts at $275 in total with basic gold jewelry
Example: A triple helix would be $100 + cost of jewelry.
Please note that we do not pierce with outside jewelry; jewelry must be from Rosefinch so we can verify the jewelry's quality/composition, ensure it can be safely autoclaved, and remain compliant with our insurance policy.
For health and safety reasons, all jewelry sales are final.
Consultations and check-ups are free of charge, even for piercings not performed at our studio.
Downsizes are free of charge for piercings performed at Rosefinch. For piercings performed elsewhere, there is no service fee but rather the cost of the shorter component alone ($20 per flatback post, $25 - $30 per curved barbell shaft; $20 per straight barbell shaft).
Jewelry Change or Removal
For healed piercings: $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting and regardless of where the jewelry is from (i.e. we will help insert outside jewelry)
For healing piercings:
Note that there are special considerations to make when it comes to selecting jewelry for healing piercings.
If purchasing jewelry at Rosefinch: we are more than happy to guide you to the style that works best for your piercing! There is a $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting.
If bringing in outside jewelry: Out of an abundance of caution, we only insert jewelry that is a) appropriate for the healing piercing and b) from one of the makers we work with, as we can then verify the quality/composition, the biocompatibility of the piece, and that the piece can be run through our autoclave. There is a flat $20 flat change-out and re-processing (i.e. inspection, decontamination, ultrasonic, and sterilization) fee.
-
Cashless payment such as debit/credit/Apple Pay is preferred, but we do accept cash.
-
Unfortunately, none of our piercers are taking an apprentice in the foreseeable future.
It is very important for a mentor to be able to fully commit to teaching someone; it is not a light venture by any means. An apprenticeship is minimally a year long, and essentially a full-time job for both mentor and mentee on top of their current job responsibilities. The business is very new (established in October 2024), and very small—our current focus is on doing the work needed to help it grow and stabilize.
We do totally understand how difficult to navigate entry into the industry is, and want to provide resources below:
Fakir Piercing Intensives(the Basic Course is open to anyone)
Jef Saunders’ “An Open Letter to Would-Be Piercing Apprentices”
Association of Professional Piercers guide
Lynn Loheide on apprenticeships
We are not currently hiring for a piercer or front-of-house staff at this time, but we appreciate the interest; please, no drop ins with resumes. We are also not at a point of stability to host non-local guests quite yet. If we are in a position to hire or are in need of guest coverage, we will post about it on Instagram!
⟢ General Info ⟣
-
Release forms/paperwork (the IL Department of Public Health requires government-issued ID in order to get a piercing; please see the full policy, especially as it pertains to minors!)
Anatomy consultation (especially for more anatomy-dependent piercings, such as navels)
Jewelry selection
Sterilization of jewelry as well as single-use piercing needles/tools in our Statim autoclave
Cleaning/marking/skin prep of piercing site (please let us know if you have an iodine allergy)
The actual piercing itself--this is the fastest part of the process!
Cleaning the piercing site with sterile saline
Going over aftercare / scheduling follow-up appointment
-
We can only assist one client per appointment. If two or three people would like to get pierced together, please have each individual book a consecutive timeslot!
For groups of 4+, please send an email to our general email. (Yes, we do host piercing parties!)
-
Jewelry Change or Removal
For fully healed piercings: $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting and regardless of where the jewelry is from (i.e. we will help insert outside jewelry)
For piercings still in the process of healing:
Note that there are special considerations to make when it comes to selecting jewelry for healing piercings, as it still an open wound.
If purchasing jewelry at Rosefinch: we are more than happy to guide you to the style that works best for your piercing! There is a $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting.
If bringing in outside jewelry: Out of an abundance of caution, we only insert jewelry that is a) appropriate for the healing piercing and b) from one of the makers we work with, as we can then verify the quality/composition, the biocompatibility of the piece, and that the piece can be run through our autoclave. There is a flat $20 flat change-out and re-processing fee (i.e. inspection, enzymatic decontamination, polishing, ultrasonic, and sterilization).
Fresh Piercings
Please note that we do not pierce with outside jewelry; no exceptions. Initial jewelry must be from Rosefinch. With our own jewelry, we have the documentation on hand to a) verify the jewelry's quality/composition, b) cover the piece under manufacturer’s warranty, and c) ensure it can be safely autoclaved.
No sharing jewelry between clients; that is, we cannot re-process another client's worn jewelry for another client's use.
We are happy to re-use decorative endpieces purchased at our studio. The jewelry will need to be re-processed, so please make sure to select this as an add-on to your appointment as it is a lengthy process. You may also drop off pieces ahead of your appointment. There is a $20 re-processing fee, which covers inspection, enzymatic decontamination, polishing, ultrasonic bath, and re-sterilization.
Please note that we will want to use a brand new wearing surface, flatback post, barbell shaft, etc. for each new piercing, as the post is what actually makes full contact with the wound!
-
We cannot pierce you if you are currently on Accutane or within 6 months of your final dose (per the FDA), are currently pregnant/breastfeeding, or are under the influence of drugs/alcohol. We also cannot pierce you if you have recently numbed the tissue prior to the procedure; piercings performed on numbed tissue may appear angled/crooked once the anesthetic wears off and the tissue relaxes.
⟢ Appointment Info ⟣
-
To be clear, this is not a question of endurance—you theoretically could sit for dozens of piercings! But, our main concern is always your long-term healing. The more you are healing, the harder it is to heal. Your immune system has a finite number of resources.
To minimize the demands healing piercings inevitably places on one's immune system, we will only perform up to 3-4 piercings (depending on what those piercings are) in a single session. We generally recommend 1-2 piercings at a time for ease of healing; this can be staggered out by a month, minimally. Some folks will get 1-2 piercings and add another 1-2 piercings at their downsize/check-up appointment—as long as things are healing well!
-
We will only perform hard cartilage piercings on one ear at a time (i.e. no paired conches, helix on one side and tragus on the other, etc). This is to reduce the risk of healing complications and irreversible angle drift often caused by sleeping on fresh piercings; we want you to have an ear to sleep on, use the phone with, etc. while healing your piercings!
Paired earlobe piercings are completely fine, as that soft tissue has give and therefore resists angle drift. And paired nostrils are fine, as it is unlikely you are sleeping/using the phone/wearing a hat on your nose (but do be careful with your glasses!).
-
Swimming: If you have plans to swim or have vacation plans, we highly recommend holding off until afterwards to get pierced. To avoid infection risks, it is critical that fresh piercings are not submerged within pools, hot tubs, lakes, or other enclosed bodies of water for the first 6-8 weeks of wound healing.
Travel: We recommend a buffer of about two weeks before or after air travel to get pierced, as the combination of stress, cabin pressure/dehydration, and changes in climate can lead to unusual/excess swelling in fresh piercings. However, we will still pierce you as long as you understand the risks; please do let us know if you are about to travel so we can accommodate for this when deciding how much room you need on your jewelry for swelling.
To avoid closure of the piercing channels, jewelry must be worn at all times for the entire duration of the healing process, and even for a good while after healing is complete. It is best to schedule your piercing for a period of time where you do not anticipate having to remove your jewelry for several months (e.g. removal for sports, medical procedures, interviews, etc.).
Other lifestyle considerations:
If you regularly wear a stethoscope or ear buds, a daith or tragus piercing will not be able to heal.
Similarly, wearing high-waisted pants greatly impacts the ability of navel piercings to heal successfully and increases the risk of migration/rejection.
In general: continued sources of outside pressure will negatively impact healing! This includes sleeping on your piercings (see: section on angle drift).
-
You should ideally refrain from swimming throughout the entire duration of your healing process. At minimum, 6-8 weeks, but make sure to irrigate and dry the area especially well afterwards.
-
In short, no—the reason being that numbing cream can change the texture and density of your tissue in unpredictable ways. If numbed tissue is pierced, there is a good chance that the placement/angle will be off once the tissue relaxes, which carries serious consequences as far as your piercing’s ability to heal.
Additionally, topical numbing would not necessarily affect the sensation of getting pierced. The only way to fully numb the area would be via injection—and that would simply be more painful than the piercing!
Lastly, the piercing is so fast, numbing is not truly necessary. We pierce with breathing cues—a nice deep breath in, and a deep breath out—and it’s over.
Please see this article for more information!
⟢ Pre-Appointment Considerations ⟣
-
We take jewelry quality very seriously. The initial jewelry we use to pierce with meets standards set forth by the Association of Professional Piercers.
Our selection is comprised of implant-grade titanium (ASTM F-136), implant-grade steel (ASTM F-138), niobium, and solid 14k -18k gold that is nickel, cadmium, and lead-free, as well as specifically alloyed for biocompatibility.
-
In the context of piercing, or medical implantation, “biocompatibility” refers to a material’s ability to not cause irritation, allergy, toxicity, or other negative effects while in contact with living tissue.
Especially when considering jewelry alloys for a fresh piercing, we want to use biocompatible alloys only—in other words, inert metals that will not trigger a reaction in the body and will resist corrosion/oxidation even when worn continuously in the body.
As mentioned in the APP Guidelines for jewelry for initial piercings: “of the numerous materials available, few have been proven appropriate for wear in fresh body piercings. Some metal alloys…have been approved based on medical usage (often as medical implants) and have specific designations that represent a precise standard for the alloy and its quality as determined by the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard (ASTM)…Other materials, such as gold and obsidian (natural glass) have a long history of use in piercings dating back hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of years.”
Read the full standard here.
-
Jewelry Change or Removal
For healed piercings: $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting and regardless of where the jewelry is from (i.e. we will help insert outside jewelry)
For healing piercings:
Note that there are special considerations to make when it comes to selecting jewelry for healing piercings.
If purchasing jewelry at Rosefinch: we are more than happy to guide you to the style that works best for your piercing! There is a $10 flat jewelry change fee, regardless of number of piercings changed in one sitting.
If bringing in outside jewelry: Out of an abundance of caution, we only insert jewelry that is a) appropriate for the healing piercing and b) from one of the makers we work with, as we can then verify the quality/composition, the biocompatibility of the piece, and that the piece can be run through our autoclave. There is a flat $20 flat change-out and re-processing fee (i.e. inspection, enzymatic decontamination, polishing, ultrasonic, and sterilization).
Fresh Piercings
Please note that we do not pierce with outside jewelry; jewelry must be from Rosefinch so we can a) verify the jewelry's quality/composition, b) cover the piece under manufacturer’s warranty, and c) ensure it can be safely autoclaved!
No sharing jewelry between clients; that is, we cannot re-process another client's worn jewelry for another client's use.
Please note that we will want to use a brand new wearing surface, flatback post, barbell shaft, etc. for each new piercing, as the post is what actually makes full contact with the wound!
-
All of our body jewelry used for initial piercings complies with standards upheld by the Association of Professional Piercers. Our studio carries a variety of jewelry options in implant-grade (ASTM F136- and ASTM F-1295 compliant) titanium and (ASTM F138-compliant) steel, niobium, and solid 14k/18k white/yellow/rose gold from high-quality companies such as:
Anatometal
Body Gems
Body Vision Los Angeles
Buddha Jewelry
Cascade
Cinch
Clickerino
Ember Body Jewelry
Gorilla Glass
Jewelry This Way
Kiwi
LeRoi
Local Natives
Maya
Modern Mood
Mushroom Body Jewelry
Neometal
People's Jewelry
Quetzalli
Tawapa
Tether
Vira
-
You sure can! Please fill out this form with as much information as you can to get this process started.
-
Threadless: Also known as "press-fit" or "push-pin"-style jewelry. A small pin on the back of the decorative end is slightly bent; that bend provides the tension to keep your jewelry sitting in its post. The sharper the bend, the tighter the pieces will fit together. With freshly washed hands, press both pieces together with even pressure. Check out this video about threadless jewelry by Jef Saunders of Gamma Piercing! Additionally, please refer to this fantastic video walkthrough from Brilliance Piercing on how to insert threadless nostril jewelry at home.
Internally threaded: the threading is located on the decorative end piece, which means no sharp threading will drag through the piercing channel when changing your jewelry. With freshly washed hands, screw the decorative end right to tighten, left to loosen.
We do not carry externally threaded jewelry, as it is unsafe.
-
Depends on what you want to change your jewelry to! If you just want to change the decorative end of your threadless/threaded stud, we can do that as soon as you come in for your downsize. The beauty of these jewelry systems is that we are simply changing out the decorative end of the jewelry while leaving the post itself in place -- which means that the healing piercing channel is relatively undisturbed. We still recommend having us help you with changes while you are healing, so that we may ensure everything is both properly sterilized and swapped out as gently as possible!
If you want to change to a seam (continuous) ring, we recommend waiting for your piercing to be fully healed (earlobes: 3-5 months, hard cartilage 6-12 months).
Why such a long wait? The shape of a ring can put a lot of pressure on the entry and exit points of your piercing, which - if the piercing is not yet fully healed - can cause major setbacks in your healing process. The movement of a ring (and especially the motion of a seam or hinge sliding through the piercing channel) can also cause excess irritation inside the already fragile piercing channel. It's best to make sure your piercing is fully settled before switching to a ring.
Even after a full healing period, we recommend wearing jewelry at all times to prevent shrinkage or even closure of the piercing channel.
-
Yes and no. There are two main things to keep in mind when considering rings for initial piercings: size and style.
Size: If used for an initial piercing, the ring must be of a large enough diameter to accomodate for swelling. What this means is that the ring will not be snug/fitted, and will most likely have some hang. There are certain piercings where the size of the ring presents a higher potential for healing issues and is just not feasible, so we just don't offer it.
Style: A ring used for an initial piercing must also have some sort of bead or other decoration to block the seam from sliding into the healing piercing channel. As such, we cannot not start off any new piercings with a seam (continuous) rings -- tissue can actually grow in between that seam.
It's also best to use a ring of a slightly thicker gauge/thickness for more stability. That all being said, rings of an appropriate size style can totally be used for earlobes, helixes, and septums! And for daith piercings, the only appropriate jewelry style is a ring (not a curved barbell). For all other piercings, it's best to wait for your piercing to heal before switching to a ring.
-
Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant titanium oxide finish. This layer interferes with light as it travels through the layer and reflects off the surface of the metal. The thickness of the layer determines the color that is reflected back to us; we can anodize titanium and niobium almost any color except for red and black. (Only niobium can be heat-treated black.)
The titanium oxide layer created by anodizing can actually passivate titanium and niobium. This is a process where the surface of a metal becomes “passive” or less easily corroded by the environment. Painting a wood deck with something waterproof could be considered a form of passivation. In a body piercing context, wearing corrosion-resistant jewelry is incredibly important; remember, our living tissues are actually pretty inhospitable to most materials! We don’t want to install something that will break down in the body over time. Instead, we want to only use inert metals that will not trigger a reaction in the body and will resist corrosion/oxidation even when worn continuously in the body, so anodization, if anything, makes your jewelry even safer for long-term wear.
Implanted medical devices like orthopedic implants and bone fixation plates are anodized for visual identification (and anodization reduces friction between tissue and material, which is beneficial for mobility reasons!), and in aerospace applications so components can withstand the harsh conditions of space or the ocean. Anodization is pretty awesome.
We offer this service for titanium and niobium pieces, free of charge, because it’s pretty!
-
For ease of insertion, we use surface anchor forceps to install the jewelry. In short, this tool will scratch solid gold endpieces, as gold is a softer material than steel.
As such, we only pierce surface anchors with implant-grade titanium endpieces (that can be anodized a golden tone, free of charge!) and can swap your surface anchor endpiece to a solid gold endpiece once it is more settled.
We are not yet offering surface bars, but when we do, it is is not a problem to pierce with solid gold endpieces as this procedure does not require an anchor tool.
-
For the purposes of body jewelry safety, white gold is often alloyed with palladium rather than nickel in order to be biocompatible.
Palladium is even rarer than gold, and is therefore more expensive than gold.
-
Rather than serving as a true "webstore," this site is more so intended to help you explore our pricing and general offerings. This is far from an exhaustive list of everything we carry; there are always more options in person!
Please note: for health and safety reasons, all jewelry sales are final. Purchasing jewelry online can be tricky, so we always recommend purchasing in person so that we may assist with placement, sizing, and insertion. If purchasing online is best for you, please do not hesitate to email us with any questions you might have prior to finalizing your order. -
We strongly recommend gifting gift cards over physical pieces of jewelry. Because all jewelry sales are final (for health and safety reasons), the stakes are high for ensuring the proper fit—it can be difficult guesstimating the size someone else needs, especially when a single millimeter can make the difference as to whether or not something can be worn comfortably. Have your loved one come in so we can assist with sizing and insertion!
We sell physical gift cards in the studio and eGiftcards here.
⟢ Jewelry ⟣
-
Heck no! All of our procedures are used with single-use, disposable needles that are sterilized immediately prior to the procedure in a Statim 2000 autoclave.
-
We use a SciCan STATIM 2000. The STATIM 2000 is a type of steam-based sterilizer known as a cassette autoclave, specifically designed to accommodate a range of instruments including those with hollow interiors (lumens), like piercing needles. You’ll likely see a STATIM in dental and medical offices.
We spore test our autoclaves on a weekly basis through Mesa Labs.
Whenever we run a cycle for a piercing procedure, we include what’s called an “integrator” strip. For a STATIM cycle, a Class 5 integrator is used. This type of integrator provides a clear, visual indication that all critical parameters of sterilization—time, temperature, and steam saturation—have been met. It serves as a reliable method for verifying the effectiveness of each cycle, ensuring instruments are properly sterilized before use! We show this little strip to you right before you get pierced.
-
That means we do not re-use tools, needles, or jewelry. Every single item we use is single-use.
Our friends at Gamma Piercing have a great explanation about this!
-
We are a latex-free facility! We use nitrile exam gloves and polyisoprene or neoprene sterile gloves.
⟢ Sterilization and Safety ⟣
-
This is an older Chicago building, and is unfortunately not ADA-compliant due to an entrance rise of 20.5 inches from two steps. We have a portable 10-foot ramp available, which creates a slope ratio of 1:6 (approximately 9.7° incline).
Please inform us in advance if you require the ramp, and we will ensure it is ready for your visit. We are also super happy to recommend colleagues with locations that are ADA-compliant; we want to ensure every client has access to safe and comfortable piercing services!
-
Our piercers wear KN95/N95 masks during your piercing or jewelry change-out procedure. We have 4 HEPA filters running continuously in the studio.
-
If you would prefer a quiet appointment, that is absolutely an option; just let us know in advance! We totally get it—sometimes you just want to relax in silence. No pressure to chat; we'll keep conversation to a minimum, and only to discuss the essential decisions such as placement, pricing, and aftercare.
-
We typically have clients recline during their piercing. We have two exam tables with the following specifications:
Midmark Ritter 104
Weight Capacity: 325 lbs
Dimensions: 27” Width x 54” Length (72" with leg extender) x 32.5” Height
Clinton Industries 8844
Weight capacity: 400 lbs
Dimensions: 28.5” Width x 58” Length (72” with leg extender) x 31” Height
Both rooms are equipped with medical step stools in addition to the step stools built into each table.
-
Per the IL Department of Public Health, animals are not permitted within body art establishments. Service animals are exempt from this.