Monday July 21st, 2008 @ 4:50 PM
I have a 2 ga. helix punch, it’s all healed from being pierced this past november. There are some beautiful dichoric plugs on glasswearstudios.com, but they start at 0 ga. and I’m wondering how traumatized my ear would be if I got the 0’s. Is stretching a dermal punch a bad idea (will it cause damage, excessive scarring, or blow outs?) Would my ear still freak out if I just wore it for a short period of time, like a day or vs. for a couple months? If you don’t recommend this plan, could you guide me towards other websites or stores in D.C./NYC areas that have as many foil style options for smaller gauges?
It is quite possible to stretch cartilage piercings. I’ve met people over the years that have stretched various cartilage piercings from standard earring size to 0ga, or even bigger. So, in theory, you should be able to stretch your piercing without much issue.
The stretching shouldn’t cause “damage, excessive scarring, or blow outs”, assume that you take some care when doing it. If the jewelry is very resistant to going in, don’t force it too much. If you force it too much, you will tear the piercing, and potential crush the cartilage, making it very likely all of your aforementioned concerns will come true.
If you are considering ordering jewelry anyway, you may want to contact the company and see if they can make you a 1ga plug/eyelet. Glass companies are typically very good about doing in-between-sized jewelry. When it comes to cartilage, the in-between sizes can make stretching much easier.
+3 / 5 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Monday July 21st, 2008 @ 4:43 PM
Which, if any, female genital piercings would be suitable for me as a horse-rider? I’m considering getting a Christina (if it’s a viable option), but would like to know if I could consider any other piercings too. Also, would the piercing require any special care because of my riding?
If you are an avid/consistent horse rider, you may want to consider something that heals fairly quickly (2-6 weeks typically)…such as a vertical/horizontal hood or inner labia piercings. Piercings such as outer labia and Christinas tend to have a longer healing time (3-4 months). If the healing time is short, if you find the piercing does interfere with your riding, or perhaps the other way around, it shouldn’t be an issue for very long.
It’s possible that a Christina might not be affected by riding too much, given it’s more “upward” placement. Having never ridden a horse, I don’t have personal experience to draw from…not to mention the lack of the other vital parts in question. 
Obviously, your particular “build” is going to play a part as well.
You aren’t going to know how things are going to work out until you actually try it, unfortunately. If you find that there is an issue, at that point you can try different things (such as use of padding, adjusting riding position etc) to alleviate the issue you are having.
Best of luck.
+8 / 10 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 6 Comments
Monday July 21st, 2008 @ 3:13 AM
Filed under: Navel
I had my navel pierced about a month ago and today it fell out–The top of it came loose and I dont know if this was because of things brushing against it or water?). Anyways, the whole piercing came out and I was told not to put it back in (risks infection) and to just let it heal. I was wondering if I would be able to get it done again if I wait until it fully heals? Also, should I put anything on the area while it heals? Will there be any bumps or scars after its healed? And do you know approx. how long it will take to heal? Thanx.
Who told you to leave the jewelry out and not put it back in, for fear of increased chance of infection?
The reality is if you actually walked into a studio, with the jewelry in a bag, they could have processed and autoclaved (Sterilized) the jewelry for you and then proceeded to re-insert the jewelry using a taper.
This is why you should NEVER listen to any friends, family or misc. person as they all have their own piece of information to get. If a studio actually told you not to put it in, then I say who was spaced out and forgot they had an autoclave to sterilize said jewelry in question.
If it’s been out now for more than a couple days your best bet is to let it heal up now. As for treating it you should still be doing sea salt soaks at least once a day. Personally I’d suggest waiting roughly 2 months or even a bit longer before attempting to consider re-piercing it again. And when you think its ok to re-pierce visit a studio and get their opinion on if its suitable to re-pierce yet or not.
+15 / 19 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Monday July 21st, 2008 @ 3:02 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hi There,
I had my tragus pierced a week ago at a professional piercing place with a bar. It has healed really well, no puss etc etc and I have been cleaning it twice a day with ‘protat’ (the Australian version of ear solution) and salt water bath.
I have noticed however that I have excruciating dental pain on the right side of my face (same side as piercing) in the upper two back teeth in my jaw. I saw the dentist three days later who confirmed I have an impacted wisdom tooth however it is on the BOTTOM jaw and not the TOP. I havent been to see the specialist yet however I find it hard to believe that an impacted wisdom tooth on my bottom teeth could be causing pain in the top two back teeth - so close to my piercing.
To touch the piercing itself (which i do not do often) is not too bad. It is not red and i have no problems with using a cue tip to massage the solution or salt in. I can sleep on it (probably shouldnt) and do not feel pain, though sometimes a dull ache. I have also had my belly button and tongue pierced (took tongue out) and two piercings in each of my lobes. I also have two tattoos.
On a pain scale - getting it done didn’t hurt that much at all (supposed to be the worst - though..i did fall asleep getting my tattoo done! hehe) - it is the dental pain that is KILLING me! Can’t get in to see the specialist for another two weeks. In the meantime I am drinking heaps of water, keeping the piercing clean, and taking a crap load of pain killers for my teeth. My dentist also put me on antibiotics for the wisdom tooth and said it wouldnt hurt my piercing either (i mentioned the pain to her - and she didn’t think that it would be from my piercing - though she was a dentist and not a dental surgeon).
Thoughts/suggestions/ideas? Have you ever heard of a Tragus piercing causing severe dental pain? I have heard of headaches for the first two to three weeks - but agonising dental pain? I don’t want to have my wisdom teeth ripped out for nothing! Hehe. I would appreciate if you could email
First thing first: throw out the Protat
Protat contains a harsh chemical additive that’s very dehydrating and damaging to newly forming skin cells. It should not be used at all, or even the amount of times most Australian piercers are suggesting.
The only thing you should be doing is the salt water soaks and even then, that requires a precise measurement of water and salt. Or visit a chemist and obtain 0.9% Wound Irrigation Sterile Saline.
As for the pain you’re feeling, welcome to the world of impacted Wisdom Teeth. The pain will vary from individual to individual, but personally, my wisdom teeth made me feel like my head was going to explode. I had shooting pains and serious migraines and I do not recommend anyone go through what I had to go through, I was side-lined for almost 4 weeks after my wisdom teeth removal.
If you need your wisdom teeth removed, they have to be removed…And its very unlikely that getting your tragus pierced is what’s causing the dental pain, if you’ve had an actual dentist,etc confirm your wisdom teeth need removing.
+5 / 11 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 3 Comments
Sunday July 20th, 2008 @ 1:51 AM
How permanent is lip stretching, and what size does it become irreversible without surgery?
There is no stock answer for this given the amount of data available.
+3 / 39 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment
Sunday July 20th, 2008 @ 1:04 AM
Filed under: Ear
A friend of mine went to a studio about a month ago and had the her outer conch dermal punched at a 0 gauge. It was punch at a 0 and 0 jewelry inserted, with no stretching. It’s been a month so far and there seems to be very little healing, and in fact the jewelry, though it is flared, has been sinking into the hole. (I know a picture would help right about now, sorry) I’m just wondering if not stretching the hole after punching it is causing these problems, or if it’s normal for a large gauge cartilage punch to take this long before showing signs of healing.
Stretching a punched hole after punching is a good way to reduce bleeding. However, if anything it would be the source of more problems, not prevent them. From what you describe it sounds like the piercer used too small a piece of jewelry. It could be caused by something else altogether, but I assure you it is not a result of NOT stretching after the punch.
+5 / 9 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday July 18th, 2008 @ 9:48 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have been stretching my ears for almost 2 years now, and this just past march accomplished the measurment of 1 1/4, and of course I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, in my first year of stretching my lobes, I had blown out my ears, and are left with some hefty scar tissue. The scar tissue appeared as I hit 7/8’s, which was a year ago June, so I have had it for a while.
Anyways!
This scar tissue has obviously had a negative effect on the overall look of my earlobes, but much more that other people with blowouts I have seen. If I keep my plugs in for any time over maybe 3 hours, the blowouts get extremely red, and begin to have drastic swelling if left in for more than a couple days. This was the worst when I had stretched to 1 1/4. I had the plugs in (one pair was made out of raintree wood, and after thinking it might have been the wood I made a pair of walnut plugs wrapped with tape)for 2 or 3 months, when I finally took them out for a couple weeks and went down to 1 inch. I had previously taken my plugs out totally for about a month and a half at an attempt to rid myself of the scar tissue but due to not keeping them out long enough this did nothing for them. Unfortunately this downtime has not helped the looks of them at all. What can I do to get rid of the redness and swelling?
Two years to get at an Inch and a Quarter? What were you pierced at originally? In fact don’t answer that, I don’t want to know or even think about it. Just know that the time frame you’ve listed, is too fast…What’s done is done. Now lets correct this issue.
Step 1: Take your jewelry out and leave them out for quite a long period of time. Massaging your lobes daily with: high quality extra virgin olive oil, neem oil, Holy Butt’r, Shea Butter, jojoba oil, emu oil, any of these products or anything that seems to work nicely on your lobes.
You’re going to have to downsize, and NOT wear ANY jewelry, until the blow outs re-absorb into your body. This could take a month it could take two years, its subjective to how your body wants to react to the situation.
Step 2: Put whatever slides in comfortably into your lobes and leave your ears at that size for roughly 2 years before you even consider the option of stretching to a larger size.
This may not be what you wanted to hear, but if you have the type of blow outs you’re describing, this is your first mode of attack. If they do not go away after doing steps 1 and 2 the other option is to visit a medical practitioner who is capable of removing the blow outs.
+28 / 44 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments
Friday July 18th, 2008 @ 9:35 PM
Filed under: Ear
How permanent would a conch punch/stretch be, and do you know anyone in particular I should travel to to get this procedure done in southern Ontario, Canada?
Permanent as in how? Permanent in the way that you’re coring out tissue and cartilage, thus completely removing a circular hole out from your ear? From the sounds of that, provided you heal it, it’s going to be pretty darn permanent. Sure if you take it out after it’s healed it’ll shrink up a tad, but if you take it out early in the healing stage it will quite often seal up (the cartilage gone but the tissue grows and seals the hole up).
Expect punching to be a permanent change in your body and is something to full comprehend before you go around asking for it, or having a piercer try to talk you into it.
Also know whether piercers will try and set punches are legal for them to use, the reality is its also ILLEGAL for them to use…Welcome to the very grey area of trying to define what is a medical tool and what isn’t. Sure the area’s health department might say: “Sure yo can use it” the Health Department doesn’t govern over such legal matters, the inspectors only care about current guidelines/protocols. As all it will take is for one client to get their ear/nose/whatever punched and messed up and a lawsuit to be filed. And presto you’re slapped with a practicing medicine without a license lawsuit.
Much like in Canada its legal for someone to buy a syringe and xylocaine. They can even put the xylocaine into the syringe. However you are legally not allowed to inject the xylocaine into anyone. You can squirt it onto them, but not inject it into them.
Just out of curiosity though where in Southern Ontario are you, as that’s a rather broad range with plenty of cities within its region. Toronto? Hamilton? St.Catharines? Niagara Falls? Mississauga? Guelph? Southern Ontario is a very vague generalization and if you could provide us with an exact location it’d make pointing in the right direction easier.
Also remember there’s LOTS of piercers “playing doctor” and wanting to play with this type of equipment. However there’s only a small number of artists I’d trust, in Southern Ontario, to use a Biopsy/Dermal Punch and use it properly and effectively.
0 / 14 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday July 18th, 2008 @ 6:53 AM
Filed under: Ear
I recently made a trip to a new piercing place and i found some fossilized mastodon ivory plugs they are so brutal however they are at 3/4 and im at 5/8 so i was trying to find some cheap stainless steel tunnels to gauge up however given the size it has proven difficult to find an affordable price so i was wondering if anybody had some good links with variety and affordability in mind!
Variety and Affordability…..Hmmmmm….Cheap…..
These are things a Jedi craves not…
The reality is if you want quality, WHICH YOUR BODY DESERVES, you’re going to have to pay a bit more then the Tree Fiddy that that no good Loch Ness Monsta is gonna be axin for!
Steel, Titanium, Gold, most metals are sky-rocketing in price…It’s all apart of that HUGE escalating number that is available to put on websites,etc that shows just how much the wars are costing us. Oil, Metal, everything is going UP UP UP UP UP in price. And sadly we the people of the world have to suffer and cope.
One option for you to look into is pyrex plugs/eyelets, as usually they are priced a bit cheaper then Steel/Titanium. And if I were you I wouldn’t look to variety or various different styles, I’d just stick to plain old clear Pyrex plugs/eyelets until you get to your desired size, which should take roughly 6 months to a year or just even a bit longer, depending on your ears elasticity,etc.
Then after you get to your desired size comfortably, that’s when you can buy your “brutal” Mastadon Ivory plugs…Or you can buy them now and just wait to put them in until you safely get to the 3/4″ size.
+10 / 12 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 3 Comments
Friday July 18th, 2008 @ 6:38 AM
I have four Industrial Strength microdermals along/below my clavicles. The rise is higher than i expected and I suppose with all the movement in the arms/shoulders the two outer micros sat noticeably higher than the inner two. I was just extra careful with them and they all healed up very nicely.
About a month ago my outer right micro got hit pretty hard and the smaller foot rejected out in 2 days. I decided to take it out myself with a 14g needle, sliding it against the micro to break connective tissue on the larger foot. I went to check my far left micro and noticed that again, the larger side of the foot healed perfectly, but the smaller foot did not heal at all, it had just been sitting there hollow, and since I never had it snagged i never noticed. The smaller foot popped right out! It was mildly horrifying but it wasn’t irritated, infected, or rejecting.I couldn’t leave it in there though so I decided to take it out as well and get them redone at a later date.
My concern is that in the long run micros will keep running in to problems with the smaller foot. I liked that Industrial Strength micros have a hole on the smaller side of the foot for tissue to grow through but it’s such an ittybitty one, I noticed Anatometal has a nice wide hole for the larger foot, but the smaller foot is just a nub. What micros would you recommend? Which have healed the best of your knowledge? Are there ones i should avoid? Any help would be great since i didn’t get them redone yet i’ll wait for feedback.
Thank You!! - maxine
p.s. for anyone healing micros, i picked up on some habits of the things.
Every few weeks or so one or a couple of mine would get irritated. The standard seasalt/water swab definitely helps but most of the time I had to give my micros a little help and push some of the lymphatic fluid out by gently pressing around the micro, (it’s easy for stuff to get trapped in there) then clean them again.
I’ve seen a lot of girls getting them around the chest/clavicle area, and this applies for s
Hi Maxine,
My personally view on IS vs Anatometal for the Surface Anchors/Microdermals is this, I like BOTH styles actually. The one thing I liked about Anatometal and their subsequent creation of the product, is that they actually waited and sat in the background watching/hearing all the issues people were having/noticing with the current versions,etc. They then implemented their product based on what they heard/saw and based on that made alterations based on that.
Personally I have not used the Anatometal ones just yet, they only came out a few months ago. I’ve only ever really used the Industrial Strength ones, which I find work great for me…And I bet if I was to use the Anatometal ones, I’d be just as happy with them, cuz lord knows I got a HUGE hankering for Anatometal, I love them so.
Might I ask though, just how old exactly were/are your microdermals? Based on what I’m reading I’d be inclined to assume that you’ve only had them for a couple months? No more than 6 months correct?
The one thing I’d like to point out with Microdermals is that they realistically take a lot longer to heal, then the projected time frame everyone “THINKS” they take to heal. Just because something isn’t red, irritated, swollen, producing a discharge,etc..Doesn’t mean that it is completely healed perfectly and awesome. Personally I say with Microdermals I advise clients to expect a 6 months to 1 year heal time, with periods of on and off irritation.
But as I said, I’m perfectly fine with suggesting IS or Anatometal for microdermals. There is also of course: Custom Steel Body Jewelry, who is arguably the individual who created the first prototypes of the microdermal/surface anchor design, depending who you talk to. Either way with any of these companies product, you’re safe and secure in the jewelry quality/design. From there it’s just making sure the piercer is experienced enough in knowing how to work with the jewelry. Not to mention its up to the client and piercer to do the research and get up to date knowledge on how to care for them. Because things have changed a bit since the old article that came out two years and a bit ago, as many other piercers started doing them and noting the pros and cons,etc.
+7 / 13 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 8 Comments
