Friday January 11th, 2008 @ 7:14 PM
Filed under: Nose
so i got my septum pierced a few weeks ago and it seems to be healing well. the thing about it is it’s a little low on the right side, this was done intentionally because my nose is a bit crooked on the inside, and in order for the piercing to lay proper it was pierced at a downward angle.
i’ve started to notice that there is a slight bump on the right side and looked into it and read that it’s most likely scar tissue, now i don’t want to have it redone as it seems to be completely fine other than the slight bump, it doesn’t hurt or look too strange (unless you’re holding my nose open and looking up at it).
my question is will it cause any other issues besides create a small bump, and will it be okay if it’s not bothering me? i just want to make sure it won’t continue to grow and take over my nose to the point i’ll need to have it surgically removed 
The bump shouldn’t cause any other problems. It’s also possible, once the piercing heals a bit more and “toughens up”, the bump may end up going away. Many bumps that show up during the initial healing phases of a piercing end up going away once the piercing heals a bit more and isn’t as easily irritated.
0 / 0 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday January 11th, 2008 @ 7:10 PM
I am getting a cautery branding done soon. While at the studio, I was hoping to ask the artist some questions about another mod I have planned for the near future - dermal punching my outer conch.
Is it appropriate to discuss other mods while receiving one? I’d wait until after the branding procedure is done so he can concentrate, but would discussing the dermal punch afterwards be inappropriate, or should I make a separate consultation appointment?
I have to admit, it’s kind of refreshing to see a lot of AskBME questions being about etiquette. It’s nice to know that some people do give some consideration to being considerate.
Asking the person who is doing your brand about your dermal punching your conch is more-than-okay…assuming they are also the person who will be doing the punch. If not, it might be a little tacky, but even then, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. You might even want to consider asking them before the brand, so you don’t forget in the excitement of having just gotten branded.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday January 9th, 2008 @ 6:59 PM
Filed under: Tongue
I want to get my tongue pierced and it will be my first non-ear piercing and while I was doing my research I realize that I could have a metal allergy.
But when I went to my pierce he basically said to deal with it; if it does get infected, switch it in a week with a gold one when the swelling goes down because they don’t have a gold barbell long enough for the 1st piercing, which doesn’t make sense because if it got infected the swelling wouldn’t go down so I couldn’t change it. And it also sounded like he didn’t care if it did happen or didn’t know much more then me. Which leads me to want to get another piercer. But anyway I said all that to ask this:
Should I fine a new pierce?
Could I have a metal allergy and can I still get my tongue pierce?
Is titanium and gold the best metal to use and would it be wrong if I brought my own barbells to be pierced with?
And if so where can I find a good place that sells them.
How is http://www.titaniumonly.com/?
Thank you so much!!!
A couple of points of clarification, just so we’re on the same page:
When you have a reaction to a particular kind of jewelry, it’s exactly that…a reaction. It’s not an infection. An infection would occur for a whole different reason and would be a whole different issue to deal with. Your body has a reaction to the jewelry because there is something in it that your body simply can’t deal with.
Most people who have metal sensitivities end up being sensitive/allergic to nickel. The reason you can’t wear “standard” earrings or stainless steel body jewelry is because it has nickel in it. Most people can tolerate a high-quality piece of implant-grade steel without having a reaction. However, that’s a whole different discussion. For your purposes, what matters is that you’ve had trouble wearing stainless steel in the past.
Gold is typically a good option for people who are sensitive to nickel…but again, this presumes it’s a high-quality piece of jewelry to begin with. One of the downsides to gold is it’s high price.
Another option, and one that is much less expensive, is titanium Titanium works well because it contains no nickel.
As for your piercer…I’d say ditch him. If he didn’t offer titanium as an option, or wasn’t at least willing to order the appropriate piece of jewelry for you, it sounds like he either doesn’t know as much as he should and/or he doesn’t care about your health and safety as much as he should. Whatever the case…you don’t want to get pierced by somebody like that.
As for buying your own jewelry, that might be an option. However, I think finding a piercer that knows what they are doing, cares about doing a good job and either stocks the jewelry you need, or is willing to order it, is probably your best option.
Good luck!
+1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday January 9th, 2008 @ 6:53 PM
I have had 4 tattoos and one piercing by the same artist and been delighted. He’s proffessional, hygenic, on the same wavelength as me, all in all everything I could ask for. However, my fiance noticed that my last tattoo (got a shocking 6 months ago) is a bit raised. It was on my upper arm, near the front, so not an uncommon place at all. Now I’m worried to go back to him, because I would expect it to be a sign of bad tattooing, but I don’t want to replace him. Aftercare was fine, and so are all my others by him. What does a raised patch of blakwork highlight?
Raised skin in the area of a tattoo can mean the skin was overworked somewhat and some scar tissue formed as a result. However, if there isn’t a lot of it, and this is the first time it has happened on any of the tattoos from this person, I probably wouldn’t let it be a “deal breaker”. Perhaps he did get a little carried away in that spot…or perhaps the skin in that particular location simply reacted differently to being tattooed.
Have you considered asking him about it? Based upon the things you’ve said about him, it seems like he would be open to answering any questions you had. He might have some insight into what happened.
Ultimately it will be your call on whether you get tattooed by this person again. Considering all the positives you listed about him though, it seems that discarding him out-of-hand might be a bit excessive.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 4 Comments
Wednesday January 9th, 2008 @ 6:41 PM
I want to know if I’m totally out of tune with tattoo etiquette.
I have an idea for a tattoo. It’s slightly vague, but I know how I want it to be shaped and placed. I took this idea to an artist whose work I’d seen on the web and asked him whether he might be able to draw up what I wanted with a view to getting it tattooed on me. He liked the idea and we chatted about it for a few minutes.
However, he refused to draw it up, saying he wouldn’t do so in advance (NB I volunteered to pay whatever expenses were required for drafting it). He said he only worked spontaneously, and that I could make an appointment and he’d draw it directly on me and then tattoo it on me then and there. I expressed concerns about getting the tattoo done when the design had only just been finalised, and he said he preferred to work with people who are ‘more decisive’.
That’s upto him, but I wanted to know if I’m likely to encounter this as a stumbling block when getting my tattoowhen approaching other artists. Surely it isn’t abnormal to want to see the design before I get it done? Am I missing something about how tattooists work, or was it just this one guy?
It isn’t unreasonable to want to see the design beforehand…obviously. However, different artists do work in different ways. It sounds pretty obvious that this isn’t the artists for you. As for what you can expect to find with other artists…it’s going to vary from artists-to-artist.
If you are looking for a fairly large/involved custom piece, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding an artist who is willing to draw the design beforehand…especially if you are willing to compensate them for the time they spend drawing it. For large work, many artists require a drawing deposit. This deposit typically comes off the price of the tattoo when you get it done. If you don’t get the tattoo, they then keep the deposit as payment for the time they spent on your drawing.
However, if you are looking for a fairly small/simple design, I know many artists who would simply wait until the day of your appointment to do the drawing. If the design is simple, any changes you want made can be done easily and quickly, so they simply do the drawing when you arrive.
I don’t know the size/nature of your piece, but I hope this helps a little bit. Good luck in finding an artist.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday January 9th, 2008 @ 12:28 AM
im looking for the tattoos that say one word one way and when you flip it the tattoo says a different word and also if you know of any good sites to check out this style of tattoo
They’re called “ambigrams” and they’re certainly not just restricted to tattoos - go type the word “ambigram” into Google and you’ll find heaps of websites devoted to the concept, as well as custom ambigram services.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 @ 8:22 PM
Filed under: Nose
How big do you have to stretch a septum piercing before getting a septril piercing?
There isn’t necessarily a size you “have” to be at, but it obviously needs to be big enough to be able to get tools into. I would guess that 0ga or 00ga would be the minimum to make it reasonable to do the piercing.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 @ 8:17 PM
Filed under: Nose
Haha, sorry for the awkward picture. I got my septum pierced about a month ago, and I’ve just been noticing this. I clean it usually with just water and a q-tip, and sometimes i dip it in saline. It still hurts when I accidentally hit the tip of my nose and whatnot. What would you guys recommend to help this?
Thank you some much askBME staff!
Some soreness when you bump/hit your piercing is pretty normal at this point, since it’s only a month old.
The bumps on your piercing are likely some scar tissue build-up. Based upon the picture you sent, it seems like your piercing might be a little on the low side. When I had my septum piercing done, it was done too low, and I have bumps on both sides that look very similar to the ones you have. Now, I’m making this judgment based off a low-quality picture, so I could be wrong about the placement.
If the piercing is done too low, the best option would be to remove it and have it done in a better spot.
It’s also possible that wearing your jewelry (looks like a circular barbell) flipped up in you nose may be putting extra pressure on the piercing, which could contribute to the scarring as well.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 @ 2:24 PM
Filed under: Ear
Seriously, am I stuck buying (other than a handful of crap) 150-400 dollar 1 1/2″ plugs. No one I’ve seen apparently makes just ‘regular’ organics. Sometimes all I want is a damn piece of tree that’s round in my ear. A little help here? (Or am I going to have to buy a lathe and start chopping?)
Here’s the first thing you want to do…take a deep breath. Put down the lathe and step away from the stretched lobes.
Secondly…you have to accept the fact that big plugs tend to cost more. Unless you are willing to make them yourself, you’re going to have to pay for someone else’s investment in large, more-expensive stock and the extra labor that (presumably) goes into making larger plugs.
Thirdly…you could try something as close and easy as BMESHOP. In less than 2 minutes I found these:
At $42 for a pair, they are much less than the figures you were throwing around.
Or how about these
$38 pair.
I know those aren’t wood, but they do fall into the organic/natural materials.
You may also want to check out Omerica Organic or Esoteric Body
Both of those companies do large-gauge wood work in a wide range of styles, materials and prices.
And I’m sure other people will be along in no time to suggest their favorite companies.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 4 Comments
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 @ 2:17 PM
So this is probably the worst timing I’ve ever had with anything. I unexpectedly got my first microdermal today placed in front of my tragus. When I got home, I found out I’m tentatively scheduled for surgery in two weeks! I knew there was the possibility of surgery in my near future but it was more like a year off so of course not in my constant thought. From what I’ve read I can either take out my piercings or replace them with acrylic, but what about the microdermal? It’s breast reduction surgery so it seems that electrocautery is used extensively. Should I get it removed before it starts to take hold and save myself the trouble? Or should I wait to see what the surgeon has to say?
I think it’s unlikely that your surgeon will be willing to do surgery on you with the microdermal in place. You could always call the surgeon and ask him/her.
The advantage to removing it sooner-than-later is, obviously, ease of removal.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
