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okay. first cheek piercing experience was an ill-advised at home job by my ex who does some tat/piercing work on the side for spare cash... PLEASE DON'T DO THIS PIERCING YOURSELF!!! i had nothing but trouble with them from the start. labret studs, even the longer ones did'nt leave room for everything to drain. i KNEW i was allergic to surgical and react badly when i use it in my ears, but he'd never heard of that allergy and went ahead with the surgical steel jewelry. in less than 24 hours, the swelling and ulceration from a nasty combo of too small jewelry and metal i'm allergic to had caused my piercings to swallow BOTH ends, the ball and the stud. fortunately, i work in a machine shop and very small uage tools were easy to locate, sterilize and use to remove the labret studs... VERY PAINFUL! i already knew not to just pull the studs and leave them with that much of an issue going on, so i replaced them with acrylic tongue bars to get through the draining process. this is not a good material for healing a piercing though, as it is very porous and everything wants to stick to it, once my cheeks were back down to a semi-normal size, i removed them and let them heal for nearly 2 years before going to a shop with an experienced piercer who has done cheeks before and kept up on the healing information. it also helped me feel alot more comfortable to find that he sees the same homeopathic physician that i rely on to care for my family. we repierced through the old scars, the lumps were gone and i was left with 2 small pits that he only noticed when he was looking at my cheeks for placement. we used PTFE belly bars with acrylic balls on each end (for future reference, i reccomend metal balls as we have to resterilize a steel ball each time i have my bars trimmed, the acrylic is no good for threading the bars, but will go on nicely after the threads are cut). i've had my piercing for nearly a week and a half now, i've been in for 2 trims already, but the fistula is still rather large and so my bars are still rather roomy. i got that painful marble sized lump around the holes and made myself a nice cup of chamomile tea to try and soothe the area... hot to help increase bloodflow and allow for faster healing. when i finished with the tea, i put the used teabag over the piercing on the outside and used it as a compress. over night whatever it was opened up and drained without any force, i did have some extra crust around the bars the next day, but the pain was gone as well as the lump, not to mention the fistula has gone down by half since! i'm ready for another trim. since having such wonderful results, i am drinking/ rinsing with a cup of this tea every night for nearly a week now with no more issues and steady shrinkage of the fistula. i'd love to tell you i haven't given my poor cheeks any further abuse, but... thanks to my long posts for healing room, i have a hard time getting comfortable to sleep at night, i'm generally a tummy sleeper with my head turned to one side, the lower side seems to be bit more swollen in the morning but goes back down once i'm up and moving for the day. yesterday my daughter and i were wrestling and she snagged the ball on the outside of my left cheek. i've felt some pain as if the inside of the piercing has torn, but i've not noticed any additional swelling, sensitivity or other sign of infection, so i've got my fingers crossed it will repair without issue given a couple more days i think that those impatient with these lumps need to bear in mind that they've just pulled a core sample of sorts from an area with MANY different types of tissue, likely opening/blocking several glands and ducts as well as removal of muscle and nerve tissue. there is alot more going on in the cheek than with most other body piercings. you know have ducts for dispersing saliva interrupted, there are various cavities throughout the entire cheek for holding and transporting various fluids that can be nicked, impaled or simply crowded by swelling and scar tissue, you've also removed a bit of muscle and connective tissue as well as many nerve cells, swelling will crowd some of those nerves to the point that they are pinched off until it goes back down. the important things to remember with cheeks is to not change jewelry any more often than necessary, expect LOTS of swelling and drainage and even crusts on your posts, find a cleaning routine you're comfortable with and stick to it! don't poke, squeeze, pop or otherwise add insult to injury. heat, ice, tea tree oil, saline, possibly herbal teas and compresses if you understand their effects or get guidance from another who does... my routine is as follows, mix about 12 drops tea tree oil into a bottle of sterile eye was solution ( i find this to be milder than sea salt mixtures and was having a problem with dryness from the sea salt) carry this bottle and qtips EVERYWHERE to gently clean crusts and outside of piercing. i don't BRUSH my teeth, but use a water pic, i mix a capful of yellow listerine into the water reservior every morning and clean my teeth as normal... note my listerine use is highly dilluted and still only once daily! i've given up sugar-y and acidic drinks for the time being. if i drink anything other than tea or water, i treat it just like food and immediately rinse with either the water or tea that i always have with me. i rinse with/drink a cup of chamomile tea every night before bed and if there's ANY swelling or irritation, i use the teabag as a compress overnight. for the time being, the tea i'm using is an herbal blend called sleepytime with sinus relief. the herbs give it a pleasant sweet taste without any sugars and the herbs listed in the contents are all familiar to me as good for wound care and draining. good luck! these piercings are absolutely NOT for the inexperienced, the impatient, or anyone else not dedicated to waiting out some SERIOUS ugliness for long term beauty... could someone please post a pic of the nasty day 3 jowls that seem to hit everyone? i'm thinking of doing a series of photos so everyone can see what they're setting themselves up for before hand, but i really think i'm past the worst of it and failed to get any early photos

By the way, I'm 12. My parents hate it, but they can't stop me.

I say definately not too old. I'm 42 and have many piercings. Ears ( traguses , conches, rooks, forward helixes, cartilage and lobes ) as well as a gauged triple loop coil, both nostrils double pierced, lip, navel and tongue. I also have 3 dermals on my wrist, 2 on the back of my neck, one on throat and one above cleavage. Planning on getting septum done this week. I love my piercings ! And oddly, I get a lot of compliments from all kinds of people and age groups. I think its great and don't think anyone is too old. It's funny because some people will do a double take but then ask questions about them and some have gone out and gotten pierced themselves. I say do it because it's something you want to do. What one may want is not necessarily what another may want. Its an idividual choice of expression. Therefore,I wouldn't pressure anyone into doing something they don't want.

Just got this memorial tattoo done of my mothers portrait with tiny amount of her cremains mixed in black ink. 3 hour tattoo done by my niece Talina of her grandmother! Its beautiful and I'm so proud to have it! There were no problems at all, I washed it twice a day with clean hand using antibacterial soap and kept it covered with aqua-for lotion for about a week. I love it, she is now a part of me forever, literally!

I have snakebites, got them December 27th 2011. My left side originally had this "thing" lol, I used to lick it all the time to feel if it was still there, then I discovered it didn't hurt so I found myself biting it, then it gradually went away. I noticed I had it and it was problematic, if you will, when I had rings in. Funny thing is today my left one is starting to do it, right side's fine. I had my jewelry out for like 10 hours- sleeping and being at work, but as I went to see if they closed, they didn't... So I put my rings back in and the little thing's back. Only weird part is that it's happening on the outside too lol, I pinched the visible part with my nail (slight bleeding no pain), and I have in my initial longer studs. I think it just goes away with time.

#44: Faith: That is actually an issue involving improper placement. The fact that its flexible is mainly what is aiding you right now, due to the improper placement on the tongue. Hence what I said in reference to its great for troubleshooting/fixing mistakes.

Got my braces off on Thursday the 5th and pierced my Smiley on the 6th, had it in for nearly 2 weeks and it's healing nicely. I have a rather big Smiley so i doubt it will reject. I absolutely love it!

I have had my cheeks pierced for almost three years now, haven't change the jewelry much since I've gotten them done, but they still aren't completely healed. I googled how long it would take them to close because my new job requires associates to be "facial piercing free", and last night my retainer sank completely into my cheek... My piercer told me we can "train" them to remain open for a period of time, which I've been trying so today. He said to take them out for ten minutes and put them back in for ten, etc. honestly I love all my piercings more than anything, but my cheeks are the iffy-est piercing I have ever had, and trust me, I've had many piercings. My cheeks at first became infected three times the first year, so I stopped using all mouth wash which for some reason really helped. I also switched tooth paste... That only kind of helped. Cheeks are apparently very tempermental piercings to have... My right cheek is barely ever acting up, secreting gross stuff, getting crusty, etc but the left side barely gives me a day without it. They're pierced EXACTLY the same way, so I know that's not the problem. I sat on the table for over two hours so we could make sure they were perfectly even and in the correct spot. I don't recommend having them done, especially after all the issues I've had. Even with long barbells, the left side still managed to sink in and at a few points in time it sank completely in with a large ball on the barbell. I'm terrifed to take them out for work, but after the episode with the retainer yesterday, I'm not sure what I can do. But I know for certain if they close up on me, my piercer will do everything in his power to fix them for me. If you want an awesome piercing that isn't tempermental, but is still oral, get your tongue webbing done. My webbing is by far my favorite piercing out of the twenty that I've had. ;3

"First of all, as I’ve said before, if someone is mentally ill to the point where they can not control their own actions, they should be seeking help, not reading BME." This is the typical mindset of BME types...too mentally sick to see the statement is a contradiction in terms. If you are to the point where you cannot control your own actions, how the hell you going be seeking help?

Many of these suggestions have been helpful. Every friend I have spoken to, was able to reduce to an 8 gauge, if they were sitting at a 00g. Another option is to have a skilled body piercer stitch you ear lobes. Many of them are quite good at it, and you won't end up shelling out $1000+ to have it done. The only downside is having stitches performed without local anesthetic. I'm sure no one reading this is a stranger to piercing pain though.

i've been a professional body piercer for four years. I wouold have always taken the side of the micro dermals and was deadset againest using skin divers, because of reasons stated. Over a year ago to prove a point to my boss (who wanted to use only skindivers) that skindivers were no good. so i put two micros in my arm and two skindivers in the other. i lost....i still have the skin divers in and have had no problems at all with them...the micros are gone the first one went four mths after being done the second just a week short of 6mths. yup i ate humble pie.

Iv had diver for 6 month its jus rejected I at first it was ggreat heald we'll n ev thing last cuple ov days I noticed a lump rounnd it wiv pointed side ov diver sticking out I've jus pushd it out it very sore n I'm now left wiv big pink hole in my face waste of moni jus wish my piercer wud hv offerd me the anchor as I never new were to types

i have inverted nipples and the same thing with ice happens to me too all you have to do is pull the skin back on your breast till the nipple is at the level of your skin and play with it a bit then apply the ice it will rise enough to pierce it and kez312 who ever did yours probably didnt do it far enough down tattoo shops will usually know what to do with inverted nipples so dont worry much about it

I think it depends mostly on how you deal with the situation (and on how many piercings and tattoos you have). My fifth grade teacher and an intern teacher I had in my last three years of primary school both had a couple of small piercings, without anyone in class taking any offense. I remember asking the basic questions of 'why and how much did it hurt' and thinking these two women looked really pretty with them. The school had a technical zero tolerance for body modifications apart from earrings, but were willing to turn a blind eye on the subtle, tiny studs and rings. If you've got tattoos and piercings and want to teach, wear them during your intership(s) and look at the reactions of your students. It's possible the teacher observing/the school head will ask you to take them out. It's likely the kids will ask questions, no matter what age they are. If you end up teaching younger children, and a lot of them seem to be intimidated, you might want to try and poke a class on body modification into it all, like having them make a self-portrait and then draw modifications on it, or have a tattoo artist or piercer come over and talk to them on the subject and answer all their mind-boggling questions.

Step one: shove needle through. Step two: insert jewelry and scratch fistula because it's externally threaded. Step three: realize it's REALLY darn crooked! Step four: remove.

I've been piercing and stretching since I was fifteen. People like dis bitch make me angry.

is it normal for the bruise to show up a few days later?

so i got ma piercing 2 days ago everything was good until today woke up with blood in ma mouth on the top n ma tounge still swollen wat do i do its ma first time n im freaking out plzz wat do i do im scared that it might b infectin also i have like ma tounge yellow/orange on top of ma tounge plz help

Honestly...it's just better when you wait. It's much more satisfying to be able to say "I am an adult and I can do what I want" than it is to say "I am a rebellious teenager like every one else I know". Personal opinion.

I stretched to 1/2 in" in three months and never damaged a thing....use the tapers and antibiotic ointment and don't force it. it took me 2 nights of gently pushing them through. don't use piercers when you can do it yourself.

Take some hot water and pour in epsom salt and pour over nipples 2x a day ordor will leave.

Lucas sounds like a dick.

I am in Australia and most of the dermal anchors/jewelry I have dealt with are 14g. I know this is very late and that you/this person would have it sorted by now, but I thought I would reply for others in this same predicament. As for the original post, I agree with Alyce, and Sean... It seems to me you are jealous of other people doing "your" job and just don't want her, or anyone else for that matter, to learn at all! Grow up! I have trained (and continue to regularly, as well as "self teaching"(reading/studying to learn new techniques and ideas in order to help others) and perfecting each and every piercing I learn and perform) and completed an apprenticeship, worked for others and now have just opened up my second studio. When Microdermals first came out, it was quite a while before there were any places in Australia where one could go to learn about them and how to perform the procedure. I searched the net day and night to find out as much info as I possibly could about them until I was finally able to enrol in and complete a course. (I have actually done a few as different trainers have different techniques) There is nothing wrong with this! I didn't just look it up and follow the directions like a simple cake recipe! I just wanted to know and learn as much as I could. I also purchased some jewelery from overseas right away so I could study it. The shapes, sizes, weights, what it looked and felt like, how it worked and fitted into the process of the natural healing of the human body etc... When I finlly did my course, I already had a fantastic understanding of how they worked and picked it up immediately and naturally. I ended up helping the others, and still do teach people and assist professions in perfecting their art. I was given extra recognition and the trainer even offered me a job! Through this, I was given an even better reputation and greater confidence and I am so glad I did all the initial research and especially that I purchased the jewelery right away when I did! I know my story is different to the original post, I am just saying why knock self study when all it has ever done for anyone is increase their knowledge and skill! (Which you obviously don't realize, is a GOOD thing!) I do not condone reading 'how to do something like this off the net and then going out and trying it on someone without learning properly. (although their are people out there who are able to do so successfully and great for them) Kate, I hope you found a trainer or course or seminar, as it seems you have over there, and now are successfully performing these marvelous body mods. For anyone else out there looking to learn, keep on looking, dont stop learning, but please, for the sake of yourself and of those whom you would be practising on, do go and get taught properly. There are many things that can go seriously wrong with even the most straight forward and 'basic' piercings, and microdermal anchors are more like a medical procedure than a "simple" piercing. Also, with all these countless new pathegeons and super bugs, you would want to make sure that nothing goes wrong, whether you do it or get someone to do it to you. Please be careful and dont think that any piercing is just a matter of making a hole somewhere to put some jewelery into. It is not, and even if you are "good at piercing" yourself or others, that is not the only factor you need to take into consideration. If you are interested in becoming a body piercer, go and speck to a reputable piercer and ask them about how they got started. Everyone is different and has different roots but most people will be happy to share their experiences with you. For all our sakes, I just hope you don't end up finding yourself asking Sean!! You might find yourself with your head bitten off! :)

oops :-D ok my bad there, ill keep quiet...

I know this post is very old. but just wondering if anything happened helped the bump go away. I am in the same boat rite now and dont know how to get rid of the bump. It doesnt hurt just looks ridiculous. so if u can answer this that would be great

Anil is indeed tattooed now. Aitchison/Rudy/Booth piece.

I got my hips pierced with a curved barbell on each side 2 days ago. I love them so much, they look amazing...However I wish I had researched more before and learned that a curved bar isn't enough and that a surface bar is much better. I'm going to a different shop today and praying to god that they have surface bars that match the length of the curved ones I have in so I could have them replaced. Honestly I think bars aren't too bad..as long as they are surface bars and you tell your piercer that you want him to make sure he's anchoring them deep enough....also ask for a 14g...even 12g if they have it. The bigger the gauge. The less chance of rejection.

from a legal standpoint, you could very well sue and have a very high chance of being successful. that being said, if you signed a specific waiver or he fully warned you of the risks associated you will be less likely to be successful.

I have my nose pierced on the left side for about a month now and I clean it regularly and I. Have the keiloid on my nose. I had my right side pierced wheni was in 8th grade and I got one and took it out. I have angel bites and this didn't happen with them. Even when I had my septum pierced it got keiloids on both sides on the inside of my nose. How can I get rid of them? I did sea salt soaks and I even washed it with anti bacterial soap. And every place I go to its something different. Can someone help me? Pretty please!

I was wondering if there are any pictures of how the piercings look after they have been removed. One of my friends told me she used to have lip piercings and i didn't even notice because she didn't seem to have scars. If i looked close up her scars looked like tiny moles. I just wanted to get a picture to show to my unaproving parents. :/

do you know anyone in or near philadelphia that will do a needle piercing for a 9 year old? The cut off is anywhere from 13 to 16 for most piercing places.

hi ive had my snake bites for awhile now ad i have rings in i dryed my face after a shower and ripped it on the inside its fine on the outside but its really sore on the inside i cant take it out as it is swollen how do i reduced the swelling

I think that wrist piercings ARE a bad idea because, not everyone is gonna know that you have a piercing and they're gonna grab your wrist and it WILL hurt. Plus if you're one of those people who like to get into fights, that's the first thing the other person is gonna go for. Chances are, it's gonna bleed alot because you move your hands alot throughout the day and you're moving your wrist alot.

I have many tattoos, I'm also very pale with a hightened tendency to blush. If I scratch with a fingernail I have a red welt within seconds, and I turn blotchy red for up to an hour after exposure to heat (showers, baths, etc normally). All of my tattoos raise up and down at various times, especially if I'm worn out or getting sick. I can actually tell when I'm sick before I start to get symptoms, as all my tattoos get puffy and itchy. Like me, it may just be a normal part of the way your skin works.

If you lower the temperature it hardens more slowly. My husband and I did the same thing and had to buy more molding. We lowered the temp by ten degrees and worked nicely. So instead of 98 go 88.

Hi guys! hope this could help. Last night,I did a Japanese piece on the upper arm of a client who has KP and my judgement is, yes It can be tattooed.. only harder. Due to the thickness of the skin and dryness, I have to moisturize well before applying the tattoo. It is harder than any other but it is still doable. so yeah! it is possible.

I read all these opinions and decided to do it myself.... All I did was wiggle the dermal till the soon broke lose then pulled against the long end of the anchor and stretched my skin the oposite way and it just popped out pain free just a spot of blood... Wammmmo

I just wanted to mention, the OP stated that s/he wanted white hair & red eyes. Albinism in humans usually causes pale pale blue eyes, not red eyes. Wikipedia does mention that "there are cases in which the eyes of an albinistic person appear red or purple, depending on the amount of pigment present." But this isn't as common in human as the pale blue eyes seem to be. I know albino rats have neat & creepy red eyes, but we're not that lucky. ;) There's always contacts and eye tattooing! ;)

This is a terrible question. Lucky they did not post the name of the shop. I feel bad for the clients who are the guinea pigs thou, until he concludes adequate size initial bars, it will all be trial and error, and in that sense i feel almost somewhat responsible by not just providing the information.

I would like to thank everyone that took time to responsed to this question. The event was alot quieter then we expected. But the dozon or so kiddies that came to where we were, was intrigued by what can be done from poor/ bad habits while piercing at home. Also show them alot of blow outs of overly fast stretched ears. That lit there eyes up. Handed out alot of flyer, business cards and just promoted safe piercing as a whole to the youth. Patience is a virtue they say, this generation has lost alot of patience. Even knowing fun well they can obtain safe, clean needles and either sharps containers from the council here. They still believe that bobby pins(yes bobby pins) are a safe and awesome way to pierced there mates. I've seen kids who have used a flat head screw driver and a hammer to punch out cartlidge of the ear??? Why coz they thought it be cool?? Beside the medical cost afterwards. But in the end i believe if I/we as a community can get just a few of the kids to listen, it may slowly curve the problem. Cheers Dion ps.. nothing against home piercing when you know what your doing. but in the end its always better to get a pro to do it. THANKS AGAIN

I had my ears pierced by a gun when I was 13 at some local hair salon,My father REFUSED to allow my mom get them done when I was a baby/small child, thank god. The posts were not long enough and ended up swelling causing the "gem" part of the earring to go INSIDE my ear lob. Obviously that hurt so I took them both out and they healed without getting infected (thankfully). Later I got them re-pierced, by a gun again (stupid) and they have forever (I'm now 21) been giving me problems. Apparently I didn't learn from that I got my 2nd holes done by gun as well, 1 at Clairs and 1 at Peoples. Both have bad scar tissue/get infected regularly. Surprisingly, and I would never recommend this, one drunk night I let my friend pierce my 3rd hole with a piercing needle in her living room, while holding a lit cigarette, without cleaning anything let alone wearing gloves. Had never given me a problem.

I have 3 dermals on my ribcage and they all healed differently. Some peoples bodies reject piercings and the biggest deciding factor of whether your dermals will heal properly is the care that you give them! They need to be cleaned 2-3 times daily for about 6 months. I've had mine for about 7 months and they are perfectly fine. I still clean them daily too. Also, I keep small band-aids on hand incase they start to get irritated or get snagged on my clothing.

I just dyed my hair using John Frieda Precision Foam Colour and read the box. It says "Temporary 'black henna' tattoos may increase your risk of allergy". Nothing about permanent tattoos... Guess I'll know after I'm done with this box. My tattoo is right behind my ear!!

One of those things, if you don't understand or think wtf, not for you and you don't deserve it. If you have any interest, do it yesterday. Crust - deposits from you body urine or cum. Keep the shit clean. This is your dick, it goes inside people. Keep it clean. Easiest piercing a man can do. You clean it every time you pee, and if you are like me, you bust out the antibacterial soap three four times a day. Why? Bcz your dick goes inside people. Bigger the gauge the more comfortable it is. Keep your shit clean. When you present yourself you are representing everybody who has one,

You guys are rude. yes honey take it out it's infected.

mmm...my ears are at 3/4 and have a little bit of scarring on the backs.i was wondering if it is still possible to strech larger if i do it with teflon tape..and very slowly. will the scar tissue stay the same size...or grow to ungodly amounts?and does scalpling the tissue off really solve the problem?

I also seem to have difficulty blowing bubbles with a split tongue. The thing that I cannot do at all anymore though, is making that farting sound while sticking my tongue out. My split doesn't allow it.

I had my tattoo at Jetty Rd tattoo and I wasn't that happy with it. They were really rushed as its so busy there and the guy looked kinda annoyed at me whenever I requested any changes. Altho this was maybe 3 yrs ago so don't kno who they have working there now. I am going to go to Ink Pit to get my tattoo covered/re-done, as I've heard a lot of good things about them.

I hve 2 questions my 1st is my left cheek ball is sinking inside my cheek & I ask the man that did it was it fine he tld me yea but now u can see where the inprint of thr ball in my mouth & my 2nd question is this yellow stuff keep cmin out my piercing wht is it & is it normal

I am a lawyer. I graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 2004 and have been working as a litigation attorney in court on an almost-daily basis) since that time. I have had a nose-piercing (which I have wear as a relatively-small stud) since 1997. I have NEVER had a problem with my piercing in court/with judges. I suspect that the reaction may have been different if I still had the conspicuous hoop-piercing that I had during my time in college, but as it is, I have experienced NO problems. I briefly considered taking my nose ring out around 2005, but found that the "hole" was sufficiently secured as to leave a mark larger and more conspicuous than the actual piercing that I have. [For the first 3 years or so it would have closed up--though after about 4 years I discovered that, even after 6 months with no jewelry in, the piercing was as open as ever.] I neither encourage nor discourage such a piercing. Though it has not hindered my court-heavy legal career in the least, I cannot guarantee that it would not for another attorney.