Nape Piercing and sport…

Tuesday July 29th, 2008 @ 10:06 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Hi there,

I’m an armature piercer and only have my navel pierced so as you can imagine my knowledge of piercings inst the best.

I absolutely love the nape piercing and have for some time now. Have done a lot of research and the only thing holding me back from getting it done is the fact i play basketball 2 days a week. (im a female) I dont play at a high level, just for fun with a bunch of older ladies one day and in a casual mixed team the other day.

For the first 4 - 6 weeks in the initial healing period i do not intend to play but after that i would like to start up again. Does anyone think it will be possibly to continue playing? if it got hit or anything id obv have a few weeks off until it settled down again.

Does anyone have an experiences with surface piercings namely the nape and playing sports?

ANY advice, tips or hints would be greatly appriciated.

Cheers,

Jac

(an armature piercer! You must tell me where you get your needles from! )

For the most part, sports and body piercings don’t really get along.
If you were able to take 4-6 weeks off for the initial healing of your surface piercing that would be ideal. Wearing flat discs rather than balls will be much safer for both you and your piercing in case it gets snagged.

You should also look into covering the piercing with a Tegaderm patch. That may help keep it from snagging as well.

Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 5 Comments

Serious nape infection? please help

Sunday July 27th, 2008 @ 9:54 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

I have had my nape done for 2 years now. It was done at Art In Soul 2 in New Paltz New York with a ptfe bar about an inch long between the balls.

About 4 weeks ago a bump started to develop under the left side of the bar that was about an inch to 1 & 1/2 inches long. It felt like a cyst and when i applied pressure with a hot cloth puss came out. This lasted until about 5 days ago when i started using h2ocean religiously. Now the bump has shrank down and is just right around the bar, with the biggest part right under the opening.

There is no redness and i have wanted to take it out for a while now but could this be a very harmful infection? My doctor is completely against piercings and knows nothing about them and the closest piercing place who does surface piercings is 2 hours away(where i got this) If I could take it out myself and just do salt soaks until it heals that would be ideal but i’d much rather be safe.

Thank you so much.

I really hope i hear from you.

Ideally what you should do is continue doing the hot cloth compresses, you can do it either dry or even soaked in a salt water solution. Compress the area until the cloth is no longer hot/warm and is on the cool side.

Also it would be wise not to try and remove the jewelry yourself, as if there IS a problem, you do not want to trap the problem by taking the jewelry out and letting it close up.

Your best bet is to just go and visit the piercing studio that’s 2 hours away and have them look at it. Because the reality is 2 hours travel is nothing compared to your health and wellbeing.

So just find some time to visit the studio and have then inspect the piercing and see what they have to say. If it needs to be removed you can at least have someone doing it who’s qualified to do it and maybe other troubleshooting situations that might need to be done.

To me it doesn’t sound like an infection problem, more so a drainage issue, that requires hot compresses to help the pathway probably drain out of the piercing. But without seeing it no real answer can be given on that subject matter.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments

Surface Piercing

Saturday July 26th, 2008 @ 6:37 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Hi!

I have had a vertical tragus surface piercing for about two years now. However, the bar that was put in at piercing has legs that stick out quite far from the side of my head. I ordered a surface barbell that has a shorter rise height and i was wondering if it was possible to change the barbells on my own? the bar’s have 90 degree angles so i’m not sure how removal/insertion is possible? I’m worried that if i go to my piercer to change it, he’ll get mad at me or refuse to put it in because i didn’t order the bar through him even though he way overcharges and takes forever to get jewelry in.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Mary

Provided the jewelry you ordered is of adequate quality the piercer should have no problem putting it in, although they might charge you for the changing. Question though where did you buy this said piece of jewelry? And do you even know who manufactured the piece?

The only thing a professional piercer should have a problem with, is if the jewelry is inadequate quality. And even then they shouldn’t just flat out refuse and not provide an answer why. Anytime anyone brings me inferior jewelry quality I sit down and explain WHY its inferior.

Also how can you be 100% sure he “overcharges”? Do you know what companies he orders jewelry from? In what sense are you comparing the numbers to prove that he “over charges”…Never EVER compare what a shop charges to what a online retailer charges. As realistically you’re thus comparing apples and oranges…Both are still fruit but very DIFFERENT fruit…Did you specifically purchase said jewelry from a different studio? All I can say on this is quite often consumers are completely misunderstanding on the prices of body jewelry.

Take the piece of jewelry to your piercer and have them analyze it to see if its a suitable piece of jewelry to be used. If it is they shouldn’t have a problem inserting it for you, for a fee…However if its not suitable they should be willing and able to provide a logical reason as to why they won’t use it.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments

Surface bars

Saturday July 26th, 2008 @ 6:16 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

I’ve been looking into surface piercings for a while now, and I really want to get a pair of surface bars just below my clavicles. However, I also want to eventually join a martial arts class, and i know they would get damaged, if not ripped straight out in that class. The only way i can do both is to be able to remove them(and my ear piercings) during the class. Is that even possible? Can you remove and reinsert a well healed surface bar?

It is not wise to remove surface piercings for ANY situation, let alone martial arts. With or without the jewelry in a big enough impact to the pierced location can cause irritation/complication.

This is something what we piercers call: “Lifestyle Choices” where customers must really make a decision on what they’d rather have/do…Would they rather have piercings, or take up martial arts…Because realistically there’s going to be complications on either side.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments

Uvula Piercing in the Tristate

Wednesday July 16th, 2008 @ 5:41 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Hello: I have two questions regarding this piercing.

1. How difficult is this procedure to get through as the piercee / does it vary wildly from person to person? Is the risk of rejection high? To what extent does it interfere with everyday life?

2. I live near Philadelphia. Can you recommend a practitioner in or near this area that is proficient in this procedure?

Thanks!

-Dane

Hey Dane.
I was having Tapas with a friend last night, and I actually brought your question up. In this day and age, years after Cobb opened up Pandora’s box with the uvula piercing (Bonus History Moment: Patrick Bartholomew did one predating Jon’s) there’s still not a single piercer I’d recommend you to go to for it.

Furthermore, I’d go as far as saying “avoid anyone who says that they can do it”. This is a piercing that has risks that FAR outweigh it’s benefits. As a matter of fact, the only benefit I can think of is that, having one, you could SAY you had one.

Sorry to be a joykiller, but… again… we’re here to give you practical safe advice.

Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment

Titanium surface bars vs PTFE 90 degree staples.

Friday July 4th, 2008 @ 11:45 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Whenever I see advice on surface piercings, I always see people advising titanium surface bars.

However, my piercer uses 90 degree PTFE staples (custom made). He says that the flexibility is an added advantage over the titanium surface bars. Of course, it is still 90 degrees, so in that way, it is similar to the surface bars.

What are your opinions on this? Are PTFE staples better than the traditional surface bars?

Thanks.

First things first, do you know what PTFE your piercer is using? Second, does your piercer even know what PTFE they are using?

The ONLY PTFE that should be used in surface piercings, will come with an ASTM standard for Implant Grade Capability. So regardless if your piercer says: “Its pure PTFE” or “Extra Virgin PTFE” blah blah blah it all means squat unless the PTFE they are obtaining comes with a ASTM certification for implant grade material.

Also you have to ask HOW your piercer makes the 90 degree bends in the PTFE. Know that heating the PTFE up enough to force the straight cylindrical material into a 90 degree will alter the molecular structure of the PTFE (thus compromising the ASTM standards), and even release toxic vapours in the process.

If they simply just force the bends and autoclave them,etc the result quite often is that in the end the PTFE will want to straighten itself out since it comes from a coiled collection of PTFE

You also have to realize that with PTFE the only thing remotely capable of being used is Externally Threaded Balls on the jewelry. This creates a shoddy External Threading on the PTFE, which can often strip and be problematic.

My personal preference is to exclusively use Internally Threaded ASTM F136 6Al-4V ELI Titanium either in a regular surface barell shape or the more recent mass produced design of a flat surface barbell. Not to mention the use of internally threaded flat discs to reduce catching/snagging.

Now these are my opinions based on my own research I’ve done, there ARE other piercers out there who use other flexible materials (Tygon,etc) and will claim sucess with said material. I will not knock them nor say anything bad about them, PROVIDED THEY DO THE RESEARCH AND KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT….

Key example of that is in 2007 I was at the APP Conference and I took a Surface Piercing class and to my surprise the majority of the class could not tell the difference between: 1) Tygon(Silicone Tubing), 2) Teflon(PTFE) or 3) Bioplast(Udel Polysulfone)…Not only that but virtually NONE of them knew about any ISO or ASTM specs for any of these materials. And sadly that just wasn’t in my class either, apparently it occurred in the other surface piercing class as well….Which to me is VERY shocking/disturbing because how can these people USE these materials, if they don’t even know the bare essential facts that are so easily obtainable?

But like I said these are my OWN opinions based on my OWN research and that is why I am personally more a fan of proper Implant Grade Titanium Surface Bars over PTFE or Tygon or Sacred Zombie Jesus Pubic Hairs Woven Together Into Jewelry, Blessed By Peter Popoff Himself.

However like I said if a piercer is using said jewelry for however many numbers of years and has been having good success and able to prove so via their portfolios/knowledge,etc. Then I will not go off the crazy end screaming they are horrible hacks or anything like that.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments

hip surface piercings

Wednesday July 2nd, 2008 @ 9:18 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

hey,

i just recently (about 3 days ago) got my hip surface piercing done on my right hip.

i was just wondering how i was supposed to clean it. i usually just use soap and water with a q-tip after showering.

is there any sort of special solution that i need to buy in order to keep it from becoming infected or is soap and water just fine?

THANKS!

-maya

Twice daily seasalt soaks.

A quick search on bmezine or askbme will bring up all the information you need and you would have noticed a similar question about surface piercing where I mentioned that people should be asking their piercer these questions before going ahead and getting the piercing. I could go into greater detail but as I mentioned, the information is already on here.

Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 3 Comments

weenis piercing

Sunday June 29th, 2008 @ 1:20 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

I recently got my elbows done, specifically my weenis, and i was wondering if it was usual after a while for a bump to i guess grow over the area where the piercing is. This is only happening on my left elbow and I am wondering if my skin is trying to reject it or what but it feels like scar tissue and the area is reddish. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem and if it was just a normal part of the healing process

With something like this we’d really need to see a picture of the problematic piercing before we can properly assess the situation for you.

Your best bet is to visit the piercer who did them and seek out advice from them. If they say its doing fine and you aren’t too sure about that, simply get other piercers to give their thoughts on the matter.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments

Microdermal horn’s

Tuesday June 24th, 2008 @ 10:46 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

I just wondered, how big is the chance of microdermal horn’s like this will heal and look good? Are there anything I should considering after I gotten mine done?

I think the main thing you will have to consider is what kinds of foods you are going to skewer on the giant spikes you will undoubtedly put on them.

Many of the same factors that have to be considered with surface piercings have to be considered with microdermals. If they are put into an area where the skin is very tight (which can definitely be true with this placment), there is probably a higher chance of problems. If you put them in an area with a lot of movement, you are more likely to have problems with them. If they are going to get a lot of friction from hats, that could definitely be a problem. Are you going to be able to keep hair products out of them? These are all things you should think about and things you should discuss with your piercer.

Other than that, you will simply have to be as careful as possible while they are healing. The more they get knocked around, the harder time you are going to have with them, and the more likely they will need to be removed.

I vote for kiwis, myself.

Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 3 Comments

clavicle hypertrophic scarring

Wednesday June 11th, 2008 @ 7:28 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

can a hypertrophic scar turn into a keloid?

my piercer confirmed i had hypertrophic scars on my clavicle piercings and suggested i use tea tree oil,i have been doing so,and nothng seems to be working,baring in mind ive only been using it for 2 days. im very worried as i know keloids have to be removed surgically, and i pride myself on my appearance i dont want ugly massive scars on my chest nevermind that can grow to an abnormal size!

thankyou

Let me get this right….You have clavicle surface piercings and you DON’T want “ugly massive scars on my chest, nevermind that can grow to an abnormal size”

?O_0?

Just tossing it out there, cuz, well I wouldn’t be doing my thang-a-lang if I didn’t…But did the piercer you got to do these clavicle piercings…Did they bother to tell you that these types of piercings quite often have a high rejection rate…And the result of said rejection rate would be quite often visible scarring?

I only ask because I’m just curious that’s all, cuz “visible scarring” is something ALL individuals who get surface piercings should be potentially prepared to have, incase their surface piercings do reject.

Know that these magic potion ideas are not guaranteed to work instantly/over night…It is something that will take more than just a couple days of doing it here an there.

If you don’t mind me asking how old is your clavicle piercings? Also what manner of jewelry do you have inserted? Is it Metal based or some type of “Flexible” jewelry? Does the jewelry exit out of the skin almost parallel or does it appear to come out of your skin straight (ie: 90 degree bends in the jewelry)?

Personally I’m not a huge fan of Tea Tree Oil, its really a hit or miss product that can either help or produce more complications/problems.

Other than the tree trea oil, exactly what aftercare protocols have you been doing and for how long have you been doing them?

Since your piercer advised tea tree oil though I’d continue doing that for roughly about a week or two. If you do not see any clear signs of improvement consult your piercer immediately.

And just a reminder know that if these piercings fail, you WILL have visible scarring…Just realy trying to let that sink home for you and everyone else when it comes to certain piercings and the aftermaths that can come from removal due to rejection,etc.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments