Piercing

I just got some fantastic feedback from a reader:

Dear Miss Elayne Angel,
I realize you must get this a lot, as we 'modified' folk hold you in such high reguard, but thank you very much for your book, "The Piercing Bible". It's made my experiences getting pierced liberating, educated, and empowering. I feel SO much more confident with the decisions I've made because of your shared knowledge. I want to thank you again and again for your time and effort in the industry, and your willingness to spread the word, and celebrate self expression.

A big fan. I hope to follow your adventures wherever they may take you :)

-Britt

I'll admit, that put a smile on my face for the whole day. It makes the effort that went into writing my book all worthwhile.

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:

Below is an email exchange I had with a a woman who is interestedin genital piercing, but has a mole in the area:

Hi Elayne,

I went to other day to get waxed and was informed that I have a mole on the inside of my outer labia at the apex.  She also said it could be broken blood vessels (since I have not been using lubricant).  Personally, I think it looks like a mole.  But the lady says she has never seen that anything like that on anyone she has done.  She suggested I go to a dermatologist.  Is that unusual  with your experience?  Would it be something I should have removed?

Thank you--
D.

Hi D.,

If she thinks you should see a dermatologist, then you probably should. Since I haven't seen what she saw, I can't give you my own opinion. But I imagine (like myself) she's seen enough bodies to know when something doesn't look right. If you can get a good photo of that area, I'd be happy to take a look, too.

Elayne

I received this message today:

Hello Elayne,

I have a question for you concerning my Prince Albert piercing. I've had it for about 2 1/2 months now. I was not sexually active for about a month after getting the piercing, but ever since I've resumed sexual activity the piercing gets sore during intercourse.

Last night, after having sex, I noticed that there was blood in the condom I was wearing. The piercing feels absolutely fine when I'm not having sex, it looks completely healed and I can rotate the CBR without any soreness. However, logic would lead me to believe that it is not completely healed- hence the soreness and bleeding from intercourse.

My question is this: is it normal for a Prince Albert piercing to take this long to heal? And should I refrain from sexual activity completely during the remainder of the healtime? Any and all advice would be gladly appreciated. Thank you. H.

My response:

I got this message from a Facebook friend:

Hey Elayne,
I had a bit of a question. What is your take on ftm genital piercings, before any kind lower surgery? I myself being trans and having a few trans friends. I meant to talk to you about this at conference this year, but didnt. I know a lot of guys who also don't want to come in and ask for a "hood" piercing. I was almost considering figuring out another name for them. Also, do you think Triangle piercings are ok? it seems to me the jewelry would have to be rather large to accommodate the larger anatomy and might possibly interfere when they're erect. I also wanted your opinion on doing post op piercings ftm's and mtf. Really, i think you should just do a big article on transgender genital piercings. : ) Thank you for your time and wisdom.
T.

My reply:

I just received this lovely message from a Facebook friend:

Here's a message I received recently from a piercer who works in the studio of an old friend:

Hi Elayne!

I have been piercing for four years and came across something today I was wondering if you could help me with. A girl came into the shop today with her medusa pierced (about 2 months old), after having it previously pierced before, complaining that her old piercing site, a little big higher than the current piercing, would swell up with fluid (I assume to be lymph?) and drain a significant amount when she put pressure on it.

She also added her nipples were repierced about 2 years ago, and occasionally her old piercing sites would do the same thing.

I guess I've never really encountered this before. I suggested sea salt soaks and hot compressions to help. Is this sound advice? Do you know why something like that would happen? Could the fluid buildup be independent of the new piercing? Any advice would be awesome :)

Thank you so very much,
B.

My reply:

I just got a fantastic email from one of the clients I pierced recently when I was on the road:

Hi Elayne!

Just wanted to thank you again so much for piercing me in Philly two weeks ago, and let you know how I'm doing. The difference between how I felt after this piercing and last time I tried to have my triangle done were night and day, as of course I expected since you did this one =) After grabbing frozen yogurt I actually felt alright enough that we walked back to the hotel from the piercing shop without a problem! Both the triangle and the VCH are healing beautifully; I have been salt soaking them and using the emu oil as you recommended - it is fabulous by the way! During the first week a particularly active day would have the piercings starting to feel a little pinchy and irritated but the emu oil helped that like a charm and let me stay active without feeling a thing. The swelling has gone down and everything feels great, no redness or discharge, and the rhinestones look just gorgeous. Don't worry though, I'm not letting the easy healing convince me to go easy on my hygiene or lure me into trying to 'play' too early =P I know I was a nervous wreck on the piercing table but you were very comforting. Thanks again for being so patient and supportive, and for giving me these beautiful piercings!

--N.

My reply: