Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with piercing

Should I get my ears pierced?

brainmouse — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:49:39 -0800

I’m considering getting my ears pierced. Just regular old lobe piercings. Help me decide if I should, then help answer all the probably simple questions about the process, because I seriously know nothing. Before you bring it up – I’m planning on going to a real piercing place, not Claire’s. I got my ears pierced when I was in elementary school. Once they healed, I took the earrings out and basically never wore any again, so the holes closed up. I could feel the hole through my ear still for a long time, but it’s been gone for maybe 15 years. There are still little marks on the front of my ears where you can see that they were pierced.

I’m considering doing it again. I’m just undecided. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I will always be undecided if I keep on this route… so I just thought I’d ask for opinions. My pros are: I think earrings look pretty on people, and I think they would look pretty on me. Also, most adult women wear earrings, and it's often assumed that I do to. People occasionally think it's weird that I don't. These people sometimes include me. My cons are: I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, even when I like it, so I’m a little worried I won’t actually wear earrings either, and they'll close again. Also, I can't help but thinking I shouldn’t be literally mutilating my body for beauty (note: definitely not judging people who have even many piercings; I mostly think they look great and have never had that feeling about other people, just myself). I’m just not sure how reasonable that is – especially given I’ve already done it once, and you can still see the holes.

Once you answer that (or not, whatever), can you help me with answers to the following questions about the process?:

1. Do I bring my own jewelry in or get some at the piercing place? I don’t especially like studs, and don’t plan on wearing them after the healing part of the process is over. How small can they be and still be ok? What should they be made of? (assume gold isn’t an option)

2. Will it hurt? How much? For how long? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the pain at the time of the piercing or later?

3. I really really really don’t want them to get infected. If they do, I plan on taking out the piercings immediately and permanently and not trying again. What are the odds that it will? What can I do to keep it from happening? Where do I buy the cleaning supplies?

4. How much should I expect this to cost?

5. Will I need to make an appointment or is this the sort of thing you can walk in for?

6. Long-term, how often, roughly, do I need to wear earrings to keep the holes open? How do I keep them as small as possible while keeping them open?

7. Can anybody recommend a good piercing place in downtown Oakland or downtown Berkeley (or, I guess somewhere BART-able in San Francisco would work too)?

8. Is there anything else I should know?

Thank you!

What, you're trying to get in National Geographic?

fatbird — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:10:32 -0800

If I remove my nipple ring, will I experience nipple sag? I've had a pierced nipple for 19 years (a simple 14 gauge ring), and I'm feeling ambivalent about it now. It was awesome for shocking people and relatives, but at 38, it seems a little bit like I'm trying too hard to hold onto my rebellious youth, and I'd like to remove it for good.

The weird problem is that my girlfriend wants me to keep it in because she's afraid that I'll have a gross, distended, saggy, XXL nipple--and just one, since the other has never been touched by a needle.

As a man, I don't have enough nipple for the piercing, so the ring actually goes through the areola behind the nipple--maybe 3/8" of an inch altogether. Besides the ring itself, it's obvious that something is going through the skin, but overall my nipple/areola isn't saggy or distended now. Mainly, my girlfriend fears that, without the ring, the flesh won't settle back into a very normal looking male nipple.

So, mefites who've removed nipple rings: How did your nipple respond over time? Is it now indistinguishable from its virginal state, or is it obvious that there used to be something there that's now sadly absent?

Septum piercing aftercare confusion.

sherber — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:36:49 -0800

I just got my septum pierced and am confused about aftercare. The sheet that my piercer gave me says to use a mild soap to clean it twice daily. The thing that makes me skeptical is that this list includes Dial anti-bacterial, which seems like an awfully strong soap for a piercing... and is scented, which i imagine could irritate it. It mentions sea salt soaks as a secondary measure to speed healing, but not required.

BUT, I googled "septum piercing aftercare" and found the BMEZine septum piercing aftercare guide, which ONLY mentions salt water and no soap. I also found this ask mefi thread which also mentions only salt water.

I have always been one to follow the piercer/tattooer/whateverer's advice on aftercare, but after finding more information, all of which supports using only sea salt soaks, I'm confused about what I should do. For tonight I soaked it with cotton balls soaked in sea salt water, but I'm unsure what to do tomorrow. Soap, or just sea salt from now on? Which one is less likely to irritate and more likely to heal my fresh piercing?

Are nipple piercings attractive on straight men?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:20:55 -0800

Are nipple piercings attractive on straight men? (I have no qualms with LGBT persons with nipple piercings, but that doesn't happen to apply to me.) I'm a 30-ish year-old guy and I already have my tongue pierced and I've been thinking about getting my nipples pierced as well. Before doing so, though, I thought I'd get a sanity check here.

Of course, I realize that opinions will vary, so I'll probably just try to gauge the overall vibe on this (unless, of course, it ends up veering heavily in one direction or the other). And if you're in the in-favor-of camp, I'd also be interested if you have any preference around whether a guy has one or both nipples pierced.

Your mother wants to know how exactly you know the answer.

liketitanic — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:55:52 -0800

Will an earlobe keloid gauge up? Or am I doomed to fishhook earrings forever? I have keloid scars behind each earlobe from piercing. (It's very odd--I had had surgical steel hoops in them for TEN MONTHS after piercing, then I switched to some heavier dangly earrings and developed keloids right away. They've been there ever since--four years--and now I only wear lightweight fishhooks. Have not gotten them from other piercings or from tattoos.) I'd like to gauge up to, say, a 14g earring. What would happen to the keloid? One opinion is that the keloid would gauge up, too--that it would "disappear" around the stretched hole. Is that true? Or would it just get worse?

Professional ear piercing in Columbus, Ohio?

olinerd — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:25:07 -0800

Ear piercing in Columbus, Ohio. My mother and her best friend are in their mid fifties and have both decided they need ear piercings (my mom's first, her friend's second). Being home to OSU the area is rife with piercing and tattoo parlors, but I don't think that's so much what they're going for. The mall experience isn't what they want, either. Are there places to go with professionals that cater less to the extensively body-modded crowd than the places near campus? Do spas do this or anything?

(No offense met to any body-modded individuals out there. Some of my best friends... etc etc. I just have a conservative mother.)

Cartilage piercing: should I or shouldn't I?

MaddyRex — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:28:44 -0800

Do you have good info on (ear) cartilage piercing & care in NYC? So, I got my my upper ear (the cartilage part) pierced several years ago; after six months of awesomeness I tried to change the piercing and it ended...badly. Not horribly, just a keloid-esque infection for several months afterwards. Bye bye, piercing.

Years later, I'm back! I'd really like to get it to work this time. I have no other piercings, so I really am a newbie at the whole piercing-care thing. No piercers in my family either, except my sister, who had an abortive piercing misadventure when she was eleven or so.

Three questions:
1. I really do want to get my ear pierced again. Should I? Or am I one of those unfortunates whose body just doesn't like a shard of metal in it?

2. Recommendations for good, clean places to get cartilage pierced in New York City? Also, can I get it pierced with a ring, or do I need to start off with a stud?

3. Recommendations for piercing care so that I don't have to repeat my misadventure? In retrospect, I probably was not caring for it correctly. The mall kiosk lady gave me alcohol for cleaning and told me to turn my piercing several times a day. I've since been told that this was terrible advice.

Labret Retainer

sapphirebbw — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:01:48 -0800

Help me find a quality labret piercing retainer. My nephew got a labret piercing almost two months ago. He loves it. His new employer does not. Employer dress code requires that he wear a clear retainer during working hours. Our only semi-local source of piercing retainers seems to carry a crappy quality. So far, the three I've purchased for him have come apart easily and have either gotten lost partially or completely or chewed up before he even realized that it had come out. Seems kinda dangerous.

I realize that part of the problem may be my nephew playing around with the piercing but my goodness... I expect a little better wear than a couple of days.

Can those of you who have labrets or have great knowledge of piercings advise me on the best labret retainers and sources? I'd love some specifics and not just a list retainer vendors in general. I've been online and can find retainers but don't know what's best to buy.

Any help is much appreciated.

Six months after piercing, how can I get rid of this bump on my ear?

crosbyh — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:16:43 -0800

Six months ago I got the cartilage of my ear pierced, about half an inch down from the top. Ever since, I’ve had a small red bump on the exit hole of the piercing. It varies in size almost daily, is somewhat tender-feeling, and produces some white crud overnight. I soak it regularly but it doesn’t seem to help. Please help me de-bumpify myself! I had the piercing done at a reputable shop with a needle and, what I was led to believe, a high quality surgical steel barbell. I soak it in a sea salt and warm water mixture once a day (most days) and spray it with a similar mixture once or twice a day as well.

It doesn’t hurt all the time, but it makes the top third or so of my ear feel pretty tender, especially when I hold the phone up to my ear or wake up after sleeping on it. Overnight and sometimes during the day the piercing will produce some crusty white stuff, which I clean off with a Q-tip and warm water. It isn’t nearly as bad as what’s described in this post, but I’m worried that a worse infection could develop if it continues.

Is this something that will go away given more time? Is there something else that I should be doing to get rid of the bump? I heard from a friend that Tea Tree Oil can help make such a thing go away, but I’m reluctant to introduce anything new for fear of making it worse.

Should I pierce my junk?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:56:33 -0800

[NSFW] What can you tell me about male genital piercings? I'm seriously considering having my penis pierced. I'd most likely go with a prince albert, but I'm open to other options as well. I've googled around a decent bit, but am having trouble finding quality first-hand reports of the positive benefits or health consequences of genital piercing. What are some good resources for this type of info?

If you or your partner has a genital piercing, what has your experience been like? I'm looking for anything from rave reviews to horror stories.

One of my most important concerns is the potential for loss of ability to piss my name in the snow. Is such control over direction of urinary flow still possible with a pierced urethra?

Feel free to reply anonymously to should.i.pierce.my.junk@gmail.com

Advice for good piercing shops in NYC!

heartofglass — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:28:07 -0800

Any recommendations for good piercers in NYC? So I have (almost) decided I want to get my tongue pierced!

I'm just a little bit scared about what I have been reading (bad experiences of infections, etc) but am sure that if it is a professional, clean place the chances of it happening are a bit smaller...

Does anyone have a good recommendation of a good body piercing shop in NYC? Any piece of advice about tongue piercing also welcome. Thanks!

How to maintain an iBrow piercing?

alona — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:53:29 -0800

iBrowPiercingFilter:How do I take care of my dandy new eyebrow piercing? I read a lot on the web and talked to a couple of people who got their brow's pierced and I got mine done yesterday. I read up and prepared for a few months (I had been planning on this piercing for a long time). But now that I actually have it pierced I'm not sure what things I have to do and what things are just extra precautions that no one really takes (although I'm sure the safer I am, the better). I'd also like to know when I can change the ball part of my piercing (should I wait a few days?) and just any tips you can give me.

Help me save my ear-holes.

ultraultraboomerang — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:42:03 -0800

Is there any point in re-piercing my ears properly, 20 years after they were pierced with that damn gun they use in the mall? I have 3 piercings in one ear and one in the other. The first two are about 20 years old, the other two are more like 10-12. There have been times when I could wear earrings 24/7 for years with no problem, but lately I'm lucky to get one evening out of them, even with all the elaborate cleansing and neosporin-ing and everything else I've read about to try and prevent that hot, itchy, painful reaction (presumably due to nickel, so I've given up on cheap jewelery).

My question is essentially, is there any benefit from just starting over? They've never healed shut, even though there have been periods of a year or more where I haven't worn a single earring, so I wouldn't really be re-piercing them. But from all I've read about how awful the mall process is and how you really should heal piercings with titanium barbells or what have you, I'm wondering if there's any benefit to going to a real studio and having them treat them like brand new piercings. Maybe buying some more appropriate, sterile jewelery to wear for a few solid weeks to see if I can heal them properly this time. Or even having them re-done with a needle, since I've heard that the wonky angle caused by those mall guns is sometimes a problem in healing.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'd like to have some simple non-cheap non-nickel hoops I could just leave in all the time. What has worked for you, in terms of getting to the point where you can wear earrings properly again? Can I reverse any of the damage presumably done by exposure to cheap metal? Are my ear-holes a lost cause?

But do you think they'll REALLY fire me for an eyebrow ring?

bunnycup — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 08:10:06 -0800

As has been pointed out, although I am a lawyer working in finance I don't look/act/talk/fit the part and my entire personality and sense of self strains and suffocates under the pressures of trying to fit in and the sacrifices it requires on various levels as such. Perhaps as a result of acting out under such strains and their increasing demands for me to pretend to be someone I'm not, I just got a facial piercing. It's not a bigdeal, just an eyebrow ring but I love it. While I understand the hive may feel that keeping it is arguably not a big deal in the "scheme of things," keeping this piercing is symbolic to me or somehow very important. I've read the previous questions on whether a lip piercing is acceptable for a legal internship, but my question differs. You see, I know that my eyebrow piercing won't be acceptable because after about a year of employment with this firm I was politely requested to remove the nose piercing I had during my interview and hiring process. For 5 years it has irked me, bothered me and depressed me that little parts of myself (including, but not limited to piercings and tats) are being hidden, sublimated and desiccated by The Man. Law/finance/etc. was just not the right career path for me, because I think it's just as ridiculous now to judge people based on whether their hair is fuschia or their nose is pierced than I did in college, and 7 years in this environment has only made me chafe more.

Notwithstanding that I work for The Man in finance/law/insurance, I'm in NYC where things are generally a little less conservative, and my employer is really a good guy (doesn't mind when I listen to Lamb of God or Gwar at work, allows my funky weird dyed-black haircut and knows I am not a run of the mill standard conventional normal type personality). Having said that, I do occassionally see clients (call it 1x per month), and just got a call for a client meeting on Monday afternoon. I'm a pretty critical employee, but I do more in-house, compliance, contract negotiation work with less face to face marketing and meetings.

So, my questions are firstly whether anyone has an opinion on whether the trick suggested in other threads (and used by me for a time after the removal of the formal nose ring) with fishing wire could ever fucntion on a -day-old piercing (most comments were prefaced by "if it's not a really new piercing...) or whether there are other tricks available for newer piercings. I'm also curious as to whether anyone has some ideas that could bolster my attempt to use my bangs and perhaps distracting lip make up to hide/draw attention away from the piercing at least until a substitute can be used. Another idea I've had would be to acknowlege the eyebrow piercing is not doable but maybe just get my tongue done instead, or a few more tattoos, so I was wondering if people really thought most people don't notice a tongue piercing. Maybe I can just a bandaid over my eyebrow for the meeting?

What is my (whistling) malfunction?

timepiece — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:47:15 -0800

Why can't I produce the classic taxi whistle (you know, two fingers in mouth, very loud)? And I've just spent quite a while in the attempt, following these directions. Last night, after seeing this question and the link to Google Answers therein, I spent quite a while attempting to produce this whistle. No go.

So, why not? There are two basic possibilities, I guess:
1 - despite detailed instructions, I'm not doing it right
2 - my particular anatomy does not enable me to do this
2a - my tongue is ... larger than average, and my orthodontist says I'm a "tongue thruster". Relevant?
2b - My tongue is currently pierced. Although, I remember trying this years ago, and couldn't do it then either (the directions may have been lacking at the time). During the initial healing period, I was unable to whistle at all, but once the longer barbell was replaced with a shorter one, my regular whistling ability returned.

So, ability or anatomy? Is it possible to be physically incapable of producing this sound in this manner?

Will the TSA take my PA away?

treepour — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:28:18 -0800

New body piercings, too recent to remove safely. Want to travel by plane. What should I expect at security? I've heard reports of people not being allowed on flights unless they remove their jewelry. I've also heard that having "hidden" piercings can result in "further screening" or in a pat-down search. One of the piercings is a genital piercing, so I assume that qualifies as "hidden." I'll drop my pants if I have to, but if there's a significant chance I'll be required to take the jewelry out, I'd rather not waste time and money purchasing a ticket.

My impression is that even if there are official regulations about this sort of thing, they may not be implemented consistently or fairly. Does anyone have recent first or second-hand experience with this?

feel the stretch!

whatitis — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:10:19 -0800

ear piercing/stretching question inside & a good piercing shop in nyc? how big can the lobe be pierced if it is not pierced already? i understand if the ear is already pierced, but what if a person is starting from scratch. for example, if a person wants to size up to a 2 or 0... do they start at 10, wait the six months for it to heal, and then stretch up incrementally once it heals? or can you start with a 2 and just leave it be?

also, any recomended piercing shops in NYC? or places to avoid...

Oh, the price paid for beauty!

schroedinger — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:43:14 -0800

Make the hurting stop! I got my ears pierced with stainless steel balls last Saturday, one in each lobe and two in the cartilage of my right ear. All was well until Monday, when an infection started in my cartilage. How do I get rid of it? Grossish details inside! The piercings were done with a gun at Clair's, so I guess I got what I paid for. I've been carefully cleaning them three times a day or more with the 0.12% Benzalkonium Chloride solution they gave me. Since the infection started I've also been intermittently spraying it with a 0.13% Benzalkonium Chloride solution in a spray bottle packaged as a travel hand sanitizer. Last night I soaked it in a saline solution.

This has not held off the infection, unfortunately. It's spread to my entire ear--the ear is swollen, red, and very tender to the touch, but not oozing or bleeding. It seemed to subside over the night, but in the past day it's gotten bad enough that it hurts to open my jaw.

Any MeFites with good advice on dealing with a piercing infection? This is easily one of the more painful things I've experienced--I needed to use a menthol spray last night to deaden things enough to get to sleep. A housemate of mine with cartilage piercings says this is normal, so there must be more remedies.

Yes, I will be going to the doctor tomorrow morning. I'm looking for ideas before then, especially ones that don't involve getting ride of the piercings.

What happens when women with nipple piercings breastfeed?

joannemerriam — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:07:16 -0800

What happens when women with nipple piercings breastfeed? Can women with pierced nipples still breastfeed? I know you'd have to remove the jewellery, but does scar tissue and/or the existence of extra holes affect anything?

A book on native pain rituals?

psyward — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:40:37 -0800

I'm looking for a book on ancient rituals of piercing and tattooing. Particularly among tribe members for purposes of adornment. My wife and I have had a look on amazon, and there dosent seem to be anything.

Can anyone out there reccomend a book on this topic?

Thanks in advance.

Piercing

josher71 — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 02:17:06 -0800

(piercing filter) I have an ampallang piercing. I have had it about ten years now and have never taken it out. I'd like to take it out and put it back in but I've never tried that before and I'm a little scared I won't be able to get it back in or it will be really, really, painful to put back in. Does anyone know anything about this or have any experience with this?

I think I screwed up my nose piercing.

sugarfish — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 21:35:48 -0800

I think I just screwed up my new nose piercing. I was cleaning it and the jewelry fell down the drain. Luckily I had some new jewelry, because I was getting ready to try to switch it out. I put the new wee stud in and it didn't go all the way through to the other side. I tried another curved piece but the ball on the end was too big and it started to bleed.

So we got the original piercing jewelry out of the drain, boiled it for ten minutes with a little bit of bleach, doused it with bactine, and tried to put it in. Of course, my nose is now swollen and throbbing with all the abuse it's taken in the last twenty minutes, so the original jewelry doesn't go through all. I'm back to the little stud that doesn't go all the way through. I don't know what to do now.

Will the inside of my nose grow up overnight? Is there anything else I should be worried about? I must add that I'm very upset right now so if anything needs clarified I'm happy to do it.

The piercing is almost two weeks old.

Nose piercing infection : help needed

iTristan — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 08:56:21 -0800

I got my wife a nose piercing for her birthday. She'd really wanted it for a long time, and I became a one-cooler husband. Trouble now, is that she's developed an infection right next to the piercing – a fairly visible dark bulbous spot. She's tried a few things including Tea Tree oil, which does help reduce, but not eliminate the infection. This has now been going on for about a month and she's getting really upset that it won't go away (I can't blame her). I don't want her to regret getting the piercing because I think it's a really cool thing that she's done (a real stretch for her), and pretty sexy too. Any suggestions on getting rid of this infection?

Remove the ring or not?

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:03:05 -0800

I'm about to give birth (due in 5 days) and I'm uncertain as to if I should remove my clitoral hood piercing beforehand. I have a small (5/8" diameter, maybe), horizontal, captive ball ring clitoral hood piercing. Will it pose any potential problems during delivery? Should I have it removed? If so, how long should I wait before putting it back in?

How to keep stretched piercings clean?

girlwonder — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 06:25:14 -0800

Unpleasant piercing question: why are my flesh tunnels covered in mank, and how can I best clean them to get rid of the awful smell? I've got fully healed 10mm stretched ear piercings, and swap between wearing steel tunnels and acrylic plugs. In the space of a few hours wear they get covered in what I'm assuming is lymph, and I tend to clean them and my piercings themselves with saline solution. This really isn't getting rid of the smell though - what can I use that will do a better job and won't irritate my piercings?