Self Expressions 4502 South Steele Street, Tacoma, WA 98409

"I went in because my nose ring was out for a week . Called over the phone and I was given a quote. The older lady charged me full price after my service was complete. I bought the same nose ring back that I originally purchased also. I won’t be going back there for tattoos or piercing . Good luck"

"I've been here a few times and I have never had any problems with my piercings. The staff are very kind and super helpful for a person like me with a lot of questions"

"Can’t lie, it’s my fault for getting pierced at the mall but to say they are unethical and should have their licenses revoked is an understatement. I was given two terrible piercings (helix) and within two days the first piece of jewelry was rotting in my ear (I had to painfully remove it as the sharp edges of the micro star started digging into my skin) and by the second week the second piercing had quite literally embedded itself into my skin so I had to take an urgent care trip on Christmas morning (typing as I wait for my doc to remove the piercing from INSIDE of my skin). The piercer was “kind” but really hurried to get the next client into the chair after me. Didn’t wipe ANYTHING down before or after clients. Just overall exactly what you’d expect from a mall piercing place lol. Steer way clear - they’re infection central."

"Got the snake eye tongue piercing, was done with acrylic balls, I found out that #1, acrylic should never be used on new piercings, and also found out that not only is the snake eye piercing illegal in WA, but any true professional piercer doesn't do this piercing because of the long term effects of it. Such as tooth loss and severe damage to the tongue muscles over time. If they are truly experienced and cared about their clients and not just money, they would have never pierced me or anyone with this piercing and jewelry. Apparently the snake eye and the surface/scoop tongue piercing are illegal and extremely frowned upon in the piercing community. Please don't do this piercing and I pray they discontinue hurting people with this piercing and they stop any tongue piercing except the center of the tongue piercing. No wonder any other piercer said no to me. Obviously there was a reason."

"Amazing piercing, but man are the staff rude as ever! I know i’m not supposed to expect chickfila level customer service from a piercing spot, but jesus christ i never have been so uncomfortable in a body mod studio in my life! My friend got a nose piercing and wanted a jewelry change, so we went here to browse their catalog and ask for assistance in switching piercings. Both me and my friend are new to piercings, so we had NO idea how to ensure the nose-piercing we already had was the same size as the nose-piercing we were gonna buy. We asked the young male staff member “are these the same size” and he looked visibly irritated when he had to answer “yes.” Then me and my friend apologized for being confused and not having much knowledge on piercings, because we clearly visibly ticked off the employee. Then the employee asked “do you want your new piercing to fit snug or loose?” to which me and my friend replied “we’re not exactly sure which is best or recommended for a healing piercing…”. I was expecting some sort of explanation from the worker on which is better, or maybe a simple “it’s entirely up to you” but instead the only thing me and my friend got was a disgruntled sigh and an irritated cowl! At this point me and my friend knew we were getting on the employees nerves so we hurriedly chose a snug fitting piercing, just to ease the discomfort we felt from doing nothing but asking a simple question. The female employee with long blonde hair was very helpful, infact she was the one who changed my friends piercing and was the only worker in the shop who seemed to enjoy her profession. The snug fitting piercing replacement was of course not a good fit and it made my friends nose very uncomfortable, so we grudgingly asked if we could switch to the looser piercing that was offered earlier (again, we have NO IDEA what we are doing, we are not the professionals, THE WORKERS are, and the workers didn’t even seem willing to answer OUR questions to make THEIR job easier!). The male employee was practically fuming when we said that we made a mistake earlier and wanted to buy the larger piercing instead of the smaller piercing. We then got berated with a “well do you not remember earlier when i asked if you wanted a snug or loose piercing????” (yes I remember you saying that. I also remember you failing to answer the question I asked regarding which would be better for a healing nose). The young male worker then took our payment, and angrily walked back around the glass to grab the larger replacement piercing for my friend and I. The tension in the air was so thick you could reach out and grab it! I would understand the frustration if he was the one that had to change my friends piercing twice, but he didn’t have to do that! He quite literally only had to grab 2 piercings and take my credit card... After this, the female employee with long blonde hair changed my friends piercing again and we apologized to her SO profusely for making her assist us twice. She reassured us that it was no biggie and she even didn’t charge us the extra $5 for the 2nd piercing change! Absolutely the kindest interaction in that shop we had that day. Not sure why the young male employee was so frustrated and irritated with my friend and I though. I noticed he had a bandaid on his ear where industrial piercings usually are, so maybe his ear was in pain from a rejected piercing and it made him more irritable that day? I don’t know. I’m just trying to make sense of it all and remember that at the end of the day, even angry employees are still human and maybe he was just having an off-day? Moral of the story, if you are confused or new to piercings, maybe do a bit of research before coming here… You’ll be made to feel like a nuisance just for asking questions or having a lack of knowledge!"