02.21.2024 - Spur of the moment piercing. I hate that I have to leave this horrible review, especially because Jeremiah was really nice and awesome. But I feel as though I have to do my due diligence to make sure that this doesn't happen again and to help others avoid the same situation that I'm in now. Before heading back home from Santa Barbara, I take a quick shower and suddenly, one of my forward helix piercing fell out. With its awkward position, I tried putting it back in, but there was no way I could. I needed professional help. I called multiple places within Santa Barbara's vicinity, but all tattoo and piercing shops open late. Since I'll be passing by Morro Bay and it's about 1.35hrs away, the timing seemed to be perfect. So I hit the road and waited to call around some of the shops in that area. The first place that popped up on Yelp was Central Coast Tattoo. Since it was a tattoo and piercing shop, without any hesitation, I called and let the shop know I was on my way. I've been wanting to complete a certain piercing look on my right ear, so I decided to get 2 piercings along with reattaching my forward helix piercing. It was definitely a spur of the moment decision. Jeremiah was super nice, easy going and he was patient as I was looking through the jewelry collections. I asked if the earrings are surgical steel or medical grade steel. Jeremiah confirmed they were. After choosing my earrings, I waited for him to set up his station. Everything was fine, I was excited, but felt at ease. He drew the dots on my ear, showed me a mirror and adjusted them as needed. I have to say, I've had 12+ piercings throughout my life and never have I had excruciating pain during piercings. But this time, it was the first. Both piercings were extremely painful when puncturing and it ended up bleeding too. But even then, I didn't think anything of it because sometimes, the condition of our body's can feel off than normal and the location of the ear could be more sensitive than usual. Since getting it pierced, my ears started to swell badly, got red and felt hot. By the next day, just getting a whiff of air touching my right ear, I felt stinging pain. I started my aftercare regimen religiously. Warm salt water soak, clean around the piercing with saline, warm compress, ice pack...it got so bad to the point that I couldn't sleep all night from the throbbing, stinging pain. I felt like I was going to come down with a fever. My lymph nodes started to get bumpy and painful. My head started hurting. The nerves connected to my right ear all started radiating pain. It got pretty bad by the 4th day. Even with my aftercare routine, it just got more angry and irritated. When I got up on 2/25/2024 morning, I rushed to the mirror to check if the swelling went down, but my heart dropped and I was in absolute distraught mode. One of the two piercings got eating by my skin! (OMG!!!!) The front part of the earring is nowhere to be seen. I gently touch the back to see if the post was still in my ear, and it barely was. I thought my skin popped the front part off so I started checking my bed, around my bed, under my pillow, but I couldn't find it... Great, my skin at ate the earring...I never experienced this in my life...I'm panicking while trying to stay calm...my husband tried to push the back post forward to check and he saw the front part deep within my ear...My husband started searching for the best, cleanest and reputable piercing shop in the city and he found Body Manipulations. There's no time to delay and to beat the crowd, we get ready to drive down to the shop as soon as they opened. Just one look, the piercer knew what needed to be done. She had to forcefully push the embedded earring out to clasp it. Both piercings needed to be removed and I must say, this was the most painful 45 seconds of my life! She noticed that the embedded one was pierced at an angle, creating tissue damage. This explained the sharp pain with blood when Jeremiah pierced me. Also, remember I mentioned that I confirmed whether the earrings were good quality? Well, it turned out that each piece, the front and the back post were made of very poor quality metal. This added to my ear getting really angry because my skin is very sensitive. At this point, I'm pretty pissed. I spent money to get my ears infected. My other healed piercings were also getting affected from my ears swelling up so much that I had to get a longer post for them. Spent unnecessary money. Within 4 days, my ears went from looking normal to looking like dumbo with red, angry, inflamed ears. Unfortunately, this establishment does not use good quality jewelry. Although most tattoo + piercing shops are managed by professionals who are trained and skilled at performing legit piercings, I don't believe Central Coat Tattoo meets that criteria. read more

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My wife and I did it!!! We got our first tattoos and we couldn't be happier. Thank you first to our friend Mel from Taco Temple who referred us to Central Coast Tattoo. A big THANK YOU to Chyrs and Cynthia for helping us with our initial inquiry a week earlier and for making the tattoo process so memorable. Chrys is a true artist and a top notch tattoo artist for sure. She guided me and my wife through the process after reviewing the artwork that we wanted applied. Today, on two sessions my wife had a tattoo of three birds applied to her arm as a tribute to her and her two recently departed sisters. My artwork was a nod to my favorite pastime, golf. We occasionally would talk about getting a tattoo but today we talked the talk and walked the walk. I don't know if we will be inspired again to get another tattoo but if and when we do, we will stop in and see Chrys and Cynthia. read more

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Came to Morro Bay for the day and my daughter wanted to collect on her birthday gift. We happened to pass by this studio and called to see if they were accepting walk-ins. Jeremiah answered and was very friendly. Told us to come on in and he'd be happy to give my daughter the piercing. She was nervous but he was very good and personable. The piercing was quick, he gave us a couple aftercare products, told her what she needed to do to care for her new piercing and we were done. Highly recommend. read more

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Jeremiah has been doing my tattoos since the day I turned 18 and he's the best artist I've had. He has customized some of my work to fit more of what suited me. read more

It's bad :/ This was supposed to be an artistic vibrant SLEEVE. I didn't want to leave a bad review because Jeremiah seemed chill but this makes me sad. Uneven/shaky/incomplete lines, did not pack color correctly. My skin was so overworked and bleeding that when he went to apply the color, it just mixed with the black ink so the colors look darker and I have absolutely no saturation / vibrance (bright blues and greens look grey and like a bruise, dark blue looks black, bright pinks look like a heavy magenta). Overcharged ($1200+) for work that wasn't worth it and still left significant size tip to be considerate. I've tried being positive about it but it's just so awful man. Discourages me daily looking at it. He also decided to tattoo a random line on the back of my arm where I specifically told him I wanted that space left open. Didn't listen/Forgot/Didn't care? It looks like a sharpie line and it's just "there". Where's your attention to detail man and the plan you discussed with your client? Jeremiah was rushing to get it done instead of taking proper time & consideration that this is a permanent thing on someone's body. Not the outcome I had envisioned with him. I trusted him to deliver what he claimed he could and am disappointed he was unable to properly provide that. I wish he would have told me he couldn't do this , instead of plan all this with me/pay all the money I did just to have it look so heinous. I should have found a more experienced artist who could do the job I was hoping for. This shop gets traffic cuz tourism and piercings or small easy tats. I'd hold off on a piece you really want done the right way, as I'm not believing they'd be able to deliver that type of skill set and wouldn't want anyone getting taken advantage of. Planning to get it laser removed when I can afford it read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Shoutout to Cynthia, she had amazing customer service, quick and easy! I got my 2nd and 3rd earlobe piercings, and she was super efficient and very sweet. I would recommend anyone get a piercing by her!!! Ambiance was also great, my friend was watching a documentary on sea life which was very calming for me to hear in the background. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Ear piercings - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

It's unfortunate that I have to write this bad review. I hate writing bad reviews for small businesses, but I don't think my service was appropriate. I feel like I was scammed out of my money, and the employee working as not honest and lied about his skill level. I have self harm scars that I wanted covered up, they are almost 10 years old at this point and I was excited to get that chapter of my life covered up/camouflaged. I called this business twice before coming in, just to make sure they could deliver what I was looking to achieve. I drove over 40 minutes or so, and popped into the shop for a quick consult and discussed what I wanted with the employee and showed him my inspiration images. I asked the artist at least 5 times "are you sure you can create something very similar or identical to this" and he assured me over and over again, so excitedly I put down the deposit of 100$. This tattoo is important to me. I was quoted $600, and this economy is rough so I had good hopes my money was going where I wanted it to go. After receiving 2 designs from the artist, I could tell he obviously could not deliver what he promised and that I was lied to. When I told him I felt lied to and scammed, he replied with this: Non refundable. I have spent some time in the drawing for you. There are people who do what you're looking for. Keep an eye out for someone who does photorealistic stuff on the regular. Thanks I feel scammed and lied to. Please be honest with your customers, especially when you are taking their hard earned money. I'm disappointed and put off by the whole situation. I have attached the text messages for reference and my inspiration images and the draft from the artist. He purposely ignored my question when I asked if there was a style issue with the snake portion of the tattoo. This is a terrible way to run a business, by lying to people. As a fellow artist I would never take someone's money knowing I could not deliver. read more

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When I was in high school I got my nose pierced here with my mom, Great memories. Flash forward 21 years and I just went back a few days ago to get my nose re-pierced with my mom. The place hasn't changed a bit. Jeremiah who pierced my mom and I was awesome. He was Professional, Quick, and it was a pain free piercing. Thank you Jeremiah. read more

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Chad is great, his work is excellent, sitting with him is very comfortable and quick. Definitely recommend

As soon as we walked in we were not greeted with kindness, but rudeness. The Lady said, "What do you need" in a rude tone while hitting her puff bar. Also I felt that she was just scamming us for money. I was quoted a crazy price for a simple ear piercing. After that I left while my friend stayed inside to purchase a nose ring. The lady proceeded to talk to my friend and say "sorry your friend was scared to get her ears pierced". I was not scared, but treated poorly. I wish that this place could learn some manners and not push away clientele. read more

The absolute BEST. Jon does amazing work and I'm obsessed with the tattoo of my boys' names he did for me. He does beautiful thin line work. Cynthia who does piercings is also wonderful! She did a nose and helix piercing for me! read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Ed is an excellent artist and extremely professional would recommend him or his shop anytime

Met some of the coolest most helpful people here! great jewelry, great vibe, super sanitary. would highly recommend!!!

Very friendly and professional staff, Jeremiah has a great range of art and good portfolio he invited us to review. Environment was kid friendly with water, coffee, facilities, and piercing selections. This was my first tattoo and my husband's second. I came in with a sketch and he was able to use that and rework with additional detail around the face I was looking for and gave several 'consults' with the sticker outline and other options before moving forward to make sure he understood what we wanted. Total time for each of our tattoos in the chair was probably 15 minutes, and touch ups included in the price (and for the foot wear from flip flops will be needed). Prices ranged $80-120/hour depending on body part and detail required and may fluctuate more depending on other aspects like color and custom art creation. This was a great start, and expect to add color and more detail later which he invited in on lunch break etc again welcoming walk in or scheduled appointment. read more

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Chrys And Cynthia are the go to for piercing! I can't tell you how grateful I am for the easy going process for the piercing of the Monroe I got. I woke up in a panic, called and they said come on back in and we'll help you WITH NO HESITATION! Came in, and even though Chrys was my original perfect, Cynthia readjust it quickly, not painfully with again, no hesitation. My piercing had fallen through because the bar was not long enough for my big lip! Lol And she changed it quick with a great positive attitude and I cannot thank them both enough! Thank you guys so much for being so awesome personality- wise and work wise- too! I recommend to anyone- who would like a piercing, they are absolutely amazing! Love, Destiny. You made my day! read more

My sister came for a visit and we wanted to get matching tattoos. I tried to get appointments, but no one was getting back to us. When I contacted Chrys from Central Coast Tattoos she got us scheduled right away. We are both extremely pleased with her talent and her technique. I would recommend Chrys at CCT to anyone looking for a great tattooing experience! read more

After my solo kayak rental was canceled due to unexpected high wind, I wandered around Morro Bay absorbing the beautiful drought-resistant plants and colorful outdoor murals and sculptures that were everywhere. I discovered a tattoo parlor and hoped against hope that there might be an opening since the posted sign indicated 'appointments only.' As luck would have it, not only was my meandering Saturday a first-come, first-served day but Central Coast Tattoos turned out to be the shop that had been recommended to me by several friends, also aficionados of inked body modification. I was willing to wait and am glad that I did. Jeremiah did a beautiful sea snake on my left arm (no photo will fully capture the spiral starting on my elbow although I did try to capture the 'movement' of the design, he also etched into the skin of my right forearm two images dear to me because they represent my two sons. I am able to breathe myself into a state of deep relaxation and yet was aware of the lively and cheerful conversation between tattoo artists and piercer (Cynthia, I believe her name was, whose mother appeared for a while). I recommend Central Coast Tattoos. I recommend Jeremiah as a tattoo artist. I am hoping to go back this weekend for more. read more

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Went in for a piercing. This is not my first one BUT was my most painful! It felt like he didn't get the needle in right the first time. In less than a week the earring has fallen out twice, just by spinning earring. What a waste of $65. That is what I get for trying someone new. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - front part of earring came out, so tiny. Went down drain. have to buy a new earring. - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

Had to come back for more! Absolutely loved Jon and Jeremiah last time and was so comfortable with them I had to come back! I had been thinking about the owl piece for awhile and felt like it was just the right time to have it done and I really loved how Jeremiah interpreted it for me! Was a great atmosphere and Jeremiah did both of these for me and my sister. Thanks for the great experience! :) read more

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Jon is an excellent artist. I gave him a blurry picture of what I wanted and he recreated it without losing what I loved best about the design. He did a remarkable job on my tattoo. I already have my next tattoo in mind. I will definitely be going back to Jon. He also did my seahorse the week before as a walk-in. I am so glad I spotted Central Coast Tattoos as I was having an iced latte across the street. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Love this place, I won't get tattooed anywhere else. Jon and Jeremiah do a great job and both are great humans.

Well, I'm sad to leave this review but it's really not a good place to go for a piercing. She pierced my 17 yo daughter (with my consent and I was present as well) and her 18 yo best friend. Both got tongue piercings. They were late for their appt and so I think she was rushing to go home but set them up to get it done. My daughter went first. It was crooked. Like way crooked. It was in the middle underneath her tongue but came out on the side on the top. I didn't look too close, but she did, and after we left she said it was on the side but we told her it wasn't that noticeable. A couple days later my daughter wasn't happy about it so I messaged Cynthia and got no response even though she read the message. I waited a couple days thinking maybe she was busy, and messaged again asking if she could maybe look at it and discuss re-doing it. My daughter was even going to pay again if she wanted her to. But again, read the message and no response so my daughter took it out because she was never going to be happy with it. After the swelling went down we could really see how far off center it was. Idk why she never even responded at all. She was very nice and fun otherwise, so it sucked that we couldn't even get a response. Take this for what you will. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

It takes quite an experience for me to feel obliged to write a review. My apt was at 5 and I came early, excited to finally get the ink I had been dreaming of. When I arrived, there was another woman there who had been waiting for over 45 mins for the artist Chrys to show up for a quick touch up. Chrys showed up a little after 5 and it was obvious she was already in a bad mood. She was rude to this lady that was coming back for a touch up and seemed impatient and crabby. Immediately I started to get bad vibes and was becoming unsure if I wanted to be so vulnerable and let this person work on me. This piece that I've been working on is very intimate and represents personal trauma and I have been looking for a female artist to do it. She looked at me next and says "Oh you're the one who sent me pictures right? I hope those are just ideas because that is UGLY. I would never put that on someone" In that moment it was confirmed that this was not the place or artist I could have work on me. I walked out right away. Sure everyone gets in bad moods, but showing up 45 mins late, being rude to costumers who have been waiting, and then personally offending someone who is about to be so vulnerable with you....wow. I am truly disappointed. There's a reason they always have availability, save yourself the strife and wait for an opening somewhere more professional and compassionate. read more

Chrys will waist your time and is unprofessional. She waisted 4 weeks of my time and never delivered on a sketch.

I have wanted to get this Tattoo for a while. But I was a little nervous on where to have it done. I couldn't be happier with the great and professional work that West Coast provided. A plus! read more

Central Coast Tattoos - My Love and Peace tattoo. - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Walked into the shop with my husband , excited to see what they had- a woman was tattooing a guy & didn't greet us- figured that was cause she was busy & the only one there, we sat down & started looking through the folders they had - suddenly & very rudely the woman called out loudly "what do you want??" I said I was just looking & she went back to tattooing - As for the quality of the tattoos.... Only way I can describe it as the place you go to get a tattoo when you're drunk. (Cause nobody in their right mind would get tattoos of this quality , unless they are trailer trash) The quality is Horrible! There's no talent to be found here. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Honestly , this business card is ugly. - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Very friendly and experienced. They answered all my questions and let me take my time to decide what I wanted.

Jeremiah was awesome! My sister and I were visiting from out of town, and as a spur of the moment idea we decided to get matching "sister" tattoos. We walked in and he was able to help us with out much of a wait. He was super chill and made the experience so much better. We got small simple tattoos but they came out very nice and clean. Meeting him definitely made our Sister Adventures that so much more memorable. It also helped with feeling like our random idea was a great idea! If we are ever in town again we definitely will hit him up for another tattoo. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

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Came into town this weekend for my Aunts memorial & As a family we all decided we wanted to honor her with breast cancer tattoos & piercings! Jeremiah and the piecer (Cindy I believe) were more than accommodating!! Jeremiah was so patient & helpful when it came to helping all 5 of us decide what we wanted. He even came in the next day (his day off) to finish tattooing the rest of our family. I wish we could give more than 5 stars, thank you for giving us such a special memory. read more

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They were awesome! I went in today for my first tattoo and I will definitely be coming back. I really appreciated their work!

I went here to get a faded tattoo touched up for my birthday. Jeremiah did a terrific job and I was impressed with the experience. I will definitely come back next time I need some ink. read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

Jeremiah did a great job and could not have been nicer. The tattoo he did for my mom was simple, but he turned it into a work of art. Highly recommend!!! read more

Okay so I want to be as nice as possible because I tried to like them for so long, but they have just been unprofessional too many times for me not to say anything. One of their staff members said he had bad eyes and sight and was a tattoo artist... like bro?????? another staff member said he didn't know what the septum rings looked like. And a piercer left the needle in my ear so she could stand up and talk to my mom, I have a high pain tolerance so I was fine, but in my head I was like, "Heyyyy i'm pretty sure your not supposed to that" anyway I want to be like nice and stuff but it just seemed kinda unprofessional read more

I had a VERY good experiance here! The woman who did my snake bites was very friendly, made me feel very safe. Talked to me yhrough the whole thing, and when it was done (and the pain finally hit me) she let me lay down for a few. I just walked in, no appt. She made sure I was comfy before starting. Piercings are straight, and honestly not as much pain (or blood) as I thought! Very happy! read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Decided to say screw it! Got my snake bites done! The woman who did it was awesome, i just walked in and she made me feel soo safe! - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

Absolutely recommend this place!! Jon did my tattoo and was very kind, knowledgeable, clean and organized! He did exactly what I wanted! I wouldn't go anywhere else!! read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Beautiful and vibrant - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

Went in for a septum piercing and the lady didn't seem to 100% know what she was doing and non-stop talking and ended up piercing my cartilage instead of my sweet spot read more

I came for my first tattoo and wow. Chrys is by far one of the nicest people i've ever met and her work is amazing. This place is a 10/10 for me and I will definitely be getting another tattoo from her. read more

Cynthia is amazing. We called and she was available. We went in and she was very helpful and sweet and amazing. I love my tattoo I gave her a picture and she had ne in and out with an amazing tattoo I love the feel of the shop it quaint! read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Love my new tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California

Had the worst experience of my entire lifetime. Decided to get my septum pierced, he was very rude, made no connection with me at all. When it came to doing the piercing itself, he was very rough and immediately poked the needle trough without telling me he was. He said he lost the needle although I heard the skin break. We tried again and he said the same thing. As someone who has gotten piercings and tattoos before, I have never been handled in such a rough and unfriendly manner. Do not go to him. If there was 0 stars, I would rate this 0 stars. read more

Very friendly and honest!!! Came in for small finger tattoo and the owner was very honest and said we would be touching up a lot since they just don't last. Told us she would do them but just wanted to set proper expectations. We decided on another location and had them done. My experience was great from start to finish. Great personalities, great work, great experience. I will be coming back! :) read more

Central Coast Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Morro Bay, California