Labret sizing

Tuesday May 13th, 2008 @ 6:54 AM

Filed under: Lip/Cheek

I have a 14 gauge labret, which i am uncomfortable with its length.

It feels too tight, so am i able to get the same size gauge jewelery but with a longer bar, or will the purchase of a 14 gauge only come in one standard length, the length i already have?

Can someone please tell me what size i will require if the fact is that gauges only come in one size lengths.

Thanks

PIPA

Labret studs come in a variety of different lengths irrespective of the gauge. I can’t tell you which length you need as that depends on the thickness of your lip. The best thing for you to do is to pop along to the piercers and have them measure your piercing and provide you with the appropriate sized jewellery.

Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 1 Comment

tongue splitting/frenum cutting

Monday May 12th, 2008 @ 9:15 AM

Filed under: Other

hey just a quick one, is it poss to have my frenum cut without getting a lisp or speech impedement?

Possible is a sticky wicket.
Yes. It’s possible. It’s also possible to get your tongue split with no affects to your speech- but it’s also possible that you’ll thound like thith. There’s really no way to guarantee it 100%.

is it probable?
Again- yes. It’s probable that you’re speech will totally unaffected by having the lingual frenulum cut. Ankyloglossia (being “tongue tied”) is common enough that performing a frenotomy (though unpopular in some circles) is a medically approved option that carries with it the hope of untethered movement of the tongue and improved speech.

Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 3 Comments

Tattoos and Keratosis pilaris

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

Filed under: Tattoos

Hi there!

I have a question that I’m struggling with for quite some time now and I thought maybe you guys will know something about it…. (Sorry if my English is a bit weak…)

I have a skin disorder called “Keratosis Pilaris”, well actually about 50% of the population have it but don’t know it.

Here’s a short Wikipedia explanation to it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris

And another site dedicated to it, and there’s an image on the homepage that clarifies what this means better than words: http://www.helpforkp.com/

Anyways, I never got a good answer about tattooing my KP infested upper arms. The thing is, tattoo artists don’t know too much about dermatology and are afraid to make medical statements, obviously, and skin doctors (dermatologists) don’t know anything about tattoos, or just tell me “don’t tattoo yourself”.

So here’s my questions:

Can I tatto over it?

Will the tattoo quality be good as on healthy skin?

Is there anything special I need to do before tattooing my arms?

Thanks!!!

If you have answers for me I would be sooo grateful (-:

Have a nice day

The short answer is “yes”. An ex of mine has keratosis so I was able to see firsthand that it’s entirely possible. Depending on the severity of your KP, it could be easier/harder. Will it look like a tattoo on healthy skin? No. But it can still look quite good.

Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 15 Comments

eyebrow piercing rejection?

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 8:28 PM

Filed under: Eyebrow/Bridge

ive had my eyebrow piercing for 4 months now.i think it still hasnt healed, the first jewelery i had was a 16 gauge (3/8)barbell. after two and a half months from getting the piercing i changed the jewlery to a titanium barbell which was a 16 gauge but a 5/16 it was kind of tight. i let it sit their for like a month or 2 then recently i took it off and put the first one i had back on and now i noticed that the bar is hanging from the bottom a little, it wasnt like this when i first got it. also when i press on my skin between the two beads i feel a little pain, is this part of the healing process or is it rejection or migration maybe? i clean my piercing and disinfect it everyday since i got it and 1 month ago i just started putting salt water on it, so if u can please answer me as soon as possible i would really appreciate it. thanks

I wish I knew if you were wearing a straight barbell or a curved barbell.

If you are wearing a straight barbell, I would say chances are very good your piercing is rejecting. The pressure put on the flat, often-tight tissue of an eyebrow, often leads to rejection. A curved barbell is a better option. Having said that, eyebrow piercings done with curved barbells still reject sometimes.

Without seeing your piercing, there is no way to say for sure if it is rejecting or not. However, rejection with eyebrow piercings…especially ones that are subject to a lot of irritation/abuse while they are healing…isn’t unheard of.

Your best option is to go visit a piercer you trust and get their assessment of the situation. Unfortunately, this is one of those situation where someone who can see will be much better-suited for figuring out what the problem is.

Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments

Nipple Jewelry

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 8:24 PM

Filed under: Nipple

I swear I read about proper jewelry on here somewhere before, but I’m assuming it was on the old QOD..so I apologize for what may be an easy question to answer.

I’ve had my nipples (female) pierced for about 2 1/2 years with the original 14 gauge horseshoe..uhh circular?..barbells still in (pardon my lack of proper terminology, my brain isn’t working well tonight). There’s still crusties everyday, but I had a difficult time with healing, especially after one was ripped in my sleep. Mainly I’m wondering if I might have better luck with straight barbells, such as less movement and less snagging, which in turn I would hope to have happier piercings.

If barbells are a better option, how do I go about figuring a proper length without going to a studio…all the “shops” around here are disgusting and unsanitary and I don’t trust the people running them at all, and the shop I got the piercings done at is several hours away.

Thanks

Barbells are going to be a better option for you and will likely solve the problems that you are having. The reasons you guessed they might be a better option for you are spot-on.

As for figuring out the size…a pair of calipers or even a ruler should do the trick. You want the barbells to be 1/16″-1/8″ of longer than the width of your nipples. Chances are good that 1/16″ will do the trick, but if they still tend to flare up or get swollen, a little extra room might be good. Take the measurement and then figure out what length of jewlery is going to fit the best.

Good luck!

Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments

Flat discs for surface bars

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 8:17 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

I’ve been researching on wrist surface piercings, and looking for the kind of jewelry I want to use. I’ve opted to get the discs when I actually get the piercing, but I can’t seem to find flat discs that are dark gray/black. Do they exist, and if so where can I find them?

Flat disks are typically going to be an excellent choice for the top of your surface bar.

As for finding them that are gray/black, that could be a bit more challenging. In order for them to be gra or black they will have to be made out of either Niobium are some other coated/plated metal…most commonly titanium.

You are almost guaranteed not to find disks in Niobium. While it is a good metal for captive bead rings, it can be a more difficult metal to machine when it come to dealing with threads…so none of the manufacturing companies I’ve seen deal with it in that capacity. While you can get barbell posts that are niobium, the threaded ends made of niobium just don’t happen.

As for the a coated titanium, it is more likely you will find this. It is typically referred to as Blackline jewelry, or something similar. Most of the companies making or distributing this type of jewelry tend to be European companies. So…the options you have may be more. None of the companies that I am willing to purchase surface bars from to put into my clients make coated titanium jewelry, so unfortunately, I can’t give the name of a specific company to contact.

Best of luck in your search.

Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 7 Comments

vch

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 7:17 AM

Filed under: Female Genital

I got a vch over 2 years ago. It got a little torn about 2weeks ago but in the past week it’s become VERY swollen, and there’s lots of yellow gunk coming out of it.I’ve been cleaning it and salt water soaks. It’s not very sore. My piercer is about 100 miles away, and it’d be at least 10 days before I could get there. I’m going to go to the doctors as soon as possible. Help? I’m really worried…especially with the amount of swelling.

It’s quite a vascular area down there, so any trauma can result in marked localised swelling. The fact that it isn’t too painful is a good indicator that things may not be as bad as you think and discharge from infection does tend to be greenish yellowy brown and foul-smelling, however, I would still err on the side of caution and visit your doctor. You may also beneift from a longer piece of jewellery until the swelling subsides. Keep up with the twice daily seasalt soaks. For future reference, once it is all healed and happy you might want to consider tapering it up to a larger gauge (discuss this with your piercer on your next visit) as that may reduce the likelihood of future trauma.

Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments

Nipple piercing

Friday May 9th, 2008 @ 7:02 AM

Filed under: Nipple

A long winded question because this has been going on for a few months now!

About 6 months ago I got both nipples pierced (horizontal, barbells, 14ga), they healed fine, no problems. Then about 2 months ago, I noticed a white/yellow discharge coming from both piercings at the entry/exit points and out of my actual nipple. I went straight back to my piercer who took a look and said it was white blood cells and lymph since I had most likely snagged the skin on the inside of the piercing when I’d changed the jewellery. She told me not to take the barbells out for a few days and clean it with saltwater. I did and the right one healed up fine, the left one however still persisted. I thought I’d take a closer look at where the goo was coming from and I discovered a hole in the centre of my nipple about the size of a pin head through which I could see my silver bar.

fast forward to today (that was about a week ago I noticed the hole). I went to the doctors this morning to get it checked out. She was really unhelpful and was incredibly biased against piercings and her answer was to take it out. I know I should listen, but I’ve heard so many horror stories about abcesses forming when the piercing closes and traps infection. Both my piercer and doctor said it’s not infected, but I’m guessing with a hole in my nipple the minute I stop doing my 2X a day cleaning then it’s just gonna get infected. Any ideas what I should do?

If you can see the bar through the centre of the nipple then this is a good indication that your nipple was either pierced too shallow or that it has migrated. I’d like to echo the advice of your doctor and your piercer - take it out. You can always have it pierced again at a later date. Also, for future reference, I feel changing the jewellery in a four month old nipple piercing to be too soon and the increased discharge that coincided with this pays testament to that. Nipples can have a lengthy healing time - anything from eight months to two years depending on a number of factors. For male nipples I usually advise leaving the original jewellery in situ for a minimum of eight months and for female nipples, a year. Do your twice-daily seasalt soaks for the next few days until the piercing seals itself.

Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments

Microdermal vs Transdermal

Thursday May 8th, 2008 @ 2:24 AM

Filed under: Uncategorized

What exactly is the difference between a Microdermal and a Transdermal?

Well, I’m assuming you’ve already looked up the difference in the BME wiki (microdermals, transdermals), so I’ll break it down further and say that a microdermal will give you much the same look as a transdermal implant at a fraction of the cost; a greater range of attachment options; and a much greater availability of artists who can adeptly perform the procedure. They can also be removed with vastly greater ease - transdermal implant removal is serious surgery and will leave a much more massive scar than even the most aggressively rejected microdermal. Neither of them can be considered “permanent”, either. Guess which procedure I favour more highly?

Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 3 Comments

Permanent Corset Piercing

Wednesday May 7th, 2008 @ 3:08 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Hey, I’ve been thinking of a permanent (ish) corset piercing. Where best to start my research but here?

So basically, is it possible to keep this piercing for a decent amount of time? And what would be my best method for this? Microdermals?

Cheers!

If you would like to permanently heal piercings capable of being strung up as a corset, your best bet is proper surface bars or microdermals over standard cbr’s.

Now we’re getting into microdermals vs. surface bars territory. I’m sure that there’s people out there that have healed them with both methods, but there will be pros and cons to take into consideration on either side.

Microdermals

Pro: Higher likelihood of healing in the long run.

Con: More likely to be less stable with applied tension.

Surface Bars

Pro: Likely more stable with applied tension.

Con: Less likelihood of healing in the long run.

These likelihoods will never be fixed or guaranteed 100%, but should be taken into consideration. Every person’s ability to heal and adapt their day-to-day lives to their piercing’s long term endurance will differ.

Best of luck!

Posted by Russ Foxx | Permalink | Comments