Piercing Questions and Tips
 

Hello out there. First post here, in case anyone cares (I'm sure you don't).
Anyways, I was thinking of getting my ears pierced soon. I've never had them pierced before, and had a few questions I couldn't find answers for. What I want to do is get two eight gauges in each of my earlobes, and then two eight gauge cartilage piercings in my left ear. I already I know about the process refered to as "Dermal Punching", and that's what I plan to do with the cartilage piercings so I don't have to stretch them and to prevent keloids. I guess my questions about all this were:
1. Is it feasible/Can I get the whole process done in one sitting?
2. How much would an expert on the subject estimate the cost at (I live in Northern California)?
3. Is this a good idea/do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

I don't really know about the ear piercing stuff but you may want to go introduce yourself in the introductions thread in general

www.myspace.com/spazik should tell you everything you want to know about me, if you're that interested.

honestly I don't care but it is strongly suggested that all newbs introduce themselves there and while you're in general you may want to take a good look at the "for the newbs" thread

I already did. I just hate posting "Hi I'm new here!" threads. It's kinda retarded.

Yes, it is possible to go through all that in one sitting, but it depends a lot on certain factors. Including your pain tolerance and general health. Whenever going in for a piercing, make sure you've eaten and had a good night's rest. Even if you think that's wussy advice, it's not as wussy as you'll seem when you pass out cold in the shop.
Go to bmezine.com for more than you ever wanted to know about piercings and all kind of body modifications.

Been there already. Yeah, that's what I was hoping. I thought I'd be able to do it all at the same time, my girlfriend said I was stupid for thinking that (for some reason). Anyone else care to comment? But anyways, yeah, I've seen some pretty cool pictures at bmezine though (Some pretty gross ones too, uck).

I find the grossness entertaining. People do some fucked up stuff. :) I have my own page/blog there, too. It's fun.
As a side note, there are 8 guage needles out there. you don't have to use a dermal punch, unless you have extra-tough cartilage for an 8g. Usually piercers won't use a dermal punch for something that small, although for something like a 0 guage nostril, which can be distorted by stretching, they'll use the punch. :)

1- Most piercers won't do more than three at a time, because your body might not be able to heal as quickly if you do them all at once.

2- Don't go by price. Go by the feeling you get in the various studios/recomendations from friends, etc, etc. I'll shove a nail through your ear for kick and giggles, but that's not how you want it done.

3- If these are your first piercings, then don't do dermal punching. Wait and see how traditional piercing works for you. Also, be aware that with cartalidge, esp. dermal punching, what you do stays done. A no brianer, of course, but sitll. . .think over it carefully.

Ear Stretching
 

I am stretching my ears. Does anyone know an easy, affordable way to get earings??

My friend started by using straws. They come in lots of different thickness. I suggest starting with a McDonalds or Carls Jr straw. Work your way up to a Jack In the Box straw and then to a 7-11 slurpie straw. The thicker the straw, the harder the plastic too. Just cut the straw to the desired length and voila!

To slowly strech your ear without having to keep switching straws, get black electrical tape and wrap it around the plug a few times. A few new wraps every week and you'll stretch it fairly quickly.

hope that helps.

By the way, Have you read any of Raven Silverwolfs books?

actually im reading one now.but just to tell you, i made my name before i knew she existed.it was kinda an accident lol but at least they arent exactly the same.

I agree with Panther. Take at least a month or two to decide whether this is something you really want. I have quite a few piercings that I'm beginning to regret.

I have quite a few piercings and with the lobe stretching, an easy way is to just get it done at 16g(standard), let it heal, then just go buy an 8g earring and push it through.thats what i did to my ears.

I've heard it's easy enough to stretch your lobes yourself. If you don't want to go straight from 16g to 8g you can gradually go up in size, like go to 12g in the middle or something.

I'm not a super-pierced person myself, and I've only stretched a couple holes to 14g from the standard 16g (I had a pair of 14g earrings I really wanted to wear, so I forced them in)... only have holes in my lobes right now (two in the left lobe, three in the right). I'm thinking of getting a small (probably 14g) industrial or other cartiledge piercing at some point though, although I'm concerned about getting hair dye on it while it's healing. :P

with the hair dye subject...ive allways used saran wrap(however you spell it) and put a large rubber band arround my ears.it works well so the bleach has no reaction to the metal.

Awesome, I'll keep that in mind.

So I get payed tonight, just waiting for the direct deposit to kick in. And with my money in addition to getting my hair done and picking up a camera (so you lovelies can see the ugly mug behind the sarcasm) I'm thinking about getting a new hole put in my body.

As it stands right now I've got nine, two in the ear, eyebrows, tongue, labret, nipp's and navel. Not totaly sure where I want to get the next one, though I do want another one. I've been leaning towards getting my right ear done to match the left, or getting my septum.

Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

That's actually a bad idea. It can cause blowouts, where the flesh tunnel created during piercing comes out the back of your ear.

Get a taper, which is a tapered piece of mtel (obviously) that eventually becomes the gauge you want.

BMEzine has a list of knitting needle guages that can be used as tapers, somewhere.

The taper will enable you to guage your cartalidge piercings as well. But you won't want to go from 18-6 for any of them. Always go the next step up. 18-16-14, etc. etc.


And you can never have too many ear piercings.

Star of Blight: Other ear gets my vote. I like ear piercings more than septum piercings, but that might be a matter of personal taste. If you've got your heart set on a septum piercing then go for it.

Don't really have my heart set on anything to be honest, hence the pondering on my part. And I agree, I kinda have a narrow nose so a septum probably wouldn't look good.

Though, I could always get *cough* pierced.

Yeah... you've got to have a certain nose to make a septum piercing look remotely good (at least I think so), but ear piercings look good on just about anyone.

And yes, the other'd be interesting, too. ;)

Just no sex for a couple of months while it heals. Fuck not like I'm getting any these day's...might as well.

I'd think the post-healing would be worth it, though. I say go for it!

If you really want it pierced, then have fun, honey!

Tell us all about it (well, maybe just me), when you do!

I have a question. Like were is a good place to get like back earings. and one more thing but like u know those ear rings i dont know what they are called but like they are circle and they are eather one or two colors but like were would u fund them and do u need to get your ears streched for those??

^ I'd think you could get good earrings at any reputable piercer, and they'd also know if you need to stretch the holes for the rings. A lot of stores like Spencers also sell body jewelry and earrings, or you could check an online source such as www.tribalectic.com where they have a lot of information on piercing care, and also a rather good selection of products they sell.

speaking of the " *cough* " peircing.. what is that like? I've been looking things up on it and some say healing is any where from a week to two months.. and does anyone know where to get the rings for that specific peircing?

Yeah, I'll get started on that shit when I get my bracelet off and let you know how it all goes. Thanks Panther!

I vote for the Chocolate Starfish!!!!

You would NEVER have to search for something interesting to talk about again!!

Plus if you did it right, you could 'Turtle' in new and different ways, out of several different holes, instead of just ONE!

:)

Think of how PROUD we would all be!

AAAAHHHH!!!!!!

I fucking hate Jackass.

When you say 'dermal punching', are you referring to being pierced with a hollow needle?

It's easier to explain dermal punching if regular piercing is explained first.

For a regular piercing, a tri-bevel needle would be used. It cuts a V through the flesh, and pushes it aside for the jewelry to slip through. The pressure from all that flesh pushing on the jewelry puts pressure on the severed blood vessels, keeping you from bleeding out.

Traditional piercing does not remove any tissue, that's why jewelry the same size as the needle can be used and it will suficiently staunch the bleeding.

Dermal punches are actually what doctors use to take biopsy samples. They remove an entire circular area of tissue. Pretty cool, if you wanna take out a big hunk of flesh quick.

Here are the problems inherent with improper use, though.

Problem number one. If an inexperienced piercer is using a punch, they may cause you to bleed out. A larger piece of jewelry must be used to displace the flesh that the punch cuts out. Otherwise, no pressure will be put on the cut tissue.

Or, jewelry too big cut be put in, causing a blow out (keloid). These are painful, and sometimes permanant.

Problem number two. If you are planning to stretch the piercing, it may be safer to go with traditional piercing because that doesn't displace flesh. If you have big ole plugs but no skin underneath to hold it up, eventually, it may break. Then, you will have a nasty problem.

Problem number three. This may not matter to many people, but it's a relatively new method, and illegal in many states. These reasons make it a lot harder to get a piercer who knows what (s)he's doing. Many want to do 'extreme' piercing for street cred or portfolios...not to discredit the profession...but sometimes, unfortunately, it happens.


I think it's safer to go with traditional piercing and slowly, safely, stretch. And by the way, I agree with Panther - if you stretch too quickly, you will earn yourself keloids and scar tissue. Keloids sometimes have to be cut out. A safe rule is a gauge a month. If you're not sure, for heaven's sake ask a proffessional to help you out, they'll be able to tell if you're ready or not...

Yeah I wanna do dermal punchings on the cartilage even though it hurts like a bitch I'm told. Can I get the lobes regular pierced at eights?

No one liked my suggestion..

What?

Dude, that idea has some serious Merit with a capital M !


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10...HairyAnus3.jpg

I've talked to several local piercers about this before, because I've had the same questions. ALL piercings should be done with a hollow needle because it reduces the chances of blowout and getting an infection. Getting your lobes pierced with an 8G needle is just fine and dandy - most piercers recommend getting pierced with a hollow 8G needle if you're going to stretch your ear. I wouldn't, however, recommend getting your helix (I'm assuming that's what part of your ear you mean when you say "Cartilage") with an 8G. The biggest I would recommend is a 10G for a couple reasons: A. It bleeds like a bitch, and the bigger the hole the longer it will bleed. I don't mean for a couple hours after the piercing's done. I mean for days or weeks. B. It WILL NOT close up. That hunk of flesh you've taken out of your ear doesn't grow back if you get it pierced with a big enough needle. As for a limit on piercings, I'd say it wouldn't be a problem. I had an industrial, my inner conch, and two on my lobes pierced all on my left ear, all in one sitting. It all depends where and how many. If you were to get two parallel industrials going across your ear, that might be a problem because they're both in the way of each other. It would be a hassle to clean, and a hassle to pierce the other one without irritating it. What a long post...post any questions you might have.

Piercings
 

Hey everyone, I just pierced my nipples and stretched my ears within the pasted 2 days, I was wondering if i did anymore piercings, would it slow my healing process or anything else of that sort?

Hey since no one is responding to my thread ill ask here.i just pierced my nipples and stretched my ears within the passed 2 days.will adding more holes to my body slow my healing process?im hoping to add my 12th piercing soon.

Piercing questions and tips
 

Hey i was wondering, what is the best way to create a home piercing kit?ive allways used proxcide, a needle and jewelry. any tips or suggestions?

Well, you should find something other than peroxide to disinfect your piercings. It's too harsh on healing tissue, and can even damage new tissue growth.

i only use proxcide the first time i clean my piercings.otherwise i use rubbing alchohal.

Ouch, may I suggest sea salt. Its much easier on the piercing. As other have said BME is great, and you can find lots of answers to questions or advice on methods to use.

does anyone have their bridge done? im looking to get it done but im not sure what to expect... i havent ever seen anyone with it done in real life, so yeah, i figured i would ask you nice peoples.

Gettting it done professionally where you live? I don't know... I got mine done in Idaho (Boise to be exact) and it costed $20.

ear piercing
 

you cant get that in one sitting. You have to get a stretcher for your ear and work with it until it is to the width you want it. They can make it a little bit bigger then the normal ones but not too big.

Well the cost depends on the place. I paid $20 for 2 piercings in the ear lobe at a "general piercing store".

ok so i know this probably wasn't one of my smartest choices, but i pierced my septum today. i used one of those piercing earing studs with a spike at the end, and surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all..not even now. question is, would it be better if i guaged it to a 14 or leave it at the gauge it's at now..which is like..an 18?