Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 2:12 AM
Filed under: Nose
I had my septum pierced roughly 5 weeks ago; I have recently found, which wasn’t there before, a small red lump above my left nostril piercing hole. I was wondering if you may help me to recognize what this may be.
This could be quite a few things, so troubleshooting the problem would be ideal.
1) What type of jewelry is currently in your septum?
2) What method of aftercare protocol are you using?
That’s the first step to figuring out exactly what the problem is…As it could be jewelry or aftercare related or even potentially that you have some type of foreign matter trapped inside the piercing and a good hot salt water compress or chamomile tea bag compress to help.
But first lets figure out exactly what jewelry you have in there and how are you treating the pierced location.
0 / 0 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 2:05 AM
Hi,
I wonder how much time one should leave before repiercing a facial surface piercing that has slowly pushed out over the course of a few years - will a few weeks be enough?
Thanks!
Pretty sure this has been answered quite a few times in the past, but hey what’s one more right? 
In answer to your question…it depends…It depends how long you kept it, it depends on how much scar tissue has formed,etc.
Personally I advise individuals based on individual assessments…I analyze the area, gloved hand I tend to feel the area,etc…But quite often I usually advise waiting a couple months before re-piercing, if it’s going to be in the same identical spot, definitely wouldn’t encourage someone to wait a mere few weeks before re-piercing.
+3 / 3 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 1:53 AM
Filed under: Tongue
I got my piercing 5 days ago it’s still a little swollen. But my worry is that its white is that normal does that mean its healing and theres a little flap of skin over one of the openings .What should i do and what does this mean.
Thanks
The whiteness and tissue you are seeing are fairly common with this type of piercing. The incredibly soft nature of the frenulum tissue makes it prone to irritation from moving jewelry. Most likely both the whiteness and the excess tissue will go awa as the piercing “toughens up” a bit.
The one thing to keep an on eye is the tissue build-up. A little bit of it is no problem. But if it seems to become excessive, a trip to your piercer, and a possible jewelry change, may be in order.
+2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 1:50 AM
I’ve been trying to find information on stretching a vertical labret. I’ve searched the main site and have found nothing, as well as rummaging around IAM. I’d like to take my vertical labret (now 14g) up to 10g or 8g.
Do you have any information/advice on this? I know to take it slowly but that’s about it as I’ve only ever stretched my lobes.
In theory, there is no reason you can’t stretch a vertical labret piercing. However, keep in mind that the tissue of the actual lip is pretty thin. So, the more you stretch it, the more pressure you will put on it, and you may likely increase your chance of rejection.
Going slow is definitely the key. In addition, pay attention to what your body is telling you. If you stretch it, and it seems to react badly, be prepared to take back down.
+4 / 4 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 1:44 AM
Filed under: Nipple
Back in December, I pierced my right nipple myself - my first piercing experience, but I did it with proper equipment and in a clean environment. It actually came out pretty good, but the next day I went in to have a piercer check it out, and I had her do the other one since I was there anyway - though she said the one I did looked great, so I could have done the left one myself…I just didn’t want it to hurt so bad again!
Anyway, the one I did myself has migrated down, almost to the bottom of the nipple; it now looks like a shallow and poorly placed piercing. It’s still pretty secure, it’s not going to come out with a sharp yank, but it’s definitely not where it started, or where it’s supposed to be. The professionally-done piercing seems to be pretty much where it was originally.
Is there a technique to piercing to keep it from migrating? If I had gotten the right one done professionally, is there a better chance it wouldn’t have moved, or is it 50-50 no matter what, and it just depends on your body’s response to the jewelry?
I am hoping to get the right one done again, professionally this time, and I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t migrate. I’m not sure if I should take the old one out and let it heal, or if I can just go in since the site for a proper piercing is now well healed (because the jewelry has moved down!). It would be great if you can help me out! I’m not a fan of my body and I really like how it looks with nipple piercings, so I’m hoping I have a chance of keeping it if I get it done professionally this time. Doing it myself was fun though!
Migration and rejection of piercings is a tricky thing to sort out sometimes, and is nearly impossible to predict. Obviously appropriate placement, appropriate jewelry style and materials and aftercare all play roles in reducing the likelihood of rejection. Sometimes though, no matter how spot-on everything might be, piercings still migrate or reject. Piercings are, after all, a foreign object and our bodies are designed to rid themselves of foreign objects. Anytime you successfully heal a piercing, you’ve essentailly tricked your bod into accepting something that isn’t supposed to be there.
My instinct is that if you get your piercing re-done professionally, it’s going to have a better chance of staying put. Even though you may have done a good job piercing yourself, a professional may well have some insight into a slightly different placement that you may not have been aware of. In some cases, it could be as simple as the piercers having a better angle to perform the piercing, helping ensure a proper depth and placement.
However, it’s also possible that you could have that piercing re-done by a pro and it could still reject. It’s possible that you sleep on that side of your body, thereby putting more pressure on the jewelry on that side…increasing the chance of rejection. Perhaps you snagged that nipple at some point and didn’t realize it, causing the migration.
Best of luck with the re-piercing, whichever route you decide to go.
+6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday May 16th, 2008 @ 1:37 AM
i have a new side labret piercing.. its around 2 weeks old.. i had it pierced with a post but changed it to a ring once the swelling went down. the ring was supposed to be the same gauge but was a tiny bit smaller. the outside of the piercing looks perfect.. but the inside.. it feels VERY hard. like a big hard ball is inside my lip. i have no idea what this is from or how to get it to go back to normal. but its scareing me a bit. i’ve never had anything like this happen to any of my piercings before.. (including another labret and monroe) do you know what could be causing this? should i go to the doctor? thanks.
The hardness you are experiencing is most likely a combination of some swelling/irritation and perhaps a some scar tissue formation. Most likely this is a result of switching your jewelry to a ring a little too soon and/or having a piece of jewelry in there that is a little too thin for how much it moves around.
Excess movement (from a ring) and/or jewelry that is too thin can irritate a piercing, which is a healing wound. Your body reacts to irritation by in a healing wound by swelling, and also sometimes by generating some scar tissue to “protect” itself from the source of irritation. In the case of a lip piercing, this most likely shows up on the inside, because of the softness of that tissue. It’s also possible that the irritation is being caused by a ring that is too small of a diameter for the thickness of your lip…espeically if there is still any swelling.
At the very least, you need to be as nice and gentle with your piercing as possible. It may also be necessary/best to change the jewelry. Without seeing your piercing in-person, I can’t really comment on that. Although, I can tell you that labret studs are almost always better/easier for healing than rings are.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Thursday May 15th, 2008 @ 1:53 AM
Filed under: Ear
Ive had blow outs and scar tissue on the back side of both lobes for sometime now and they are rather embarrasing to say the least. Not only do they make it very difficult to stretch but I have to always find or have custom peices made to accomodate the width.
I sleep with my plugs out and do oil massages but the blow outs and scar tissue dont seem to want to go anywhere.
I learned that I can have them scalpelled off and because I have also heard that scalpelling to produce a larger size makes future stretching easier I woould also like to have this done.
I was perviously at 1 1/4 but due to complication from the scar tissure not wanting to stretch to that size have since downsized to 1 1/8
Becuase I like the size of 1 1/4 and plan to stay there for a good while, and than eventually 1 3/8 for a good while and than 1 1/2 etc
I was thinking if getting scalpelled to 1 1/4 from 1 1/8 and at the same time getting my blow outs removed is good idea or not?
Im also a little concerned about thinning and I hear that scalpelling to larger size will redirect the piercing.
Here is a question I’d like to ask…Have you ever tried simply taking the jewelry out, leaving it out, massaging the lobes multiple times a day to see if the blow outs,etc get re-absorbed into the body? If my measurements are precise you only went down one size in your downsizing. With blow outs I strongly advise clients to literally not wear jewelry in their ears, until their lobes re-absorb the blow outs. From there you put whatever light weight jewelry (Pyrex eyelets,etc) fits comfortably and then wait roughly 1 year or so before you consider going to the next size up. From there literally wait 6 months to a year (ideally a year) before going up to the next size and so on an so forth.
Personally I’d suggest that before ever considering the scalpelling route. Lobe Scalpelling/Re-Directing,etc should only be done as a last resort, after all other avenues have been done.
Without seeing your lobes and the blow outs and scar tissue,etc I can’t really give much confirmed responses (ie: how big of a blow out you have,etc). But I’d honestly encourage you to at least try what I suggested if you’ve never done that, before selecting to go with the scalpelling. And I’d honestly literally not even consider the concept of stretching your lobes to larger sizes until this matter is sorted out.
But yes scalpelling and removal of the blow outs can be an option, but like I said I’d encourage you to consider it the very last option.
+5 / 5 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 5 Comments
Thursday May 15th, 2008 @ 1:48 AM
Filed under: Ear
i think this might be kind of a dumb question, but whatever.
I have a 6g inner conch piercing and due to my new job i have to take it out. I’m wondering if there would be any complications in removing my jewelery and if I can expect it to close up at all. Just curious!
Thanks!
Complications by removing jewelry are pretty non-existent, except if you view jewelry removal as a complication hehe.
In regards to closing up its all a matter of speculation/guess work, it may or it may not. It depends on how long you’ve had it, if you stretched it to 6ga, if it was pierced with a needle or punched, the aftercare protocol,etc. So this part of the question is the real hard part to give a 100% yes or no answer to, other than a simple: “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
I suspect it’ll downsize most definitely but like I just said only time and your body will determine how much it downsizes to.
+3 / 3 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 1 Comment
Wednesday May 14th, 2008 @ 5:55 PM
I posted about a month ago about my VCH. It was suggested that I changed the jeelery.. Here’s some background. I got it pierced 4.28 with a 14 g 3/8 curved barbel. Well about a month ago it started to hurt. So I had the bar lengthened because my piercer thought it was too short. They I had the style changed to a straight. And it still effing hurts. Infact, it hurts more. What can I do? I love this piercing but this isn’t worth it if I can’t make it stop. Its a constant deep bruise feeling all over it, but im not swollen or infected. Please help.
I’m personally not a fan of straight barbells in VCH piercings. I find them to be uncomfortable, even in a well-healed piercing. If I recall rightly, you stated that it was fine to start with and then it just flared up? Try a titanium curved barbell and see if that makes a difference - the metal is lighter than steel and it is hypo-allergenic due to it being nickel-free. Also, avoid wearing restrictive clothing like tight jeans for a couple of weeks until the piercing feels happy. It’s a good idea not to use any kind of soap products in that area too. It could also be a placement issue but that’s the best I can do, really, without actually seeing the piercing myself.
+1 / 7 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 5 Comments
Wednesday May 14th, 2008 @ 12:42 PM
Does Wrecking Balm actually work? I am not interested in using it, just curious on your opinions.
It seems pretty bloody unlikely to me. Allen Falkner’s been doing some research into it, and since he’s in the tattoo removal business these days, I’m inclined to defer to his opinion. Thus far? It seems like he’s still using lasers.
+4 / 6 votes 
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 2 Comments
