Fakir Piercing

The very best piercers patient and very skilled. However the location of the Piercing School is SOMA San Francisco NOT in Menlo Park. Adress given to those who volunteer to get pierced by students supervised by Fakir or very qualified instructors who are Pro piercers.

Adding some more useful details:
SCHEDULING: It looks like they do their piercing workshops every other month. They send out emails 2 weeks before each workshop. Your best bet to getting scheduled for a piercing is to subscribe to these emails.
Sometimes the workshops are basic, meaning more complex piercings can’t be done (my triple forward helix request was a no-​go, but they happily did two normal helix piercings and one simple lobe instead).
Sometimes the workshops are for their advanced classes, meaning the more basic piercings probably won’t fit on their schedule (was politely told they didn’t have room for lobe piercings or basic helix piercings).
LOCATION: It’s still at 1216 Folsom, and you have to ring the buzzer/​doorbell to get in.
PIERCING: Added 2 normal helixes and a lobe piercing to my left ear. A little bit more pain involved than my first piercing, probably due to my piercer’s slight nervousness, but that’s something that comes with volunteering for a piercing class! The piercings turned out perfect. Zero issues with them so far.
Still love this place and the really nice people who run it.

I found Fakir Piercing on Unilocal,and for 10 bucks I knew I’d have to try it. Every so often I’d check their site for volunteers, and the minute they needed volunteers, I called to make an appointment.
I arrived for my appointment at 2:30, and this place was swamped. But for a 10 dollar piercing event, I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t actually get taken until 4:30, it seemed like it might be a regular thing to run late. I didn’t mind because I had nothing else planned that day, but it’s something to make note of. In the future, I would try to book the first appointment if I’m able.
When I was finally taken back, Jared, another student who was female, and the trainer all watched and paid careful attention. I was nervous that these were students, but the trainer made sure to evaluate everything he did. One thing that I love, is that all these people are totally into piercings, and because they’re new and being watched you can be sure everything is clean. Jared changed his gloves three times while prepping me.
Like a flash, it was in and done with. It went it straight, smooth, without a hitch. I’m sure I’ll be back.

I had a wonderful experience here. I did leave a couple voice messages and sent one email before hearing back from them to schedule and appointment for their next workshop. Eve quickly confirmed my appointment and also was very responsive to other post piercing emails that I sent.
I received 3 piercings by Rob (?). I’m sorry I can’t remember his name but he was gentle and knew exactly how to handle me. I am a kicker and curser when I am in pain and he was able to work around that. There was even a girl there massaging me. Rob (?) did an excellent job on my spider butts and I also received a bar in the back of my neck. I posted a pic that included a before and after pic.
I LOVE my piercings!!! Great deal for $ 30! I also had some infection issues because I didn’t listen follow the aftercare instructions that were quickly resolved after Eve advised me to do a salt water soak.
Great job!!! I’ve been trying to think of other things I can get pierced so that I can go back.

Came here to volunteer to be pierced at their Basic Piercing Workshop, and I left very happy with a great new forward helix piercing :) I actually was the very first person that my piercer has ever done, so she was super super nervous; good thing I’ve been pierced so many times and didn’t feel nervous.
During the whole process, the instrument watched very closely to each step and they really made sure everything is ultra clean. They gave me a steralized/​autoclaved hair clip, wiped my ear with alcohol a few times followed by iodine, and cut out a gauze pad to put around my ear. Very few of my piercers did that much for me.
On to the actual piercing. Like I said, my student piercer has never actually pierced anyone for real before. From what it felt like and what they were saying, I think she started poking me at one part, and decided to move a little bit to the side, so she made me bleed there. And once she figured out where to actually pierce, she did it really slow so I, for the first time, heard the sounds of cartilage being pierced through. It was not pleasant. It sounded like someone slowly stabbing a knife through thick cardboard. It was crazy haha, and painful of course, especially as she was putting the bead in the captive bead ring. That helix piercing ended up the most painful piercing I’ve ever gotten and its only the helix, but its her first time and I really think she did great!

So far I have nothing nice to say about this group. All I wanted was a couple of piercings at their workshop today and it just ended up getting pissed.
After weeks of trying to get an appointment they finally contact me, less than a week before the event. Then they don’t confirm that I have the appointment until yesterday. So I didn’t even know for sure it was happening until yesterday evening! When I attempt to locate them online I realize they haven’t posted their physical address anywhere! And with no way to contact them directly I just ended up wandering around for half an hour with out ever finding them.
Supposedly this would have been a good deal. I have yet to see how thats so. I would rather pay full price to a business that has anything resembling customer service, people who will actually TALK to me. Fakir Piercing can’t even be bothered to answer a phone.
After this is posted they will no longer be receiving my time, energy, and especially not my money.

so despite my poor self-​esteem & body image i drove from sac to sf early sunday morning on ⁵⁄₂₃ to be pierced by students at fakir and kick it shirtless for an hour an half in front of a room full of people to get both of my nipples pierced. i have to say, it was probably one of my better piercing experiences because the vibe in there is seriously super chill. there were 3 students on my piercing team who traveled from massachusetts, washington state, and nevada to be taught by fakir and his former students, some who now own their own piercing shops all over the us. i had absolutely no clue how renowned he was. anyway, anyone considering coming here need not worry about being maimed or anything cuz the students are supervised step by step so you don’t need to worry about any major fuck ups. the students made sure i established a steady deep breathing pattern to relax and alleviate the pain when they pierced me. i got props for not flinching, squirming, making any noise, and having a high pain threshold! i was told to come back anytime because i was an ideal piercing subject! yeayyyyr! the one thing i have to warn folks about is that there was a student walking around randomly shooting pics of me and other subjects during various parts of the process (i.e. hellllo boobies!) and i really don’t remember signing any sort of photo release (or seeing any clause in the fine print re: photos– i could be mistaken though). not that i care if the pics end up on the website or anything, but that is something they should think about including somewhere should someone make it an issue for them in the future. i paid just $ 20 for nipple piercings ($ 10 for each barbell). the cheapest place in the bay and sac i found for getting both nipples pierced is at zebra, which was $ 75 for barbells without tip. if i was pierced in sac i would pay at least $ 110. i ended up tipping the students on my team $ 20. so i paid $ 40, which is still significantly less than zebra. so yeah, just go! you seriously won’t regret it, and if you are self-​conscious, just take the first slot available like i did (10am) to minimize the amount of folks seeing you topless (or bottomless if you are getting pierced further south). you’ll be well taken care of here, and would mos def return again.

Over the past 5 years, I’ve gotten 8 piercings through Fakir’s workshops. I’ve never had anything but an incredibly professional experience and complete satisfaction with my piercings.
They are _​very_​clean and health conscious. The instructors are right there next to each piercer, guiding and helping at every step. I’ve always felt confident that I was going to be well taken care of.
They also make sure to provide step-​by-​step communication about what they’re doing when with you and always provide aftercare instructions before you leave.
As if this experience couldn’t get any better, all you have to pay for is $ 10 per piece of jewelery! No piercing fees and jewelery is at cost!
I love all the instructors and Fakir is also just a really awesome guy. I’m happy to support his work and the work of the many people he has taught and continues to provide his wisdom and experience to.

Bargain-​hunters, take note: getting your piercing here is a *great deal* because you only have to pay for the jewelry, which they seem to sell you at cost.
If you’re a shy person, this could be a traumatizing experience, as you will be surrounded by a group of people staring intently at you/​your body/​the piercing process. (On the other hand, if you’re an exhibitionist, this might be heaven!)
Once you get a piercing here, they will regularly send you postcards or emails telling you about upcoming workshops where you can get pierced for cheap. Getting pierced here over time is a great way to fly your freak flag ever higher on the great flagpole of life.

I’ve gotten a lot of piercings done here:
both nipples
clitoral hood
septum (twice)
nostril
It might seem scary that it’s students who are piercing you, but they’re supervised by super pro body piercers. It’s cool because the supervisors walk them through it, and you can learn a little about the piercing process. Everybody is supportive, helpful and really nice.
You only have to pay for the price of the jewelry.

I found this service through a friend and they are great!
The Fakir Piercing school provides a great program where the students who are about to graduate perform nearly any kind of piercing you want for the price of the jewelery required (usually about $ 10 – 20). These students are supervised by experienced instructor’s and are very good at what they do.
I’ve been here twice and both times I left satisfied (though a little sore) with piercings that heal great and I have never had a problem with infection or keloids.
The set up may be a little daunting with 3 tables set up in an open air room, but the students always make you feel comfortable, I highly recommend!