Tuesday August 4th, 2009 @ 11:55 AM
Filed under: Tongue
I have wanted my tongue pierced for as long as i can remember.
I went to a studio 4 years ago to get it done, only to be told he wouldnt pierce my tongue in the center because of my vein positioning.
So i asked about piercing it off center and he said no as the bar will eventually rub away at my vein causing it to burst. Is this true?
Still 4 years on i am devastated that i cannot get it pierced…although everybody is telling me that i could still get it done off center as their tongue is fine! Almost everybody i know has theirs pierced off center?
Ugh…can you give me a little hope for getting this piercing? Or is it time to get over it 
You could certainly consult with a few different GOOD artists about it before giving up hope, but if your anatomy isn’t suited for the piercing, there’s not much you can do about it! That being said, I’ve done a few tongue piercings for “no-hopers” who had been knocked back by other piercers, and I don’t EVER do them off-centre. I am pretty good at marking up appropriately and hitting my marks and not any major blood vessels, though. 
Call it a gift!
+4 / 8 votes 
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday August 4th, 2009 @ 11:50 AM
Filed under: Nipple
Hello out there. I just got both nipples pierced last weekend. So far so good on the right side. My left nipple however seems to be having problems.
The end of the barbell is sinking into the piercing a bit and when I nudge it back over, it stays put for a bit then tries to sink back in again.
I went to an APP certified piercer, so I’m wondering if a possible difference in breast size is enough to make a difference in length of post needed in the left nipple. I’m going to call the shop soon as they open tomorrow but needless to say I’m a little anxious about this and I’m worried about how its going to affect the healing process.
Just as a heads-up, the APP doesn’t “certify” piercers, although it’s great that your piercer is an APP member. It sounds like the barbell might be slightly too short for the swelling/healing process, and your piercer will undoubtedly be happy to help you out and change the jewellery over to something better suited. It’s not a bad-piercer call, just as an FYI - we’re not psychic, and while good piercers do their best to guesstimate how much room you might need on the jewellery, we sometimes guess wrong! 
+9 / 13 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tuesday August 4th, 2009 @ 11:46 AM
I really want my wrist pierced. (surface) I went to go get it pierced today but they really tried talking me out of it and told me to do some more research! should i still get it ? I have a lot of piercings and never had a problem with any of them. I just want to know if there is any pros or cons with this piercing? Is it even worth getting? What is the healing process like?
- Alicia
It sounds to me like you went to a really intelligent, ethical piercer, and you might consider actually listening to their advice on this one, eh? No, I don’t think wrist surface placement are worth bothering with - they rarely heal and are a difficult placement to live with. You will knock it a million times a day, it is impossible to keep that area clean, and odds are good that it will be red and crusty and weepy right up until the day it rejects out. The pros? Hack piercers make loads of money off of whacking them into everyone who asks for them without a concern in the world. The cons? That you won’t heal it, will regret doing it, and will be out however much it costs you and be scarred for life.
+20 / 22 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 3 Comments
Wednesday July 29th, 2009 @ 4:24 PM
Hey I was wondering how i would put a surface bar into my nape piercing that I got 3 weeks ago. The piercer put a straight bar.. and it is healing fine but i really want a surface bar because it will be better in the long run. I purchased a 1 1/8th ” surface bar online (which is the length of the piercing) but cant figure out how to put it in with the sides coming up at a 90 degree angle… can anyone help?!?!
Surface bars are intended to be placed in initial piercings that were pierced for a specifically sized bar. Trying to change a straight bar into a surface bar would most likely be counter productive. You could try replacing the straight bar with a flexible bar such as PTFE or tygon. That would give you a far better chance of healing than a straight bar, but nowhere near as good as removing the piercing and having it pierced with a surface bar.
+18 / 22 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 3 Comments
Wednesday July 29th, 2009 @ 4:11 PM
In regard to sternum/cleavage piercing, is it better to get microdermals or a surface bar?
Does it make a difference depending on body type? (if so, i’m small chested and a little on the thin side. any advice?)
Thanks again,
psychophoria
In this particular area, 9 times out of 10, I find that microdermals will work better. Using the old “2 dots test” which is where you place 2 dots where a surface piercing would go, and then move your body and see if the 2 dots move at all. If they do, then that placement would not work very well with a surface bar because the bar doesn’t move. You will also find that the2 dots move position as you wear different bras. Therefore the single point microdermals would be preferable.
+11 / 11 votes 
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | Comments
Saturday July 11th, 2009 @ 10:01 AM
I am going to get my sternum surface piercing done within this and next month. But the thing is I am also taking breast enhancement pills. I am not sure if this will interfere with the piercing or not, Any advice?
Considering that breast enhancement pills don’t work*, it really doesn’t make any difference whatsoever.
*seriously, Google it. At BEST, they might contain some herbs with estrogen-like effects on the body, which could result in SLIGHT, temporary, enlargement. Of course, the health risks of randomly taking unknown quantities of herbs with pharmaceutical hormone-stimulant properties are widely considered to be bad. But hey, it’s your life and your money. I reckon if stuff like that worked, people wouldn’t fly to Thailand to get dodgy boob jobs, y’know?
+29 / 35 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday July 10th, 2009 @ 11:16 PM
I have recently had a stroke and I am now on blood thinner medication (Coumadin/Warfaran). I’d like to get another piercing (ear?) and I would like to know what is the proper protocol for letting my piercer know that I will bleed more due to this new medication when getting pierced and what precautions I need to take extra for aftercare.
Also, is there anything I need to let my doctor know other than I intend to get pierced by a professional piercer?
Hey Cherie, glad you’re feeling a bit better - you must be, if you’re considering your next modifications already!
I saw that you sent this question in twice, slightly rephrased to address the concerns of getting tattooed on Warfarin, so I’ll respond to both aspects. Regarding tattooing, I’ve found mixed information on the subject, but the manufacturers of Warfarin don’t seem strongly opposed to it from a health standpoint. That being said, excessive bleeding will certainly affect the healed appearance of your tattoo, and you will almost certainly lose a substantial amount of ink and end up with a patchy, uneven tattoo. Personally? I wouldn’t risk it.
From the piercer’s perspective, I, personally, wouldn’t want to pierce someone on Warfarin, and the manufacturers are strongly against patients on Warfarin getting piercings (even of the earlobe) due to the risk of excessive bleeding. And most cartilage piercings are decent bleeders anyway, so that’s not a great idea. Depending on your PT/INR results, you may get your dosage reduced or be off it entirely at some point in the future as your health improves, so in your case, I’d advise holding off for the near future - it’s not worth risking your overall health for a piercing.
And of course, since you’re one of our locals, feel free to call me to discuss more in detail!
+15 / 17 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 4 Comments
Friday July 10th, 2009 @ 11:06 PM
I got my tragus pierced 3 days ago, and so far haven’t touched it. No sea salt soaks, nothing.
The piercer gave me a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, and told me use it twice a day - without even diluting it! He told me when your skin goes white it means its healing - when the bottle says ‘Strong solutions of Hydrogen Peroxide may cause irritating burns on the skin, and could produce a white patch of dead tissue.’ Dead tissue near a fresh piercing doesn’t sound good to me. Also, he claims that sea salt soaks will dry out the piercing and will cause it not to heal..
So my question is, will LITHA really work for my tragus piercing? And how much of a risk of complications, eg. infection or hypertrophic scarring. I have healthy, slowly stretched 14mm lobes and during the whole stretching process have never cleaned them, not even with sea salt soaks - I am just lucky? Is it worth risking my tragus piercing?
I’m a big fan of a “less is more” approach when it comes to piercing aftercare, and use it myself to heal all of my own piercings. I wouldn’t say that I NEVER clean them, but I really only clean them when they need it, and I use mild saltwater solutions or soaks to clean my piercings. I DEFINITELY wouldn’t advocate the use of hydrogen peroxide to clean piercings, it’s incredibly irritating and harsh (although I certainly use my share of peroxide products to bleach my hair, and used hydrogen peroxide as an irritant to increase the scarring on my branding), and I think you’re quite correct to ignore your piercer’s aftercare advice in this instance! Bear in mind, saline wound washes are used in surgical/medical settings every day to clean wounds, and hydrogen peroxide is NEVER used. Common sense, y’know?
Infection is caused by exposure to pathogens, and prevention is the best way to avoid infections. If you’ve been swimming or had a bit of a dirty day working in the yard, a wash with mild soap in the shower, a thorough rinse, and possibly a bit of a clean with saline does wonders to prevent infections. Hypertrophic scarring is generally a response to irritation, and again, prevention goes a long way toward reducing the odds of that, too - appropriate jewellery size/materials/styles, minimising/eliminating exposure to irritants (chemical, physical, environmental, etc). In short, I think you’re on the right track, and with a bit of time and patience, I’m sure your piercing will heal up beautifully.
+13 / 15 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 4 Comments
Wednesday July 8th, 2009 @ 11:51 AM
Filed under: Tongue
I was wondering if someone could help give me an idea of the chances that I would be eligible to get a tongue ring. I live in Edmonton, AB Canada and I went to a local tattoo shop at the mall. They said they couldn’t do it because I have too many veins in my tongue. I went home and checked my tongue to see how it looked, and it appears I have a vein on the left side, the right side and one in the center. With about 1″ space on either side of the center. I don’t know if this happened because I live in a more rural area, the people at the studio all looked rather young (and I’ve nothing against young people, Just when most of the people there look about 20 or younger, I wonder a bit, if a more experienced piercing artist may be more viable). I really would like to get a tongue piercing or two. I imagine the vein in the center of my tongue eliminates the option of a center-set tongue piercing? What about the chances of an off-center piercing on either side? Might there be a better chance of finding a more skilled/able piercer in Toronto, ON perhaps?
You’re in Edmonton? Well, my advice is to pop on down to the fine folks at Shambhala Tattoos and give my homegirl Lexci a chance to have a look - she’ll tell you straight up if it’s do-able or not, and if it is do-able, they stock nothing but the best body jewellery and aftercare products, so you’re in good hands.
+11 / 15 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 2 Comments
Thursday June 25th, 2009 @ 12:47 PM
So i want to get two dermals where a normal sternum piercing would be. how painful (compare to other piercings?) can i expect this to be?
This is going to sound like a smart-ass answer, but that’s not (mostly) my intention.
They will hurt more than some piercings and less than others. Without knowing what you’ve had done, it’s hard to say. And, even if I did know what you had done, it wouldn’t be a lot of help, as obviously, pain is relative. Add to that variations in the skills of the piercer performing the procedure…there is no way to give a reliable comparison.
Most people I’ve done dermal anchors on say they hurt less than they expected. A few have thought they hurt more than they expected.
Best of luck.
+8 / 14 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 5 Comments
