Would give 0 stars if I could. Months of battling my ear piercings and I've given up and am letting…read morethem close. Ive gone back there several times with bleeding ears and even now they ache after months. My first holes were pierced with a gun with no pain afterward, yet when I went here and they pierced my second and third they bled, bruised, swole and are still tender to this day. Today was the first time I really touched them and tried to switch them out and they bled. Literally just go to Claire's and get the gun.

The best. This place is just the best…read more Honest. I never leave good reviews about anything and I can't stop smiling about these folks. Alyssa deliberately put a large hole in my...body, and I couldn't be happier. And I am not a happy person. Just read one of my other reviews; I'm a miserable so-and-so. But these cats - best. Totally the best

Great experience. Great art. Ro Curran did a fantastic job. Clean. Close to a parkade. Would…read morerecommend this business

Scott did an amazing job on last-minute matching tattoos for my sister and I! He was so kind an…read morehelpful, and we love love love our tattoos! They healed very easily. We appreciated the care and time he took to explain the whole process to us.

I don't usually write reviews of places, but my experience at the Gothic Alternative was so strange…read moreI think I should make an exception. I honestly went here because it was $45 to get my ears pierced, instead of the usual $75+. Now I understand why. I got my lobes pierced (simple enough, it's not my first piercing) - but the man who pierced them was so unprofessional, it made me feel really uncomfortable. They don't take debit, you have to pay cash, and he didn't have any change (he stuck the bills in a drawer behind the counter). There was zero record of our transaction, and he didn't have us sign any kind of form about the possible health problems/infection. The actual earring selection was minimal. About three choices, nothing simple (spikes or... dice...?), all kinda tacky. The place also didn't seem very clean. There was a "manicure station" as well, with a chair and some random bottles of nail polish that were all very dusty. Looked as if they hadn't been touched in quite a while. He gave a lot of strange piercing "tips. He RECOMMENDED going swimming in pools, which for every other piercing I've gotten (or anyone I know has gotten), the piercer always recommends going 3-4 weeks before going swimming. He said the chlorine would help keep it clean and make it heal faster (?!) and when I told him what other piercers had said, he got really rude and started asking "Well, if there was bacteria in pools, would you go in it? Period. Period." (????) He also said that oceans were good (something to do with kelp). And he said to put moisturizer "in" the piercing if it gets dried about as most moisturizers are "anti-bacterial" (uh, no). He also said you shouldn't soak it in salt water (but the ocean is okay apparently???) but just hot water. The only thing he was right about was not to touch it. Anyway, if you go here, don't take his advice. Listen to literally any other piercer and keep your piercing out of the water, don't put f-ing moisturizer on it, and just clean it with hot water (boil it, let it cool some) and salt (sea salt is best). I did that with my ears + nose + eyebrow and they all healed fine. The actual piercing job was... okay, I guess. He pierced mine kind of high on my lobe (after he drew on the dots, I told him to put it lower but it's still really high). He was generally not very friendly, didn't make the experience all that great, gave some AWFUL advice... so 1/5, if you're going to get something pierced, AVOID THIS PLACE.

I absolutely loved my experience here. I got my tongue pierced less than two weeks ago and Kara was…read moreamazing. I'm from Victoria and usually go to my piercer here and I love him but in all honesty I preferred her far more. You get to watch the sanitation process and she's super sweet and explains everything you may, or may not feel or experience both during and after the piercing. The price of the jewelry threw me off at first but she explained why it was so pricey and the difference in jewelry you get from somewhere else. The whole environment is very professional and they definitely make you feel comfortable and at home, which is very important when getting something like a piercing done. Overall this shop is now my #1 recommendation and if you live in Nanaimo or are just passing through I definitely suggest this shop.

I got my daith pierced here by Krystal. She talked me though everything and she made the piercing…read morego as smooth as possible. All of the staff here are super friendly and informative. I really like this place & I will definitely go back here again.

Right upstairs from the tattoo shop, my friend got her septum piercing here this weekend. Seems…read morepretty poppin with college people. She did a walk in on Saturday afternoon and was able to get pierced in 45 minutes. There's some places around that are fun to walk to whilst waiting. My guy piercing was so fun. His instructions beforehand on what he was exactly going to do was informative, but not overbearing. He was so much fun and did a great, speedy job! If you're a pro at piercing or if it's your first time getting pierced, come here! This guy really cares!! They also accept cash, card, Apple Pay, Venmo, anything & everything.

Steve is amazingly patient with kids. I took my 8 year old daughter to get her ears pierced for the…read morefirst time and he made her laugh. While we left with only one ear done, we were able to come back for the second ear. I highly recommend him!

I had a Tragus piercing and it was fine. I had headaches after but I am not sure if it was due to…read morepiercing. But I had also previously gotten both ears pierced from them. Paid 300$+ every single time. Most of it was for jewellery which was extremely cheap. They sell it as 14k gold or something but it's definitely not that. And they don't let you have a piercing unless you buy gold jewellery which is more designer then the basic studs. So all in all very basic experience. Wouldn't recommend. Even though you get good service the piercers are still new and inexperienced and the jewellery is trash.

My niece came in today to get nose piercing. They were making a YouTube video at same time so she…read morebecame a YouTube star also!!! Great staff and service. The piercing was perfectly placed

Walked in off the street and from out of town and was greeted promptly in a clean and well set up…read moreshop! Two very small and simple tattoos, and the artist was awesome! Great communication skills and got exactly what we wanted! Omar for the win!

Dude... Kevin is the man! He's so insanely talented, and I am so happy that I drove from Puyallup…read moreto Port Angeles for him to start the masterpiece on my forearm. He's got a quick, steady hand and he's a perfectionist as far as the placement and getting the tattoo lined up perfectly. He offered several breaks which gave me a chance to regain feeling in my hand/arm. This was my first session so I will post a finished product pic when It's done. I highly recommend this shop if you don't mind the drive or maybe make a weekend of it. Everyone in the shop is crazy skilled. My fiancé made an app with Russ for her tattoo while we were there. I believe they are appointment only during CoVid but you can find them on Instagram or Facebook.

Awesome work and customer service. I will be back! Mike…read morewas very efficient and did great work. I love my tatto.

it says tattoo & piercing on yelp and maps but for some reason they don't do piercing. very…read moremisleading hopefully they fix that.

I have been waiting to commit to a tattoo for a while, and I've heard so many things about…read morechameleon ink! Around last month I lost a back to a neometal piercing and didn't have a replacement, luckily I was able to go here and get one! It was really relieving that they had what I needed and they even have a bigger selection of good quality jewelry. Also stuff that isn't going to be insanely pricy but just good quality basics, which I love. I just got a tattoo today from Naomi and they were absolutely amazing! Super helpful over email too with scheduling and answering my questions, helped me find the perfect placement super quickly, and was just overall a great artist to work with. I was able to send in my design I had commissioned from another artist and it worked out perfectly. They also have some really cool flash designs that I've recommended to friends just because I couldn't stop thinking about them when I came in for the jewelry. I couldn't recommend this place and Naomi more for your first tattoo. Having such good communication and explanation of how it all worked really eased my anxiety and I'm overjoyed that I did it!

I've been to Chameleon many times before. I did a walk-in to change some jewelry to plastic since I…read morehad an urgent MRI scheduled for the next day. I couldn't remove my lip piecing on my own & needed retainers for my chest so i needed some help. Last time I went before an MRI 2 or so years ago, they didn't charge me an instillation fee or for the plastic jewelry. This go around it was $10 for a plastic lip retainer, $20 for glass chest retainers and a $15 instillation fee. $45 for retainers???? (I understand the instillation fee & wasn't expecting anything free again but $45?!?) Oh and get this the lip one was sealed with an "O" ring and it popped off an hour later and I had to overnight ship a lip retainer and I got 30 for $7.... I went in today since they said they could put back in the piercings without another instillation fee and I mentioned I wanted to try a lip ring instead. I was given my options and was told we could change the color. The piercer brought me back, put in the ring and when I asked about the color they said I'd have to buy another one since they're supposed to do that beforehand. That was not explained to me and I would have to pay for the one she put in even though I wanted to try it out.This cost me $22 for a lip ring I don't even like and is a color I hate. No offer to discount it or a real apology. All in all save your money and go somewhere else if you need a retainer. I spent $70 total and all i have to show for it is 2 glass bars and a lip ring I hate. This is no hate to the piercer themselves I am just frustrated with the price, the fact the retainer I paid for didn't stay and the lack of proactive communication.