Piercing World: June 2008

lip frenum (smiley), nostril, monroe -Lip frenulum piercing

Lip frenulum piercing

A lip frenulum piercing is a body piercing through the frenulum of either the upper or lower lip. A piercing through the upper lip frenulum is sometimes called a scrumper, or a smily, because it can be visible when the wearer smiles. Opposingly, the piercing through the lower lip frenulum is sometimes referred to as a frowny.

Such piercings, anatomy permitting, are relatively simple procedures. Healing time is typically six to eight weeks.[1] Rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash three or four times a day helps with the healing process; those with new piercings should also avoid smoking, alcohol, and spicy foods until the piercing site is fully healed.[2]

Lip frenulum piercing

Tongue Piercing Not That Risky, But Things Can Go Wrong

It's hard to believe that certain things ever became popular.
Pet rocks, for example.
Shag carpeting.
Sticking a needle through your tongue.
But oral piercing, if not now mainstream, has at least become more common in recent years. According to one survey, 16% of the females and 4% of the males at a New York university had pierced tongues.
The practice doesn't appear to be any more risky than getting an ear pierced. However, if you're going for a hole in your tongue, you might want to be aware of what can go wrong.
The most common problems from oral piercing include excessive bleeding, infection and injuries to the mouth and teeth. Others include swelling, scarring, nerve damage and periodontal disease.
In the survey of New York college students, 6% of those with an oral piercing had some type of problem afterward. This was lower than the problem rates the study found for ear piercing (12%), nipple piercing (21%) or navel piercing (24%).
"Although it is uncommon, a few patients have required a hospital admission and intravenous antibiotics to treat infections of the tongue and the floor of the mouth," says Sidney B. Eisig, professor and director of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in New York.
Also, Dr. Eisig says, "A scar is left in the tongue once the post is removed."
There have been several cases of people cracking or chipping teeth with their piercings. One study found that nearly half of people who wore long barbells (about 1.6 centimeters or longer) in their piercings and kept them in for at least four years had some chipping of their back teeth.
Recent studies have demonstrated that the gums inside the front of the mouth are more likely to recede if the tongue is pierced. This is caused by repeatedly pushing the piercing against the front teeth. When gums recede, the bone underneath is reabsorbed by the body. This can loosen the teeth and ultimately cause them to fall out.
Dentists also suggest that some types of restorations — such as crowns made of porcelain or porcelain and metal — could be fractured by a piercing. Some recommend acrylic balls or barbells, rather than metal ones.
Jessica Clendenon, 26, first had her tongue pierced when she was 21. Since then, she's removed the barbell twice, allowing her tongue to heal, only to re-pierce it both times. Now, she says, "The third time's the charm. I have no intention of taking this [piercing] out."
Jessica, an associate account executive for a Baltimore communications firm, says she's never had an infection from any of her piercings. But then, she followed the after-care directions to the letter.
"For two weeks, I had to rinse with Listerine every time I ate or drank anything. I took a travel-size bottle with me everywhere," she says. "I think it's likely that most people that get infections probably don't take care of themselves afterward."

Along those same lines, she says, "Some people play with [the barbell] or chew on it. It seems to me that's why their teeth crack."
Initially, Jessica did have some swelling, but she says the area was completely healed after about two weeks. After her second piercing, she noticed sores on the gums near her bottom teeth, which led her to remove the barbell. Today, she says, "If my dentist thought [the piercing] was posing a serious problem to my gums and teeth, I would take it out."
Piercings also can interfere with eating and speech. Jessica says she had to "learn to talk all over again, especially Ss and Ts." Now, she says, "Mostly no one can tell I have my tongue pierced. I consider the barbell like any other piece of jewelry, like earrings or a bracelet. "
And what does her dentist think?
"I've had two dentists since I've had [oral piercings] and they aren't thrilled about it," she says. "My last dentist said, 'I guess you don't need me to tell you that I don't like the idea.'"

Tongue piercing

Lip piercing

Lip piercing
Lip piercings can be placed anywhere around the mouth, but the surface of the lip is not typically pierced itself, except for horizontal lip piercings and canine bites. Piercings in specific positions have certain names:
Monroe piercings are labret studs worn on the upper lip where Marilyn Monroe had her famous mole. This piercing is also known as the Madonna piercing in some circles.
Medusa piercings go through the center of the upper lip (the philtrum), perpendicular to the tissue.
Labrets are pierced with a labret stud. A flat disc sits between the back of the lip and the gums and a bead sits on the outside of the lip. Labrets can pierced in the center or off-center. A variation of this is the lowbret, a lower labret.
Vertical labrets go through the center of the bottom lip, parallel to the tissue. The variation is called the vertical lowbret, which starts inside the mouth between the lower lip and the teeth (not behind the teeth as with a mandible piercing) and travels straight down, exiting on the lower edge of the jawline.
Horizontal lip piercings are a horizontal bars on the lower lip that go through the lip surface. This is a very rare piercing

Microdermals ftw

Three weeks ago I head in to get two surface piercings on my chest. The counter woman asks what I have in mind, which I tell her. She explains how she's absolutely loves the look of what I wanted, but also says to discuss it with the piercer as with things of that nature, the piercer is best to sit you with something. I wait about 45 minutes and now it's my turn to figure out what's going down, what jewelery will be used, ect. Georg asks what I want, and I explain it as I did for the woman earlier. He then mentions microdermals(I asked about surface bars), and apparently he became very intrigued with what I wanted, and offers to do five microdermals, instead of three points. Then he asks, "How much do you plan on spending?". I mention about $150 or so. He says for the five dermals, it would be $175 just for the jewlery(not even including the sitting fee or being pierced). We settle on $165 that I would in total pay as he says he was becoming intrigued with what I had in mind. I'm asked what colors, ect I want. I settle on two opals, and three blacks in the shape of a v on my chest.
The procedure itself was less painful than expected. He sat me down, cleaned the area, marked me once, then looked at it for a bit to make sure it sat right. He pondered it for a bit, then asked me to look at it to make sure it's what I had in mind. I said yes, he looked at it a bit more, and then took me out to have the counter woman's point of view on the accuracy of the marks and to make sure that it was level, sat with my chest correctly, ect. She asked what the other people in the shop thought(by this time, I had five eyes looking at my chest Haha!). It was suggested to move one side up just a bit, but then it would be good.
I was taken back into the room, and layed down. I asked him many questions about the jewelry, how it was going in, why it was shaped how it was, how it worked, ect as he was preparing his table of goodies and sterile equipment. The method used was simply a dermal punch and the foot of the microdermal jewelery pushing with clamps to make a pocket under the skin. I was surprised at how less painful it was than expected. It's more pressure than anything. He kept asking if I was feeling okay, which I was. shortly after he finished one(with jewlery in)and was getting ready for the next punch, it suddenly bled down my neck. I love bleeding I had found out at that moment. Haha. He finished the rest, with my sternum being the most painful.
Also, the aftercare was relatively easy. They were a bit bloody for three days, though. I used sea salt soaks once a day, and then H2Ocean about three times with you're average, daily shower. It really comes in handy when you're at work. I used 'spot' bandaids for three days, day/night. I continued using them only every night at bedtime thereafter until I hit two weeks to keep them in place and to avoid knocking them. All was well, until one night about five days ago I woke up(still with bandaids on) and realized one of my Microdermals became a bit angry at me and tender. Sleeping on it wrong was what I felt was the problem as it was clean, only one, and was covered through the night. I've been doing one warm sea salt soak a day, using H20 about three times a day as I was before the problem, and stopped using bandaids and it seems to be dying down thankfully.
My skin hates that bandaide adhesive. That seems to be getting better as well. Make sure you take off your bandaids after a warm shoewr because it's easier on your skin, and that's the absolute best time to soak them.
I'm heading in to my piercer's shop tommorrow to have my bridge downsized a bit, and have a look at my microdermals. Georg from HPP wanted me to come in at three weeks to get a photo as he was pleased with his work, but unfortunately they are not photo worthy yet. Lame! Haha.
It was worth everything to get these little things. I've had several girls ask about them, and admire them. And that common question, "How do those stay in?!" or I get that cringe face. Haha. That's awesome.
I love them. Make sure to ask every question you have about them. Remember, these are more permanent than typical piercings. Be 100% sure, go to a reputable artist, and use common sense. You'll most likely love them. I know I do.
E-mail me with questions, comments, or whatever. Check out Georg Birns or Jim at High Priestess Piercing if you're ever in Eugene, Oregon! They have both done work on me, and thus far, I've never had any serious problems and it's made sure I get exactly what I intend on and are friendly.

Nipple piercing

Female Nipple piercing
Female Nipple piercing

male Nipple piercing

Nipple piercing

Nipple piercing
Female Nipple piercing
A nipple piercing is a piercing, centered usually at the base of the nipple. It can be pierced at any angle but is usually done horizontally or, less often, vertically. It is also possible to place multiple piercings on top of one another. A nipple piercing typically takes 3-6 months to fully heal. Some people have noted that they can take up to a year and a half to fully heal. It's recommended that if stretching a nipple piercing, the piercee waits at least the healing time of their piercings between stretches.

Tragus piercing The saga of the tragus piercing: final chapter

Tragus piercing
I think this should be the last mention of this troublesome piercing.
I got to a point where I decided the lump wasn't really visible anyway and gave up and just accepted it. Then it flared up again and a lump started forming on the front!

So I'd tried sea salt soaks, I'd tried the provided treatment stuff from the piercer, I'd tried chamomile tea bag compresses, I'd switched the jewelry to something that would let it drain better, I'd been on antibiotics, I tried steaming it, I tried yelling at it and threatening to kill its family, so I decided to try the last home remedy I'd found mentioned online Tea Tree Oil.
I know its good stuff, I also know its strong and had read it could make it worse as bacteria can adhere to oils and that it may burn the surrounding skin and a few other horror stories. But I was at the end of my tether, next step was plastic surgery.
So I started to apply it every morning and night, and for the first week it would sting like fuck every time. At the end of that week I noticed that the main lump at the back seemed to have dried out a bit, and formed a hard cap, which fell off. The remaining lump was tender underneath, but also noticeably smaller. "A-HA!!!!"
So then I upped the schedule to applications morning and night and whenever else I thought of it. Ive been going for 5 weeks now and both lump are nearly gone.
Its a normal looking piercing and I am thrilled. Theres relief that I don't have a possibly never ending battle with scar tissue. With proper jewelry in there and it all healed up, I can see the cute little piercing I'd wanted I finally the effect I'd wanted all along.

The tragus piercing is a perforation of the tragus for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. The tragus projects immediately in front of the ear canal. The piercing itself is usually made with a small gauge hollow piercing needle, and typical jewelry would be a small diameter captive bead ring or small gauge post style piercing jewelry. A related piercing is known as the Antitragus piercing.