Friday July 11th, 2008 @ 1:44 AM
Hey i was just wondering what the legal age is in australia to suspend, i’m guessing over 18? and also, i’ve tried searching for some places that do it but have had no luck in finding people in the NSW area, especially in/near Newcastle, can you offer me any advice or contact details of any sort?
There’s actually a very knowledgeable and proficient by the name of: HACK Suspensions who are based out of the Newcastle area.
You can find them on the list of Suspension Teams off of BMEZine.com: HACK Suspension Team.
If I remember correctly the team has other members who are all over Australia, but there are members located in Newcastle. If you make contact with them they’ll definitely be able to help you out and provide you with their policies on age limits,etc.
+6 / 10 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday July 11th, 2008 @ 1:31 AM
hey
when i was 18 i opened my own tattoo shop, a few people have said this might be some sort of record and i thought you might be the guys who’d know. when i first opened i was doing everything myself, and am very proud of what ive achieved, and would be even more proud if it turned out i was one of the youngest
thanks
pinkey
If you want your ego stroked *mono-toned voice* sure you were the youngest person ever to open a business up and provide a service. You are so amazingly awesome here is your life-time supply of pure awesome. Pure awesome, been providing awesome since awesome wasn’t awesome. *end mono-toned voice*
Why does it matter if you were the youngest this, or the oldest that? Why try and achieve to boast something trivial and pointless such as this?
Age doesn’t reflect your skill…You could be the youngest owner ever and run a poorly operated business or you could have run a perfect business. The same with if you’re the oldest shop owner to ever own a shop.
What you should be more worried about is making sure your business is up to current industry standards and providing only the highest and best quality service/skill you possibly can. Because in the end that’s all that really matters, nobody cares about the how old anyone is,etc.
Focus on your business, not your age.
+14 / 52 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Thursday July 10th, 2008 @ 6:34 AM
Filed under: Tongue
Hello,
I went to a piercing parlour today wanting to get my tongue pierced. I went in and the guy had a look at it and told me that I can’t because of an atery and that he can pierce it in a slanted way or risk doing it. The worst he said was that my tongue MAY have this really huge keloid on the tongue and there will be alot of bleeding after I get it done. Now, I’m fine with bleeding. I actually wanted to become a medical examiner so that type of stuff doesn’t scare me. What bothers me is the “may or may not” part. I said I still want it because he wasn’t 100% sure that would happen but he didn’t want to risk it and he didn’t want to deal with alot of blood. Do you think it’s okay to get a tongue piercing even though there’s an artery in the way? Can I still do it slanted? Or should I just forget about the whole thing?
Thank You,
Athena
Firstly, I deeply doubt it is an artery. More likely a vein running down the centre which is relatively common. Veins are visible as blue vessels because they carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. If hit it will cause a bleed-out which is messy and time consuming for the piercer and can cause marked, instantaneous swelling. Also, any movement in the bar can cause it to bleed again. The healing time will also be lengthened because the body has the additional issue of having to control the bleed before it can progress onto the next stage of the healing process. Piercing it at a slight angle will avoid hitting the vessel but it can cause hypertrophic (raised) scarring due to more pressure being put on one side of the piercing. I would accept that this piercing is not for you and opt for something else, afterall, what’s the point in having a piercing if you cannot have it done perfectly.
+14 / 20 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 1 Comment
Thursday July 10th, 2008 @ 3:15 AM
Filed under: Ear
Well, I’ve had my ears at an inch and a quarter for the past year or so, and recently found a new shop that sells larger plugs and whatnot for a good price, aka $60 for a pair of 2″ tunnels.
So it would seem I’m going back to work on these lobes. But how is the best way to go about doing something like that? In the past I’ve just guaged slowly up over time with larger and larger peices since I had access to a workshop and could make my own. Also my ears weren’t so big, and I didn’t have the fear of snapping my lobes… I’ve downgauged a few times, and the flesh is pretty happy, but it’s still a concern. And lastly, what of ear weights, would those do me any good, seems like a pretty gentle way of going about things.
Step One: “Stretched” or “Downsized” not “Gauged” or “Downgauged”. As per Samuel L Jackson a la Pulp Fiction people: “English Mother F***er, Do You Speak It?”
Sorry not trying to piss people off or get them upset or anything, just trying to keep the english language alive and well. Instead of it spiraling down into Idiocracy.
But back to the questions at hand…Actually the issue with ear weights is that they concentrate the stretch in one specific area of the lobe tissue. This can make an irregular shape of your lobes and even thin the one portion out.
As for getting up to the 2″ you mentioned, you’ll need to start the stretching process all over again. Starting off wearing whatever jewelry fits comfortably and snug, then soon as that relaxes and becomes uniformed, slide the next size in. Do not force the stretch, the stretch should occur naturally. Continue doing so from the size you are at now, until you get to whatever goal size you may have.
And please remember patience is a virtue so don’t rush this. Take your time and be careful and stretch properly and you’ll have happy and healthy large sized lobes.
+12 / 30 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Thursday July 10th, 2008 @ 3:11 AM
Filed under: Ear
OK, For awhile now I’ve been streching my ears. When I went to the studio I frequent, they would quickly shove the taper through my ear and send me on my way.
My question is, is this the right way to do it? After I started streching my own ear, I did it slowly and paid attention to what my ear was telling me (if it hurt, I’d stop). Doesn’t shoving a taper through your ear run the risk of tearing it?
CAN HAZ SERCH FUNKSHUN 4 STRETCHIN PLZ KTHNXBI!
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+8 / 28 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 1 Comment
Thursday July 10th, 2008 @ 2:50 AM
Filed under: Ear
I know with dermal punching cartilage, you have to look out for veins. But when it comes to dermal punching conches at slightly larger sizes like 2g or 0g, I don’t see how you can really avoid going through SOME veins. Is it really that bad to punch through veins? I read a few horror stories on here that talk about how peoples cartilage wouldn’t stop bleeding because larger veins were punched through. On both of my ears there is a medium sized vein, and a few smaller ones, and I don’t think there is anyway to avoid them. Would punching/ immediately stretching up minimize bleeding if it were to go through some veins?
Punching and immediately stretching would only solve the problem at that specific moment in time. Later when you went home to sleep or just sit around, it would/will begin to bleed again and if capillary veins were severed you could end up losing a fair bit of blood.
This of course is a serious health concern, having personally had a procedure done before where I lost a fair bit of blood over night.
Some artists have dabbled with the idea of using a cautery pen to cauterize the spots where the capillary veins are to completely seal them off. But that can still lead to blood loss should that cauterized area crack and begin to bleed again. Not only that but your bordering on practicing medicine without a license when you do the cauterizing of blood vessels,etc.
This is why, personally, these types of “extreme” modifications should not be taken lightly and just done on anyone and everyone. They should be within arms/phones reach at least for a week to assist in any situations the client may have.
From my personally/professional standpoint I tend to analyze the ear cartilage first to determine where the capillary veins are, along with the shape of the cartilage. Sometimes a 2ga-0ga,etc simply is just too big and will distort/compromise the shape of the ear. When it comes to cartilage punches I’ll punch and stretch a half size just out of routine. Before I do the procedure though I will path out exactly WHERE all the capillary veins are and do my best to miss the majority of them.
So instead of clients having wild eyed dreams of “OMG I WANT 0GA HELIX PUNCH!” instead they should just walk into a studio and go: “Alright what is the LARGEST size you can punch without hitting any capillary veins.” Though if you want the larger size no matter what, then you just have to suck it up and pay your rock’n'roll dues and accept the risk of perhaps losing quite a lot of blood.
+5 / 13 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday July 9th, 2008 @ 5:47 PM
I’ve had a PA for about 4 years now and I love it. I’ve tried a few different jewelry styles and stretched it to a 6ga curved barbell. My major complaint with the piercing is that it tends to build up with crusty dried fluids that never quite come off. I have taken to peeing sitting down and using tissue to wipe it clean. Even with this effort I take it out and clean it once a week or so. (I use a spare toothbrush, hot water and soap/toothpaste). Even with the regular cleanings all the jewelery I wear gets gross after a few months. Also, I’m afraid it tastes terrible to my lady friend.
Are there any secrets to getting the dried fluids off and keeping the jewelry clean over a longer time period?
Buy a cheap jewelry ultrasonic and drop it in there while you shower. 20 bucks and a few minutes a day and your wang will taste fresh as ever.
+13 / 15 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday July 9th, 2008 @ 3:19 PM
Filed under: Ear
Out of curiosity I was just wondering if switching from a normal scaffold bar to two separate barbells could cause any migration of the separate piercings? (due to the angle of the piercing or something along those lines). I know 14g rarely migrates much at all….but hey crazier things have happened 
If an industrial migrates, it is because it was pierced at an incorrect angle. In most cases it is the alignment of the 2 holes that causes migration. Individual barbells would alleviate this. In the case you mention, it seems as if you have a healthy normal industrial, so assuming the switch itself is smooth nand you use quality internally threaded jewelry it should definitely not cause any migration.
+2 / 4 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday July 9th, 2008 @ 12:37 AM
Filed under: Ear
I’ve heard all over that acrylic plugs and eyelets are terrible for you. I recently ordered a set of tapers that were stainless steal and came with a free set of acrylics. What are the pros and cons of acrylic plugs/tunnels? I’ve googled all I could think of to try and find answers and came up with nothing.
You’re joking right?
http://ask.bmezine.com/index.php?s=Acrylic
AskBME.com people its got the electrolytes answers humans crave.
-7 / 17 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Tuesday July 8th, 2008 @ 10:10 PM
Filed under: Nipple
I’ve had my nipples pierced for about 8 years now and am six months pregnant (due Oct ‘08). I plan on breastfeeding for at least a year. So far I haven’t actually talked to anyone who has breastfed after having their nipples pierced. I don’t know if I’m asking the wrong people or what but I’ve talked to more than a few piercers, plus a lactation consultant, and gotten responses like, “Er, I guess you should take them out when they start to bug you?” and, “This should be interesting! I wonder which way your milk is going to squirt?”
I know it can be done. I’ve heard you should take the piercings out (although I’d be interested to know if anyone left them in and how it went). What I’m looking for is practical advice as to how far in advance I should take them out and if there are any potential problems I should be aware of, things like that.
Perhaps Lori will be able to provide us her insight in this, after having just gone through her pregnancy.
Realistically you will not want to keep your piercings in while breastfeeding so you’ll have to remove them when you breastfeed your child. As it will be just a lot easier on the child breastfeeding, and not having to suck on two metal barbells. Also the barbells can be viewed as a choking hazard should one of the beads loosen and come off.
Now some women are able to remove their jewelry, breastfeed, then slide the jewelry back in without any complications. While other women when they do this, their nipples are more sensitive and hurt when trying to slide the jewelry in. Heck some women aren’t even able to maintain their nipple piercings during the pregnancy because they begin to be sore/hurt.
So your best bet is to remove the jewelry a few minutes before breastfeeding, then re-insert a few minutes after breastfeeding. Now if that just becomes too much of a bother, you can just remove the jewelry, as I know some women who have gone that route.
+9 / 13 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments
