Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 10:05 AM
Filed under: Nose
ive had my septum pierced fro almost
3 weeks, i need to go to the dentist
and that means someone can seee up my nose
im hiding my septum have been doing itquite well
but im afraid im going to need to take it off for
about 30 minutes at the most, will this be ok??
realistically….survery says…..nope.
3 weeks old is far too soon to take your piercing out for any duration of time, as soon as you start taking it out…it’s going to start tightening up. Now you could technically take it out but immediately afterwards you’ll need to visit a studio an have them taper it open, which won’t be too pleasant an experience for you.
ultimately though its your nose, so your call…Personally, I wouldn’t advise taking it out though.
+25 / 27 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 11 Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 9:59 AM
Hi,
I’ve been planning to get a fairly large tattoo on my side with a poem. What is the recommended font size I should consider that would be small enough to fit a lot of text without blurring over time? Is it also possible to get a customized text in my own handwriting? Thanks!
Alicia
Here are the following steps you should take:
1) write the poem in your own handwriting. Make sure its easy to read.
2) Find a reputable studio with highly skilled/experienced tattoo artists.
3) Bring said poem to highly skilled/experienced tattoo artist and let them know where you want it and what other design work you want with it.
4) The highly skilled/experienced tattoo artist will be able to tell you what needs to be done in order to make it work. ie: how big the font has to be, if it will even fit, the potential of it working with the other design work you want,etc.
It really is as simple as it sounds. And without knowing the poem, seeing your body, figuring out what design work,etc you want. Nobody can really give you any solid statement of how big the font would need to be,etc…Especially if you’re doing it in your own handwriting.
+11 / 13 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 9:55 AM
I had my tragus pierced a year ago, but at the end of school a few months ago I had excruciating pain in it and discovered a HUGE bump growing behind the piercing inside of my ear. I personally think that the ring in it was aggravating it. I took the piercing out and the bump went away. However, I’d like to put a new piece of jewelry in it, but I can not find the hole. Has the skin just covered it and a simple needle will be able to find it? Or is the hole in the cartilage gone as well? Will I need to get it professionally re-pierced or can myself or the piercer reopen the old piercing?
*insert suspenseful pause*
visit your piercer and they will most likely be able to re-insert a piece of jewelry either with their own hands, or by using a taper. It’s as simple as that.
+3 / 17 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 9:35 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hey there 
I have finally started the process of slowly stretching my ear. I am now up to an 8ga and have decided that for now I will limit how far I will ultimately go to a 4ga to give me good odds of it being reversable later.
The trouble is now that I have actually started, a 4ga looks tiny! So now I’m looking at another approach. I want to know how successful silicone skin coloured plugs, claw ended diamond plugs, etc… have been for most? I mean, what are some common problems people face in terms of how others judge them and any tips/tricks for avoiding these problems, whether that be through covering it up or whatever.
Any advice is muchly appreciated
Thanks
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Common problems that people face in terms of how others judge them, is simply that, people will judge you. They’ll judge you based on what Body Modifications you have. They’ll judge you for the clothes you wear. They’ll judge you for the music you listen to. They’ll judge you on every single thing they could possibly judge you on. You cannot avoid peoples judgment, because for those who judge, there’s always something for them to judge on you.
One thing I learned early on, is coming to grips with that. That no matter what I do, someone will always judge me. So the best thing to do is just “suck it up” and either ignore the judgments or laugh it off due to their judgmental ignorance.
Now if you’re talking in regards to: “I don’t want to lose my job” type of judgment and you’re looking to be minimalistic in the jewelry you wear in your lobes. One hard part will be to find jewelry that is the EXACT color tone of your skin type. Some people have had success with the solid silicone plugs, and some no matter how hard they try, it will still be visible. I even know of some people who’ve obtained certain jewelry and with the use of makeup and a lot of time, have been able to somehow blend their skin color tone onto the jewelry,etc…
Ultimately though, and I don’t mean this in a harsh way, when it comes to other people judging you based on your physical appearance…You just need to suck it up and deal with it…The sooner people realize that, the sooner they won’t simply be bothered by people staring, or making rude/inappropriate comments,etc.
Heck I get stared/commented at DAILY for my scarification sleeve, my tattoos, and how I dress/look,etc. This even occured BEFORE I even started modifying my body, back when I used to experiment with my clothing (ie: fishnet shirts, polk-a-dot tights, tattered and torn army combat pants,etc,etc,etc)… The best thing to do is grow a thick skin and don’t let their ignorance phase you. The only people you should care about, in terms of their opinions are…Yourself (most important individual’s opinion is your own)…Then very close family and very close friends…And even then the best thing to do is take their comments/opinions and simply analyze them and compare and contrast them against your own. Then self-assess them all and see if any of them are correct/right (your opinions, and the others)…But ultimately you should just follow your gut instincts on your opinions and your opinions alone.
Also stretch ear lobes are becoming quite a norm these days, at least in pretty much every mid-sized town/city,etc. The concept of judging somebody harshly because they have stretched lobes is very outdated and circa many years ago, back when it wasn’t that common. Sure its not on every single person, but a large number of individuals have stretched lobes of some form or another.
+19 / 21 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 13 Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 6:32 AM
How do I list my tattoo studio on BME?
Thank You,
Leticia
You can list your studio on BME’s studio directory at http://411.bmezine.com/studios/add. BME411 is aimed to be the largest online resource for studios in the body modification industry. This directory also allows visitors to rate the studios listed in a 1-5 star rating system.
+1 / 3 votes
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Posted by Russ Foxx | Permalink | Comments
Thursday September 4th, 2008 @ 9:56 PM
Hi there! I had a surface bar on top of my left clavicle (horizontally) for approximately 8 months. It was 14ga, 1″ long, internally threaded titanium. It was done by an experienced piercer and given lots of tender loving care and sea salt soaks, but it just never fully healed and so I removed it about a year and a half ago with intentions of getting it redone with microdermals, which seemed like a more permanent option for the piercing. Recently, I became sick and hospitalized with what turned out to be viral meningitis. I needed a lumbar puncture and a precautionary CAT scan to check for tumors that might be causing the symptoms before the lumbar puncture was performed. They gave me a cup to remove all my jewelry and body jewelry and thinking back if I had gotten the microdermals I would have needed them to be removed with a scalpel. What if I were unconscious and couldn’t inform them of my microdermals, or what if they needed to use defibrillators on me? I don’t know if this would pose any problems in these scenarios. Maybe the types of metal anchor jewelry is made of are neutral in these situations, but the reason I ask this is because I saw a girl on Modblog who had a medical bracelet with information about the locations of her microdermals. Is this a precaution everyone with microdermals should take? Thank you for any insight you an provide and for serving as a tremendous resource for modified people!
All the microdermals I’ve seen are made of titanium. There is a lot of anecdotal, and maybe even clinical, evidence that suggest titanium should be fine in MRI’s. However, very few technicians will let you have an MRI if they knew you have something like a microdermal that isn’t medically-necessary. In the case of CAT scan or X-ray, the microdermal won’t cause any problems, other than possibly being in the way on the X-ray.
Here’s where I think microdermals could pose a problem in a medical emergency: Imagine a nurse or doctor or surgeon can’t figure out what the hell you have in your body and/or how it comes out…and therefore your treatment somehow gets delayed, and that delay causes your condition to worsen. Or causes you to die. Far fetched? Perhaps. And I certainly hope so. But I think those are the sorts of things that we have yet to really find out, because microdermals are still really new.
But, maybe that’s one “good” thing about every freakin’ piercer on the planet “getting their microdermal on”…there are so many of them out there, the problems that are bound to occur should show up a lot faster than if they weren’t that common. Heh.
+11 / 13 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 5 Comments
Wednesday September 3rd, 2008 @ 11:43 PM
Is it possible to have an apadravya piercing that doesn’t go through the urethra? I know that having it go through the urethra anchors it, but I’m kinda concerned by the possibility of having leaks while urinating.
Yes, it is possible…although not all that common as it will typically result in an off-center piercing, which most people aren’t into from an aesthetic point of view.
While leaking is a possibility with an apadravya, it’s much less likely than with a PA piercing.
If you do have leaking, it is usually easy to simply press the bottom ball of the barbell up against the bottom hole to eliminate the leaking. You might get a little pee on your fingers, but hey…you should be washing your hands after using the bathroom anyway.
+11 / 13 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday September 3rd, 2008 @ 11:39 PM
Hey,
i just got my first tattoo today on both feet, and when i was told about the after care one tattooist told me that i was to wash it with hot soapy water(as hot as i could bare) where a differant one said that i was to wash it will cool soapy water?
will it matter that much or will it affect it?
thanks
The temperature of the water should have very little effect on how the tattoo heals, although I personally would suggest using warm or cool water. The thought of putting really hot water on a fresh tattoo just sounds unnecessarily uncomfortable (although, I know it is suggested by some).
When it comes to feet tattoos, your biggest issue is likely going to be the swelling. I would suggest staying off them as much as possible for the first few days. Drinking lots of water and using an anti-inflammatory (if you can tolerate them, of course) of some sort may be beneficial as well. Friction is going to be the other big issue. Try to wear shoes and socks as little as possible during the initial healing period…but keep your feet clean, obviously.
Good luck!
+4 / 4 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday September 3rd, 2008 @ 11:33 PM
Filed under: Tongue
For some time I’ve been considering a tongue piercing to be my next mod. After finally having decided to give it a go I wondered if it would be possible to have it done somewhat angled to the back of the mouth to let the top be more hidden. What is the optimal angle to pierce the tongue.
I also have my tongue web pierced. Should I let it die for the sake of my tongue piercing or can they coexist?
Thanks!
Different piercers have different takes on the best angle for a tongue piercing. It’s also important to keep in mind that there are very few absolutely certainties when it comes to piercing. As everyone’s body is somewhat different, there are exceptions to almost every “rule”.
I personally prefer to do piercing straight up and down most of the time. My reasoning is this:
When you do a tongue piercing straight up and down, it will still lean back slightly when your tongue is in your mouth, due to the shape of the tongue. If you do the piercing at an angle so the top is further back, the jewelry will rest at even more of an angle when your tongue is in your mouth. The potential problem with this is that the the bottom ball will then be more likely to rest/rub against you lower gums. Rubbing/friction/trauma typically leads to damage to the gums and can even lead to some bone erosion.
While this may not happen to everyone, it is a real risk, and one that I try to help my clients avoid as much as possible.
+11 / 11 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday September 3rd, 2008 @ 7:47 AM
I am a body piercer in VA, and I recently ordered the micro dermal anchors and I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice to give me about the proper way to make the insicion and the placement. Basically just any advice out there anyone can give me! Or maybe a website that shows all the proper steps.
Thanks,
Kate
Just curious Kate….Why did you order jewelry for a procedure you have no comprehension on how to go about doing? You should NEVER just go ahead and purchase jewelry for a piercing procedure, before understanding how the procedure is done.
You’re going the route of: C - A - B in sequence of events, not: A - B - C.
I will not, and I assume nor will any other AskBME staff member, give you a run down step by step play on how to insert microdermals, for public viewing online. That is realistically quite a huge “sticky mess” as we would then be endorsing certain techniques over others, as well as potentially exposing techniques/methods of insertion onto the general public. Which could lead to very dangerous complications.
Kate your BEST bet is to locate a fellow piercer who is experienced in this procedure, and is willing to perhaps show you how it’s done. Sometimes this is hard though because some piercers are not wanting to let their “competition” get a leg up, where as other piercers (such as myself) would rather us all be up to date on the same knowledge base and understanding of how procedure are to be done. But that unfortunately just displays the immense contrast that is currently involved with piercers.
Another option is to look into any potential “seminars” that are being offered and take those “seminars”. That way you can get some concept of how things are done, before you jump the gun again and purchase jewelry before knowing how to put them in.
You know…You could also join the IAM Community of BMEZine, get yourself set up as a Verified Professional, join the VARIETY of professional forums that in the IAM Community…and presto chances are you’ll be able to get some help on that front easily…I’d suggest looking into the IAM Learning Forum, as its my favourite…But of course I’m biased since I started the forum ages ago, and just recently passed it over to someone else 
+38 / 48 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 18 Comments
