Aiden, Author at Rogue Piercing

Posted on 05/08/202206/08/2022 by Aiden — Leave a comment

3 Years a Rogue.

It has been a whole 3 years since I got the keys to 6 Bridlesmith Walk and began the adventure that is Rogue. It has been an interesting 3 years so I thought I would put together a blog to take a look back at where we have been and where we are going.

Dreams, Loans and Business Plans

The first seeds of Rogue were sown many years before I began writing the business plan. As a travelling piercer I fell in love with many different studios around the world and I was fortunate enough to get the chance to work at and visit some of the worlds top studios. During this time I was able to see what worked and didn’t work for me, what I liked and didn’t like, and it helped me to build up an image of the style I wanted (light, airy, high ceilings, minimalist, and very euro style apparently).

After nearly 3 years of living out of a backpack, sleeping on floors and in spare rooms (thanks to everyone that housed me!), and with Brexit looming, it was time for me to head back to the UK. I managed to get myself a job at a studio that was in the same region as my home town but sadly this studio didn’t work out for me. I found myself back at the family home and I was contemplating leaving piercing behind. A great childhood friend called me and told me to come visit him in his new home in Nottingham, as I hadn’t seen him since I had hit the road travelling. One day trip to Nottingham later and I was looking through the window of what would soon become Rogue. My friend reminded me of all the work I had done to get as far as I had, both personally and for the industry with the UKAPP and teaching seminars. He said that it was time for me to create my own space and hold true to my own standards. So home I went, and the paperwork began in a frenzy. 4 weeks later I had a business plan, a financial advisor, a start-up loan, a registered Limited company, keys to a premises and all of the fear and excitement that comes with such massive changes.

The Build

Once the keys were in my hand everything was suddenly very real. Rogue had bills arriving and the studio was just an empty space. The start-up loan got used up pretty much instantly just by buying Rogue’s jewellery stock and building sterilisation suite so I was left with a very small fund to complete the build. Due to this I got my DIY on, called some friends and got to work. In 2 weeks I managed to lay the floors, build the walls, build a full sterilisation suite, build out a piercing room, install fire alarms, plumb in two sinks, build a suspension rig, and acquire and move in all the required furniture. Every part of Rogue was planned out to meet or exceed UKAPP and APP standards from the start, so that when the time was right I could apply for membership.

The empty space the day I moved in
Laying the floor
Framing the first walls
My room began to take shape

Solo Days

The early days of Rogue involved me sitting alone in an empty studio, with no staff and no client base. This took a lot of mental strain to continue on. Some days not a single person would walk through the door. I did my very best to offer the best services and products as I could to every person that came in. This ethos still stands to this day. I always wanted everyone to feel welcome at Rogue. I didn’t want Rogue to feel like an exclusive club, I wanted the exact opposite in fact. Piercing is a very human desire and I didn’t want anyone to feel excluded from this.

The first sale by Rogue was a momentous day for me. I still have this £5 note.

The Beginnings of a Team

Before long I was thinking about forming a team. Nottingham was now my home and the people of the city were making me feel more and more welcome as each day passed. The studio was getting busier and I felt it was time to grow and bring new Rogues into the shop.

I decided that it was time for me to take on an apprentice. I had a 10 year piercing career under my belt and a very high level of experience. I wanted to pass that on to the next generation. My apprenticeship was a wonderful time of my life that I look back on with the fondest of memories. So the hunt began and I found Jess. Not long after Jess joined, our wonderful Manager Kat became a Rogue. Kat gave themself a job more than I did. During the first day of lockdown Kat came to help me stock take before locking everything away and they basically never left!

Our Manager and jewellery extraordinaire Kat!
The beautiful Breo! Bringing chilled piercing experiences with super precision.
Gemma brings a down to earth attitude and guides clients through piercings with ease.
Jay is the apprentice extraordinaire and her growth surprises us all daily.

The Pandemic

Unbeknownst to everyone, the hardest phase of my entire piercing career was on the horizon at this point. The day the world stopped: Covid-19. As a close contact service provider we were one of the first types of business to be closed down and one of the last to be allowed to reopen. As a young business this was utterly punishing and I genuinely wasn’t sure if Rogue would come out the other side. I was facing the end of my piercing dream and potentially having to put my steel toe capped boots on and return to an engineering job to pay back the start-up loan. The hard work and camaraderie that Jess and Kat put in really kept me and Rogue going during this time. All training and apprenticeship had to be paused at this point, and our only source of income was whatever government handouts we could get. This put severe strain on all of us. In the end I decided to take a very large second loan so that I could be sure that Rogue’s door would one day open again. That loan still hangs over us to this day but we’ve managed to keep going and we’re still standing and making Nottingham shine.

The Rollercoaster

Since that first lockdown we had another two lockdowns, had an altercation with the alt-right community (oops!) that included threats of violence towards myself and the team, had staff members leave, had jewellery shortages, rocketing PPE prices and we had to change out our entire basic range due to manufacturer issues. But hey, it wasn’t all doom and gloom! The good bits have been really great. We had team members continue to learn and grow, tattooing joined us in the form of Anna with Revenant Tattoo, the Rogue team got bigger with Breo, Jay and Gemma joining us, we became UKAPP members and have had endless amazing support from our fantastic client base. There has even been a new person welcomed to this world by one of our clients in the form of the first Rogue baby! It’s been a real rollercoaster of emotion and at times it’s been a rough ride but what a ride it has been.

Rogue in 2022

2022 has been a big year for us all at Rogue. Breo became a resident rather than a guest, Gemma joined the team as junior piercer and Jay pierced her first ever human being. I’m super excited to see what the future holds for this team of wonderful weirdos. I’m grateful to have them working alongside me and wouldn’t want it any other way. Some of the team are now going on to teach at the UKAPP conference, help train other fledgling piercers, go back to university to help support the piercing industry, and continue on their own personal growth. I couldn’t think of a better place to be right now.

I am the Ring Master of this beautiful nightmare and it’s wonderful.

The Future

Knowing what the future holds has always been beyond our reach, but following the last few years this feels even more difficult. I am excited to see what is over the horizon for Rogue, myself and the team. I’m sure we will take on the challenges head on. Rogue has grown in directions I never could have imagined, and has taught me more than I envisaged. We’re going to continue doing what we do. Putting high quality piercings, body jewellery and piercing information out into the world. I’m looking forward to writing up the 5 year blog in a couple of years time and having a big ol’ party to celebrate! For now I just want to say thank you to the team, clients and friends who have helped make Rogue what it is today.

-Aiden

Love from your friendly neighbourhood Rogue

Posted on 03/12/202103/12/2021 by Aiden — 1 Comment

Curved Problems

With our changeover of basic range just around the corner we thought we should highlight how much effort and investment goes into producing the high quality body jewellery we stock. It may come as a surprise but the humble curved barbell and circular barbell throw up the biggest problems for jewellery makers. This blog will show some of the solutions to these problems by jewellery design and the processes and machinery used in curved jewellery production.

Disclaimer: These are not the only methods to produce these items. There are many ways to make everything.

Shape

Circles aren't as simple as they seem. Who doesn't love a bit of radial geometry! — Circles aren’t as simple as they seem. Who doesn’t love a bit of radial geometry!

Body jewellery may look like simple pieces of metal but the exact shapes have been refined over decades to create designs that promote a smooth, healthy heal and lifetime. Sadly not all body jewellery is made equal and a lot of the time lower quality pieces come from aiming to create the cheapest item possible rather than creating the best.

Geometry seems simple on paper but making a finished piece of jewellery from a drawing is made much more difficult due to implant grade Titanium being notoriously difficult to work with.

Curves or Bends?

The key word in curved barbell is “curved”. High quality curves are made to be an arc from end to end. Having the same profile and curve the entire length of a wearable is required so jewellery can move through a piercing without stretching and irritating the piercing channel (as shown in fig 1 and fig 2 below). Lower quality curves are bent in the middle which will put more pressure on the centre of the piercing channel as well as stretch the piercing channel as it passes through (as shown in fig 3 and fig 4 below).

Bends

A “bent” barbell is just that; A barbell which has been bent. The bend can be applied manually or by using machinery such as a hydraulic press. In both methods the barbell is held in a vice or jig (fig 5), a lever is placed over the barbell and then force is applied (fig 6). Ideally some form of go no-go gauge for manual or a pressure gauge for hydraulic would be used to create standardised bend. These methods are fast and low cost but require lots of operator time and there is a high chance of variations in the final pieces.

Curves

As a curved barbell is a full arc and it is generally made from a coil, full ring, part ring or straight bar blank. Whichever blank (a piece of material prepared to be made into something (such as a key) by a further operation) is chosen there is going to be material wastage. This material waste goes onto the final price of the piece so it is already going to cost more than the bent barbell. Coils create the most wastage but can also increase the speed (And therefor cost) of the cutting, drilling and threading stages. Full rings are less expensive in material costs but are more manually intense due to not being able to create batches. Part rings are generally made from coils and full rings or machines such as CNC wire benders can be used. CNC wire benders are very specialised and very expensive pieces of machinery. Curves minimise the material wastage but due to the high cost of CNC wire benders and a specialist skilled operator being required they increase the setup cost significantly. Bar blanks will be pressed into a custom jig to form them in a hydraulic press.

A CNC wire bender in action

A part ring would now be ready for drilling and threading. Coils and full rings will need to be cut down to the correct length first and this will require using specialist jigs to hold them and either a power saw/grinder or a milling machine. If a milling machine is used then it can also be used for the threading section too. All of these machines add cost. A saw/grinder setup would be the cheapest setup cost but has an ongoing cost due to the manual nature of this method. A milling machine would add a large setup cost but has a much lower ongoing manual cost as batches can be setup so the milling machine can keep running on its own.

No two body jewellery companies make their curved barbells to the same radius. As piercers this variation can be useful as no two bodies are the same but does mean stocking multiple brands.

Circulars or Horseshoes?

Just like curves, the keyword in circular barbell is circular A circular barbell will move through the piercing channel smoothly and with minimal resistance (fig 7 and fig 8). A common slang name for circular barbells is horseshoes, but a horseshoe shape isn’t ideal for body jewellery. Horseshoes cause similar issues to bent barbells as they also distort and stretch the piercing channel during movement (fig 9 and fig 10). This distortion can lead to irritated piercings. The extended legs on a horseshoe also bring the attachments closer together which gives a different aesthetic and increases installation difficulty.

Horsehoes

A horseshoe is basically an arc with extended legs on each end. The legs are a symptom of the production method and process order. A horseshoe will be drilled and threaded before it is formed. The forming can be completed in a manner of ways but the most common would be to use a custom jig and a hydraulic press. A barbell would be placed into the jig (fig 11) and then the press would apply force to wrap the bar into a U shape (fig 12). A second stage jig and/or press would be needed to push the legs in towards each other (fig 13). The initial setup cost for this method would be much less but the ongoing manual cost would be high.

Circulars

Hydraulic press 10 ton — A hydraulic press with pressure gauge.

A circular barbell would use some of the same machinery and blank shapes (albeit in a different diameter) as curved barbells. Coils and Full Rings would follow the same process as curves and Part Rings could also be produced using the CNC wire bender or by using a hydraulic press and custom jig.

Threading

Threading creates the biggest problem for high end curved and circular barbells. This is because the threading must be added after the shape has been formed otherwise the thread will be distorted and will not work (fig 14). All of the lower quality curves and circulars can have the threading added first as they have straight sections on the end that doesn’t distort during forming (fig 15). The straight end section uses faster processes, less steps and lower skilled operators so is much cheaper.

Adding a thread inside a small curved item adds an extra level of accuracy. Drilling a straight thread inside a curve doesn’t leave much space for error and can cause a weak point in the jewellery (fig 16). The accuracy required to avoid this can be achieved using machinery and skilled operators but this significantly increases the cost.

Some of the machinery that can be used to thread our circular and curved barbells is cutting edge technology. CNC 5 axis milling machines can be used to batch produce items using specialised jigs, CNC lathes can be used for single item manufacture but both of these methods are high manual intensity for highly specialised skill sets. Cutting edge technology comes at a cost though.

We love the amount of effort and perfectionism that goes into the body jewellery that we sell. Having suppliers that care as much about the jewellery that goes in your body as we do at Rogue really makes us happy. The items we use at Rogue are made to last a lifetime without harming your body, all while looking amazing. We hope that this blog has helped you see that simple looking items can be anything but simple to produce.

Posted on 05/11/202105/11/2021 by Aiden — 2 Comments

The Basics Transition

At Rogue we pride ourselves on using the best jewellery, equipment and techniques that we have access to, to give our clients the best service we possibly can. A lot of our regulars will know that I (Aiden) used to be a Mechanical Engineer for the MoD and specialised in metal standards and that this knowledge lead me to be a driving factor in the creation of the Material Standards for the UKAPP. Keeping up with progression is an important part of any piercing studio and any piercers career and the time has come for us to progress again.

Since the beginning of Rogue our basic range jewellery has been produced by a UK based body jewellery manufacturer who has responded well to demands from piercers to keep improving. It has come to our attention recently that this company hasn’t been as open to progression and their quality has been dropping and this has left us in the tricky position of having to change supplier. There currently isn’t another option in the UK working to the standards we require so we are beginning to import our jewellery all the way from America.

So, What’s Different?

For us to be confident to install new jewellery into a fresh piercing we must know a lot of information but by far the most important is the grade of the material. The grade of the material is connected to a standard which tells us exactly what mixture of metals make up the alloy and the exact process for how the material was made. It is quite common for piercers and clients to get hung up on the chemistry of the material but that only tells us part of the picture.

Chemistry Test

A chemistry test is used to prove what the alloy is of a specified piece of metal. A chemistry test isn’t suitable for implanted materials because it only proves the chemistry of the single piece tested rather than the entire batch. We need a higher level of guarantee that body jewellery is safe to go in the body. In the industrial world a chemistry test is fine but as every single piece of body jewellery must be safe for use in the body we need a more detailed form of guarantee.

As the item has to be ground and damaged in order to be tested, it would be unusable after the test is complete.

In the image to the left, note the sentence at the bottom “Samples submitted by customer, results relate only to items tested.”. This means that even the testing laboratory agree that this test is only suitable for the exact test piece rather than the entire batch.

Mill Certificate

Mill certificates tell us the exact process that was used to produce the metal and guarantees that all metal produced in the process will be homogeneous (Definition: Of uniform structure or composition). This is vitally important when installing jewellery into the human body.

The UK piercing industry has been specifically requesting Mill Certificates (not Chemistry tests) from all of our suppliers since the formation of the UKAPP. The reason for these requests is that in the past Titanium sourced from certain mills around the world has been found to have falsified their paperwork for Titanium used in surgical implants. This non-compliant metal only revealed itself to be unsafe when people that had medical implants started to have reactions to the metals and in a few extreme cases the implants were rejected by the body. Legislation for Body jewellery is not nearly as stringent as legislation written for medical implants, but the body can have just as serious reactions to non-safe body jewellery as it would to a non-safe medical implant. As Piercers we want every piercing to be happy and healthy so having a guaranteed safe material is of the utmost importance to us.

Important points to note on a mill certificate are:

Material Country of Origin – For DFARS approval
Material Grade – To show the designated grade of the material from this melt
Melting Process – To show the process the mill followed to produce the material
Heat/Melt Number – For batch control and material traceability
Material Dimensions – To show which supplied raw material came from the batch
Total Material – Shown in either weight or length – To show how much raw material was sourced

DFARS

Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270) | Lockheed Martin — An M270 MLRS (Multi launch Rocket System) produced as a product between the US, UK and French defence industries. The materials used to manufacture this vehicle are all controlled y the DFARS agreement.

DFARS – Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement

Due to some Titanium Mills falsifying their paperwork and producing material not of the grade stated the Body Piercing Industry started to search for a form of guarantee that material sourced is of the grade advertised. There were very few options available for this and the final choice was the DFARS agreement.

DFARS is a system used by the US Defence sector. It was originally laid out to allow the American Defence Industry to source material from outside of the US and still guarantee that the material is of the correct grade. I used to work within a similar framework when sourcing Armour for the British military. As the American Defence sector is incredibly specific about the metals used in their products this was the perfect system for the body jewellery industry. This system may seem like it doesn’t apply to body jewellery but as there aren’t any systems for material guarantees outside for the defence world, the DFARS agreement is currently the best system we have.

Rather than have individual companies or metal mills be compliant with DFARS, different countries will claim compliance. This means that any material sources from these countries will have a guarantee it was produced using a process specified in the material grade. Current countries in the DFARS agreement are:

Australia	Greece	Portugal
Belgium	Israel	Slovenia
Canada	Italy	Spain
Czech Republic	Japan	Sweden
Denmark	Latvia	Switzerland
Egypt	Luxembourg	Turkey
Estonia	Netherlands	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
France	Norway
Germany	Poland

Notable nations missing from the DFARS agreement are China, India and Thailand.

The UK is a DFARS compliant nation, but as we have no Titanium Mills here we must source our Titanium from elsewhere. Currently the vast majority of titanium is produced in China but as China isn’t a DFARS compliant country we CANNOT accept this as safe for use in body jewellery. Currently most verifiable implant grade Titanium is sourced from US or Italian mills.

Polish

SHOP TIPS #293 Surface Roughness Finish 1 of 2 tubalcain - YouTube — A Roughness Scale used in industrial applications to compare surface finishes

At Rogue we are constantly shouting about surface finish. This is because there is a direct link between the quality of the surface finish, the ease of healing and the long term health of a piercing. The suppliers we are switching to achieve a much better polish so this will be a big improvement on our current basic range. A better (more shiny) surface finish improves your healing process. We discuss this in lots of details in our dedicated Surface Finish blog!

A super-shiny mirror finish on an Anatometal 18k Dome is a perfect example.

Thread Quality

Screw Thread Terminology Explained | Assembly Fasteners, Inc. — A Diagram of the dimensions required for a screw thread to be produced

The new suppliers we are moving too also have a much tighter Quality Control system. this means that there will be less issues with jewellery coming unscrewed, being lost or being damaged. We would love to live in a world where products are 100% perfect all the time but sadly this isn’t realistic. The companies we are switching to also want to live in a world where products are perfect 100% of the time and we are excited to be working with companies that have such pride in their products.

Cost

With higher quality Titanium, better quality control, international shipping, import tax, inflation and the damage to the supply chain that COVID has caused we will be seeing a price rise on our basic options. We never like having to put our prices up but during this time we are going to have to. We will give all of our clients plenty of notice so we can all prepare for the change.

We are not in the business of changing prices without giving you plenty of notice! We are aiming to change our basic range jewellery to new, higher-quality basic jewellery in January. Any appointments after this day will have a different cost for basic jewellery – Our high-end prices are staying the same!

As always we will be striving to be the best piercers we can be and will continue to do the best we can for our clients. That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with a blog all about circular barbells. Have a good week everyone!

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, you can contact us via email or instagram.

Aiden

Posted on 08/10/202108/10/2021 by Aiden — 1 Comment

Precare for Piercing

As Piercers we talk a lot about aftercare and rarely mention precare. Precare is just as important to your health and the short and long term health of your piercing.

What is Precare?

Precare is all about making sure you are healthy, rested, hydrated, well fed, free from intoxicants and certain medication. We will discuss each of these different aspects in this weeks blog.

Healthy

It might seem an obvious point to make but being healthy is imperative to your piercing healing well. At any given moment your bodies immune system is fighting to keep you healthy. In everyday life we are exposed to bacteria, fungus, viruses and debris that can be harmful to you. The vast majority of these foreign bodies are dealt with before they even have a chance to harm your body. When healing a new piercing you are putting stress on your immune system; if your immune system is already under stress from something else then this will extend your piercings healing time and increase the risk of rejection and migration. It is best to give your body a chance to heal before adding new piercings.

Illness

If you are ill then getting a piercing is going to a very unpleasant experience for you as your body is under stress and your senses will be heightened. We don’t want to put you through undue pain or trauma so strongly advise you wait until any illness has passed. As well as protecting you we also need to protect ourselves; We really don’t enjoy being ill so much prefer it if you are able to give us enough notice to move your appointment.

Rested, Hydrated and Well Fed

Again these might seem like obvious points but a rested, hydrated and well fed body will both handle the piercing better and heal better. Our immune systems are constantly working hard and they are fuelled and kept in working order by the rest we get and what we put into our body. When you have rested, hydrated and eaten there is a much lower risk of feeling faint; this is because when you get pierced your body will release adrenaline and start using up the sugar in your blood. Our blood sugar is the fuel that keeps our bodies going, as it gets used up the body will divert blood flow and sugars to prioritise different systems. The upset tummy feeling that can occur after a piercing is because the body is focussing resources towards your muscles and healing. Hydration is just as important as food because the liquids that we drink eventually end up in our blood stream and help us to move nutrients and white blood cells around our body. When you are dehydrated you can feel light headed and lethargic, neither of these are good for going into a piercing session.

As Piercers we will look after you and guide you through your piercing but making sure you have a good energy resource is super important.

Intoxicants and Medication

No Alcohol before piercing

There are several reasons why being intoxicated before a piercing is inappropriate. Intoxicants include alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and many other legal and illegal drugs that effect your mental state. Aside from health issues, in the UK you cannot consent to a piercing when intoxicated and this means we cannot legally pierce you.

Intoxicants can cause a lot of changes to your body such as:

Raised Blood Pressure – This will cause you to bleed more and will extend your appointment time. Here at Rogue we wont send you home until we have stopped bleeding as we want to make sure you are fine and healthy. Intoxicants that cause raised blood pressure include stimulants such as cocaine.

Lower Blood Pressure – This will cause you to feel faint and potentially pass out. Rogue is staffed by a full team of first aiders so we can care for you in the case of an emergency but it is a much more pleasant experience all around if our skills aren’t required. Depressants such as Diazepam can cause these effects.

Thin Blood – Much like raised blood pressure, blood thinning will cause bleeds and extended healing times. Blood thinning medication such as Warfarin can make a piercing become a serious issue as the bleed will not stop due to not clotting. This can lead to hospitalisation and causes undue stress to you, your piercer and the hospital staff who will care for you. A very common blood thinner is Aspirin. It is VERY important to tell your piercer if you are taking blood thinning medication.

Heightened Sensitivity – All piercings carry an element f pain. Your piercer will do everything they can to make the piercing experience as smooth and comfortable as possible and minimise any pain. Intoxicants such as Cannabis can increase the sensitivity and therefor a more painful piercing experience. Surprisingly to a lot of people, most piercers don’t enjoy inflicting pain and see it as the worst part of our job.

Increased Heart Rate – Much like blood thinning and raised blood pressure an increased heart rate will cause an extended bleed and a longer appointment. A common causes of increased heart rate is caffeine. We are all caffeine junkies here at Rogue but its important not to over caffeinate before getting pierced.

Even one glass of beer or wine is enough for us to refuse service. We promise you don’t need Dutch courage to get through your piercing, we will be here to help you. If you are unsure if your medication will have an effect on your piercing then it is worth speaking to your piercer and medical practitioner before booking a piercing.

As always we are happy to help you with any stage of your piercing and if you would like more help with precare then you can get in touch with us in the comment box below through Instagram or email hello@roguepiercing.co.uk

Have a good week everyone!

Aiden

Posted on 05/03/202104/03/2021 by Aiden — Leave a comment

Nick Martin – BVLA -Interview

Nick Martin - BVLA Marquise Fan — The Marquise Fan is one of our favourite pieces by BVLA due to its versatility.

This week we had the privilege to interview Nick Martin, the founder and owner of Body Vision Los Angeles.

BVLA are one of our favourite jewellery makers here at Rogue as they produce some of the highest quality body jewellery in the world from precious metals and a huge range of gemstones. We discuss the beginnings of BVLA, the modern business, their Future Stars Apprenticeship Scheme and their huge range of jewellery and gemstones.

Many thanks to Nick Martin for taking the time out of his busy schedule for this interview.

If there is someone you would like us to interview or a subject you would like a video about then drop a comment below.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss out on future videos. To browse our collection of BVLA for sale click here.

Posted on 22/01/202122/01/2021 by Aiden — Leave a comment

Labret Posts – Simple Right?

Neometal Threadless Labret — A photo of the Neometal threadless labret available here

Labret posts seem like humble little pieces of metal but they are the true workhorses of the piercing world. This week we will be looking at the importance of labret posts, why they are the shape they are and why we love them so much!

So to start with lets refresh on what a labret is. It is a Post with a disc on one end. The disc can be fixed or removable and they post can be threaded or threadless. The labret post is the part which passes through your body and the part that holds all the beautiful ends in place. Many different manufacturers make labrets but sadly not all are made equal. For a refresh on all of the different aspects of high quality jewellery then take a look back at our High Quality? Series of Blogs here.

Importance

Labret posts are one of the key reasons we have so many piercing and jewellery options available to us. Before labret studs the only options were rings and barbells. By changing the ball on a barbell to a disc, piercers were able to offer piercings in much smaller placements e.g. forward helix, with less space at the back e.g the labret piercing and for more comfort e.g. sleeping on lobe piercings.

Design

A CAD drawing of a threadless labret by Aiden

While they may seem simple there are a lot of design constraints. A labret must be sized correctly in post length and gauge, connection choice and disc diameter and thickness.

Length

NeoMetal: Threadless Titanium Labret Post - POST ONLY (16g and 14g posts for 16g and 14g ends) - Body Jewelry — Labrets are available in an array of sizes, gauges, disc size and style

The length of the post for a jewellery maker is more than the piercer approach of ensuring the jewellery is long enough to not embed and not too long so it snags. The gauge of the post must be thick enough that a suitable thread can be placed inside with enough metal left to support the thread without breaking. 1.6mm/14g barbells were already around when labrets were invented but as demand grew for 1.2mm/16g and 1.0mm/16g jewellery the labret was ready to take the top spot.

Connection

Press-fit Jewelry — Threadless example from Neometal

Connection choice might seem simple. Just drill a hole either small enough for threadless or large enough to tap a thread. But threadless has been under patent since the early 90’s and has only just entered public license so this wasn’t an option for most manufacturers. For threaded pieces large taps could easily break the labret and smaller thread patterns can be weak and easily stripped. The solution was to settle on an unusual thread pattern for the smaller bars. 000-120 for 1.2mm/16g and 1.0mm/18g. For the larger 1.6mm/14g and 2.0mm/12g a much more readily available thread pattern of M1.2 is used. To top all of this off if the labret has got a removable disc then the post has to be long enough the the holes drilled for threadless of threaded don’t meet in the middle. Since threadless has become public domain we have seen a lot of advancement in the miniaturisation of jewellery and a rise in the popularity of smaller piercing sites such as forward helixes.

Disc Size

M&M Ends — An M&M Disc by Anatometal shown here

The Disc on a labret has 3 main dimensions; diameter, thickness and angle.

The diameter is important because it is used to balance the weight of the end placed on the labret. If the disc doesn’t balance then gravity will pull the jewellery down and the edge of the disc will start to irritate the piercing site. Diameter is also especially important during the initial healing phase as it prevents the body swelling over and embedding the jewellery. Conversely a disc that is too large will be pulled down by gravity and can pull the end into the body. It is all a balancing act.

Thickness of the disc can help to minimise any irritation of the jewellery in the body. If the disc is too thin it will essentially be knife edge scraping and cutting the piercing site all day. If it is too thick then it creates a corner that acts the same as a thin disc. The key here is ti find the balance in the middle and then polish the edges so that there are no sharp points that could hurt the piercing.

By angle of the disc we mean the angle from the post to the edge of the disc. We don not mean the angle of the post coming out of the disc. An easy visual of this is a Flat Disc compared to an M&M Disc. The reason for different angles is to allow space between the piercing and jewellery for drainage, to minimise sharp edges in soft tissue e.g. tongue piercings and to give more weight to balance larger ends.

When your piercer selects the labret post for your piercing they are taking all of this and more into consideration. No two bodies are alike and so our body jewellery has to be as unique as we are. Just remember that your piercer will pierce you with initial size and for comfort and a happy, healthy piercing you will need to go back for a downsize.

So hopefully we’ve shown you that we love labret posts. Without this humble piece of jewellery the world of piercing would be a much duller place! We’ll be back next week with another lockdown blog. Stay safe everyone!

Posted on 08/01/202108/01/2021 by Aiden — Leave a comment

High Quality? Part 20 – Gem Settings

Gem settings are how jewellery manufacturers make sure the gems in jewellery don’t fall out. There are different types of gem settings and each has its pros and cons as well as bringing a different style to the final piece. This week we will show some of the different settings and their pros and cons.

Bezel

Bezel settings give one of the simplest and cleanest styles of all the gem settings but don’t let their simple look hide their hidden complexities. Simply put a bezel setting is a cup or box that a gem sits inside, and the top lip of the cup or box is rolled over to hold the gem in place. This could be something as simple as a standard round gem or something more complex like an asymmetric piece. Bezel settings are great for initial piercings as they have less snag risk than other options and, when well-made, will have nowhere for crusties to build up and dull the gems shine. As the gem is enclosed in the setting, bezel set gems don’t shine as much as other options. When mass manufactured bezel settings require calibrated gems (gems cut to tight measurement tolerances) and a high level of quality control to ensure gems do not move or spin.

Pros

Minimal snag risk
Can hold asymmetric gems
Cleaner for initial piercing

Cons

Gems can spin if not set correctly
Gems aren’t as bright due to being enclosed
Jewellery has to be deeper to enclose the gem

Prong/Claw

A Neometal Prong Set Ocean Grey Swarovski – Available here

Prong and Claw settings are two names for holding a gem in place using small pieces of metal around the gem like claws. Prong and Claw are interchangeable terms. These settings are perfect for making gems shine and sparkle as the light can enter the gem from all sides. Prong/Claw settings are capable of holding both large and small gems but at smaller sizes the gem can get obscured by the setting or not have enough metal for a strong setting. Due to requiring less metal to hold the gem securely, prong set jewellery can be made smaller so are perfect for daintier options.

Pros

Lots of light play
Can hold asymmetric gems
Gives a lighter and daintier look due to less metal

Cons

More attentive cleaning regime required
Can obscure smaller stones
More expensive due to highly skilled practitioner required

Pavé

Pavé settings are pure decadence as an entire surface is covered with gemstones. To achieve this lots of small settings halfway between a bezel and a claw must be made. This is the setting choice for those that really want their jewellery to stand out and to show off the gemstones more than the metal. By embedding the gemstones into the jewellery the jewellery will need to be slightly deeper. Snag risk is low to medium with this setting as the settings are low to the metal surface, but there are lots of them.

Pros

Lots of gems can be placed tight together to create a unique style
Minimal metal is visible for a more gem based style

Cons

An extremely skilled stone setter is required
If the setting becomes damaged multiple gems can be lost

Channel

Channel settings involve cutting grooves into a channel so that multiple stones share the same setting. This is a very secure method of holding gems but requires very accurately made gemstones and jewellery. As the gems and setting are completely enclosed the snag risk is very low with these. Due to the open space between the gems channel settings allow a fair amount of light play and sparkle but can allow build up of crusties so require careful cleaning.

Pros

Lots of sparkle
Minimal snag risk
Durable design for high friction areas

Cons

Cleaning can be tricky if crusties build up
Not many manufacturers available for body jewellery
Calibrated gems are required

There are many variations on these settings and some jewellery will contain multiple different types of setting. If you are unsure about which settings will work well for you and your piercings then get in touch and let us know what you’re thinking. We will be glad to help you find the jewellery of your dreams.

That’s all for this week but we’ll be back next week with more piercing and jewellery knowledge.

Posted on 19/06/202018/06/2020 by Aiden — Leave a comment

Famous Piercing Enthusiasts

It might seem today like piercings are commonplace on a lot of people, but that is a relatively modern development. Piercings being seen on celebrities has really driven that change so this week we’re going to look at some famous piercing enthusiasts.

Dennis Rodman

Whether it’s his piercings, tattoos or brightly coloured hair, Dennis Rodman always makes an impression. Famous for his time in the NBA playing basketball for the Chicago Bulls, LA Lakers and Detroit Pistons in the late 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Noted piercings on Dennis are paired nostrils, labret, earlobes and nipples. His unusual style and attitude made piercings visible to large groups of people who may never have come across them before.

Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu has been called the Queen of Neo-Soul. She is a Singer, Songwriter and Actress. With her main influences being R&B, 70’s soul and 80’s hip-hop. She is just as comfortable on stage as she is in front of the camera and has an unmissable style. As jewellery she has worn many different “fake” piercings but is currently rocking a bridge and some cheek piercings that are a personal favourite of mine. I’ve posted a video below of one of my favourite songs by Erykah.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett is a world famous Actress and Singer and is the world’s highest-paid actress since 2018 but she has always had her wild side too. She has always been at the cutting edge of style and this shows in her piercing and jewellery choices too, from her younger days where she had an eyebrow and septum piercing to today where she has a curated ear and enviable jewellery collection. I was unaware that she has a septum piercing before writing this blog and I think that makes her even cooler.

Keith Flint

Braintree’s very own firestarter, Keith Flint was the frontman for the band The Prodigy and brought piercings to every household in the UK in 1996 with the release of the song Firestarter. Famously wearing tongue, septum and various ear piercings, Keith is cited as the reason for many peoples tongue and septum piercings ever since. Sadly Keith took his own life in 2019 but continued to release music upto 2018 and was still a staple of British radio. RIP Keith.

It was fun writing this weeks blog and I could have easily listed many more people and will return to this subject in the future. Thanks for reading everyone!

Aiden

Posted on 13/12/201913/12/2019 by Aiden — 3 Comments

High Quality? Part 19 – Education

Piercing Education comes in many different shapes and sizes. As there is no qualification to be a piercer all of your knowledge is passed from one piercer to another. Historically piercers would learn everything they can during their apprenticeship and then continuously learn from the day to day experiences of piercing. Piercing used to be an environment where information and knowledge was not shared with other piercers for “Fear of training my competition”. In the modern world, high quality piercers understand that by sharing our good information we can minimise the damage caused by low quality piercing.

Apprenticeships

The best way to get into the piercing industry is to take an apprenticeship. As there is no qualification it is important to research into the piercer you want to mentor from to ensure they are a reputable piercer. Looking for UKAPP and APP members is a great place to start.

An apprenticeship normally lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 years. A lot of the time apprenticeships are unpaid roles (some studios even charge for an apprenticeship) so the apprentice has to show dedication. As being a piercer is more of a lifestyle than a career this is to ensure that the apprentice really wants this life. Piercing is a job that can take you around the world and allow you to be whoever you want to be and look however you want. The payoff for that freedom is a volatile pay cheque and a job that has very little progression once trained.

Education - Not this guy please — When we say The Apprentice we’re not talking about Lord Sugar’s gang.

An apprenticeship would ideally cover the following subjects in a high level of detail:

Anatomy
Hygiene
Sterilisation
Sharps handling
Chemical handling
Customer management
Stock management
Bloodborne Pathogen training
First Aid training
Jewellery design
Materials technology
Troubleshooting piercings
How to pierce safely

Each of these subjects needs to be understood inside out before a piercer should be let loose on the public. Once an apprentice has shown they understand all of these key areas then they will be able to progress to junior piercer and begin working with the public until they have compounded their knowledge enough that they are a fully fledged piercer.

An apprenticeship given by a reputable piercer will open doors in the industry for an apprentice that will affect their lifetime as a piercer. It is important to find the best piercer possible to learn from to ensure the information gleaned is good and that the apprenticeship will be validated by other piercers for future work.

Piercing Schools

Education - No Schools — Piercing Schools are not recommended or respected by the piercing industry

Piercing schools are frowned upon by the piercing industry. The reason for this is that it is not possible to learn all the aspects of piercing in a 1 or 2 week course. The act of pushing a needle through someone can be learnt but all of the safety cannot. Aiden has worked with many different piercers around the world and has yet to find a piercing school that covers all the safety aspects adequately, let alone how to pierce straight and select appropriately jewellery. The vast majority of piercers see piercing schools as a way to take money of unsuspecting people. Piercing schools are expensive and will leave you with a “qualification” that is not respected or valued by the industry and may even go against you as a reputable piercer would have to train bad habits out rather than start from fresh.

Conferences

Piercing conferences have started to pop up all over the world in the last 5 years. Piercing conferences are for trained piercers to go and brush up on their education to ensure they are staying up to date. As piercing in the UK is an unregulated industry, the UKAPP conference is the best way to stay on top of any new techniques, jewellery options and legislation changes that can occur.

Networking is also an important part of piercing conferences as this is how piercers get invited to visit other studios to shadow more experienced piercers, find new jobs and find reputable piercers for when clients are visiting a different town or city.

Shadowing

Another way to stay on top of your education as a piercer is to visit other studios and shadow more experienced piercers. This is recommended as the best way to fill any gaps in a piercers knowledge. A piercer should never use the public as guinea pigs but instead should watch another piercer carry out the piercing so they can learn and ask questions.

Shadowing commonly leads to new employment opportunities for both full time and guest spots.

Piercing Forums

Piercing forums are a great way to view lots of piercing education. Groups such as the UK Piercing Professionals group on Facebook are a prime example. Groups like this help piercers to peer review and techniques and new jewellery, discuss oddities from studio life and ask for advice if required. These groups tend to be moderated by reputable piercers to keep the information good but as with everything on the internet it is always best to fact check. Learning online is no replacement for hands on learning from a reputable piercer. Aiden has been as admin on the UK Piercing Professionals group since it was formed and is proud to have supported the growth of many piercers across the UK, Europe and the world.

Education - https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKPiercingProfessionals/ — https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKPiercingProfessionals/ – A group for professional piercers. Proof of work must be given before access to the group is given.

Self Taught

In the early 90’s when the piercing industry was still in its infancy, self teaching through trial and error on our own bodies was an acceptable way to learn to pierce. As you can imagine a lot of lessons both good and bad were learnt during this time. Piercers have learnt everything they can from self teaching so this is not an acceptable method to learn to pierce anymore. Reputable piercers will advise people against self piercing for their own safety. We have been there already and we don’t need to go back.

Conclusion

There are many different ways to gain education about piercing but the best way is to go through an apprenticeship. A reputable piercer will use aspects from all of these different ways of learning to gain their initial knowledge and skills and then stay on top of their education. Every day is a school day!

That’s it for this week. Hopefully you know a little more about how your piercer learnt what they do. We will be back next week to discuss Mill Certificates for jewellery. This has been a popular request and we are happy to listen. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 06/12/201906/12/2019 by Aiden — 1 Comment

High Quality? Part 18 – Studio Design

Good studio design is essential to keeping you and your piercer safe. If a studio is designed badly then there is a high risk of cross contamination which can lead to infections. This week we will explain how to spot a well designed studio. UKAPP and APP members have their studios vetted before they can become members so choosing a UKAPP or APP studio is a great way to ensure you are in a safe and clean environment.

Non-Porous

This first thing you normally come to in any shop is the front desk. This desktop should be non-porous so that it can be cleaned. As lots of people touch the desk

and regularly place worn jewellery on the surface (Please don’t do this. It stresses us out) we need to disinfect it regularly to prevent cross contamination. As we don’t know what bacteria may be on a piece of jewellery and the desktop we us medical grade high level surface disinfectants and if the desktop is porous the disinfectant will not be effective.

The floor should be the next thing to take a look at. As rugs can trap lots of dust (skin cells are the main component of dust) they can be a hazard in the shop. The majority of the floor in the reception and waiting area should be non-porous and the piercing room room should be completely non-porous. Doormats and any rugs should be cleaned regularly and disposed off if they become contaminated with any body fluids. This way the floors can be disinfected daily and don’t harbour any potential risks. As jewellery can be dropped it is essential that the floor is cleaned daily. Also as piercings can sometimes involve blood we need to ensure that if blood gets on the floor that it can be cleaned off effectively.

Once you are in the piercing room almost everything should be non-porous. The bed, worktop, work table, cupboard doors, door handles, sink etc should all be non-porous. The piercing room will need to be washed down in disinfectant at the start and end of the day and after each customer. If these items are porous then they will be contaminated quickly and be unable to be disinfected.

Private Area

The piercing room itself should be in a private area away from the front desk. No other procedures (tattooing, jewellery sales etc) outside of piercing should be carried out in this area to ensure that it stays clean and doesn’t become contaminated. A private area also means that your piercing isn’t a show for anyone in the shop or walking past and this will make the experience much more comfortable.

The walls of the piercing room should ideally go all the way to the ceiling but if not they must be at least 8 feet high. By being enclosed or having walls at this height the contamination from air is minimised. Dust, dirt and other particles in the air can contaminate surfaces. It is a recommendation by the UKAPP and APP to install HEPA filters to clean the air in the piercing room to minimise this contamination risk.

Clean and Dirty Sides

Studio Design - Clinical Waste Sign — Signs should be posted warning where clinical waste is stored

As piercing generates clinical waste it is important to set clean and dirty sides to the piercing room. This will prevent the clean items (needles, gloves, consumables etc) being contaminated before they are used. The ideal solution is to keep the clinical waste bin and used tool rinse tray near each other on the opposite side of the room to the sink and clean items. This same rule will apply in the sterilisation room but customers rarely get to see this part of a studio.

Sinks

Piercing studios need more sinks than you might expect. A good studio design requires the following sinks:

Bathroom – for washing hands after using the toilet
Piercing Room – for washing before and after a procedure
Sterilisation Room – for cleaning tools

Studio Design - Lever Operated Tap — Lever operated taps keep hands from being contaminated after washing

Each sink should only be used for the activities listed above. Hand should not be washed in the bathroom or sterilisation room before piercing as there is a risk of contamination in these areas. Tools should also not be washed in the piercing room sink to ensure that sink stays clean.

Each of these sinks will also need a hot and cold water feed and a tap that can be turned off without using your hands. This is to ensure that hands don’t get dirty again after washing. Some studios fit sensor taps whereas others go for lever taps that are operated with the elbow. Either are fine.

This is just scratching the surface of studio design but should give you an idea of what to look out for in a piercing studio. For more information on what a piercing studio should have inside check out the membership requirements for UKAPP or APP as they will go into more detail.

That’s it for this week! Next week we will be discussing training and education for piercers. Have a good week everyone!