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Show Highlights

Sometimes people wear jewelry. Sometimes people float. What happens when these things overlap? What about piercings?

Graham and Ashkahn concisely explain why it’s a good idea to take that wedding ring off before you float in this episode.

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Graham: Okay.

Ashkahn: Welcome. Hey, everybody.

Graham: Hey there. I’m Graham.

Ashkahn: I’m Ashkahn.

Graham: And today’s question is, “Jewelry/piercings in a float tank?”

Ashkahn: Hm.

Graham: Concise.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: I like it.

Ashkahn: To the point.

Graham: Um. No.

Ashkahn: Period.

Graham: Thanks for the question.

Ashkahn: I mean, so, there’s a couple of factors here. One-

Graham: Jewelry can sometimes be piercings.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: So it’s not just a straight separation there.

Ashkahn: This is really just a one question thing here. Well, there’s a lot of salt in these float tanks. I don’t know if you knew that.

Graham: Have you heard?

Ashkahn: But the salt can be pretty, it’s pretty intense. It can be pretty damaging. It can eat through metals and it’s not good for some things. So, which metals will it destroy and which will it won’t? I mean I’m sure-

Graham: We could go into it. There are definitely metals that won’t really be affected by the salt.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: Especially not being in there for such a short period of time.

Ashkahn: But, are you really going to be going through that with each person and the jewelry and piercings that they have?

Graham: And sometimes their jewelry is not made out of the metals that they think it’s made out of.

Ashkahn: Yeah, like a crummy boyfriend back in the day.

Graham: That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Or just a confused person who thought they were wearing their titanium necklace when in fact they were wearing their silver necklace, you know?

Ashkahn: I just thought titanium came out of those little things you put quarters in and spin to get the egg out.

Graham: That is true. If they have just plastic jewelry, you can wear plastic jewelry.

Ashkahn: Yeah, I’m sure there’s a couple, like jade or-

Graham: That’s totally fine.

Ashkahn: But here’s the other thing. It can be uncomfortable. When you’re in the float tank, you just feel everything that’s on your body. If you have bracelets or necklaces or things like that on, it might just make for a slightly worse float experience. So it’s a combination of those two things that makes you be like, well, “what’s really the point of keeping things in?” I mean, I guess there’s piercings where you can’t-

Graham: Yeah.

Ashkahn: -just conveniently take things out of your body.

Graham: And fortunately, those ones are actually often very controlled. And in that case, you want to check with the person who did your piercing. Or, yeah, the person who’s in charge of doing your body work is who you want to check in with.

Ashkahn: And it shouldn’t have been done very recently.

Graham: Yeah, definitely. Healed up. Healed up first. I mean, I know that you soak those things in salt water but it’s a different kind of salt water. Yeah.

Ashkahn: But in general, if it’s rings or bracelets or whatever, if it’s easy to take off, earrings, take it off. Why keep it on?

Graham: And for me, it really is that risk of what if they thought they knew what material it was and it wasn’t? Or what if they’re wearing this thing in and the person running the shop was pretty sure that it would be fine and it totally wasn’t fine. Are you now responsible for replacing this person’s jewelry-

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: -and upsetting them? It just feels like another one of those things since there’s the option to remove stuff. When people have dyed hair, you have them contact their person who does their hair, their hairstylist, and see if it’s safe to go in water or soak in something like a float tank and maintain their color and style and it’s the same for piercings if it is permanent. Otherwise, it’s removable and why ever risk it? Pretty much like why-

Ashkahn: Just say no.

Graham: -take these risks.

Ashkahn: Yeah. Just like drugs. Just don’t even risk it. So, yeah, there you go. That’s it.

Graham: Yep. Jewelry and piercings are just like drugs.

So if you have your own float tank problems you want to send our way, go to floattanksolutions.com/podcast.

Ashkahn: There’s a little box in there. There’s a little box. You’ll type stuff into it.

Graham: Yep. And it sends directly to our brain. So, yeah, we had that surgery done. Take advantage of it.

Ashkahn: All right. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Graham: Bye, everyone.

Recent Podcast Episodes

How to handle floaters getting out early – DSP 134

Sometimes… floaters get out early. That’s just what they do. But how often should that be happening? And how early? Well… it certainly depends on the length of your floats. If it is happening a lot and you run hour long floats, maybe there’s a common issue that people aren’t telling you. This is where those soft skills come in really handy. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but it also might not be anything to worry about.

Graham and Ashkahn share their experiences with this and what they see as regular floater behavior and what might be a little suspicious, along with some tips to suss out exactly what’s going on if you think it’s happening too frequently.

Thinking about safety and security for offering overnight floats – DSP 133

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Graham and Ashkahn discuss security for Float On for the twilight hours when things can go wrong as well as some of the general challenges of running a 24 hour business. 

Problems with using certain types of soap – DSP 132

When dealing with the carefully constructed micro-environment of a float tank, any tiny addition can really throw off the appearance or chemistry (just ask anyone who’s had to deal with their water turning orange or green!). The types of soaps you use in your float rooms, along with shampoos, conditioners, and lotions can and will enter your tanks, so it’s important to consider what impact they’re going to have.

Graham and Ashkahn walk through troubleshooting water chemistry problems for this question, to help solve a particular issue. 

Methods for filling weekday float sessions – DSP 131

This is a challenging issue for any service based industry. The world still operates on a 9-to-5 schedule, often Mondays through Fridays, finding people with the availability to zen out in those hours can be a challenge, but Graham and Ashkahn have been there and have some insights to the experience. They share what they do at Float On to counter this and when to accept the margins where you’re just not getting people in to float.

Thoughts on floating with a pacemaker – DSP 130

Sometimes you have customers with very specific needs or concerns about their float. In the case of medical concerns in regards to floating, there’s a lot we don’t know. Always always always have your customers discuss any serious medical concerns with their doctor. If for no other reason, if something does go wrong, even if it’s completely unrelated to their float, you’re not on the hook and have to deal with it. 

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