Piercing Comments

I recently returned home following a wonderful trip to Philadelphia. I pierced for 6 days at Infinite Body Piercing. That was my longest piercing trip to date. But last time demand was so high, I was unable to set appointments for everyone who was interested, so I decided to work a few extra days.

Over those 6 days I did 118 piercings on 87 clients! They came from 12 different states (as far away as Arizona and Texas!) specifically to be pierced by me. I also had some clients come down from Ontario, Canada. What an honor that people trust me so much that they are willing to travel such distances to be pierced by me!

As usual, most of my clients came in for genital piercings. I did 55 vertical clitoral hood (VCH) piercings, and 24 triangle piercings, among others. I also did a few apadravyas, scrotum piercings, frenum piercings, and Prince Albert piercings for the guys. Additionally, I did a few nostril piercings, eyebrow piercings, and also a navel piercing, a tongue piercing, and a philtrum (upper lip center) piercing.

While I was there I got to enjoy some Thai and Indian food (two of my favorite cuisines that I can't get at home). An extra special treat was visiting an Ethiopian restaurant, as I love that food, and definitely cannot get any of that in Mexico where I live!

On my day off, I visited the Eastern State Penitentiary, which was really fascinating.

Here's my new Public Service Announcement about safe body art:

I received this message from a reader in Malta!

Hi, my name is B. and I'm from Malta, since I've bought your book you have become my idol. I love piercings, something that you don't find very often in Malta due to a bad reputations, originating from piercees who haven't had a good piercing  and weren't instructed properly on aftercare, this is because in Malta we do not have any real piercers, the ones we have are tattoo artists who took up piercing just for financial income.

I would really like to be a piercer one day, I've only had an apprenticeship from my girlfriend which is from Germany, right now I'm not able to go abroad to atend any courses or conventions due to financial difficulties as I'm using my salary to buy the necessary needs for a piercing studio.

I would really like to read a book wrote by you targeting piercers rather then piercees.
Kind Regards, B.

I just got back from my piercing visit at Infinite Body Piercing in Philadelphia. It was absolutely amazing! I had SO much fun. The studio is incredibly well-run, well-stocked, and highly professional. Every member of the staff there pitched in and worked hard to make sure that my guest piercing visit ran seamlessly and smoothly. They were fantastic.

I can't wait to go back there again. I know I will, so if you're interested in getting pierced the next time I come to Philly, please sign up for my free newsletter on the home page of my site in the box on the left lower corner. Then you'll automatically be notified when I travel.

I pierced non-stop for 4 full days and did 67 piercings on people from 12 different states including NY, MA, WI, NJ, CT, VA, OH, RI, DE, MD, IN, and of course, PA. I had so much fun!

I have already received some great feedback from my clients there. I guess I proved to be an inspiration to this gal:

I received this message from a reader:

Elayne, the book was amazing!  I always had a feeling that the old shop I was going to was not the cleanest or most knowledgeable place in the world, and now I am certain haha!  You have really opened my eyes to a lot of things that I just didn't look at before.  I plan on enrolling in my classes soon, and hopefully with what I learned from your book I will have a bit of a head start above my competition for an apprenticeship.  Also, your aftercare section was great.  I have heard a ton of varying viewpoints, but never any reason other than "it just works."  The piercer who did my lip told me to use anti-bacterial soap and peroxide to clean my lip ring, and now I no longer have it because it wouldn't heal.  I wish I would have found your book sooner!  It probably would have been able to keep it!

Also, I found a video on YouTube after reading your book that you might be able to use as a "how not to pierce" guide.  Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bYU4fLYIVk

Any way, thanks again for everything.  You are the best.  I am going to be far more picky when I get my septum pierced and when I look for my apprenticeship.  Thank you so very much!

Alan

My reply:

An article recently appeared in the Huffington Post with the headline: Tongue Piercings Could Lead to Severe Brain Infections. Clearly this was most unfortunate for the individuals who were described in the article (and their families), but these types of extreme complications are very rare. I penned a response and posted it to their site.

Wow! I ran across this video of a woman with lip plates drinking water. It is fascinating to see how incredibly large her piercings are stretched (both upper and lower lips). I can also see that there has been no thinning of the tissue, which often occurs when stretching is done too quickly.

It looks like drinking is a bit of a challenge, and I imagine eating is too, but I'm completely fascinated. It isn't a modification I'd want for myself, however. The little 14 gauge hole in my lip is just fine for me.

There was an article on the ABC news website about what parents permit their kids to do. It discussed matters like staying out at night, using cell phones, surfing the web--and ear piercing. Interestingly, it said that parents would let their girls get ear piercings as young as 9, and  27 percent of parents said ear-piercing is OK for girls younger than 6 – no other item scored more than 1 percent in that category. Another 20 percent say ear-piercing is appropriate between ages 6 and 11.

Knowing exactly how and where much of this early piercing takes place, I left the following comment:

Parents should know that ear piercing (while quite socially acceptable for young girls these days) is not without its own risks. Especially if the piercing is done by a gun at a kiosk or mall. According to "The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing" (Random House, May 2009):

"These gadgets were originally invented for tagging cattle and other animals, and later adapted for use on humans. The gun forces a pointy earring through the skin, which causes more tissue trauma and discomfort than the razor-sharp needle used by body piercers. The one-size post length does not “fit all” and cannot accommodate a plump earlobe or any swelling; it is certainly not long enough to be worn in a body piercing. The stud earring typically employs a butterfly-style clasp that can inhibit the healing process and increase the risk of infection by compressing the tissue, limiting circulation, and trapping secretions and bacteria."

The book then goes on to describe how disease transmission can take place: