Tuesday October 21st, 2008 @ 10:10 AM
I have two fairly large scars from my mastectomy. I am wondering for a placement of scarification if it would be okay/safe to cut-out those scars (they aren’t constant and wobbly in width)? If not is it safe to cut near or around the scars to try to incorporate them into the image?
Thank you.
I would advise against cutting them out - all you will do is replace one scar with another. You didn’t state how old your scars are? This is an important factor. Scar tissue takes an average of around two years - sometimes longer - to fully mature. If your aim is for the scars to be less noticeable, first take into account what I have mentioned about maturity. Maybe have a chat with your specialist as there are medical treatments available to reduce the prominence of scars. If you are wanting a scarification piece and were wondering if they can be incorporated into the design, then that is totally doable. Like with everything - research your artist. It’s definately worth travelling.
+9 / 9 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday October 17th, 2008 @ 11:17 PM
my mom is passionate about me not getting my ear(s) gauged she says oh its fine if you wanna get it pierced but youre not gauging it fuck that when youre 18 you can do whatever but not while youre in my home….what can i do?
Respect your parent’s wishes?
Be thankful that they’re trying to meet you half-way?
Get emancipated, move out, pay rent and bills and make your own decisions?
+81 / 109 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 69 Comments
Friday October 17th, 2008 @ 8:20 AM
Filed under: Ear
So ive recently started stretching. i stretched from a 14g to a 6g in about two months and i have a blow out. i havent worn any jewellery in my ears for about a month and im still about a 10g. any suggestions on how to get rid of my blow out.
anything would be helpful.
Why is it so many people seek a cure rather than going down the tried and tested and wholly reliable prevention route? Blowouts are totally preventable. There is a wealth of information, not just on bmezine but across the ‘web on how to stretch safely.
Keep your jewellery out, massage your lobes daily with something like vitamin E oil or Holey Butt’r and when they have returned to normal -ish then start again. This time keep each size in for a minimum of two months before stretching again and don’t skip sizes. You have damaged your lobes so there’s every chance that you won’t be able to look forward to nice, large gauge lobes in the future.
+29 / 33 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Friday October 17th, 2008 @ 8:15 AM
Filed under: Nose
Hi there, I’m at the tail end of my antibiotics course, i.e. I’m not sick anymore just finishing the tablets off. Would it be a good idea to take advantage of this extra ‘protection’ and get my septum pierced? Thanks!
There’s no extra protection per se as presumably the antibiotics were prescribed to treat an existing infection. I would be inclined to give your body a bit of time to recover before giving it another challenge, like dealing with a fresh wound.
+14 / 18 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 3 Comments
Wednesday October 15th, 2008 @ 10:42 AM
I’m not sure if asking this question on BME is warranted, but as I see it, it would be a major mod. I’m looking to stop the melanin production of my body but I don’t know who to ask or where to go to inquire about it. If anyone could point me in the right direction?
To hazard a guess, I’s say endocrinology is the area you should be researching. I deeply doubt this is something that could be done without the use of specialists and a laboratory, if at all.
+9 / 9 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 15 Comments
Wednesday October 15th, 2008 @ 10:35 AM
Filed under: Navel
I got my navel pierced (on the top) in the first week of may and I haven’t been having any problems. But recently in the past month I’ve been noticing that the skin covering the bar has been getting thinner and thinner, and I’m worried about it getting ripped out or falling out. I tried looking it up online, and what I figured was that it’s a migrating piercing. What should I do about it? If I take it out, would the scar tissue left over after it healed let me get it pierced again?
Thanks!
I’d say it is rejecting - a defence mechanism the body has for ridding itself of foreign objects, which is what a piercing is. If you leave it your body will eventually push the jewellery right out and you will be left with a scar. If this happens it is unadvisable to get it pierced again as scar tissue lacks the properties of normal skin and the same will most likely happen again. However, if you remove the jewellery now and give it at least three months before considering having it pierced again, then you may well heal the future piercing.
Also, you need to understand why it rejected. It could be poor placement, not having the right shaped navel to support the piercing, poor aftercare, irritation from clothes etc or you could just be unlucky.
+12 / 12 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday October 15th, 2008 @ 12:32 AM
Micros are a bit easier to heal than traditional surface piercings in most cases. The hips can be a viable place for them, however care must be taken during healing to avoid, mmm how to put this delicately, rough bang-em-up sex. I’d recommend low profile disc ends for healing and for wear with any clothes that may put pressure on the dermals as well. I’d definitely do the tattoo first and if you want to be extra cautious leave a little space around the dermals location so if you did have to remove them the potential scar wouldn’t affect the design.
I know that surface peircings aren’t the best of ideas, since the reject and scar so easily, but how good of an idea is it to get hip microdermals? Is that a wise place to get microdermals?
Also, I’m planning on getting a tattoo on my stomach that would most likely cover at least part of where two of the mirodermals would be (I want two on each hip, similar to the look of surface ones); what is the chance of this messing my tattoo up? (Yes, I’d be planning on getting the microdermals sometime after the tattoo).
Thanks! ^_^
+7 / 7 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday October 14th, 2008 @ 9:09 AM
Filed under: Ear
About two and a half months ago, I got my ear pierced. Nothing crazy, just a conch with a CBR. Even though I’ve followed all the rules (no touching, washing with Satin, sea salt soaks) it still hasn’t healed. I can’t sleep on that side, it’s tender to the touch, and the skin around the area is redder than I think it should be (it’s definitely redder than my other, non-pierced, ear).
I’ve always had a sensitivity to base metals. All my earrings are gold, sterling silver, or surgical steel, and I usually don’t wear them for longer than one day. Is it possible that the metal of my CBR is causing my problems? Could I switch to a gold/sterling CBR? Do gold/sterling CBRs even exist? Or should I just take it out, let it heal, and mourn it?
A conch piercing will be nowhere near healed in ten weeks. It can take up to a year to fully heal. My preferences for conch piercings is to heal with a bar rather than a ring as a bar is less likely to get knocked around. If you have been trying to sleep on that side then that will also account for the redness. So long as the exudate is not a greenish brown yellowy colour and that the pain is only tender rather than excruciating and your’e not running a fever then I would suggest being patient, staying off that side and continuing with the twice-daily seasalt soaks. If anything, have the jewellery switched out to a sterile bar by a piercer and see if that elleviates some of the tenderness.
+8 / 8 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday October 14th, 2008 @ 9:02 AM
Filed under: Nipple
I have been reading through your wealth of information on nipple piercings this afternoon. I got mine pierced yesterday- and the studio chose 16 gauge. I have read several times on your site that it should be 14 ga. or larger… does this mean I have a larger chance of rejection/migration? I’m a bit worried now..
It’s less to do with migration and more to do with tearing. I’m sure I’ve mentioned cheesewires in a previous post! If you catch a 16g piercing you are more likely to tear the piercing which is why 16g is never used on soft tissue in an area that either sees a lot of action or is likely to get caught. Unfortunately, with your piercing being over a day old and no doubt a little inflamed, having it tapered up to the appropriate size is not viable so your best best is to give it at least a year and in that time take great care that you do not catch it, then have it tapered up to 14g. Alternatively, if you don’t want to take the risk, remove the jewellery now and give it three months and have it pierced again at the right size.
+7 / 7 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 6 Comments
Saturday October 11th, 2008 @ 7:25 AM
Filed under: Tongue
I’ve had my tongue pierced for almost three years, but recently (beginning 6 mo. ago) I’ve noticed a white, solid build up on the underside of my tongue ring, around where the acrylic ball hits my tongue. I am an oral hygiene freak, and I brush the underside of my tongue, but this is still happening with various balls I’ve tried. I can chip away the white stuff when I take it off, but I’ve found it eats away at the acrylic a little (or the force just chips it). Is this a health problem or am I just being too cheap with the quality of my jewelry?
The calciform deposits on the jewellery you describe are quite normal in tongue piercings. Acrylic isn’t the best quality and as you’ve discovered isn’t that great to clean. It is also cheap so if you want to stick with it, just replace the balls with new ones at regular intervals. There is a suggestion that acrylic can leach toxins over time (I’m sure Warren can interject here) so replacing it frequently would be a good idea anyway. Other than that, with titanium or steel balls, you can drop them into a cup of vinegar which will make removing the depostis easier.
+12 / 14 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 1 Comment
