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.

How Surface Anchors Work

To understand how a surface anchor works you must first look at the shape. All surface anchors have the same basic elements.

The holes at the base of the jewelery provide space for tissue growth through the holes, better securing the surface anchor. Yes, your skin will grow through the holes, so surface anchors are permanent.

All microdermals will have a shaft that stick up above the skin. This shaft is where the bead or jewelry head is screwed on. The skin around this shaft usually heals just as though it were a normal piercing.

Microdermal Piercing And Insertion Process

Microdermals are much less involved then an implant procedure and require no special tools other then a dermal punch (needle) and a taper.

The skin is pinched and the dermal punch is inserted at an angle. The punch is removed and the foot of the jewelery is inserted in the hole. Then with some finesse the piercer will separate the skin as needed with the jewelery and pop the heel of the jewelery into place beneath the skin.

The result is a small post sticking out of the skin in which a bead or other accessories can be screwed in.

Performed by a trained professional this is actually a pretty quick and easy procedure.

What Is Body Suspension?

Body suspension is the act of suspending the human body via temporary piercings made just before the suspension process. The body is then raised either partially or completely from the ground by these hooks.

The hooks are typically fishing hooks that have been modified to suit the needs of suspension by removing the barbs and possible reshaping. The rigging used to suspend the person is nylon high tensile rope similar to what mountain climbers use. This rigging is then attached to a pulley system to raise and lower the suspended person.

Types Of Body Suspension

There are several common types of body suspensions.

Chest (O-Kee-Pa) – Vertical Chest Suspension; Two hooks are placed in the chest and the body is suspended vertically.
Coma – Horizontal Face Up; Hooks are placed in the chest, abdomen, arms, and/or legs and the body is suspended horizontally.
Crucifix – Vertical Back And Arm Suspension – Hooks are placed in the back and the arms so that the suspended person appears to be hanging on a cross, with his or her arms held straight out to the side.
Resurrection – Horizontal Face Up; Hooks are placed in two rows on the stomach. Suspension gives the impression of rising from death as the suspended is all curved back.
Suicide - Vertical Back Suspension; Hooks are placed in the upper back and the body is suspended vertically.
Superman - Horizontal Face Down; Hooks are placed in the back, arms, and/or legs and the body is suspended horizontally.

Reasons For Body Suspension

Why would someone want to pierce their skin and be raised from the ground? The reasons are as diverse as the people who participate in body suspension.

Some use suspension as a form of meditation to gain a higher level of spiritual awareness. Others use the process of body suspension to mark a significant event or a turning point in their life.

I imagine the most common reason to participate in body suspensions is that they just plain like it.

Things To Consider

Body suspension requires experience and a team of people to perform safely. You should never attempt body suspension by yourself as you risk serious injury or even going into shock with no means of help.

A lot of things must be considered when attempting a body suspension. It takes care and experience to determine the proper number of hooks needed to suspend the full weight of the human body. Careful consideration must also be paid to placement to ensure the tissue will hold the weight of the suspended person. If too few, or poorly placed, hooks are used they will simply rip out of the skin causing serious tissue damage.

If you would like to know more about body suspension check out BME’s FAQ.

What Is A Surface Piercing?

Surface piercings are any body piercings that take place on the surface of the body through areas which are not particularly concave or convex, where the piercing canal transverses a surface flap of skin, rather than running completely through a piece of body tissue from one side to another. A surface bar follows the plane of skin, while a standard piercing is pierced through the plane.

Basically this is any piercing that enters and exits the skin on the same side of the body.

Rejection

Surface piercings have the highest rate of rejections out of all other other piercings. Your body sees the jewelry as a foreign object and slowly pushes it out of your skin as it would a splinter. These piercings slowly migrate to the surface of the skin where they eventually get so close to the surface that they rip out leaving a permanent scar. Few surface piercings last more then a few months, although you can maximize your chances of healing several different ways.

To understand why surface piercings fail you must first understand how the body heals itself. Your body views any piercing as a foreign object trying to penetrate its defenses. This happens as soon as the cells surrounding the object get disrupted from their natural life process. Healing a surface piercing is actually just freezing the natural rejection process of your body.

Surface piercings will start to grow out, or reject, from the outer edges slowly in towards the center of the jewelry. Key signs of rejection are redness, swelling, tenderness, and gooey discharge.

Keep in mind that even after years of a surface piercing appearing to be “healed” a simple bump could start the rejection process right where it left off.

Jewelry Types

Surface piercings must be done with the proper jewelry. Never use a straight barbel for this type of piercing as your body will almost instantly reject it. There are specialized types of jewlery specifically for surface piercings.

Surface piercings should only be done with “surface bars”. Surface bars are staple shaped barbels that almost completely eliminate up-pressure on your skin, one of the main causes of rejection. This jewelry can also minimize motion to the piercing which is the second leading cause of rejection.

If the piercing shop you goto does not carry surface bars you do not want them to pierce you. There is absolutely no reason to get a piercing if your body is going to reject it right away eventually leaving a scar.

Long Term Care

Surface piercings are not a “get it and forget it body mod”. Since a healed surface piercing can almost instantly start the rejection process at any time if there is any trauma to the pierced area. This can be caused by something as simple as a bump against a table.

You don’t want to get a surface piercing somewhere that is high motion and will inevitably put undo stress on the piercing. Areas like this include, but are not limited to, the breastplate, wrist, forearms, and legs.

I Still Want A Surface Piercing

If you insist on getting a surface piercing you must do your homework. This is not a procedure for an inexperience piercer. Make sure the shop carries surface bars in stock and take a look at their sample books. If they don’t have sample pictures, or you don’t like what you see, get out of there fast and find a real piercing shop capable of this operation.