body piercing

Let me just start off with why I stretched my ears. I wish I could say that the reason I started stretching was because I felt I needed stretched ears to enhance my appearance and complete my body, but honestly I just saw some people with them and thought they looked pretty cool and thought I would do it to be a bit different from my friends. It was not until very recently that I started becoming more and more interested in the whole body modification culture and really started to understand the whole concept. I can gladly say that I have become obsessed with the art form that is body modification and am looking forward to modifying my body more in the future now that I fully understand what it's all about.

My whole stretching experience started just after I turned 18. My parents weren't too keen on me getting any piercings at all so I thought I would wait until I was 18 so I could at least argue that I was old enough to make my own decisions on that kind of thing.

It took me a week or so to build up the courage to go down to my local piercing salon and get my ears pierced, but with some encouragement from a friend I finally did it. I got both ears pierced at the same time, with piercing guns (which probably wasn't the best way to do it but I'll get to that later). It didn't hurt at all other than a very slight throbbing sensation for a few minutes afterwards.

I left the original jewellery in for about a month or so and sprayed the piercings daily with anti-infectant spray. I didn't have any problems at all and the piercings healed up nicely.

When I was convinced they we're completely healed, I decided it was time to start stretching. The first stretch I did was to about 2mm (I'm not sure what gauge that is sorry!), using steel, crescent shaped tapers. No problems there at all, it just went right in. It didn't hurt but I could feel the pressure in my ear lobe but after an hour or two it was all normal again (this was about a year and a half ago so I'm trying to remember roughly how long this sort of thing lasted).

I continued to stretch roughly once a month, going up 1-2mm each time using various steel tapers. I found that the next few stretches started to hurt a bit even though I was only stretching up by 1-2mm, but the pain was certainly bearable, if not strangely enjoyable. I found that the steel tapers felt really nice when they went in, especially if I sprayed some anti-infectant on them before inserting (this helped them slide in nice and smoothly and I assume also helped to stop infection).

After a few months I was at 6mm and was really starting to like how my ears were looking. I decided to stop stretching for a while, mainly because I was still in high school and a fairly conservative one at that and I don't think the teachers would have been too happy if I went any bigger at that point. I wore steel crescent tapers in my ears for the remainder of school (3-4 months I think). One of the things I liked most about the steel jewellery is the fact that it had a bit of weight to it and when I shook my head I could feel them wobbling around (a feeling which I am still in love with today).

When I finished school, I was keen to start stretching again. This is when things started going a tiny bit wrong. Nothing too bad though, but as you will read there was some things I did that I definitely should not have done.

First of all, I didn't have much money at the time so I was a little hesitant to buy proper tapers. I did some research on the internet to try and find things that I could possibly make some tapers out of and save a bit of money. I read about some people that had cut the ends off knitting needles and used those as tapers and I thought that seemed like a pretty good idea so I gave it a shot.

It started out well, they went in fine and everything but after 3 or 4 days I realised that my ears weren't showing any signs of healing (normally they would show some sort of improvement after a couple of days).

I decided to take the home-made tapers out to see if my ears looked infected or anything and that's when I realised that the plastic had actually expanded from the moisture of my ear and my skin had sort of fused to the plastic.

There was a bit of blood when I took them out and this is when I decided that it was probably worth the money to buy proper jewellery in the future.

I went up to the nearest piercing shop straight and bought some proper tapers. Although they were acrylic instead of the usual steel (acrylic tapers were cheaper) I figured they would be okay since they were actually made for stretching ears rather than knitting jumpers. Turns out they were fine and my ears eventually healed up again after a couple of weeks.

The next few stretches went by without any real problems, just a little bit of blood sometimes when I would take them out to clean them. At this point I was using a set of acrylic tapers that I borrowed off a friend that went up in 2mm intervals. I'm not sure exactly how long I left between each stretch but I think it was about 2-4weeks, depending on how quickly they healed <a href="http://piercingmap.com/ear-piercing-c162/">ear body piercing</a>. I probably should have waited a little longer between each stretch just to make sure but I think it was okay. Some people can stretch quicker than others.

It was during this stage (between about 14mm-18mm) that I started to realise that my lobes were un-even. I figured out that this was because when I originally got my ears pierced, one hole was slightly lower than the other, leaving less lobe to stretch with. This is why you should get your ears pierced with a needle and really make sure that the placing is as even as possible. It was at this stage that I started massaging my right ear with Jojoba oil for about 15 minutes every day. I had read on the internet that this helps thicken up the skin and I thought it might help even out my lobes a bit.

Turns out it didn't work, but it did seem to make my skin feel a bit softer and healthier.

I highly recommend daily Jojoba massages purely for the sake of keeping your ears healthy. If they are a bit dry and cracked, Jojoba oil should fix them right up.

From 18mm to where I am now at 30, I have stopped using tapers. I found that I can just put the next size in without too much difficulty providing I leave a month or 2 between each size for my ears to loosen up a tiny bit.

There was one occasion when I went from 23mm to 25mm using a double flared plug. Not a good idea! First of all, it was harder to get in, and then once I eventually did get it in, I couldn't get it out at all for a few days due to swelling.

When it had eventually healed, after a week or two, I realised I had suffered a slight blowout. I wasn't too worried because it wasn't that bad but I was wondering if I would be able to fix it or not.

I got a pair of screw-on steel tunnels and wore them for a few days and realised that they had actually fixed my blowout. I guess it was the fact that the tunnels had "walls" that held the lobe in place and sort of forced it back into shape. I think that the Jojoba massaging helped a bit too so if you ever suffer a blow-out, give that a shot.

Now, to get from 25mm to 30mm I used a slightly different method from what I had been using before. I used the method of taping, where you wrap tape around a plug and gradually make it bigger and bigger until it's the same size as the next plug you want to put in.

I did this fairly quickly and probably put on about 2-3 layers of electrical tape every couple of days effectively stretching my ears but without the stress of going up more than 1mm every few days, and got to 30mm within 2 weeks. I wish I had used the taping method earlier because it didn't hurt at all or cause any discomfort apart from a slight bit of pressure for a couple of hours after putting in a freshly wrapped plug.

I have been at 30mm for 3-4 months now and don't plan on going any bigger yet, but I think I might like to in the future. One thing is for sure though. If I do go any bigger I am going to downsize my right ear back to 20mm for a while and leave it for a month or so, then stretch it back up to see if that will thicken the skin up and even out my lobes.

I fear that if I stretch it without doing that first, it might get a little bit too thin and will be at risk of breaking.

I would just like to say that my experience was MY experience and that my methods and techniques are not necessarily the best way to do things. Things that worked for me might not work for someone else. Do not stretch your ears unless you have done your research and know what you're doing. A little bit of research can prevent mistakes and should lead to a safer, more enjoyable experience.

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I know I don't need to explain to anyone on here about how much I've always loved the look of piercings. I wouldn't say I have any truly outrageous piercings (I have to keep it restricted to places like my ears and other areas that I can cover up as I work in a conservative office and facial piercings of any kind would most likely get me fired.) Because of this, I have stuck to decorating my ears with piercings.

Back in February I had my industrial done. I knew I would want to then try and balance my ears out as going from having just a few piercings to having a bar on one side made it seem like the left side was too heavy. I knew exactly what my next piercing would be as well—my tragus.

Now, I go to school in Spokane, WA, but I have never had anything done in Spokane (until this piercing). It's either been done when I would spend a weekend in Seattle or back in my home town in Switzerland. I was pretty hesitant to get anything done in Spokane. I can't really explain why, I just feel like I wouldn't be getting the same quality I would be getting in a large city like Seattle nor would I have the overly anal, sterile environment that I get in Switzerland. I really didn't want to wait though; my industrial was finally healed and I wanted pierced right away. Despite this seeming hasty, it really wasn't. I did my research on various places in the city. One of my good friends had come up to visit his new boyfriend and when I met him, I couldn't help but notice that he was pretty nicely pierced (including having his tragus done.)

I asked him where he had gotten pierced and he told me about Bullet Proof—which is literally 5 minutes away from where I live, so in terms of proximity it was great. He loved it there. He said the guys were affable and clean. As it turned out, he wasn't the only one who had enjoyed it. I was hesitant because my roommate had her tattoo's done there and they were mediocre (something she was really disappointed about.) But, the way I figured it, piercings were different from tats, and this guy kept raving about the place so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I decided I would go in on the weekend. Originally I was planning on going alone but this girl in my complex had mentioned how she wanted her rook done and asked if she could come along. Then my roommate wanted to come along since she got free touch-ups on her tattoos from Bullet Proof and she wanted the shading fixed, so she came along as well.

This place had a completely different vibe then the two other places I normally go for modifications. It's hard to explain but it felt unprofessional. The guys were nice enough though. I told them what I wanted and was told to sign a release form. My last couple piercings, I've had to fill out paperwork listing my medical history, have I eaten anything, have I had anything alcoholic, etc. This time, it wasn't even a full piece of paper. It wanted my name, birthdate, and ID number. That was that. That was the first thing that seemed strange to me. But, the guys seemed nice enough, and seemed like they had experience with their own numerous tattoos and piercings. So, I still went ahead with it.

Firstly, the guy never gave me his name. I've always had them introduce themselves to me—which I like. It makes me feel more trusting towards the person getting ready to jab a needle through my ear. Secondly, I'm used to what some would call over sterilization when it comes to <a href="http://piercingmap.com/ear-studs-c187/">ear piercing studs</a>. I'm not saying that this wasn't a clean shop, it's just that I didn't see any of this sterilization at work. Everything they used came prepackaged.

Then, they swabbed my ear with alcohol to disinfect the area. I didn't get to see the location or anything, he just sat me down, asked me to tie up my hair, and said, "Take a deep breath. Exhale." And it was done. That was that. He straightened out the CBR and told me congratulations, my tragus looked great. (And to be fair it does look great. I just am used to having approval in every step of the process, having what's going on be talked through to me. And I like knowing how it's done.) It didn't hurt all that badly though. Something I had been told by numerous people who had their tragus's done all said that they felt a horrible pressure and heard an equally horrible crunching sound. I didn't hear or feel any of this. It felt...well, just like a needle punching a hole through my skin, but it wasn't particularly bad in any way shape or form.

Afterwards, my friend went back and got her rook done. While waiting for her, my ear started bleeding. Bleeding fairly badly actually. I was given something to wipe up the blood with and just held it there as we waited for my roommate to have her tats fixed up. When that was done we all paid respectively.

Then came the aftercare instructions. The aftercare they gave me seemed contrary to everything else I've ever been told about piercing aftercare. They told me to wash it with warm water and anti-bacterial soap. I've always been told to use an anti-microbial soap to clean off my piercings as well as twice daily salt water soaks. When I asked about this, they told me that saline soaks dry out the piercing where as the anti-bacterial soap kept it moisturized. I then asked about using the anti-microbial soap versus the anti-bacterial soap. (I've always been told that it's better to use something that says anti-microbial because it gets rid of potentially harmful microbes as well as removing bad bacteria, but lets good bacteria stay.) They told me this was false and to just use the soap.

I said okay to this but am actually using this stuff that I stocked up on when I was home in Switzerland over the summer. It was what I was given to clean my conch when I got that done a couple years ago. It's a puncture wound spray called BepanthenPlus. I don't know how or what it does but it has magical healing powers. My conch healed up quickly with it, and my industrial had a long drawn out healing process, but once I went home and started using that, it healed completely in about a week.

I spray some onto a Q-tip and clean around the jewelry and also will spray it directly on the piercing site itself.

Since this was only a couple days ago, it's still fairly sore, as all new piercings are, and the first night I had it, I must have rolled over on it and caused it to start bleeding again because I woke up with a slightly bloody ear. I haven't had any serious problems yet though, and it does look great. Even though I will probably never get any work done in Spokane again, I do really love my tragus piercing.

For those of you who are considering one, I say go for it. You won't be able to really use headphones or hold the phone to that ear for a while, but it looks great and at least in my case, didn't hurt nearly as badly as some of my other piercings.

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So I'm 15. I've always loved piercings and had wanted a ton of them, but the only problem was my mom. I'd asked her many a time for my eyebrow, nose, or lip done, and the answer was always the ever popular "No". I could get my ears pierced as many times as I wanted, but nothing on my face because "It looks trashy and you don't need holes in your face."

One day I decided I wanted my navel pierced. After a lot of persuasion, she said yes, but she still wasn't too thrilled about the idea. I was pretty much ecstatic, even though I was the one that had to pay for it. I didn't care. I was bored with only piercing my ears. It was my first real piercing besides my ears, which I had pierced 6 times on the left and 4 on the right because that's the only thing my mother would allow me to do. I was never allowed to do anything too out of the norm like dye my hair crazy colors or pierce anything, so her allowing to take me to get my navel pierced was huge. I read a lot of stories and watched a lot of videos on YouTube just to get an idea of the pain level, and it looked pretty painless. But I was still pretty nervous.

I had tried to get a friend to pierce it for my in like 7th grade, but i pussied out. The needle didn't even get half way through. I don't know how I even expected to get the belly ring in, considering we were using a small saftey pin. I don't really recommend that. It won't work.

We went on a Sunday. When we got to the shop, we were greeted by a heavily tattooed and pierced lady behind the counter. We signed all the papers and showed the birth certificates and whatever and payed our $45.It woulda been $25,but I wanted a curved barbell instead of a CBR. While we were waiting, a lady came out of one of the piercing rooms and had gotten her nose pierced...and it was bleeding kind of a lot. That's when I started to realize that i was getting a needle shoved through my skin & began to get the butterflies.

Schubey, the piercer, told me to come back. He was very nice, but I don't think he was much for making conversation. He was very clean. He marked the spots and whatever. He asked me if I liked the placement, and I did. He asked if I wanted to door closed, and I thought that was pretty nice of him. I lied down on the table. I was pretty nervous by that point. He told me to take a deep breath in and then he just pushed it through, and then I had a pretty piece of metal in my belly button. I wasn't really paying attention, but I don't think my mom was watching because she was too disgusted. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 2. It was pretty easy. Afterwards, he gave me a list of what I needed to do to keep it clean so I wouldn't forget. He bent the needle he used and said "This needle will never be used again." I even got a coupon for my next piercing.

During the healing process, I did get a pretty nasty infection, even though i was spraying lanacane on it just like he said. I think it was because I kept touching it. I never dared to tell my mom, in fear that she would make me take it out because she didn't understand that taking is out is a bad thing to do when you get an infected piercing because then it closes up and the infection just gets trapped in there. Once it started to get painful to sit down and developed a blood and puss filled bubble, I just stopped touching it and it went away in like 2 or 3 days.

If you're in town, I would suggest going here because it's very clean and they have 20 years experience between them. Plus, it's pretty cheap, too. I plan on going back soon to get my nose done, because my mom said no to a monroe but said she could tolerate a small stud in my nose. I don't really see the difference between a hole in your nose and a hole in your lip, but whatever. I think she's gotten used to it. I collect belly rings now. I have a ton of them.

So, If you decide to get your bellybutton pierced, be careful not to touch it or fiddle with it too much so it will stay pretty :]

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I had always liked the look of a navel piercing, and I had wanted one for a few years, but there was always a strong answer from my parents when I'd asked, NO! About a month before my 16th birthday, having not asked about the navel in over six months, I brought it up again, using my best persuasion. Surprisingly, they gave in and said I could. I still had to decide where I would go, as I had two friends who had been suggesting two different places. One place only let you have a plain barbel with no jewels or decorations on the end, which I didn't like. The other place let you get a barbel with a crystal on it, which is what I had imagined when I first thought of getting my navel pierced, so I chose that place. It wasn't far away and apparently, from people that I'd talked to, it was very well known.

About a month later, the day after my birthday, my friend, who was also getting hers pierced, her mom, my mom, and I all when to the tattoo and piercing shop: 12 ounce. We needed to give them our birth certificates, school ID's, and our parent's driver's licenses, and then we were ready to go. We waited a little while because the piercer wasn't there yet, so we watched someone get the beginning of their tattoo. We also got to choose the rings we wanted. There was a display case with rings with crystals of every color, and I chose a clear crystal because it was cute and would match everything. The total cost of everything including the jewelry was around $60. Mark, the piercer, eventually arrived and we went into the back room (except my mom because she can't watch that sort of thing).

The room looked clean, and I decided to go first. I stood up and Mark drew the markings on my stomach, and they looked good to me. Then I laid down and he opened the new needle and clamps from a package. He made a few jokes and we all laughed and I eased my fear a little. He even told us that he had pierced countless navels, even blindfolded! He really looked like he knew what he was doing which made me feel a lot better, as that was one of the things navel rings I was most nervous about from the beginning. He wiped my navel with iodine and then put on the clamp. Some say this hurts the worst, but I didn't think it was too painful. He told me to take a deep breath in, and then out, and he pushed the needle through. It was painful, but it was just like a strong pinch that only lasted a second or two. All the while, I was squeezing my friend's mom's hand as my friend videotaped me getting it pierced. Mark pushed the jewelry through, which felt cold, and screwed on the ball. I watched my fr iend get hers too, and then we admired them in the mirrors as Mark told us to clean them twice a day using sea salt wound wash. We got some on the way home, and my navel felt a slight burning sensation, which I am told is normal. Mark also told us not to use any alcohol or peroxide, as it can cause scar tissue. The pain lasted for about an hour, and it was hard to walk quickly because it hurt pretty badly. It tuned into more of a numb pain that was more of an annoyance, but nothing to fear, just the typical soreness from having a needle shoved through your body.

It has been one full day and although that doesn't seem like much time, my navel feels a whole lot better than it did yesterday. Yesterday, it was very sore and I felt a lot of pain if anything touched it at all. Today, I can move it around a lot (although I try not to touch it too much), and it is much easier to clean. To clean it, I take a Q tip and put some of the sea salt wash on it. Then I push the bottom of the ring up, exposing the bar of the ring, rubbing the q tip on it, then I push the top down so the bar sticks out at the bottom, and repeat. This is hard to do on the first day because it is so painful, but on the second day it is very simple. It looks great and I couldn't be happier! It is September now, so I figure by net summer it will be completely healed and I'll be ready to show it off! My only advice is to make sure you go to a very sterile environment and keep up with the cleaning!

I've wanted my eyebrow pierced for a few years now. With my eyes being my favorite part of my face, I figured it would accent my face and I would love it. My parents weren't thrilled; they agreed to a tattoo for my 17th birthday but piercings were strictly out of the picture. (My mom is convinced that an infected piercing will kill me, which is an adequate fear but regardless, I know what I want) A few months after my birthday, I persuaded them to let me get my nose pierced with my best friend, but still the eyebrow was "too much". My mom was convinced it would take over my face (I have very delicate features).

Friday, I was fired from my job due to a completely ridiculous reason. My parents had asked me to call in on Thursday because my father was sick; my boss got pissy and fired me. The end. Anyway, I had been holding off on asking for another piercing because my boss HATED my nose ring, regardless of the retainer I wore at work. But now that I was fired, I could get my eyebrow pierced. It really didn't take much convincing on my parents' part, all of a sudden, I just reminded them that it would be healed by summer when I was ready to work again and off we went. I was so surprised. I at least expected my parents to make me wait until after my scholarship interviews this week but they just got up and told me "Let's go". It was amazing. After years of craving this one singular piercing, I was finally getting it done in the wake of something most parents wouldn't want to praise. But they hated my boss too, so I guess everything wound up okay.

We decided to go to Primal Urge because I had spoken with the staff through Myspace and I knew it was a good studio. It was going to cost me $35, a very decent price if you ask me. (My nose had been only $20 but regardless)It was a very simple process, I just had to sign the paper, pick out my jewelry, and within minutes I was in the chair.

I had wanted small jewelry but I really didn't want to take the chance on migration or rejection, so I ended up with something much bigger than I expected, but it's worth it. I really just have a basic 14 guage curved barbell. After picking my jewelry, Rachelle sat me in the chair and cleaned the jewelry, opened the sterile packaging and said "This really doesn't hurt that bad." She didn't use clamps, and told me not to believe everything I read on BME. Clamps or no clamps, if you pierce enough flesh you'll be fine.

I barely felt the needle go through the top. Then she pushed through the bottom of my eyebrow (seemed like a struggle) and I heard a loud, disgusting POP and experienced the worst pain I'd felt in my life. They LIE. It does too hurt. I've had my nose pierced and a tattoo and broken more than my share of bones. I know pain. This was really really bad to me. I've given blood, too, and from what I've seen the needles are WAY bigger for that. It felt like a burning, stinging, awful pain. A bit of hesitation, then the blood started gushing down my face. "Are you a heavy drinker?" She asked. To make things clear, I've never tasted alcohol in my life. I'm just a bleeder, I guess. My poor mother was standing by the pool table and she told me later she saw my life flash before her eyes. Afterward, my dad took the time to tell me everyone on his side of the family has a tendency to bleed heavily. Jeez, someone could have told me that earlier so I could have at least warned poor Rachelle. Oh well. She thought it was pretty darn awesome. :)

So five minutes and one soaked paper towel later, things started to slow down and she finished putting the jewelry in. I'm amazed at her ability to screw on balls, I always have to fight with the ones on my nose but it didn't even hurt when she did it. Thank god.

I walked away one happy customer. I love my eyebrow and I am SO glad I got fired because this is way better than work. :) And in five months, I can do it all without my parents. Which means tongue, nipples (maybe), belly button.. and definitely some more tattoos. But for now I'm more than content with my beautiful brow piercing. I love it. I can't help but look at myself in the mirror now and enjoy my new jewelry.

The moral: Yes, eyebrows hurt. They LIE. Yes, it bleeds. And yes, it's worth it.

strange body piercing

I'd been against piercings of any kind other than in the ear lobe since I was about 10 years old. I'd been taken back then to have an ear piercing and since then I never even once thought of getting another. That was fine for me I thought. Nine years on I meet Laura who's got more piercings than most other people I've met. I knew her for about a month or two and used to question her piercings all the time but over time I started to get used to them and then wanted more piercings myself. I'd not been able to properly decide between a lip piercing or an eyebrow piercing.

A few months went by and as I spoke to Laura more about piercings I started to go into places a lot more often, in fact every chance I got. I'd go in and see what piercings where available and how much they cost but I've got a really bad fear of needles and this always stopped me from getting it done, even if I had the money. I used to just expect them to hurt a hell of a lot more than they actually did so I wouldn't even consider getting a piercing.

My birthday was coming up and I was bored of the usual things I bought for myself. I always got CDs and stuff like that and I wanted something more personal this time. So at first it started out that I asked Laura to re-open my ear piercing and then had a weird idea from out of nowhere and asked her to pierce my eyebrow instead. She was reluctant to do it obviously. I know it can go wrong if not done properly but she agreed to do it. She had her piercing box with her and a syringe needle straight from the sealed packaging. She put it to my eyebrow and her hand started shaking so I decided it might be a bit of a bad idea to let her do it. Bless her, she loves me to pieces and, it turns out, a little too much to put a needle through my eyebrow. I gave it a shot myself but I couldn't muster the guts to do it with my fear of needles.

I was determined to get my eyebrow done and the next day I borrowed some money off of a friend and went to The Dragon's Den, a local place for piercing and tattoos. I remember having to wait for about an hour in the front before he had a slot to fit me in but it didn't really bother me. I just spent most of the time looking at the tattoos and picking the piercing. I ended up wanting a silver 1.3mm piercing but the only one he had at the time was a dark blue one. I settled for that. Karl, the resident piercer, came out eventually and was really friendly from the word go. He said hi, asked if I was alright then asked if I'd like to follow him into the back. I got a bit of needle fear twinging in the back of my head but went in anyway, dragging my mate Laura in as well.

I went into the back, sat on the seat and just randomly started talking about all sorts of rubbish with Karl. At one point I think his wife called and started talking about fudge arriving which they'd ordered last night or something and how Karl should stop the piercing business and sell fudge instead. Karl then spent a while ranting about his wife. Anyways, after a lengthy period of talking that never seemed to end right Karl got round to my piercing. He was still talking through it which kept me calm. It took my mind off of the needle I was about to have shoved through my skin at any rate. He placed the piercing into alcohol to sterilise it and left it to soak while he got everything else ready. Even though I was the one getting pierced Laura was holding MY hand instead of me holding hers. She really doesn't like me in discomfort.

Karl asked if I'd had any other piercings and I told him about my ear (which Laura had kindly re-opened the night before). He pulled the clamps out of a steriliser and placed them on my eyebrow, squeezing so it was holding tight but I could hardly feel the clamps there. He got the piercing out of the alcohol and placed it on a paper towel in front of him and then picked up the needle. He told me to close my eyes and that I'd feel a sharp pinch. I said 'Yeah, sure.' and closed my eyes and waited a while. I felt the tip of the needle scratch against my eyebrow and for some reason I didn't get freaked out. Every other time in the past, just the thought of sticking a needle through my skin would have made me freak out of anything involving needles. This time it didn't bother me. Karl pushed it up gently and I felt it go through. It stang a tiny bit but it was just like a quick pin-prick. He left the needle hanging there through my skin at which point I opened my eyes and sort of noticed it there, which was weird. He said to close my eyes again so I did and he snipped the plastic off of the piercing needle then pulled it through before putting it down, picking up the piercing itself and slipping it through. He screwed on the ball and stood back saying there you go.

I got up and looked in the mirror on the wall and admired my new piercing for a while. I thanked Karl and paid him. He told me quickly how to look after it and Laura went over it in more detail later on. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd expected and I really like my eyebrow piercing. In fact, I plan to go back for another two piercings (another eyebrow and a lip ring) and a tattoo in a few days piercing gallery blogs.

I got it's been about 12 hours since I got the piercing and there's no swelling, no pain and no irritation. My only annoyance is I keep forgetting it's there because I was expecting to feel it hurt for a lot longer belly button blog. Every time I tidy my hair a bit I catch it slightly and it lets me know it's there. But I'll get used to it in a little while.

After that I'll probably get quite a few more piercings in the future.

Well, a few months ago I decided that I wanted to get my eyebrow pierced. At the beginning my parents didn't like the idea, so they kept saying no. But I had it in my head that I was going to get it done, so I researched everything about it on the internet( mostly on BME) and I finally persuaded them.i thought my mum would be easy to persuade because she has one or two piercing's and a good few tattoo's, but she wasn't because it was my face and that if i got an infection it would kill me kind of thing! I also asked my mates to see what they thought because they don't have any facial piercing's and i wanted to get different people's opinions.

So, when I travelled down to oxford for my step-sister's 21st I had pre-booked an appointment in Peaches in Carterton as it was the nearest place that looked approachable.

I have to say that I was quite nervous but after telling my mates that I was getting it done, I felt like I couldn't pull out and I am glad that I didn't.

When I arrived, the staff we really friendly and I was taken up stairs away from the hairdressing and beauty bit.( Peaches isn't a piercing and tattoo parlour but Roxanne was a qualified piercer.)

I was made to fill out lots of forms body piercings and I was asked what kind of jewellery I wanted. I chose a bar. I was then taken into another little room that was very neat and clean and sat on the bed.(parents or friends aren't allowed in while you are getting it done) Roxanne had everything set up before and she put a pair of gloves on. She cleaned my eyebrow and then changed her gloves. Fresh ones were put on and then she marked two little dots and asked if the positioning was alright and the gloves were taken off and swapped for another pair of clean ones.

I lay down on the bed and she showed me the jewellery again, the sterile needle and the clamp that she was going to use. I shut my eyes and she put the clamp on. This wasn't sore but it did feel a little uncomfortable. The gloves were changed yet again and she told me to breathe in, and out, and in and out. Then she slid the needle through. I didn't hurt at all and i'm a wimp, but I felt a bit strange. I don't think it bled but i had to have my eyes closed.

The jewellery was a little awkward to put in but not painful. I wasn't allowed to sit up for five minutes, so while I relaxed she cleaned everything up. When I was allowed to sit up she talked through the after care and I was given a wee leaflet with instructions and contact details. After one final check to see if I was feeling OK, I was allowed to go. We went back down stairs and I paid Ј36.50 including the cleaning solution and left her a few pounds tip piercing fetish.

Because I had a party that night I was a bit worried that it would be swollen and sore but I was only a bit red and lots of people commented on how cool and good it looked when I didn't even know them!!

There is only a few bad points so far : It is a little awkward to sleep with for the first few nights, one of the balls started to unscrew whilst cleaning, one or two people assume I am a lesbian now.

One week on and there is only a tiny wee bruise and it's only a bit tender and no crusties.i am on study leave at the moment so i don't know how they will be with it but they seemed pretty laid back with things. i work part time as a waitress and I was unsure if i would be judged because if it but my boss is cool with it and a few customers have commented on how nice it is.

Overall I am really pleased with it and if you are thinking about getting it done then go for it. I was worried about the pain but I can say that it was sore at all, just a wee pinch. But I could have a high pain threshold. The only other piercing's I have are three on ear lobes and two at the top of my ear so I class it as my first "proper" piercing and i hope there is more to come.

I'm not a particularly vain person but every time I pass a mirror i am always checking it out, just to make sure it is still there!!

At the end of last August I started a new job. I was working for the Civil Service and while I knew a few people working there who had various mods I still wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any problems if (when) I decided I wanted to get some more visible tattoos or piercings. I had the interview and got through (even with my tattoos and piercings on show) and turned up bright and early for the induction on the 31 August. Funnily a friend who I hadn't seen for about three years had also applied, and been accepted, for the same job as me so sat around the table on the first day were two fairly heavily modded girls. The morning progressed with the usual health and safety lectures, then came the chance to ask questions. I raised my hand.
belly button piercing
'What's the company policy on modifications?' I asked, 'I mean if I wanted to dye my hair or show my tattoos and piercings, would there be a problem?'.
'No.' Came the reply. 'As long as you do your job it doesn't matter what you do.'

I relaxed in my chair, a smile on my face. In two days time was the second Cardiff Tattoo Convention and I could get pierced.

I drove down to Cardiff on the Saturday morning, parked near Techniquest and headed over to the convention at the Coal Exchange. It was great to be back at a convention again, albeit one where I didn't really know anyone; my last one had been the first London convention almost a year before where I'd met some great IAMers, and while that wasn't happening this time it was still great seeing similarly modded people wandering around and getting work done.

I'd come to the convention planning to get something done, though I wasn't really sure what. I'd have loved a tattoo but couldn't really afford it, didn't have any definite design and would rather go to my artist back in Aberdare who I trust and can work with. Wandering around however, I found two piercing booths. I wanted another piercing as it had been ages since the last one, and there were a couple of things I wanted done. I'd been toying with getting my cheeks pierced for a while as I really liked the way that they looked and I wanted some more facial piercings to balance out the ones that I already had.

Trouble was I also really wanted to get my bridge redone. I'd had it pierced the year before but as I worked in a school I had to change it to a retainer far, far before it was ready and ended up losing it as a result. I really missed having my bridge pierced, and also had a lump of scar tissue that was, while small, noticeable to me. If I got my bridge repierced I'd be happy because I'd have my beloved piercing back, and the scar tissue wouldn't be noticeable. The bridge piercing was something I knew looked good, while the cheeks were an unknown quantity - it was a tough decision.

While I was trying to decide what I wanted pierced I wandered between the two booths for a good half hour or so. Price wise they were both pretty similar, so I looked at the photos and videos each booth had and finally decided that I'd go with Mac, who works out of the Punctured Body Piercing Studio in Devon. As I walked up to him to have a chat about the piercings I still hadn't decided what I wanted to get done. We had a chat about both the bridge and the cheek piercings and after weighing them up I decided on the cheeks. I'd had the bridge, and I loved it, and I would definitely be getting it done again, but for the moment I wanted to see what pierced cheeks would look like.

I nipped to the bank to get some money and half an hour later walked out of the booth with two shiny new cheek piercings. While I was really happy with them, and did think they looked good, I still regretted not getting my bridge redone. I wandered around the convention for a bit longer, getting used to the metal in my face and watching some traditional tattooing being done but my mind was still on my piercings. I'd had the cheeks done and they seemed fine. Why not get my bridge done as well? I may as well take the chance while I had it as I didn't know when I'd be able to get my next piercing. And it wouldn't cost that much...

I knew I was trying to persuade myself to get my bridge redone; all of the reasons I came up with were valid, but could I really afford it? Not really. But still; I ummed and ahhed and debated the pros and cons, all the while walking towards the booth I'd gotten my cheeks pierced at.
'Back again?' asked Mac when he saw me.
'Yeah...I'm thinking of getting my bridge done as well. How many piercings will you do on one person at a time?'
'Three,' he replied. 'Your bridge is far enough away from your cheeks that there won't be a problem. I wouldn't be happy doing them closer together, but that'll be fine.'
'Excellent. I'm ready when you are.'

Mac told me to wait a few minutes while he set up then called me back into the booth where I'd been sitting less than an hour before. I explained that I'd had the piercing done a year ago but had to take it out, and that there was some scar tissue where the piercing hadn't healed. That wouldn't be a problem I was told. It might be a bit tough getting the needle through it, but no worries.

I took my glasses off and closed my eyes while Mac wiped the bridge of my nose. Whereas I'd been lying down to get my cheeks pierced, I remained sitting on the edge of the bed for my bridge, hands in lap, sitting upright and breathing comfortably.

Mac marked where I wanted the piercing and I put my glasses on to check the placement. Satisfied that it was high enough that my glasses wouldn't constantly knock again it he then clamped the bridge of my nose and told me to breathe in.

The needle going through didn't hurt that much. It was a bit tough going through the scar tissue, but not really painful - I could just feel the pressure Mac was putting on the needle. Once he'd got that through he popped the jewellery in and tightened the ball on the left hand side of the bar. And that was it; bridge done.

It was strange putting my glasses back on as I was aware of this piece of metal going through the bridge of my nose that hadn't been there before, but the balls on the sides of the bar were quite flush against my nose and my glasses didn't really catch on them. Paying Mac I left, happy with the piercings I'd got done.

I wandered around the convention for a bit longer but decided to head home; I'd had done what I wanted and I wanted to go and show off my new metal.

Aftercare for my bridge piercing has been pretty easy, far easier than the first time I got it pierced. I did sea salt soaks twice a day, being careful when drying the piercing not to catch it. It did flare up once, when I smacked it really hard with my glasses causing it to bleed, when I smacked it really hard with my glasses causing it to bleed, but funnily enough that seemed to help the piercing and I didn't have any problems with it after that belly piercing. The only thing that's worried me is that the piercing seems to be slightly crooked. Whether that's because it was pierced that way, or it was knocked while it was healing and that caused it to become crooked I'm not sure. However it's not too noticeable and I suspect it's only me who's really worried about it.

The main problem I have now is that I've recently passed my bike test so am out on my bike, with helmet, a fair bit. Because of the way my glasses sit when I've got the helmet on they seem to be putting a bit more pressure on my bridge piercing, but touch wood it'll be fine and not reject.

The bridge piercing is, I think, one of my favourites, especially since I've changed my glasses and gone for thicker 'sexy librarian' style ones. While it can be irritating when things go wrong, like when I'm wearing the helmet, it's definitely a piercing that's worth it.

I like exotic piercings

I got my tragus pierced back in September. Since then, I've had the itch to get another piercing. The problem was I couldn't decide what to get. After a while, I decided to get my eyebrow done. This was the start of my piercing mission.

There are a lot of piercing parlors in the area, but I chose to go to Lucky's without hesitation. I've heard nothing but good things about their piercer, Penelope. Whenever I've been in there, all the staff has been nothing but friendly and accommodating. Even though I had never gotten a piercing there prior to my eyebrow, Penelope has always answered my questions about piercings as if I was a regular customer.

So, my decision was final. Lucky's it was. I called on a Monday night, but she wasn't going to be in until Thursday. I had to delay my gratification for two more days. Tuesday and Wednesday could not have gone by any slower! But then it was Thursday. School was done for the day, and it was time for me to get a piece of metal put in my eyebrow. We drove from my school to Northampton around 2:30 or so. Surprisingly, Lucky's was pretty empty. Whenever I've been there, a bunch of people are usually there. But this time, I was the only person in the shop besides the employees. When I walked in, the person at the counter greeted me and asked what she could help me with. I told her I wanted to get my eyebrow pierced. First, she took my ID and made a photocopy of it. Then I filled out the necessary form. After that the lady took out the case where the jewelry is stored in individual packets. She was having trouble determining the length of the barbell that should be used in my eyebrow, so Penelope was called over. It turns out they didn't have the appropriate length, so I opted for a ring instead. Before we went into the back room, Penelope had to make a quick business call. I looked around the shop to kill time (Lucky's has a section with tons of cool merchandise.) After a very short period of time, she was done. We headed towards the back of the shop where the piercing rooms are. Penelope was very friendly and professional. We talked the entire time of the procedure. She said that this is one of the least painful piercings there is, and it is a cinch if you can get your earlobes done. My eyebrow was cleaned and marked. I can't recall if clamps were used or not. I closed my eyes, and she pushed the needle through. It felt like a little pinch, and it really wasn't bad at all. On a scale of 1-10, it was maybe a 2. Penelope put in the ring and had to bend it a little so it would be a good fit for me. I was done. She asked me if I knew the aftercare, and I asked her if it was cleaning it with antibacterial soap and water and soaking it with a ј teaspoon salt: 8 ounces of water mixture for 5 minutes. She said to do that twice a day, and that they didn't have any sea salt in at that time, but they should get some in soon. I told her it was ok because we were planning to go out to the store to buy some anyway. After the procedure was done, we talked for a little while longer. We talked about anatomy since I am taking the class and she took it in the past. I gave Penelope a tip and went to the car. I had my eyebrow piercing, and I couldn't be happier.

I left Lucky's and walked to the car. My mom was completely grossed out at first. She thinks most piercings are disgusting. She did get used to it after a while though.

Anyway, we got home, and I just went about my business. I was dreading the first cleaning because it had hurt so much with my navel and tragus. But surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all. It was just slightly annoying doing the sea salt soaks because I would hold the cup over my piercing and water would leak all over. Now I soak two cotton balls and do it that way piercing fetish.

It has been about three weeks now, and I've only had one minor setback. I was combing my hair one morning, and I was a little rough, and the bead came off. I went to Lucky's and they put it back on no problem. By the next day, my eyebrow looked as good as new. For anyone looking to get a piercing, I would totally recommend Lucky's if you're in the area. I have nothing but positive things to say about them, and I plan on going there for an industrial or nostril piercing sometime soon.