What is Ear Funk?

We know it smells, but why does it smell?  What is ear funk and how can we deal with it?

It’s a lot like ear wax, only grosser.  By stretching your ears and keeping them gauged you are creating the perfect environment for bacteria.  It is warm and moist, and there’s really nothing you can do about that.  The environment alone doesn’t cause the stink, but it certainly doesn’t help either.  The majority of your ear funk is actually dead skin cells.  There is also some dirt and other odds and ends that could possibly accumulate in them, but the majority is all dead skin cells.

If you remember back to high school health class, you may recall that you are constantly shedding skin cells.  They are microscopic and hundreds fly off with just the wave of your hand.  This is no different around your piercing jewelry.  The only difference is that the jewelry is keeping those cells from falling anywhere, instead they build up gradually into a paste like funk.  That moist paste of dead skin cells continues to decay due to the warm moist environment your jewelry creates.  That decay is the smell you get from your piercings.

Sexy, isn’t it?

How Do I Control The Funk?

There is absolutely no way to prevent your stretched piercings from collecting funk.  The shedding of old skin is a process that you can’t and don’t want to mess with.  The only solution is control.

It takes a while for enough dead skin cells to accumulate and start to produce a smell.  This isn’t a long time, but if you were to clean your jewelry and piercing once a week, the smell should be very minimal.  Each cleaning should give you at least 3-4 days of fresh and clean before any kind of smell creeps in.

When cleaning be sure to clean both the jewelry and the piercing thoroughly, they are equally important.  You want the jewelry to look just as clean as the day you bought it when you put it back in.  Anything you leave on it will just start to break down immediately, which is counterproductive to your goal of fresh and clean piercings.  You must be sure to clean the actual piercing as well.  This is probably the hardest of the two.  Be sure to clean both the inside and outside of the piercing.  Regular old soap and water do well for this.  I like to use paper towels or toilet tissue for this, so i can get rid of the funk right away.  A good general rule when choosing a product to clean your piercing is…  “If it works well on the rest of your skin, it should be no problem to clean your piercing with it”.

The longer you wait between cleaning your piercings, the worse the smell is going to get.  There is no magic spray to eliminate the problem.  You’re going to need to do all the work yourself.

This seems to be an increasing trend over the years, with more people utilizing multiple body modification techniques to get their desired results.  To some people these looks may be a bit extreme, but to the individuals breaking new ground, it is a way of life.

Extreme Transformation

Some individuals have chosen to use various body modifications to change their entire appearance.

Some of the more notable people to undergo massive body modification include; “The Lizardman” Erik Sprague, who has tattooed his entire face, chiseled his teeth, split his tongue and placed implants in his face to resemble a lizard and  “Cat Man” Dennis Avner has tattooed his face, split his upper lip, undergone extensive facial surgery, filed his teeth and implanted whiskers to resemble a tiger.

This kind of modification doesn’t happen over night. Both of these guys have devoted many years of their life, and continue to devote time, to achieving their ultimate transformation.

Tattoos Go With Everything

Lately there has been an increased trend in accenting tattoos with various other styles of body modification.  Some prefer to accent their tattoo and give it a 3D look, while others place a microdermal implant strategically to accent a tattoo.

Not surprisingly, tattoos go with everything.  I have seen plenty of combined body modifications centered around a tattoo.  Weather it be a 3D tattoo using saline implants or you want or to accent those pretty flowers with a diamond stud microdermal, tattoos just go well with everything.

Do You Want To Break New Ground?

Do you have what it takes to brave new grounds and take the body modification world to the next level? These days, your possibilities are only limited by your own imagination.

Just think, you could forge ahead for the benefit of mankind while your mom wonders what she gave birth to.

Dennis Rodman Shows Off His Tattoos

A woman is picked up by Dennis Rodman in a bar. They like each other and she goes back with him to his hotel room. He removes his shirt revealing all his tattoos and she sees that on his arm is one which reads, “Reebok.” She thinks that is a bit odd and asks him about it.

Dennis says, “When I play basketball, the cameras pick up the tattoo and Reebok pays me for advertisement.” A bit later, his pants are off and she sees “Puma” tattooed on his leg. He gives the same explanation for the unusual tattoo. Finally, the underwear comes off and she sees the word “AIDS” tattooed on his penis. She jumps back with shock.

“I’m not going to do it with a guy who has AIDS!”

He says, “It’s cool baby. In a minute it’s going to say
‘ADIDAS’…

Accountant Gets A Tattoo

Tom gets home late one night and his wife, Lisa, says, “Where in the hell have you been?”

Tom replies, “I was out getting a tattoo.”

“A tattoo?” she frowned. “What kind of tattoo did you get?”

“I got a hundred dollar bill on my privates,” he said proudly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she said, shaking her head in disdain. “Why on earth would an accountant get a hundred Dollar bill tattooed on his privates?”

“Well, one, I like to watch my money grow… Two, once in a while I like to play with my money… Three, I like how money feels in my hand… And, lastly, instead of you going out shopping, you can stay right here at home and blow a hundred bucks anytime you want.”

Holiday Tattoos

A soccer mom walked into a tattoo parlor and asked for 2 tattoos. She wanted a Christmas tree on her left thigh and a turkey on the right thigh.

When they were done the artist asked why she wanted these tattoos. She replied ” My husband always complains that there’s nothing to eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Girl Gets Her Butt Tattooed

There once was a service man who toured the Middle East and married a beautiful little China doll. He brought her back to the States and they were very happy.

He always enjoyed looking at her rear end and telling her what a beautiful butt she had. Every day it was, “Darling I love you and what a beautiful butt you have.” Every night it was, “Darling I love you and what a beautiful butt you have.”

Well his birthday was getting close and she wanted to surprise him with a tattoo on her rear end that said, “Beautiful Butt.”

So she finds a reputable tattoo artist and explains what she wants. Well the artist asks her to turn around and after a brief pause says, “There is no way I can get “Beautiful Butt” on your tiny little beautiful butt.” But I can put a nice “B” on each cheek which will stand for “Beautiful Butt.”

A bit disappointed, she agrees and leaves with her B’s.

Well the big day arrives and after a candle light dinner, gifts, and a sip of brandy, she appears in the bedroom in her birthday suit, turns around and bends over.

Quickly sitting up he exclaims, “Darling I love you, but who is BoB?”

Tattooed Girl Walks Into ER

A nurse from England was on duty in the emergency department, when a punk rocker entered.

This young woman had purple hair styled into a mohawk, a variety of tattoos and strange clothing.

It was determined that the patient had acute appendicitis and was scheduled for immediate surgery.

When she was completely disrobed on the operating table, the staff found that her pubic hair had been dyed green and above it was a tattoo reading: ‘keep off the grass.’

After the prep and the surgery, the surgeon added a small note to the dressing which said: “Sorry, had to mow the lawn.”

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Do you have a joke not on the list?  Add it to the comments section below so we can all have a good laugh.

In this article I will try to stress why you should never “play” with your piercings.  Nothing good comes from constant movement of the jewelry and failure to leave your piercings alone can cause nasty scars and complications.

By constantly moving a piercing, weather it’s healed or not is counterproductive to the healing process.  Jewelry should not be moved while healing and the more you irritate the surrounding skin the easier it is for infection to creep up on you.  In the same aspect jewelry should never be changed before the healing process is complete and when replacing jewelry the process should be completed as quickly as possible to avoid closure of the hole which can happen rapidly.

In the event that you don’t take my advice and insist on playing with your new piercing.  When your piercing starts to become irritated or infected you will need to either treat the affected piercing or remove it.

From The Association Of Professional Piercers

What is Normal?

• Discoloration
  • Can be reddish, brownish, pinkish, or purplish
  • Can remain for many months with certain piercings, such as navels
• Swelling/Induration
  • Localized
  • May be significant with oral piercings such as the lip or tongue, and may last several days immediately following the initial piercing
• Excretion
  • Exudate of plasma, dead cells, etc.
  • Should not be copious in quantity, malodorous, or green
  • Will form a small amount of crystalline-appearing cruston the jewelry at the openings of the piercing

Things to consider when treating a troubled piercing or considering jewelry removal from a piercing:

The majority of troublesome piercings can be resolved without the piercing being lost.

• Advice to simply “take it out” is likely to be met with resistance from the piercee, and if infected can lead to the formation of an abscess (see below)
• Changes in aftercare and/or jewelry size, style or material may resolve the problems for the piercee/patient
• Inappropriate placement can also be the cause of problems. In this case removal is often required, and if done timely will prevent further problems
• Even momentary removal of jewelry from a healing piercing can result in amazingly rapid closure of the piercing, and make reinsertion difficult or impossible

Infected Piercing:

• Problem: Piercing has been contaminated by pathogenic microorganism(s)
• Causes:
  • Most Common: Piercee has touched piercing with dirty hands or otherwise contaminated piercing (exposure to bodily fluids, dirty water, etc.)
  • Piercing done with inappropriately sterilized tools, needles, jewelry
  • Piercing done with unclean, ungloved, and/or contaminated gloved hands
• Indicators:
  • Piercing exudes thick, green, malodorous pus
  • Piercing and surrounding area is warm/hot to the touch (more so than other skin)
  • Piercing site is swollen, red, and painful
• Treatment:
  • Increased mild sea salt soaks (for minor infections)
  • Oral/topical antibiotics, as prescribed by a physician
  • Removal of jewelry in the presence of an infection may result in an abscess. In the event there is a localized, draining infection, quality jewelry should be left in place to allow for passage of matter to the surface
• Complications:
  • Abscesses are usually site specific. An exception is the chest where the duct system can result in the abscess being formed inches away from the piercing site

Many complications from a piercing can easily be avoided by leaving the piercing alone. Don’t cause undue trauma to your body by using your piercing as a time killer. Not only will you make your new piercing look like hell, you are running the risk of further permanent complications.

In these trying times it’s a welcome sight to find a publication offering relevant content for free.  If you want to keep yourself current on the latest trends in tattoos and piercings then you need some Prick.  Don’t let the price fool you, Prick is on the same level as other top tattoo magazines that are not free.  Every month new issues are published featuring top tattoo artists, convention reviews, celebrity interviews and anything tattoo or body piercing related.

You don’t need to wait for your Prick.  Every single issue of Prick magazine is available online in PDF format for immediate download.

You can also get the magazine sent directly to your doorstep.  The magazine is free but sadly the postage is not.

Go Ahead, Get Your Prick On!

In hopes to broaden my own knowledge as well as providing even more relevant content here at Pounded Ink, I have added a forum to the site.

The forum contains several sections to discuss any form of body modification. There is even sections where you can upload pictures of your own modifications for the world to see.

Registration is free and only requires confirmation of your e-mail address to activate, so you can start posting right away.

In time I hope to build a strong helpful community devoted to every aspect of body modification. No procedure is too extreme to talk about.

What are you waiting for? Click here to see what all the fuss is about.. Stop by, say hello, and tell the world what you think. The more the merrier. See you on the forum!

The name “hip piercing” is kind of misleading as the piercing is not really on your hips but instead place on your stomach just above your hips. Typically surface barbells are used for hip piercings but tygon jewelry has also been known to be used during the healing process to reduce stress.

A hip piercing is, of course, a surface piercing and careful consideration should be given to any surface piercing. Surface piercings have a high rate of rejection and the slightest trauma can start the rejection process at any time, even years after the piercing has healed.  I could ramble on and elaborate more on surface piercings, but I already wrote a detailed article on surface piercings.

For More Information On Surface Piercings Click Here

Hip piercings have historically been an EMO fad but in later years this piercing is becoming popular among many cliques.

I managed to find a video on YouTube with a pretty detailed account of a hip piercing, enjoy.

Types Of Jewelry Used

An anti-eyebrow piercing is of course a surface piercing so the best method is to use a surface barbel although I have seen anti-eyebrow piercings successfully healed with just standard curved barbels.

Is It Safe?

Anti-eyebrow piercings are just as safe as any other piercing as long as they are performed by a qualified piercer and the proper care steps are taken to heal the piercing.  You must be aware that surface piercings are one of the most difficult types of piercings to heal and are very prone to migration or rejection.

If you start to notice your anti-eyebrow piercing growing out or showing signs of rejection it is in your best interest to take it out immediately to avoid nasty life-long scars.

As with most surface piercings, I don’t know many people who have managed to keep an anti-eyebrow piercing intact without incident for longer then a year or two, with most showing signs of migration or rejection after only a few months.

The Bottom Line

Anti-eyebrow piercings are cool and will instantly grab attention of the average passer by.  If you get one it is likely that you will end up removing it to avoid associated problems, but you also run that risk with any body piercing.

Perceptions Pierced – Body Art Carries Less Stigma According To Local Expert

Body art has become so popular in the past few years that it is hard to go anywhere or watch anything on TV and in the movies, without seeing someone with a piercing or tattoo.

Nostril, ear and belly button piercings are by far the most popular, observed John “Tucci” Santucci, of Sunbury, the piercing expert at Totem Tattoo in Shamokin Dam.

“I think people would be surprised by the wide range of customers here in Shamokin Dam,” he observed.  “We’ve had a 15-year-old and a 35-year-old mother, both here to have their nostrils pierced.  I’ve even had a 70-year-old come in and get her nostril done.”

When young people come in, they generally want their nostrils pierced or their belly buttons.  “That’s how they start,” he said.

Tucci added that at Totem Tattoo, they don’t pierce anyone under the age of 18 without parental consent.  The shop also has branches in WIlliamsport and Bloomsburg.

Tucci has been piercing in Shamokin Dam for two years.  Before that, he apprenticed under “Miss Ruth”, Totem Tattoo’s owner, learning the intricacies of the art and human anatomy; what body parts to pierce and what not to pierce.

“I first came here as a customer, getting pierced about once a month,” he recalled.  “Then one day, I took a chance and wondered if I could learn how to pierce others.”

Piercing seems much more acceptable these days than in the past.

“I don’t think their is a stigma attached anymore to people who pierce.” Tucci said.  “Personally, I don’t really look at how other poeple view me.  I just enjoy getting pierced.  I have big holes in my ears, and people stare and comment on that.  But they don’t treat me like a freak.  They are curious about how long it took to get my earlobes as big and stretched as they are.” It took months.

Laughing, Tucci said, “Some people think you can just take a hole punch to your ear.”

Which brings up the whole issue of safety.

“If needles, tubes, and other work materials are propperly sterelized or new, tattooing is almost 100 percent safe for the customer and the artist,” he said.  HIV, AIDS, and Hepetitis C are some of the disease types associated with unclean piercing procedures.

Why do people pierce?  “It’s a quick way to change your body,” Tucci said.

Most are done in one sitting, “but  depending on what is pierced like an ear lobe, it could be a long process,” Tucci said.  “You can pierce your belly button in one day, but it takes months to heal up.”

“Piercing is safe,” Tucci reiterated.  “But I want people to realize that they have to do some research on where they are getting pierced.  While there are people who do it in a safe environment, there are places you can go where the equipment might not be sterilized.  Where equipment might be laying out on a table.  Some people work out of their house.”

“You wouldn’t go into someones kitchen to get dental work done,” he said. “So why should you do that when getting a piercing done?  You want to know clean instruments are being used.”

And never be afraid to ask questions.  Knowlegeable practitioners should be able to anser them for you.

Reprinted from The Daily Item, Sunday January 25th 2009.  Article written by Rick Dandes

First you’ll need to understand the difference between migration and rejection as they are not the same thing.

Piercing Migration – The permanent movement of a piercing from its original position.
Piercing Rejection – The body’s natural process of removing a foreign object causing tissue damage as the body slowly pushes the object toward the surface of the skin.

What Causes A Piercing To Migrate?

There are several different things that can cause a piercing to migrate.  A common form of migration is referred to as the “cheesecutter effect”.  You will see this in elderly women who have had pierced ears all their lives and now instead of a small hole, they have a long cut shaped piercing from years of pressure on the small opening caused by gravity.  To avoid the cheesecutter effect yourself you should wear modern piercing jewelry, which is much more balanced then traditional jewelry and even stretch your ears if you have to.  Larger gauge piercings tend not to migrate as much as those with smaller jewelry.

Pressure is also a very common cause of piercing migration especially common in tongue and navel piercings.  The constant pressure and position of the jewelry from the mouth or a tight shirt can cause a piercing to migrate.  Be sure to keep all your piercings from being exposed to constant pressure.  Your skin is quite flexible and jewelry can migrate before you know it.

Be sure to use the proper jewelry for the correct piercing.  Improper jewelry selection can cause a piercing to migrate and never return to its natural placement.  Be especially selective of eyebrow and navel rings as improperly used jewelry can cause them to grow out starting from the outside moving inward.

Can Piercing Migration Be Reversed?

If your piercing has migrated there is almost no chance of manipulating it back into its original position.  If the piercing has migrated to the point you are unhappy with its location or it starts causing discomfort you may have to remove the jewelry and re-pierce it.

Why Does Your Body Reject A Piercing?

Rejection is your body’s way of removing something it deems harmful from the system.  More often then not this is caused by the material being inserted into the body.  Some people have very sensitive systems that will not accept a certain type of metal.

Certain piercings have a much higher rate of rejection then others.  Among the most rejected piercing are surface piercings which can be very sensitive to pressure.

Impact can be a major factor in a healed piercing starting the rejection process without warning.  Sudden trauma to the pierced area can cause the body to view your healed piercing as a new wound and try to push out the jewelry just like it would a splinter.

Can Rejection Be Stopped?

Sometimes piercing rejection can be stopped with TLC and plenty of attention, other times you will need to remove the jewelry and let the area heal before attempting to pierce it again.