Thursday November 8th, 2007 @ 1:04 PM
Hi,
I tried to search the archive, but couldn’t find anything that answered my question. I got my eyebrow pierced a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m getting a lot of acne around the piercing because I can’t use my regular cleansing products on the area. Is there anything I can use to help get rid of the acne without bothering my piercing? Thanks!
I really don’t see a problem using your regular face cleanser or acne stuff as long as you rinse the area and the piercing thoroughly when you are finished. There isn’t likely anything in either of those products that will cause any major issues with your piercing as long as they aren’t left sitting in, or on, the piercing.
0 / 0 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Thursday November 8th, 2007 @ 9:07 AM
Filed under: Nipple
I got my nipples pierced about three and a half weeks ago, and they appear to have been healing just fine. After the second day or so, I experienced absolutely no pain unless there was some sort of rough accidental contact with one or the other barbell. However, while cleaning the past couple of days I noticed that a drop of pus comes out of each piercing if the barbell is moved to one side. The strangest thing is that they still look fine, they don’t feel hot, and they certainly don’t hurt at all. Should I be concerned, and if so, is there any particular action I should take?
Thanks
I’m pretty certain that what you’re seeing is not pus, but lymph - the drainage of lymph is a normal part of the healing process of any piercing and nothing to get worried about! Although lymph is characterised as being clear and watery in the wiki, it can appears whitish or yellowish in some individuals and is often confused with pus by worried new piercees. Just continue looking after your piercings as you have been, and they should be just fine. 
If you’re really concerned, drop in to see your piercer for a checkup, they should be quite accommodating and willing to put your mind at rest!
+1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
Thursday November 8th, 2007 @ 9:04 AM
About a month ago I got a tattoo on my chest colored in some, and forgot to cover my few month old sternum piercing with a bandaid. The artist ended up getting ink everywhere on my chest, and he left cleaning the area between the piercing to me.
Well, a month later, and the skin between the two holes is still kind of dark from that leftover ink. How can I get the ink off of that area? I don’t want to scrub it with soap/water as it may irritate the piercing. The sea salt soaks aren’t doing anything to get the ink off of it. It isn’t irritating the piercing, it just looks kind of crappy.
Thanks, you guys rock.
As obvious as it sounds, soap and water should get tattoo ink off your skin nicely, and I’d recommend using a chemical-free soap to avoid any unnecessary irritation, as well - I’m a Dr. Bronner’s girl, meself. You don’t have to ’scrub’ hard enough to irritate the piercing - some gentle friction with the pads of your fingers is really enough, MAYBE a gentle bit of work with a washcloth if the fingers aren’t doing the job. Good luck!
0 / 2 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday November 7th, 2007 @ 7:48 PM
Hey gang. Just wondering; do you know anything about laser hair removal over tattooed areas? I can’t seem to find anything about damage to the tattoo. Any info will be much appreciated. Thanks.
-Wolf(Hehe, get why I want the hair removal?)
I have a friend who had tattoos removed by a laser intended for hair removing. It’s not ideal for the purpose, but it worked. Even if it were set up different there’s still a great chance for damage to the tattoo. There are options though, like using an epilator. It’s not as efficient as the newer laser technology but it should be totally safe for your tattoos.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday November 7th, 2007 @ 7:39 PM
Hey QOD. Just wondering about Dermal Anchors: if a person had to go for an MRI or something like that, they wouldn’t be able to take it out (unless permanent removal was waht you wanted)… would that be okay?
For scenarios like that, or if a person got in an accident and doctor’s didn’t know how to remove the dermal anchor, could this cause problems?
I really want a dermal anchor piercing, but at my last panoramic dental x-ray my nape piercing was going to maybe mess up the x-ray (just visually)… and I don’t want to cause any problems for myself.
What do you think?
You bring up an excellent point. This is the main reason microdermals scare me…people don’t understand how permanent they can be. Ine the case of microdermals, metal subdermals and transdermals (or any piercing that could not be easily removed) can cause problems with not just x-rays and mri’s but with AED’s (shock paddles) that need to be used in a timely manner to effectively save the patients life. I don’t know the severity of the problem first hand, but I do know AED’s cause an arc that travels from one pad to the next with the heart in between. Metal objects in this path can cause the electricity to focus on them.
I have a metal subdermal and 6 transdermals. I went into them thinking of the possible outcomes and accepting of the risk. I fear that people may not take microdermals as seriously because of how much easier they are to get in the body. There’s a piercer south of me who puts them in monroe placement…..not even telling the client it’s any different than a piercing!
Educate yourself, know the risk and then decide if the risk are worth it to you.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 6 Comments
Wednesday November 7th, 2007 @ 2:17 PM
Filed under: Ear
About a year ago I stretched my ears to a measly 8g. But sadly had to take them out because of work. Even then, I had troubles with my left ear and it always being itchy no matter how much I cleaned my jewellery. I cleaned it by alternating with sea salt soaks and anti bacterial soap. And since now, Ive started to restretch again but slower and just at 10g, but the same itch has come back. Im using lucite [I guess acrylic to you guys] and I was wondering if MAYBE thats the cause of the itch and if there was an alternative to jewellery that came that small in gauge[10g]without having to be specially ordered?
It’s possible your body isn’t a fan of the acrylic/lucite. It’s certainly not unheard of. However, if you’re using o-rings (the black ones) to hold the acrylic jewelry in place, I’d be more suspicious that you’re having an allergic reaction to the o-rings. I’ve definitely run into that much more commonly over the years than I have people reacting to acrylic. If you are wearing black o-rings, you could try switching to clear o-rings, as the clear ones are made out of silicone and not latex or nitrrile rubber.
Other alternatives for jewelry material you could wear include stainless steel, titanium and glass. Plugs in 10ga, made of those materials, should be pretty easy to find in a studio with a decent jewelry selection.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Wednesday November 7th, 2007 @ 1:43 PM
Hey all…
I have been looking around, but found almost no information about nipple tattooing. I heard all sorts of rumours about the ink dissappearing completely in a few years due to the different kind of skin on the nipple itself and on the areola. Is there any truth in this?
Is it possible to tatto nipples and the surrounding skin, and do I need to be especially aware of something? Do nipples fade fast and can it be fixed with a touch up, or will I be doomed to have the touched up every few years for the rest of my life?
Is there anything I should know when it comes to design and so on? Could a complicated design work on a nipple, or would the odd tissue in the area make it hard to get anything detailed to look nice?
In short: Tell me ALL you know about tattooing nipples.
Thank you in advance. I look forward to your answer.
Nipple and areola tissue is not particularly suited for tattooing, however it can and has been done. Generally I would advise super simple and mainly just solid color for nipple tattoos. Make sure that your artist is experienced with tricky areas, and be prepared for some touch up sessions. I have one friend with green nipples and know several girls with star nipples, so be reassured it can be done even if it isn’t necessarily easy.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday November 6th, 2007 @ 11:52 PM
Hi I hope u can give me some advice as I am getting desparate not to lose my piercing! I have my nape surface pierce three times. The top piercing was done two years ago but over the last six months has developed a horrible granuloma (as defined by my Dermatologist). I clean it every day with salted water but the lump won’t go and it gets quite big like a blister and then bleeds. It is sore to touch and gets itchy sometimes. I have tried many different creams/gels to dry it out but the ‘bister’ just comes back.
I would really appreciate any advice you can give me as the piercers here in London can not tell me anything more helpful/
Many thanks in anticipation!
Bel
I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record…broken record…broken record…broken record…
Persistent bumps/granulomas like you are describing most often are caused by some form of physical irritation. In the case of a surface piercing, it’s most likely going to be from some sort of pressure. I’m not sure what type of jewelry you were pierced with, but if the style of jewelry is not great and/or the placement of the piercing isn’t good, it can result in irritation, which can result in a bump on the piercing. Most likely, until you relieve the pressure, the bump isn’t going to go away. The bump is basically your body’s way of telling you it’s unhappy at the moment.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday November 6th, 2007 @ 11:48 PM
Hello there,
I got my nipples pierced about two years ago now vertically with a 14g barbell made of surgical stainless steel. Its STILL cranky as all hell. Right underneath the top ball there is this angry looking red, raw flesh. It doesn’t bleed much but sometimes the crusties are a little bloody, and the crusties are many!!!
Sea salt soaks don’t really help it much and i was wondering what I can do.
Please help!
Thanks
In situations like this, being able to see the piercing can make a big difference in figuring out what is going on. So, if you have a piercer you trust in your area, a trip to see him/her is probably your best option. Barring that, however, I’m going to guess that you’re dealing with some sort of physical irritation. Is it possible that the barbell is a bit too short? Jewelry that fits too tightly can cause problems similar to what you’ve described.
Another option could be a reaction to the jewelry you are wearing. You said you had both pierced, but your description seems to indicate you are only having a problem with one of them. If you are only having a problem with one, it’s likely not a reaction to the jewelry, as a reaction would most likely show up in both piercings.
I’m sorry I can’t give anything more definitive than that. Head to your local piercer to see if they can help you out.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Monday November 5th, 2007 @ 3:04 PM
So, I currently have a captive bead ring in my lip. When I got it the piercer told me that I would easily be able to remove it myself. Well, i finally tried… and it was not easy and did not happen. I looked it up online and it said to use pliers… but im wondering if theres a less scary, less damaging way?
Also, my friend loosened his (i.e. stretched the ring more) so that he can more easily pop the ball in and out. I’m wondering if this is an okay thing to do?
Note: I changed the original title on this to make it a bit more relevant
If a captive bead is a smaller (thinner) gauge, they can often be inserted and removed by hand. How easy this can be done depends a bit on how tightly the bead was inserted into the ring as well as the quality of the metal the ring is made from. If the ring is made of 316LVM stainless steel that has been properly annealed (heated up and cooled down, which softens it), popping the bead in and out should be pretty easy. If the ring hasn’t been annealed, it can be very hard to pop the bead in and our without ring-opening pliers.
Whether the ring is annealed or not, you should be able to adjust the gap where the bead sits so you can remove the bead more easily with just your hands. However, if the ring is not annealed, you will probably need a pair of ring opening pliers to adjust the gap. if you don’t have access to a pair, any piercer should be able to make the adjustment for you.
Disposable latex or nitrile gloves that fit your hands well can often make the jewelry easier to work with as it will give you a better grip on everything. At the very least, wash your hands with soap and water to help remove oils from your fingers, so everything will be a little less slippery.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
