The ones that most piercers use are imported from Germany and have a specially designed cannula to reduce the nip that would otherwise be felt. The piercing takes about 1/8th of a second (as fast as you can snap your fingers). It may make one of your eyes water slightly. The needle is removed in a fraction of a second and thrown directly into a medical sharps bin to reduce the danger of needlestick injuries to both you and your piercer. This leaves the tube, or cannula, behind. The cannula is cut in half to enable removal of the clamps. This also ensures that it CANNOT BE REUSED. Once the clamps are removed the cannula is used to guide the jewellery into the piercing and is then thrown into a sharps bin for incineration.

To ensure that you are at your most relaxed at the time of your piercing, your piercer may need to use one of a number of special relaxation techniques ranging from just wiggling your toes to deep relaxation or light hypnotherapy depending how anxious you are at the time. It's a good idea to be honest about how you feel so that they can tailor the procedure to your needs.