Tuesday December 9th, 2008 @ 8:16 PM
I’m planning on getting my first tattoo very soon. I’m 22 years old and I’ve already decided what it is that I want but I have a little moral dilemma. My tattoo is a saying from the Qur’an, I’ve held it very dear to me since it helped during times in which life was just falling apart. This phrase represents so much to me really and I would always know that I mean it in the most beautiful of ways… I also know that this would be terribly offensive to some people. I’ve taken many religious studies classes so I can’t get away with “I was totally oblivious it would offend you” and it’s sort of eating me inside.
I’m planning on getting it somewhere where it could be covered up very easily and I’m willing to go through people judging me for it, I just don’t want to hurt anyone. What do you guys think?
The question one always has to ask (and I’m stealing from “The Girl Next Door” here) is:
Is the Juice worth the Squeeze?
Will the fallout from the tattoo be worth having the tattoo?
If the answer is yes… get it. Be prepared to deal with the reality of having it on you, but do it. You are then promoted to the role of ambassador for that tattoo… you get to educate people who care enough to ask about it to it’s meaning if you so choose, or simply cover it up. (or if the tattoo is in Arabic… don’t translate it for them)
If you DON’T think you’re up to the task of living with the reality of having the tattoo… back to the drawing board!
+19 / 19 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 5 Comments
Tuesday December 9th, 2008 @ 2:53 PM
Filed under: Ear
i got a 4th hole in my lobe about 3 months ago and it was doing fine for about 3 weeks and then it started to bleed and crust alot. i has continued to bleed and crust every day since, i’ve been cleaning it 6% hydrogen peroxide (Which i have used on every one of my other piercings and it’s worked a treat) but this time it isn’t working.
i’ve seen my piercer and she’s just told me to continue with the peroxide and give it time.
all my other piercings have stopped bleeding and crusitng within three months (including my vertical industrial) so i’m a bit miffed about this one!
I don’t wear steel as i have a reaction to it, so I have a titanum BCR in.
Hydrogen peroxide is a skin irritant. It’s great for cleaning sloughy wounds buit will irritate the crap out of a fresh piercing. You are lucky that you have been fine with it in the past. Try twice daily seasalt soaks and don’t turn the jewellery.
+8 / 8 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 5 Comments
Tuesday December 9th, 2008 @ 2:48 PM
Hey guys,
I’m not new to piercing, but I could really use your input on this. I’m thinking about reviving a personal favorite of mine while I’m home for the holidays - the sternum piercing. (I’ve had one for nearly four years before I had to retire it due to a bad case of the body hives . . . gross.)
There is a little scarring in the area, but not too much - but that’s not what I’m worried about. Since removing my piercing, I’ve been living a much more active lifestyle; running, climbing, swimming, yoga, weight-lifting, the whole bit. I’m prepared to compromise parts of my regimen for the healing process, but I’m wondering what the experts say about long-term wear and tear on my piercing. Would I have to give up lifting (specifically my chest)? What would you recommend for jewelry - titanium or something a little more flexible? Is there the possibility that the scar tissue might become inflamed, or will it help to “anchor in” the piercing, so to speak?
Thanks for considering my query. Keep on rocking the subculture!
<3 Colie
Lifestyle does have a big impact on the success of surface work. It can be temperamental at the best of times but add a dose of active to the mix and chances are your piercing won’t stick around for too long. Climbing and surface work is not a happy combination and the yoga and bench presses won’t help. I’d say pick something more likely to heal with ease.
+5 / 5 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday December 9th, 2008 @ 2:41 PM
Filed under: Ear
About a month ago my ear lobe skin started getting dry. I told myself that it would go back to normal in a few days, but it never did. I clean my ears daily with Dove Soap (Non-Perfumed) since I’m allergic to what my piercer gave me (Baxedin). I have no idea why I have this and I’d really love for everything to go back to normal without closing my lobes.
Below are some pictures.
http://i37.tinypic.com/1zph89i.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/2zp4e82.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/2ry33bt.jpg
Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Sean.
Ooh deary me. OK, well, it would help to know what jewellery you wear. It could be that your ears don’t like your choice of material. I would ditch the soap for now and just clean with warm water when you shower etc. Try massaging with a little cocoa butter or vitamin E cream/oil or try Holey Butt’r. It’s no secret that Holey Butt’r is my prefered lobe treat.
Also, as you pinpointed the time that this started to occur, have a think and see if you changed any of your products during that period, including jewellery. Feel free to shoot it with us in the comment forum below.
+9 / 9 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 6 Comments
Tuesday December 9th, 2008 @ 2:30 PM
Filed under: Ear
So I have had my left ear pierced for at least 3 years, and I never wore an earring. I started gauging it a couple of months ago, and it’s at a 4g now. I am pleased with it, but I want to pierce my right and do the same, to make it match. I don’t want to “wait 6 weeks”, so is it okay to start right after a week or so, or should I wait the whole 6 weeks?
I am trying to be polite here, but questions like this make me want to pull what little hair I have out.
You should wait at least four MONTHS before you start to stretch a fresh earlobe piercing. So, you have stretched from a standard ear piercing to 4g in only eight weeks? My friend, you have the world wide web at your disposal. if you do a little research you will see that you are going about it the right way to do damage to yourself. I suggest you dedicate an evening to using the search function on your browser and see what gems it throws up. As you aren’t even prepared to take your piercers advice regarding a six week wait, which in my opinion is far too soon anyway, I deeply doubt you will take my advice of waiting four months. Please, prove me wrong. If you want instant gratification, then get pierced at a larger gauge to start with but please, heed my advice with regards to healing time and stretching.
+33 / 37 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 12 Comments
Sunday December 7th, 2008 @ 5:57 PM
My shoulders have some light to medium-dark freckles on them and I want to get a sun tattoo using yellow and orange inks. Would the freckles be likely to show through the light colors?
I have freckles that show through darker blues and green ink in my tattoos, so yes, almost certainly!
+10 / 10 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 6 Comments
Sunday December 7th, 2008 @ 12:36 PM
Filed under: Ear
hi,
i got my rook pierced about a month ago, and it was doing fine up until a few days ago where i noticed this bump near the top hole.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g247/city__noise/IMGP4017.jpg
is this hypertrophic scarring / keloiding, or something else? at the moment i’m doing sea salt soaks twice a day for 10 minutes, as recommended by my piercer, and haven’t been touching it or sleeping on it. there’s not really any pain either, and the bump isn’t very noticeable when looking at it, only when you take a photo and zoom in, as it’s hard to see due to the location of the piercing.
what should i do?
It’s crusting up alot and yes, there appears to be formation of hypertrophic scarring there which is most likely caused by irritation. Now, it’s hard to tell from the picture as I cannot see where the piercing exits but the possible cause could be that the jewellery you have in there is a little too short which will prevent the piercing from draining properly. I would suggest seeing your piercer as they will be able to tell you whether or not you need a slightly longer bar and as it is a young piercing it’s best to get them to switch it out for you rather than purchasing a sterilised bar and doing it yourself. Good good on the seasalt soaks - make sure you use a very mild concentration (roughly 1/8th tsp to 200mls water).
+4 / 4 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Thursday December 4th, 2008 @ 4:29 PM
hi
um i need help. i have recently been asked by a new academy in my area to give a lecture for them on body modification and the role it plays on the path to enlightenment.
as such they asked for a 3 hour lecture on the subject. i have no clue where to start.
i have a chance to educate people on what body modification is and why people practice it today as well as where its origins lie in the past.
if anyone can help me with information that is accurate even if it is of personal experiences in rituals the contain some form of mental physical or spiritual realization?
any help will be highly valued.
a 22 year old from South-Africa
Michael
Have a look through the archives, publishers ring, interviews, articles, experiences right here on bmezine - afterall, the site seeks to document pretty much everything on body modification. I think here’s a grand place to start.
+5 / 5 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 1 Comment
