Reviews of Release Body Modification (Tattoo Shop)

Sage Helmke

I got my nose pierced here and they were very clean, very professional, extremely kind and I will definitely be returning to get my double helix!!

Leah Pass

I dropped in to see if they could re-pierce an ear piercing that had closed. This piercing was at least 50 years old and had given me problems from Day One. I admit - I was nervous about doing it, but after talking with Pat, getting a lot of questions answered, I felt good about going forward. Not only did he correct the bad placement and angle of that old piercing, he put matching jewelry in the other ear, at my request. I'm absolutely delighted - so much so that I'm going back next month for a second set of ear piercings. Awesome customer service!

Joseph Vitelli

This place is amazing. Got my wife a nose ring for her birthday. Staff is simply amazing along with a very clean establishment. I would recommend this place over and over again

Katie Marqusee

Release is a great place! When I went in to speak with them, they were incredibly professional and willing to answer any question I had. When I got my piercings, I was brought into an incredibly sterile and nice room (honestly, it felt like a doctors office... which I personally liked), where they spent a lot of time and effort making my piercings perfect. I will definitely be going again for any future needs and I highly recommend it.

Auction General

I highly recommend this shop! Our 6 year old daughter was very nervous about getting her ear re-pierced (it was incorrectly pierced at another piercing shop) and Kyle did an awesome job with her! He was beyond patient with her and explained everything to her before he did it. He was very professional and everything was very clean/sterile. We will definitely be back when our youngest daughter is ready to get her ears pierced. Thank you for a great experience Kyle!

Abbie Dehring

Pat was fantastic! Really calmed my nerves and was very experienced. You can tell he knows what he is talking about and has a talent for it. Also very clean.

nathan sellards

There is no better place for piercing in all of Iowa City and the surrounding area than here. Both Hunter and Steeve are top notch. Their jewelry selection is huge and they always have new stuff coming in. There is no where else I would go to get pierced.

Leah Owens

Kyle pierced my daughters ears, and we have no complaints. He got down to her level and showed her everything he was doing, kept her involved the whole time. I think this made it much better for her. She’s very happy with her new earrings, loves showing them off to everyone.

J B B

I've had several piercings done here and they're done professionally and perfectly. The jewelry selection is amazing as well.

Angela Finke

Great staff. Answered all my questions and did a great job with diath piercing.

MichaelJ Weaver

If you have a website, How about you keep it updated and accurate. Every link is so broken.

Mady Goodwin

prices are ridiculous

Melony Morse

2 seperate walk-ins: °2months ago stopped in for advise on a facial dermal that was done elsewhere. Very nice, professional and eased my mind! °Walk-in for a monroe piercing and to change gem on my dermal. Very clean, friendly and professional. Answered all questions as well as great work. I didnt feel a thing when getting my piercing done. Looks Great!!! Definitely recommend to friends and family as well as getting future personal artwork done here.

Aaron Van Noy

Friendly staff! Tuesday is a two piercings for the price of one. Hardware/jewelry seems to be a bit over the going rate but nothing extravagant for covering the cost of having a shop in Iowa city. The shop is not well-kept work wise. Artwork is kind of cool. But at least the sterile locations are exactly that, sterile!

Maya Chadwick

Initially I had a poor experience on the phone with a lady, however I didn’t trust anywhere else to get my septum done. I spoke with Kyle on the phone and he set up my appointment and I went in and got my piercing done perfectly. He showed me the sterilization process, told me which type of jewelry would be best, and walked me through everything he was doing. He pierced exactly in my sweet spot and there was no pain! Just some slight stinging as he was putting the jewelry in, but that’s to be expected with a CBR. They also have a lovely selection of jewelry. I was in and out in 30 minutes, and I am in love with my piercing. Will definitely be coming back for more!

Slicer- Ness

Staff was very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job of being calming and casual.

Michelle Clark

Piercer was professional. Jewelry and piercings were way overpriced.

Kami Kinzebach

Cool people!!

alayna woodard

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I was a little nervous going into the shop but he was so professional and put me at ease. He is very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this shop, and will be going here for any further piercings

Neon Princess

I've had a number of piercings done here and all of them have been great. I even have had them look at a cartilage piercing I had done a while back while getting a different piercing and they were able to help figure out what the problem with it was.

Phoebe Schreckinger

great people, great experience. pat is the man

Lindsay Greth

Kyle was wonderful. I walked in to get my septum pierced and we were helped immediately. He was friendly, and explained the whole process. The piercing went smoothly and looks great. The shop was very clean and they had a good selection of jewlery. Overall a great experience, and I will definitely be going back.

Kristin Edwards

Took my 6 year old to get her ears pierced here yesterday. Abby helped her pick out some beautiful "gem earrings" and Steeve was excellent and very patient with her. She had some tears after the first piercing, but he never made me (or her) feel rushed to get the second one done. She was happily showing off her new earrings to anyone who would look a few hours later. I would happily come back to Release.

Ken P.

Great place, whether your just interested in finding out more about piercing or your ready to get pierced, this is by far the best place to go. Very friendly staff and very knowledgeable, they take the time to go over the process with you and explain what their doing as they are doing it...they make you part or the experience. Have only been pierced by Pat and Kyle so far, but they have made my visits very enjoyable every time and always make me feel welcomed back. They don't judge you, their main thing is wanting to make you happy and happy with yourself. As far as the shop goes, yeah it's small...but really how much space do you really need. Plus the shop is full of items from rings, to stone plugs as well as wood plugs. Every time I walk in I am greeted with a very happy hello and they always try their best to accommodate my questions and give honest answers. They are NOT high pressure sells people, if you get something great, if not that's cool too. I call this shop a candy store, because every time you walk in and look at the displays you'll see something different. As far as the stone goes there are so many types and sizes to choose from, you almost have to make a few trips in to see them all. Plus some of their stone work is made in house, so don't be afraid too ask a question if you have an idea in your head. I have been around to a lot of tattoo parlors and piercing places, I'm in my 50's. But I can safely say that Release Body Modification is one of the cleanest shops and I feel very safe having them use needles on me. They have a "working" autoclave and show you a tag that they put in with the items going to be used for your piercing to prove they have been sterilized. So do yourself a favor and stop in for a visit to Release Body Modification, plus look them up online and check out their daily specials. It's worth the trip and if you get pierced...your body will thank you in the long run. Peace

Emilie Sommers

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GO HERE I have had AWFUL experiences multiple times. I've never written a negative review before, but this place is unbearable. Story 1: I ordered over $300 worth of custom jewelry, for my belly button and a piece to get my industrial pierced with. After months of waiting it came in, and the owner was the one who did my industrial piercing. When I walked in to the shop his girlfriend was eating next to all of the jewelry- which grossed my boyfriend out a lot. The owner did not remember me at all and tried to say he couldn't do the piercing with my piece because he hadn't measured for a new piercing (which he had- shows how much they care about their customers). He then proceeded to smoke a ciggarette in between making out with his girlfriend in the middle of the shop. I don't smoke and I felt extremely disrespected that he didn't ask and see if it was ok with me if he was smoking right before piercing me. When we get ready for the piercing the owner is completely distracted and talking to his girlfriend from across the shop, not focusing on me at all and not making me feel comfortable about the piercing. After he's all washed up and about to pierce me his girlfriend says she has to go, so he goes and makes out with her for another 5 minutes, has to re-wash and re-sterilize everything. THIS WAS THE MOST UNPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD. I cannot explain how disgusted I was that I was giving this business money. Second: I purchased a piece, was never told that there was absolutely no returns, exchanges, or in store credit given. This is rude and disrespectful to the customers that the shop doesn't go over that at the time of purchase. I went back an hour later because the piece I bought was too small. I had not tried on the jewelry and was told by the piercer working there was absolutely nothing they could do. This goes to show how much they value their customers and the level of professionalism at this shop. I will absolutely never NEVER go back here. By far the worst experience I've ever had with a business.

Hailey Shellady

I wish i could share a photo but i got my triples done here and they are totally out of line with my regular lobe piercings and my doubles it looks really bad

Lilly Jones

I personally had a terrible tattoo experience with Andy. He was not professional at all; kept telling me the Thunderbird I wanted would look bad with color and just black was best- when I really wanted some beautiful color in it, drew up an incomplete and shoddy tat design, wasn't prepared for our appointment at the designated time… I ended up walking out and not letting him do any work on me. I lost the $50 deposit, plus I was charged another $60 for time spent in the chair while he prepped me. It was when he put the transfer paper down on my arm that I saw how incomplete and bad his design was. He pulled out a pen to work on it, but it literally only got worse. MUCH WORSE. The only saving grace was that the owner, Steve, said I could use the $60 charge as a credit and switch to another artist. I was out the $50 deposit no matter what though. Ugh! I decided not to go back though, the whole experience was bad.

Marcie Tobin

Awesome! Walked in and Kyle (I think that is his name) was incredible. Talked me through the process and we had a nice conversation afterwards. Highly recommend!

Mary B

Fantastic artists!

Daniel Finley

The staff of Release was extremely friendly and eager to share their knowledge of the services they offer. The atmosphere is very laid back and the jewellery on display is very beautiful. The staff and management take very good care in explaining the procedures and aftercare to their clients. Their is a very strict policy of sterilization and the staff prioritize your saftey. I would heavily recomend stopping in and discussing the art you wish for them to perform on your body, you will definitely not regret and you will probably be their newest repeat customer.

Mia O'Brien

I have had five piercings done at this business. I always feel comfortable and they communicate well with me. I always leave with a smile and I'm excited to pay them after the great job they did. I trust those who pierced me and I trust their opinions. The jewerly always works out for me and they get it right everytime. I've been going to this place since 2015 and it's never been an uncomfortable, nor have I felt out of place or nervous. The workers are friendly and open. Beautiful jewerly and easy going atmosphere. Very excited to come back!!!

Courtney Lamer

I am 37 and recently took my teen to get a nose piercing. I would recommend this place for their customer service and professionalism, as well as the skilled body piercing staff. The receptionist was knowledgeable and very helpful with the questions I had. The experience of the actual piercing was clean, professional, and literally painless according to my daughter. I'm not into lots of piercings or tattoos myself but I would recommend and return to this place with out a doubt!

Emily Byron

Fantastic. I can not recommend this place enough. Got my nose pierced by Kyle. He did a wonderful job. Everyone was super professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. They made sure I liked what I was getting and that they explained everything thoroughly. Great place. GO HERE!!!

FourString Hammer

I don't use anyone else

Ren Haskins

Only place I go for piercings! Staff is always really nice, gentle as possible, informative, and helpful.

Deb Gann

Service was good but the building smelled moldy

Lupita L.

I really like the service and how they answered all my questions

Wilhelm Oosthuysen

Awesome experience! Hunter is the best!

Devin Campion

Amazing experience with this place!! Super professional and the staff is amazing!! I went in to get my nose pierced and I was out in maybe 10 minutes. Would defininetly recommend going here!!

Ross Clowser

Great shop! Very safe and high quality!

Heidi Marie

First time ever getting a piercing (besides getting my ears like 10 years ago) and it was a fantastic experience! Pat really knew what he was talking about and explained everything before and as he was doing it and made sure to let me know how to take care of my new piercing! Will definitely be going back here next time I want something pierced!

Tyler Black

I got my first piercing here! Steeve was super informative about aftercare and I felt very comfortable during the entire process. Apart from the eye watering of course

Courtney Nelson

Amazing experience! Pat is great at what he does!

Carolyn Hoemann

A fantastic shop--couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was my first face piercing and I was a little nervous about it. The staff were very friendly, knowledgeable, and professional.

Bobby Jett

I have nothing but praise for the staff and the service. Super professional, fast, efficient. Steeve was extremely careful and professional and explained everything as he went a long. I would highly recommend this business for anyone looking for a piecing.

Malvika Rawal

Got my nose pierced and then bought custom jewelry from them. They are really professional.

Cecelia Maudsley

I really, really, REALLY hate giving negative reviews. So, let me start by saying the piercer was an awesome guy. Super nice, helpful, attentive, all that good stuff. His awesome attitude gets all three stars I gave. That being said, the prices were absolutely ridiculous. Ended up paying almost $300 for three piercings. The piercer was also EXTREMELY slow getting the needle through, and he pierced my girlfriend's lip from the outside in. That is a biiig ol' no-no with lip piercings and it resulted in her lip piercing being way, way more painful than it should have been. The piercings look great, the jewelry is wonderful, but the piercer really needs to work on his performance. He's a super cool guy, great with customer service, but his skills are lacking. Honestly, the fact that he was such a nice guy makes me feel HORRIBLE saying that. I hope he brushes up a bit (and moves onto somewhere that doesn't charge $175 for one piercing and piece of jewelry).

Cheyenne Rawhoof

I came in today with an embedded cartilage piercing. I came from Denver, was visiting family, and barely knew the area. I have a lot of piercings and have never experienced a reaction like this. Needless to say, it's a little unsettling feeling your flesh SWALLOW a piece of jewelry, especially when you're many miles from home and a familiar studio. I came into Release in emergency mode, desperately needing help removing the embedded jewelry and getting a larger replacement for my infected ear. Adorable Kyle stepped up asap and very calmly and kindly helped me resolve the issue. I was anxiety and panic stricken, but he was honest, knowledgable, and reassuring. Thank you so much! If it hadn't have been for Release, I might have had to have a doctor remove the jewelry. You guys rock.