Piercer Questions

I recently had an exchange of correspondence with a piercer who asked some interesting questions:

I have been piercing for 10 years now in a shop where my husband is the awesome tattoo artist. I just want to be yet another one to thank you for all of your tireless dedication to this industry. I just had a quick question about surface piercings done with polytetrafluoroethylene. At first when these surface piercings became the thing to do around here, I would perform them with the traditional bars for hips, clavicals, Madisons-you name it. I stuck them all with bars. Now this new material seems so much better for healing and does not leave the same scars that the bars do. I just wanted to get your opinion on it. Which is better, the polytetrafluoroethylene or the traditional surface bars?

I got this message from a piercer who is concerned about her clients:

I was wondering what are your thoughts on healing time on navel Piercings? At the shop i work at we have ton of parents with minors getting their navels pierced and plan on swimming at lakes,pools, hot tubs. We try and educate them as much as we can but I feel like it's not getting through to them even college-adults aren't listening to our advice is there any suggestion on what we should do? (we talk to them about it first then hand out the basic care information.

Thanks, P.

Hi P.,

I describe the healing time for navel piercings as 6-9 months. They're likely to have some ups and downs and seem healed off and on within that time, but they can expect to be in an ongoing healing phase for an extended period of time.

I got a great question from a colleague I know from the annual conferences for the Association of Professional Piercers:

Hey Elayne

Piercing question - Betadine leaves a brown mess, what do you clean it off with so people don't leave with a big yellow/brown patch on their face? Alcohol wipes?
 
Peace, C.

Hi C.,

No! Not alcohol--that could sting if it gets too close to the new piercing and is far too harsh for a fresh piercing. And removing the unattractive coloration isn't just an aesthetic issue. Iodine should be removed from the skin after the piercing is done to prevent any irritation.

I use these awesome sterile saline pads that come individually wrapped in foil packets. It is the BEST part of a piercing, because when you put it on, it cools the area and is very effective to help relieve any stinging or heat sensations. The pads feel almost as though they have been refrigerated, but that's just how they feel when they come out of the packet.

I received this message from someone who clearly is in need of serious advice:

Subject: Piercing Question

"Elayne.....I'm an ameutar piercer and have excepted a client who wants her dimples pierced. she has chubby cheeks, but otherwise no reason not to go ahead with the piercing. I am not sure how to go about the procedure and were I should properly pierce. Can you share some advice?"

I sent him the page from my book The Piercing Bible called "The Worst Piercing Story" and it is all about cheek piercing:

I received this message from a Facebook friend:

Hey Elayne, i just yesterday did a septum and I'm used to doing them with either septum clamps or just a needle and cork. I am not a big fan of the clamps cause I have found that they just plain hurt! So I almost always use the needle and cork method. I have heard recently that using a receiving tube for the procedure was very easy and comfortable..so I tried this method last night on a client and it was a mess..now granted its my responsibility to control my needle no matter what..

well this guy sneezed four times and moved around like a fish out of water..so the piercing was completely off and had to be redone..2nd time around he sat fine and it was still extremely off..at this point I just went back to my old method and used a cork and needle and the final product was just as it should be.

My question is this: Why is there so many good things i am hearing of the receiving tube method for septum's? Is there a secret that i am not aware of that makes it better or am i just misinformed? I have done more research and I'm still reading rave reviews of that method..does an angled receiving tube make a difference as opposed to a flat one?

My reply:

I received this question from someone who works in a body art studio:

Hi Elayne, do you advise for or against Hepatitis B vaccinations for piercers and artists? if so would you advise getting A+B or just B?

Thanks for your time. S.

Hi S.,

Well I think it is wise to get the Hep B vaccine, given that there is potential for needlesticks in our work and Hep B is a bloodborne pathogen.

Also, in the US there is a law involved: wherever there is potential for exposure to bloodborne pathogens, an employer has to offer the vaccine to his/her employees and pay for it--and allow them to get it during business hours (OSHA ruling). And the employer must document it. If the vaccine is declined, a declination from must be filed with the employee records.

Since Hep A is not transmitted through blood, it isn't as necessary for a piercer.

Have you taken a bloodborne pathogens class? There's lots of good information in them. I recommend the industry specific class given by David Vidra and associates through Health Educators. In fact, I just took it recently, and it was fantastic.

Hope this is helpful,
Elayne

I received this message from a Facebook friend:

Elayne, Let me begin this note by telling you that I am a huge fan of yours, and I am extremely thankful for all the hard work that you, Jim Ward, Doug Malloy, Paul King and so many others have done for the industry we are in. If it weren't for you and others like you, body piercing would be no where near where it is now, so THANK YOU!!!
Now then, my question to you:

I have been piercing professionally for 6 years, a good career so far but only a few steps in comparison to yours... When I first began, I used the "piggy-backing" method I saw in your recent video post. I have since moved on and now pierce with like sized jewelry and needles. I was under the impression that the method described was amateur and generally looked down upon, and yet here I see a MASTER PIERCER using it. Now please don't get me wrong, your title of master piercer is correct and very well deserved, I just find it strange. So I come to you with thisa humble question, why do you prefer this method? I have found that the piercings tend to bleed too much when using this method. Are there benefits that I am unaware of? Thank you for your time and any info will be appreciated.

By the way, the "bible" is one of the books in my modification collection that I am most proud of, and I consult it regularly so thank you!!!!

A fan and fellow body modifier, -J.

My reply:

I received this message via email:

Hi Elayne,
I am having a situation with a piercing I did. Sunday afternoon I did an industrial piercing on a girl named Alex. I'm still an apprentice but this was the 10th industrial piercing I've done and I have never had a problem with any of them up until now.

Alex called me this afternoon, 2 days later, complaining that her piercing is bleeding and she can't get it to stop. It hardly bled when I pierced it, and up until last night when the bleeding started, she said that it was healing just fine. It wasn't sore, red, no signs of infection, and didn't hurt at all. First thing I did was try to figure out how the bleeding started. She said she took 500mg of ibuprofen and the bleeding started shortly after that. I understand that a side effect of ibuprofen is blood thinning but unless she was already bleeding I didn't think the ibuprofen would cause her to start. I just thought it would make it a bit harder to get the bleeding to stop if she did happen to start bleeding. Am I wrong about this?

She also said she thinks she accidentally rolled over onto it in her sleep which would make more sense except that it started bleeding before she went to bed. Is it possible she is just not telling me that she bumped it or something, or is it normal for industrial piercings to randomly start bleeding days later?