Marina Piercing Studio With a $25 Flat Fee: Mejuri Chestnut

Mejuri's store at 2050 Chestnut Street is the Toronto jewelry brand's San Francisco piercing studio, and the math is unusual: the $25 service fee is charged per person, not per hole, and covers up to four piercings in one roughly 20-minute appointment. Every hole is made with a sterile single-use needle and filled with a 14k gold stud, which you buy separately. Booking is online, and the store opens at 11 am every day.

Mejuri runs two stores in the city, but only one pierces. In the brand's own store finder, Chestnut Street carries the "Piercing studio" label and a link to its appointment calendar, while the Hayes Street store in Hayes Valley does not. If a friend tells you to book at the Hayes Valley Mejuri, that will get you a styling session or a cleaning, not a new hole. The Marina shop is the one to put in your map. The same finder shows Bay Area piercing studios at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek and Santana Row in San Jose, but neither is inside the city.

The company behind it describes itself as having grown from a small team in Toronto into a global brand with an in-house design studio and more than 700 staff across its headquarters and stores. CEO Noura Sakkijha, who says she comes from three generations in the jewelry trade, frames the brand around buying fine jewelry for yourself, and the company says it has been making jewelry for every budget since 2015.

Because the fee is flat, the jewelry is where the price really moves. Mejuri's piercing page lists the studs you can be pierced with. The Single Bar Stud in 14k white gold and the Single Puffy Pyramid in yellow gold are $98 each. The Single Micro Diamond Flat Back Stud is $118, and the Single Round Diamond Flat Back Stud jumps to $398. A first visit for two lobes with two bar studs comes to $221 before tax. Four puffy pyramids would be $25 plus $392.

That flat fee makes Mejuri cheaper than per-hole studios when you want three or four piercings at once, and pricier for a single lobe because the studs start near $100. The trade-off is choice. Only sterilized Mejuri piercing jewelry can go in on the day. A stud you already own, or even one you just bought from Mejuri's regular cases, cannot be used for the piercing itself.

Mejuri asks you to arrive up to 10 minutes early to check in and finish the paperwork. The piercer checks your ID, runs a short consultation, helps you pick studs and marks the placement for your approval before piercing. The jewelry is threadless, with a 14k solid gold top pushed into an implant-grade titanium flat back. The flat back sits flush behind the ear, which makes it easier to sleep on than a butterfly back.

Skip the numbing cream. Mejuri's FAQ says creams change how the skin looks and make placement harder, and that a client who arrives numbed will be rescheduled. Tipping is optional, and the FAQ confirms the studio accepts it. Before you leave, the piercer goes over aftercare and books your follow-up visit, which is part of the original $25.

The age floor is eight. Children from 8 to 12 can get first and second lobe piercings only. From 13, clients can choose approved lobe and select cartilage placements. For anyone 13 to 17, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver and stay for the whole appointment, and both people need a valid photo ID such as a passport or driver's license. A birth certificate can serve as the minor's ID. Appointments for minors run 40 minutes instead of 20, and the store page has a separate booking button for ages 8 to 17.

Mejuri asks for 24 hours' notice to cancel or move a booking. There is a five-minute grace period for late arrivals, and after that you may lose the slot, since the appointments are short.

The $25 fee includes a check-up four to six weeks after the piercing. The piercer looks at how the hole is healing and, when it is ready, swaps the long starter post for a shorter one. Mejuri calls this downsizing, and it matters most for cartilage, where a long post catches on hair and pillows. Treat the date as part of the service and put it in your calendar when you book.

This is the right studio for someone who wants a curated gold lobe stack and a tidy, quick appointment in a bright retail space. It is the wrong one for a conch, tragus, nostril or anything beyond the ear, since Mejuri pierces only lobes and select cartilage. For those, head to Cold Steel America on Haight Street or Body Manipulations in Dogpatch. Catbird on Upper Fillmore is the nearest alternative for lobes, charging per hole with a hand-pressured device rather than a needle.

Chestnut Street is the Marina's main shopping strip, lined with cafes, boutiques and fitness studios, so there is plenty to do while your ears settle. Walk north a few blocks to Marina Green for open lawn and a waterfront path facing the Golden Gate Bridge. Continue west along the water to the Palace of Fine Arts, where the rotunda and lagoon make an easy loop. To the east, Fort Mason's piers and the Great Meadow round out a longer afternoon.

Mejuri Chestnut Street is at 2050 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA, in the Marina. Hours are Monday to Saturday 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday 11 am to 6 pm. Piercing is by online appointment, with a $25 service fee per person that covers up to four piercings and a check-up four to six weeks later. Piercing studs start at $98. The minimum age is eight. Muni's 30 Stockton and 22 Fillmore buses serve the area.