Day in the life: Amy Lohoff

Professional body piercer and local business owner Amy Jo Lohoff has been a proud ambassador of the colorful fringe of Creston’s community for more than three decades.

Using human flesh as a canvas and a titanium needle as her brush, Lohoff creates personalized pieces of art from the confines of the aptly named House of Pain, 103 N. Elm St., in the heart of uptown Creston.

A Crestonian by birth, Lohoff takes pride in her hometown and the level of integrity she brings to a service that many may see as being beyond the banks of the mainstream. House of Pain’s reputation as a safe, knowledgeable and, perhaps most importantly, sanitary destination for body modification enthusiasts carves a path much broader in spectrum than city and even state borders.

“Even with all the options for piercings in bigger cities, I still get people driving from places like Des Moines, Omaha and even Kansas City to be pierced by me,” Lohoff said. “One thing I love about my job is the fact that success depends a lot on reputation by word of mouth. I doubt that my out-of-town customers found House of Pain in their local phone book. They either know someone I have pierced or have seen the quality of the work.”

For Lohoff, puncturing a fellow person is much more than a business transaction; it’s a labor of love. Perhaps it is an appreciation for the totality of the piercing experience that has allowed her to forge a profession out of what began as an infatuating hobby many years ago.

The wide array of personalities she becomes acquainted with through piercing is as gratifying to Lohoff as seeing the final results of her expertise that adorn her customers.

“It’s incredible to see the transformation in certain clients’ attitudes after they get a new piercing, especially if it’s their first one ever,” Lohoff remarked. “I’ve seen middle-aged soccer moms come in, who are teriffied of needles, for something as subtle as a nostril piercing but leave looking like a whole new person. I can actually see some of them change the way they carry themselves, like they’ve just done something they were told their whole lives they could not or should not do.”

One particular element within the field of piercing that has grown considerably in popularity in recent years has proven to be of exceptional interest to Lohoff. The Daith piercing is an inner ear piercing that passes through the ear’s innermost cartilage fold and has been touted by some recipients to provide permanent alleviation of persistent migraine headaches.

The Daith’s location is a very difficult place to pierce, which is a challenge Lohoff skillfully navigates at each request. This particular piercing is responsible for one of Lohoff’s most heart-felt experiences of her career.

“I gave a Daith piercing to a woman who was in the middle of a migraine and watched her agony literally disappear in an instant,” she said.

Even though Iowa has no laws regulating the process of body piercing or the age of those being pierced, Lohoff abides by her own high personal standards of morality and cleanliness at House of Pain. Customers requesting to be pierced must be 18 or older and have a valid photo ID or be age 14 with a parent’s consent. In the case of the latter, both the teen and parent must present a photo ID.

As for the price of safe, professional piercings at House of Pain, “most are $40, which includes implant-grade jewelry and aftercare product,” Lohoff said.

Sanitation in piercing is paramount, which is why Lohoff stays current with first aid, CPR and blood-borne pathogen training and certification. With more than fifteen years of piercing experience under her belt, she has seen her fair share of spontaneous decisions regarding body modification and never wants to see a client regret their choice.

“I prefer to have my appointments far enough apart to really let me talk to each customer and explain every part of the piercing process,” Lohoff said. “People don’t think about the fact that every body and body part is shaped slightly differently in each person. I always try to point out unrealistic expectations for a particular piercing without killing the enthusiasm. It took a lot of years of practice to recognize potential problems before actually putting the needle in action.”

Lohoff doesn’t hesitate to offer her professional opinions on piercing types, placement and aftercare. She also refuses to use any jewelry in new piercings that is not made from medical implant-grade steel or titanium, because they are the most resistant to flesh irritation and build-up of bacteria.

According to Lohoff, the most prevelant cause of infection in new piercings is “changing the original jewelry before the piercing has had enough time to heal.”

“When they (piercings) are fresh, just leave them alone,” Lohoff said. “Don’t touch it and don’t use anything on it that people try to recommend like rubbing alcohol, peroxide or Neosporin.”

The keys to a properly healed and long-lasting piece of piercing artwork are simple and readily available: “Just sea salt spray and time.”

Building a lucrative career around making people bleed a bit may seem unconventional to some, but Lohoff wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I make my schedule so I’m able to go to a lot of my kids’ activities that I probably wouldn’t be able to with other jobs I’ve had,” Lohoff said.

Having lived in Creston her entire life, Lohoff has held a wide range of occupations including work at “basically every factory in the Creston area.”

A few years ago, she spent some time substitute teaching in the special education department of the Creston school system. That is the only other professional field in which Lohoff can imagine carving out a career.

“I like to think that by talking to the misunderstood teens who come in the shop I’m making at least a little more of an impression on them than just their piercing,” she said.

To Amy Lohoff, being a business owner in Creston also means being a part of the community. She uses the House of Pain as her headquarters for several charitable activities including “Luau For Life,” which helps to raise money for the Relay for Life team.

“We’ve donated changing tables to four Creston city park restrooms and two at the ball fields as well,” Lohoff said. “We also got new playground equipment for Rainbow Park and more will be installed this summer.”

Lohoff said she couldn’t even guess how many piercings she’s actually performed in her life, but she certainly has no intentions of “hanging up her needles” in the foreseeable future.