Body Manipulations
3234 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
USA

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Shop Hours:
Sun - Sat 12-7pm

No appointment neccessary for piercing, only walk-ins
Last Piercing 1/2 hour before close

Tattoo by appointment
Call ahead for walk-in availabliity.

Closed on the following holidays:
New Year's Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas

Not sure if we're the shop for you? Find out what our customers think.
We have over 200 reviews and a 5 star rating on YELP!

Thanks to our loyal customers and yelpers for helping many new folks feel that much more comfortable to get a new piercing!

Shop History

Body Manipulations was first opened in August, 1989 by Vaughn and Esther Saldana on Fillmore street at Haight. Esther moved to Amsterdam and opened a Body Manipulations there (since closed). In 1995, Vaughn moved the shop to its current location in the sunny mission district. Now it is in a much larger space with tall ceilings giving it a light and airy feel.

April 2002 Vaughn sold the shop to his long time employee Paul. This not only gave Vaughn a "get out of business free card" but it also put some young blood into the company. Paul has since given the shop a new paint job, enlarged the waiting area, and built a new front counter among many other improvements.

After years of focusing soley on piercing, we brought the service of tattooing to our faithful and trusting customers in 2003. We figured if the health department always catagorized us as a tattoo shop, we might as well do that too. We were able to get some of the finest tattoo artists right off the bat. Heading our tattoo department, Japanese born Colin Stevens previously of the famed Ed Hardy's Tattoo City. His long time associate from the same shop, Chris Conn joined him making the new studio an immediate success. Conn retired from tattooing in 2006 and refers all his old customers to Colin.

Old enough to have a second generation, Body Manipulations continues to bring you only the best quality in piercing, tattoo and jewelry be it the smooth edges of a steel ring or the finest low profile setting for your favorite gemstone. With our world renowned service you can trust us with your most precious body parts.

Body Manipulations has performed many times on the stages of various fetish balls and parties. We have cut people open, hung them from their skin, pierced them with hundreds of needles, and sewn a number of items into their skin. Now the company produces a yearly performance with The Flying Tiger Circus, where the side show is the whole show. Check out our shows section for more information and any upcoming events.

Prices

Come in wearing your Body Manipulations T-shirt or sweatshirt and get 10% off jewelry!

Piercing Service - Jewelry Not Included
Traditional Earlobe    $15 or $25 pair
(18g - 16g)

Larger Earlobe (14g - up)    $20 or $30 pair
Outer ear cartilage

Inner ear cartilage, Facial    $30 or $55 pair
or other Body Piercing

Industrial, Orbital, Surface,    $40 or $70 pair
Dermal Anchor

Genital Piercing    $50 or $80 pair

Insertion Service
If you just can't figure it out, don't force it! We will happily disinfect and install your jewelry back to its original hole for a small set-up fee of $5 . Jewelry removal is free of charge. Nostril screw adjustments are free within 30 days of piercing, $5 after.

Stretching
Time for the next size? Stop forcing that thing in there!
We use sterile spiral radiant stretching tapers to stretch your piercing as gently as possible. We have a large selection of smooth edged plugs and eyelets ranging in price from $16 for 10g to $24 for 00g each. Stretching fee is $10 per pair.

Jewelry
Basic 18g steel ring $12 up, gold $45 up
Basic 14g steel ring $15 up, gold $60 up
Basic 12g steel barbell $34 up, gold $190 up
Call for more specific pricing!

Tattoo
Shop rate is $160/hour with a minimum of $80.
There is a non-refundable deposit of $80 when you schedule your appointment. This deposit will go towards the final sitting upon completion of your tattoo.

Walk-in tattoo artist wanted: Minimum 2 years shop experience required. Send resume to Paul either in person, by regular mail, or email to bodym@sbcglobal.net.

To Tip or Not to Tip?

"TIPS" at one time was an acronym for "To Insure Prompt Service." Nowadays the server must earn your tip after the fact as a reward for good service. Some folks have never been to a piercer before, and some come all the time. Both kinds of folks often ask the awkard question at the counter about tips. Shyly we may reply "Oh, don't worry about it." Truth is, we do take tips. The unknown etiquette for our service is like any other service in the city, especially of the small business kind. You can base your tip on 15-20% of your final ticket depending on how much you enjoyed the pain. We often do maintenance services at no cost, a good tip in this case would be $5 to $20 depending on the amount of maintenance received. A tip on these free services, like nostril screw adjustments, is a great way to reward your piercer. Bottom line, if you feel the piercer has done a great job, reward them. A few bucks is a good way "To Insure Piercer Smiles" for next time.