Aiden, Author at Rogue Piercing

Posted on 29/11/201904/12/2019 by Aiden — Leave a comment

High Quality? Part 17 – Custom Orders

Custom Orders cover any time you want to order something that your piercer doesn’t stock. This could be something as simple as a size they don’t carry or it can go all the way into custom designing a new piece of jewellery just for you. A lot of the utterly stunning jewellery that you see on social media will have been custom ordered to the exact specification of the customer. This weeks blog will try to help you understand the process of custom ordering with your piercer as well as what happens once your piercer has placed your order. We will explain how we work at Rogue but other piercers may work in different ways.

Placing Your Order

Image result for consultation — Custom Order – Your piercer will get as much information as possible from you about your order

The first step to custom ordering is getting in touch with your piercer. The best way to go about this is to have a face to face consultation. We offer free jewellery consultations at Rogue so that we have time to sit together and discuss what you want. You can book a free jewellery consultation here. In person is best so that your piercer can assess your anatomy, take any measurements required and check that the piece you are thinking of will work for that location. Your piercer may come up with some ideas that you hadn’t thought of too. As custom orders cannot be returned it is important to ensure that all sizing and colours are correct. Distance consultations can be carried out by email and/or messenger but your piercer will not be able to guarantee that the sizing is correct or that the jewellery is appropriate for the location. Here at Rogue we fill out a custom order form with you so that we can all check that the details are correct and that no information gets lost before your order arrives.

Deposit

Once you have finalised the piece of jewellery you require you will then need to place a deposit before your piercer will place the order. A deposit is required because custom orders may be made from colour or sizing combinations that suit your style well but may not sell well in store. As custom ordered jewellery cannot be returned to the supplier, a deposit ensures your piercer doesn’t lose out if you never pay off the balance and collect your jewellery. At Rogue we take a 50% deposit but we have been known to be flexible to help out our regulars who are working towards larger jewellery set ups. At Rogue you have 6 months from the date of order to pay off the total balance on your jewellery. If the total balance is not paid off in this time you may lose your deposit and your jewellery.

Ordering

Once you have had your consultation and paid your deposit your piercer will then add your order to their order list. Shipping on a single order costs an average of $75 plus VAT, because of this your piercer will group orders together to spread out the shipping cost over multiple pieces of jewellery. This means your order may not be placed straight away. At Rogue we place orders every other month with different suppliers. If you want your order to be rushed then you always have the option of paying the shipping fee in full.

Manufacture

Custom Order - Jewellery in production on a lathe — Custom Order – Jewellery in production on a lathe

Our body jewellery manufacturers are currently under a lot of strain and are doing their very best to keep up with demand but due to the explosion of popularity for high quality jewellery their wait times have increased. Some manufacturers currently have lead times of up to 4 months! YOur piercer will have given you an estimate of manufacture time during your consultation. Your piercer will do everything then can to get your jewellery to you ASAP but once it is with the manufacturer there is very little we can do other than wait. If you have a specific event you want your jewellery for e.g. a wedding, then let your piercer know as sometimes our jewellery manufacturers will be able to rush 1 or 2 pieces to help make your day extra special.

Shipping

Custom Orders - Most body jewellery is made in North America so will need to be shipped to the UK — Custom Orders – Most body jewellery is made in North America so will need to be shipped to the UK

Once your jewellery is complete it will packaged and sent via courier to your piercer. As most of our jewellery manufacturers are currently based in North America this means that import charges will occur. Your piercer will have already factored these in to the cost so don’t worry there won’t be anything extra to pay but there may be an extra delay if customs decide to hold the order. This has happened to us in the past at Rogue but it has only ever added 1 week maximum delay.

Arrival

Your jewellery will then arrive with your piercer. They will check that the order is correct and that there are no defects from the manufacture. Once Quality Control is complete your piercer will then process your jewellery so that it is sterile and ready to go into your piercing. Your piercer will then contact you to let you know that your jewellery has arrived! If you have any of your balance left to pay then your piercer will arrange for you to pay either in person when you collect your jewellery or via a different method e.g. via our webshop.

Installation

The final step! At this stage you head to your piercer and they install your brand new, custom ordered jewellery! This is a special moment as all of the work that has gone into custom ordering comes to fruition. Your piercer will probably be just as excited you are and want to take ALL of the photos.

Custom Orders - Ear Project Featuring Rose gold, Rainbow Moonstone, Anodised Titanium and Swarovski — Custom Orders – Ear Project Featuring Rose gold, Rainbow Moonstone, Anodised Titanium and Swarovski

Conclusion

So that’s how custom orders work! If you would like to custom order your own jewellery then head to our book now page and book a free jewellery consultation to get the ball rolling. What will you design for yourself! If you have any questions about today’s blog then leave a comment below.

That’s it for this week. We will be back next week to discuss studio design. A well designed studio can make the difference between a good and bad studio.

Posted on 22/11/201922/11/2019 by Aiden — 1 Comment

High Quality? Part 16 – Piercing Associations

Piercing Associations might not seem like an important part of high quality piercing but our associations are what drives progression and spreads health and safety knowledge to the industry. As piercing in the UK is currently unregulated and only governed by local bylaws, piercing associations are the main way to look for high quality and safe piercers. This week’s blog will give a little history to our associations, explain their importance to the industry and finally help you understand why you should look for a piercer who is an association member.

In the Beginning there was the APP

APP - Association of Professional Piercers

Many piercing associations have come and gone since the piercing industry started in the late 80’s, early 90s. Only 1 organisation has managed to stay the course and that is the APP (Association of Professional Piercers). The APP formed in California in 1995 to try and create some minimum safety standards for piercing. Since then the organisation has grown to a global entity that has a conference with over 1000 attendees in Las Vegas every year and members all over the world and has been instrumental into raising safety standards globally.

Aiden's Safe Metals Class at APP 2018 — Aiden’s Safe Metals Class at APP 2018

The APP’s conference has classes and seminars that cover everything from best sterilisation practices, piercing techniques and discussion about new equipment to discussions about the direction of the industry, history classes from those that were there at the time and anthropology classes looking at the modern and tribal world.

Aiden is proud to have taught the Safe Metals Class at APP in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018 alongside some of his piercing heroes.

For more information about the APP take a look at their website here.

UKAPP

The UKAPP (United Kingdom Association of Professional Piercers) formed in 2015 to carry on the APP’s health and safety message across the UK. As the APP is primarily based in the USA it was difficult to keep up with legislation changes around the world so sister organisations formed. The UKAPP is a stand alone organisation that works closely with the APP.

The UKAPP also has its own conference every year that brings in teachers from across the UK and around the world as well as piercers from across the

UK, Europe and globally. As a health and safety organisation the UKAPP’s aim is to raise standards in the UK for the safety of the general public and piercers too.

As well as educating piercers the UKAPP also consults with the CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health) and over governmental bodies to make legislative change for the industry. This is a slow process but the UKAPP has been successful in making change as Wales is currently putting in higher standards for piercing after consulting with the UKAPP. The UKAPP also campaigned to have Female Genital Piercing reclassified so it is no longer considered to be Female Genital Mutilation.

Aiden was one of the founding members of the UKAPP and was the treasurer from 2015-2018 and has taught classes at the first 4 conferences. Rogue will be a UKAPP verified piercing studio in the near future as we are proud of our high standards. We are currently not members as our store is still to young to join.

For more information about the UKAPP or to find a member near you check their website here.

Other Organisations

Other sister organisations to the APP have formed across the world. Notable organisations are:

VPP – Germany
LBP – Latin America
APPe – Spain
RuAPP – Russia

Membership

Around the world piercing is generally an unregulated industry. This means that safety standards can sometimes be worryingly low. Piercing associations offer membership which shows that the piercer or studio meets minimum standards that are much higher than local legislation requires. To be a member of a piercing association means that your piercer or studio agrees to:

Use sterile equipment
Use implant grade or historically safe jewellery materials
Use safe designs of body jewellery
Test their sterilisation equipment
Have a studio design based around safety
Have First Aid and CPR certification
Carry our Blood Borne Pathogen training

It might seem like a lot of the membership requirements should be obvious but the vast majority of piercing studios do not meet these requirements. By choosing a piercer that is a member of piercing organisation you are choosing someone who has pledged to carry out piercings in the safest manner possible as well as someone who wants to progress the piercing industry for the good of the general public and piercers alike.

Aiden was a UKAPP member before travelling the globe to expand his piercing knowledge and now that he has settled back in the UK will be joining again once Rogue has collected all of the required paperwork. We are excited to be members again!

Conclusion

So hopefully now you have an understanding of why piercing associations are required for high quality piercing. If you are looking for a new piercer then we recommend heading the your local piercing association website and looking for a member as you will be supporting piercers who want the best for you and who support the piercing industry as a whole.

That’s it for this week! We will be back next week to discuss custom ordering jewellery. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 15/11/201915/11/2019 by Aiden — 4 Comments

High Quality? Part 15 – Skin Prep

Skin Prep before a piercing is vitally important to ensure you avoid getting an infection. Skin prep covers chemicals and techniques of application.

Chemicals

There are many different chemicals that can be used for skin prep. As with most parts of piercing a single use and disposable option is the best to prevent the chemicals from being contaminated and used on multiple customers. Some can be used together and others will cancel each other out. Understanding what each chemical does is the key to learning how to use it correctly. The aim for skin prep is to remove debris such as dead skin cells, dirt, skin oil etc and then to use an antiseptic to kill pathogens that are on the skin. This is generally achieved using a two step process of scrub and then paint. The second half of this blog will explain the physical process better.

Agent	Mechanism of Action	Rapidity of Action	Advantages	Disadvantages
Alcohol	Denature proteins	Most rapid	Easily available, can be used for scrub and paint	Must be used when wet which will sting in a fresh piercing. Can cancel effects of other chemicals
Chlorhexidine	Disrupt cell membrane	Intermediate	Easily Available, can be used for scrub and paint	Colourless so can be hard to see where applied
Iodine/Iodophors	Oxidation/substitution by free iodine	Intermediate	Colours the skin to show where applied	Customers can have allergic reactions to Iodine, can stain clothes
PCMX	Disrupt cell wall	Intermediate	Can be used for scrub and paint	Rarely available sterile

Data taken from Brian Skellie’s website and The Centre for Disease Control (CDC)

The most common skin prep chemicals found in piercing shops will be Alcohol, Chlorhexidine, Iodine and PCMX. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Apart from alcohol all of the other chemicals must be allowed to fully dry to achieve their antiseptic properties. Due to alcohol having to stay wet it is not recommended for the paint stage as it will make the piercing hurt more once alcohol gets into the wound.

At Rogue we use Chlorhexidine for the scrub and paint stage as it has minimal reactions, dries in 30 seconds to a minute, is available sterile and single use and doesn’t stain clothes.

Application

How the skin prep is applied is just as important as the chemicals chosen. If the piercing site gets contaminated during cleaning then the chemicals won’t be effective. The best way to apply skin prep chemicals is in a 2 stage process known as scrub and paint.

Scrub

Scrub involves using physical action to remove dead skin cells and debris and a chemical to break down any skin oils. The best way to do this without contaminating the piercing site is to start in the centre and scrub outwards in a spiral motion. This will push debris away from the piercing site and leave a clean area behind.

Once the scrub has been completed the chemicals should be left to dry. Your piercer will now be able to mark you for your piercing.

Paint

Once your piercer has marked your piercing they should then apply a second chemical. This time the chemical will be used to kill any microbes left on the skin. This time the chemical should be applied over the whole area and left to dry for the appropriate kill time (different for each manufacturer). Your piercing site will now be free from debris and any microbes will be dead. You are now ready for your piercing and your piercer will start to switch their gloves ready for an aseptic technique piercing.

Although this process sounds simple it can be easily carried out incorrectly. The majority of piercers in the UK only use the scrub stage as this is recommended by the NHS for injections. Piercings leave the wound open due to the jewellery so it is important that an antiseptic is applied and these guidelines have come from medical research into implant rather than injection. Ask your piercer about the chemicals they are using if you are unsure of anything.

That’s it for this week! As always if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with us. We’ll be back next week to talk all about piercing associations!

Posted on 08/11/201918/05/2023 by Aiden — 1 Comment

High Quality? Part 14 – Aseptic Technique

Aseptic – adjective:
1: Free from contamination caused by harmful bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms; surgically sterile or sterilized.
1.1: (of surgical practice) aiming at the complete exclusion of harmful microorganisms.

Septic – adjective:
1: Infected with microorganisms, especially harmful bacteria.

Most people have heard of the word septic but few have heard of aseptic. These 2 words sound similar and are easily mixed up but they are opposites. It is important that a piercer uses an aseptic technique for your piercing to minimise the risk of infection. There are several ways that a piercer can carry out an aseptic technique and this weeks blog will aim to show you what to look out for.

Gloves

Hopefully it should now be common knowledge that a piercer should wear gloves during a procedure. It is less commonly known that there are different types of gloves that should be worn depending on the techniques used. There are 2 basic types of gloves used by piercers:

Examination Gloves

Aseptic - A standard black examination glove — Aseptic – Standard exam gloves are fine for cleaning and skin prep but not for the actual piercing

Examination gloves are the standard gloves that are readily available. Most of us have worn a pair of these at some point in our lives. They are generally made from latex, nitrile or vinyl. Rogue is a latex free shop to protect our clients with latex allergies. Exam gloves have to meet EN455 standard to be safe to use. Here is a link to more information about EN455 EN455 states the test methods and quality control required to ensure that gloves do not leak, are free from chemical residues and the maximum shelf life before they must be disposed of.

Exam gloves only protect the wearer. Due to the way that exam gloves are packed and stored they are classed as contaminated. This is fine for use where there is no broken skin e.g. cleaning the piercing room, applying skin prep and marking before a piercing and for setting up for a piercing but they are not appropriate for the piercing procedure as it is unknown what bacteria and pathogens may be on the surface. The vast majority of piercers in the UK use exam gloves for a piercing procedure. In other parts of Europe such as France it is mandatory to wear sterile gloves during a piercing procedure.

Sterile Gloves

Sterile gloves are exam or surgical gloves that have been through tighter controls during manufacture to prevent contamination and pass through gamma radiation to sterilise them and kill any potential pathogens. They are packed and sealed specially to ensure they are sterile up to the point of use and can be donned without contaminating. The following video shows how sterile gloves are made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtFCpOjc5zc

Aspetic Technique – Ansell sterile gloves being made

Techniques

Aseptic No Touch Technique

Aseptic - a phlebotomist taking a blood sample with no gloves on is fine because they are using mechanical barriers for an ANTT — Aseptic – a phlebotomist taking a blood sample with no gloves on is fine because they are using mechanical barriers for an ANTT

It is possible to carry out a piercing using non-sterile exam gloves as long as an Aseptic No Touch Technique (ANTT) is followed. ANTT means that tools and other mechanical devices are used so that the part of the needle passing through the body and the jewellery are never touched and therefor stay sterile until insertion. The majority of piercers will have to touch your needle and jewellery to carry out your piercing. ANTT is possible but rarely used in the piercing industry. An example of ANTT is during a blood test at the hospital. The needles and equipment used for drawing blood for tests are all designed so that the phlebotomist never touches the part of the needle entering the body.

Freehand Piercing

Freehand piercing removes the use of tools and clamps for the piercing procedure. This means that the piercing is more comfortable and the risk of using contaminated tools is removed. A skilled piercer can carry out your piercing using just a needle and the jewellery. This method will involve the piercer having to touch your jewellery and needle with their hands so sterile gloves are required to prevent contamination. Sterile gloves have to be donned carefully and not touch anything non-sterile to prevent contamination. If the gloves become contaminated they should be removed and replaced before carrying out the piercing procedure.

At Rogue we use freehand techniques and sterile gloves to ensure your safety and to minimise the risk of infection.

Conclusion

There are different aseptic techniques but the main thing to remember is that the needle and jewellery should never touch anything non-sterile until it enters your body. Ask your piercer about the gloves they use and if they use sterile gloves.

That’s it for this week. Next week’s blog will be all about skin prep before a piercing. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 01/11/201901/11/2019 by Aiden — 1 Comment

High Quality? Part 14 – Sterilisation

Sterilisation - Biohazard Symbol — When sterilising contaminated items it is important to understand Biohazards and how to deal with them.

Sterilisation is a highly important part of piercing safely. Items must be sterilised during a piercing to prevent the spread of disease and infection. Sterilisation is used to ensure that Blood Borne pathogens (BBP) such as hepatitis and HIV do not get spread between clients. This blogs aim is to help you understand what sterile means, how piercers sterilise and how to check your piercer is using sterile items correctly. This blog isn’t aimed at teaching you how to sterilise.

THERE IS NO SAFE WAY TO STERILISE AT HOME. Boiling items, holding items over flames, using bleach and many other home methods are not safe. They do not kill or remove all the pathogens that could be on the surface. Attempting home sterilisation can lead to infections that could be life threatening. Always go to a professional.

What does Sterile mean?

The dictionary.com definition of sterile is “Free from living germs or microorganisms.” Within piercing we also need to clean as well as sterilise to remove debris as well as pathogens. Pathogens are microorganisms that can cause disease.

There are 5 classes of cleanliness for items. An item can be covered under multiple classes e.g. clean and sterile or dirty and contaminated. Items can fall under multiple classes e.g. clean and sterile or dirty and contaminated. Working from sterile to contaminated they are:

Sterile – Free from living organisms and pathogens
Clean – Free from dirt and debris
Disinfected – Chemicals are used to kill the majority of pathogens but not all
Dirty – Known to have dirt or debris
Contaminated – Known to have blood or other biological contaminants

It is important that your piercer understands these categories and how to prevent sterile and clean items from becoming dirty or contaminated incorrectly.

Cleaning

Piercers need to clean the jewellery, tools and equipment that they use for a piercing. A dirty item cannot be sterilised as pathogens can be hidden in the dirt or debris. There are different methods of cleaning for different items.

Jewellery can be cleaned in various different ways. The most commonly found in piercing studios are:

Ultrasonic Cleaner – These machines have a bowl that is filled with chemical or enzymatic cleaners that the jewellery is submerged into. The machine then vibrates the water at an ultrasonic frequency which causes voids known as cavities to form between the water molecules. These cavities will pull dirt and debris off the jewellery at microscopic level. This method can also be used to clean dirty and contaminated tools but a separate ultrasonic should be used for clean items (new jewellery) and contaminated items (used tools)

Anodiser – Anodising jewellery that is made from Titanium or Niobium will clean the surface due to the crystals being formed on the exterior. For a more detailed look at anodising check our previous blog post here. This method can be used on gold jewellery too but cannot be used on items that contain iron (e.g. steel jewellery or tools).

Jewellery Steamer – A jewellery steamer blasts dirt and debris off the surface using a high pressure steam nozzle. This method of cleaning is fine for new items but not for contaminated items. Jewellery steamers will spray dirt and debris over a large area so if the item is contaminated it will spray contaminants over a large area . This could contaminate clean items and workspaces.

At Rogue we use a combination of Ultrasonic Cleaners and Anodisers to clean jewellery and tools. We are happy to show you how we clean all the items for your piercing.

The furniture such as the work table and procedure bed/chair will be cleaned using a medical grade hard surface disinfectant. This will remove dirt and debris from the scrubbing action and will kill the majority of pathogens (as long as the disinfectant manufacturer instructions are followed). This will minimise pathogens in the piercing area but this surface is not sterile so it is important to keep fresh piercings off these surfaces.

Sterilisation

There are several different methods available for sterilising items but due to size and cost not all are available to piercers. Some of the items piercers use are ordered sterilised using methods that are unavailable in piercing studios so we will cover those too.

Steam – Autoclaves are the most common method of sterilisation found in piercing studios. An autoclave uses high temperature and pressure steam to kill pathogens. There are very strict standards set for steam autoclaves and their are different classes of autoclave. Different types of items can require different types of autoclaves or autoclave cycles. Most commonly piercers will use a wrapped 134C cycle which means that items are placed inside sealed sterilisation pouches (wrapped) and heated to 134C (metal items). Other cycles used would be unwrapped (for items to be used as soon as sterilisation is complete) and 121C (for Plastic items that would melt at 134C). The most commonly found classes of Autoclave found in piercing studios are Class B and Class S. Both types are vacuum autoclaves which means that hollow items such as needles can be sterilised. A Class B autoclave will generally be used for wrapped items and a class S will be used for wrapped and unwrapped items. At Rogue we use a Class S Statim autoclave so we can sterilise and use items as they are required. The big bonus here is we do not minimise our plastic waste by not using sterilisation pouches.

Ethylene Oxide Gas – Ethylene Oxide (EO) gas sterilisation is an industrial process that it out of the scope of piercers as the equipment is large and dangerous. Some items such as pre-packed needles are sterilised using EO gas. EO gas disrupts the DNA of pathogens to kill them and achieve sterility.

Gamma Radiation – This method is also out of the scope of piercers due to the size and danger of the equipment involved. Also a license for using radiation would be required. Items that would be damaged by heat and/or EO gas would be sterilised using Gamma radiation. Sterile gloves are the most common item found to have been sterilised using this method. Gamma radiation also disrupts the DNA of pathogens to kill them and prevent them from multiplying.

Sterilisation - Chemical Integrators for use in Steam Autoclaves — Chemical Integrators are placed in each sterilisation cycle to show that items have sterilised correctly in Steam Autoclaves

If you ask your piercer to show you how your jewellery, needle and the tools they use are sterilised they will be able to show you indicators that go through the sterilisation process and change once sterilised. Sometimes this will be on the sterilisation pouch themselves and sometimes it will be an added item.

Your piercer should also have a log of all items that have been sterilised along with some form of indicator to prove the item sterilised correctly. This log ensures that items used for your piercing are safe and sterile.

At Rogue we are proud of our sterilisation methods and would be more than happy to show you our equipment, logs and methods.

That’s it for this week! Next week we will be looking at Aseptic Piercing Techniques and the use of sterile gloves. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 25/10/201925/10/2019 by Aiden — 2 Comments

High Quality? Part 13 – Stretching

A Karen woman from Myanmar with stretched earlobes

Stretched piercings can be found in cultures all across the globe. From stretched ear lobes to stretched lip piercings and even stretched genital piercings. Stretching can give a very distinctive look and as long as it is carried out carefully it is a safe practice. This weeks blog will be explaining how to stretch safely to prevent damage and have large piercings that last a lifetime.

Stretching is a simple process where larger and larger jewellery is inserted into the piercing over time. It has become common practice in the UK to use tapers to stretch piercings. This is NOT recommended as it is very easy to cause permanent damage using a taper. A slow approach that involves listening to your body is required to achieve end results that are free from scars.

How to Stretch Safely

Stretching - Single Flare Plugs from Gorilla Glass. Available in the webstore here — Single Flare Plugs from Gorilla Glass. Available in the webstore here

At Rogue we recommend to use single flare glass plugs to stretch piercings. This is because glass jewellery is available in 1mm diameter increments and glass is the smoothest body jewellery material available so it helps to insert and for the body to heal around.

Stretching is a slow process! Do not attempt to rush or you can permanently damage your piercings.

Once your piercing has fully healed for a minimum of 6 months you will be able to begin stretching. If your piercing started at 1.2 or 1.6mm then we would recommend the first stretch to be to a 2mm single flare plug. This piece will be worn for 3 months and then a 3mm plug will be able to be inserted. This pattern can then be continued all the way up to your goal size. 3 months is recommended to allow the skin to relax and become supple again. When inserting the next size there should be no pain or forcing. If it hurts then stop and wait another month.

Tapers

Tapers are a tool used by piercers for the insertion of jewellery. Tapers should not be used to stretch piercings home. Incorrect use of a taper can lead to splits and tears in the piercing channel and these can become scar tissue. Scar tissue will not stretch like skin so if stretching continues then the healthy skin will get damaged which leads to more scar tissue. If this pattern continues then there is a high risk of a blow out.

Tapers are rarely made from safe materials. The most common material is acrylic. Acrylic has been linked to releasing carcinogenic chemicals at body temperature. This will severely damage the health of a piercing over time and potentially your health in general.

Tapers are NOT jewellery. The weight distribution is imbalanced due to the long tail. Wearing a taper in a piercing for a prolonged period can lead to deformation of the piercing and even blow outs. There is also a much higher snag risk.

Tapers come in gauge sizes rather than mm increments. This means that they can expand your piercing more than the skin is able to deal with. If you look at the percentage change of circumference it explains how tears and scar tissue happen.

Stretching from 4mm example:

The next size from 4mm for single flare plugs would be 5mm.
The circumference of a 4mm plug is Pi (3.142) x Diameter (4) = 12.568mm
The circumference of a 5mm plug is Pi (3.142) x Diameter (5) = 15.71mm
This means the skin has to stretch 3.142mm to accommodate the next size.

The next size from 4mm for tapers would be 6mm.
The circumference of a 4mm plug is Pi (3.142) x Diameter (4) = 12.568mm
The circumference of a 5mm plug is Pi (3.142) x Diameter (6) = 18.852mm
This means the skin has to stretch 6.284mm to accommodate the next size.

The body just can’t handle stretching that much without damage. Different tissue types on different people will have different elasticities. We can’t stress enough how important it is to listen to your body. If it hurts, then it is too soon to stretch.

Blow Outs

A blow out is when the skin from the inside of the piercing channel gets damaged and pushed out. A blow out is likely to be permanent. If a blow out is caught very early on you can attempt to reverse the damage by removing the jewellery for at least 8 weeks and doing twice daily massages using an oil such as vitamin E. Sometimes the tissue can be slowly massaged back into place but this does not always work.

If after 1-3 months the blowout is still there then the only option would be surgical removal of the scar tissue. This is a service that plastic surgeons and body modification practitioners can carry out but there are varying results and varying legality.

The best way to prevent blowouts is to not get them in the first place. Prevention is better than cure. Stretch slowly and your piercings will be happy and healthy no matter the size.

Almost any piercing can be stretched. Here is a video showing the Nostril Plugs of the Apatani women of North East India. These practices are sadly dying out.

If you require help with your stretched piercings, would like new jewellery or would like us to stretch your piercings for you then book an appointment using the book now button above.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with a blog all about sterilisation. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 19/10/201905/06/2020 by Aiden — 6 Comments

High Quality? Part 12 – Lumps and Bumps

Lumps and Bumps are a common occurrence in piercing. The vast majority are easy to deal with but take some time to go down. This blogs aim is to show you how to minimise the chance of bumps in the first place and also how to get bumps to go if you do get one. DISCLAIMER: We are not medical practitioners at Rogue. If you are concerned that your piercing is infected then seek out professional help from a dermatologist.

Lumps and Bumps - a piercing bump on a nose piercing — A piercing bump on a nose piercing

The vast majority of piercing bumps are NOT keloids or hypertrophic scars. The vast majority of piercing bumps are trapped fluid and are known as irritation bumps. A piercings official name in the medical world is a “Draining wound”. A piercing needs to be able to drain fluid to promote healing and keep pathogens out. This fluid dries and becomes the crust/secretion that piercers advise you to clean.

Irritation bumps are small bumps that form at the entrance or exit of a piercing. They can be caused by a wide array of issues. The main causes being poorly placed piercing, bad piercing angle, incorrect fitting jewellery, low quality jewellery, poor aftercare regime or lifestyle. Once the source of irritation has been found and remedied the bump will start to dry out and drain until it fully disappears.

Lumps and Bumps - A keloid scar on a lobe — A keloid scar on a lobe

Keloids are actually quite a rare occurrence within piercing. The medical world is still studying the cause of keloid scarring but it is now generally thought to be something that is passed on through genetics. Darker skinned clients can be more prone to keloid scars. A keloid scar is an overproduction of scar tissue that doesn’t stop growing and are very large. If you have had one keloid then you are likely to get more keloids in the future. If you think you have a real keloid on your piercing then you will need to contact a dermatologist as this is out of the scope of a piercer.

Lumps and Bumps - A hypertrophic scar — A hypertrophic scar

Hypertrophic scars can appear similar to keloid scars except that they form and then stop growing. Hypertrophic scars are generally darker than the skin around them as they have an excess of collagen within them. Hypertrophic scars look similar to surgical scars and again are outside of the scope of a piercer and will require a dermatologist. Hypertrophic scars are uncommon in piercing but can form if an irritation bump is left for a long period of time. Hypertrophic scars can go down on their own by installing correctly fitting jewellery. Daily massages with a vitamin e oil have been shown to reduce hypertrophic scars.

Avoiding Bumps

Lumps and Bumps - A well healed pair of nose piercings — Well placed, correctly sized rings in nostril piercings that have healed with no bumps

The best way to avoid lumps and bumps is to make sure you get pierced by an experienced piercer. If a piercing is placed where it is working against the anatomy or at a bad angle the likelihood of bumps forming is high due. An experienced piercer will talk you through placement positions to get the smoothest heal, select the correct size of jewellery and pierce at a good angle.

Downsizing after your initial swelling has gone down is another important way to avoid bumps. If the jewellery is left too large then it is likely to apply pressure to the piercing or get snagged a lot. Pressure and snags will irritate the piercing and cause the body to form bumps.

Wearing quality jewellery is key to a piercing healing well and this includes avoiding bumps. If the jewellery material is not safe for the body, the surface finish is rough or the design scratches the body then the piercing will become irritated and form a bump. We talk about quality a lot but it really is important to having well healed, beautiful piercings.

Caring for and Removing Lumps and Bumps

It is possible to get lumps and bumps to go down and heal nicely by following some simple rules:

1. Minimise all touching and prevent movement of the jewellery – a piercing being touched or moved means that the body is dealing with pressure and damage to the piercing channel. The first step is to make sure you aren’t touching your piercing and that nothing is pressing or pulling the piercing. Tight fitting clothing, headphones and sleeping habits are prime culprits to avoid here

2. No picking or scratching – You may be tempted to try and pick the bump away. Do NOT do this as the bump will just come back larger than before and you will open your piering up to risk of infection.

2. Get correctly sized jewellery fitted – if you never went back for a downsize or you think that the jewellery you have fitted is the wrong size then a simple step is to go and see your piercer and have them assess the piercing for you. If you are wearing an incorrect size they will be able to swap to the correct size smoothly to prevent damage to the piercing.

3. Wear higher quality jewellery – if the jewellery you are wearing has a poor surface finish, is made of unsafe materials, has exposed screw threads, is damaged or has a coating on then this may be causing the irritation bump. Swapping to a better quality piece will remove these sources of irritation

4. Aftercare solutions – making sure you are using a gentle aftercare regime that doesn’t involve any harsh chemicals (surgical spirit, hydrogen peroxide etc) and you aren’t pulling or moving the piercing during cleaning is an important part to getting bumps to go. Sterile saline solution is the preferred cleaning solution as it is gentle.

5. Home made remedies – Home made remedies from the internet will NOT help a bump go down. The bump may go away temporarily but it will return if the source of irritation hasn’t been found. We have come across a whole plethora of bad advice on the internet. Always remember that piercings need to be treated gently. Aspirin paste, tea tree oil and other chemicals have no place in caring for bumps. Aspirin paste is a type of acid that ‘burns’ the bump off only to have it return. Tea tree oil will block Oxygen from the healing cells and trap moisture in the bump so it cannot shrink. Salt pastes will dry the skin out, damage healing cells and cause ‘salt burn’ to the area.

If you would like more information about lumps and bumps then check out the website of our good friends at Holier Than Thou in Manchester here. Their head piercer Helen is a UKAPP member that helps the industry understand bumps through classes at the annual UKAPP conference.

If you would like help working out what is causing your bump and finding a way to make it go down then book a free piercing check up and one of our team will help you out.

Have a good week everyone! We’ll be back next week with a blog all about how to stretch ear lobes (and other piercings).

Posted on 11/10/201911/10/2019 by Aiden — 2 Comments

High Quality? Part 11 – Rings and Bars

“Can i get a ring to start?” – We hear this everyday at Rogue. We love the classic look of a ring too but when starting a fresh piercing there are some caveats that must be followed to get the piercing to heal smoothly. This weeks blog is aimed at explaining how rings and bars effect the healing process.

Pressure

Rings and Bars - Image showing an angled stud — A well placed piercing sits at 90 degrees to the skin

Pressure is the enemy of a healing piercing and can come from sleeping on a piercing, wearing tight fitting clothing, the shape of the jewellery and so much more. Pressure on a fresh piercing will cause the piercing to become irritated and swell. Rings and bars can both suffer from pressure issues if the piercing isn’t cared for carefully.

For a piercing to heal well the piercing should enter and exit the body at 90 degrees to the skin. If the piercing doesn’t sit perpendicular (90 degrees) to the skin then there is a high chance of irritation bumps forming as well as an extended healing period due to the pressure being exerted on the entry and exit points. This pressure is constantly pulling and stretching the piercing channel and slowing down the healing process.

Experienced piercers will even be able to predict where irritation bumps will form from the position of a poorly placed piercing. The bumps form to try and make the entry and exit points of a piercing to become 90 degrees and remove the pressure from the wound. The image to the right shows an angled bar piercing. The red areas show where the jewellery is exerting pressure on the body and the purple bumps show where irritation bumps would form.

Sleeping on a fresh piercing or wearing tight fitting clothing over a fresh piercing can cause a well placed piercing to become angled from constant pressure on the body. Once the piercing angle has been altered there will be a continuous pressure from the jewellery and there is a high likelihood of bumps forming. This is why piercers stress the importance of not sleeping on piercings until they are fully healed.

Drainage

Rings and Bars - Image showing a small diameter ring — A small ring will not block the bodies drainage and increase pressure on the wound leading to irritation bumps

As piercings heal they secrete body fluids. This secretion is a good thing as it is sealing the body from the outside world and preventing pathogens getting in and causing an infection. Excess secretion needs to be cleaned away during the healing phase to keep a piercing happy and looking good. The body will continue to produce secretion until it has grown fresh skin around the jewellery. The choice of jewellery can greatly affect how much secretion the body produces and for how long.

Piercers will generally recommend bars over rings for initial piercing jewellery as the diameter of the ring can affect how well the body is able to drain away secretion through the entry and exit points. If the jewellery is tight the body will not be able to drain and the piercing will become swollen. This swelling can cause jewellery to embed (bars) or to start a vicious cycle as the swelling causes more pressure (ring). The red area on the small ring image shows where secretion would build up due to being unable to drain.

Jewellery Size

Rings and Bars - Image showing a large diameter ring — A larger ring will minimise pressure and drainage issues

It is possible to start a piercing with a ring but to combat pressure and drainage issues the ring is generally much larger than snug style that we all love. If you have your heart set on a ring then the best course of action is to start with a stud and change out to a ring once the piercing has healed enough. If you really want to start with a ring then a larger diameter could be an option but this comes with it’s own downsides.

Larger pieces of jewellery have a higher snag risk. Snags, bumps and knocks can cause trauma to a healing piercing and this could set you back to day 1 or cause unsightly bumps to form.

Rotation

During aftercare your piercer will tell you not to rotate or twist your jewellery. This is because the jewellery will drag dry secretion and potentially pathogens through the piercing channel. When the piercing is fresh this could damage the piercing channel or cause an infection. A piercing with a ring has a higher likelihood of rotating through a piercing than a stud. It is possible to minimise this rotation by using jewellery such as BCR’s. The ball will cause a heavier side of the ring that gravity will pull down. This will minimise the rotation risk but it will not negate it all together.

Conclusion

Bars are the recommended starting jewellery for most piercings. There are a few exceptions such as daith, septum and PA but they have different anatomical considerations. The best way to get that snug fitting gold nose ring we all love would be to start with a stud and switch out once the piercing is well on it’s way to being healed. If you are determined to have a ring then a larger diameter, strict cleaning regime and even stricter no touching policy will be required. Whichever rings and bars you choose for your piercing the quality of the jewellery will greatly affect the bodies ability to heal as well as keep away the dreaded irritation bump. Keep it high quality.

For a more detailed look at using rings in piercings check out Jef Saunders Blog Post

Thanks for reading folks! Next week we will be looking into irritation bumps in more detail. Have a good week!

Posted on 04/10/201904/10/2019 by Aiden — 2 Comments

High Quality? Part 10 – Aftercare

How you care for your piercing as it is healing it just as important as getting the piercing done well in the first place. A good aftercare regime will keep your piercing clean and healthy and set it up to last a lifetime. Head to our aftercare page for advice on how to care for a fresh piercing. There are a lot of urban myths and legends about the best way to care for a piercing and sadly most of them actually damage the piercing. This weeks blog is here to help clear away the bad information and give you good information.

Aftercare information is taken from the medical worlds studies into Wound Healing Dynamics. This means looking at the way that wounds heal and what we can do to help the process. Modern medicine has learnt that there is very little we can do to speed up the healing process so now we aim to just not slow down the process. The body is a magical thing that can repair itself so now we focus on letting the body do just that.

Sterile Saline Solution

Saline solution is a form of salt water that is very carefully made under sterile conditions. It contains 0.9% Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and distilled water. There should be nothing else added for wound care. The mixture is important to ensure that the salinity (saltiness) matches that of the human body. If it doesn’t match then the solution will draw moisture in or out of the healing cells through osmosis and this will cause them to slow down growth or even die altogether. Overly salty solutions can also cause ‘salt burn’ where the healthy skin is damaged too.

Contact lens solution is a type of saline solution but it contains other chemicals and preservatives that are designed to extend the life of contact lenses. These chemicals can be bad for an open wound and can cause reactions in some clients. Contact Lens solution is NOT appropriate aftercare for a piercing.

Saline solution that is being placed onto an open wound should be sterilised and be provided in a container that doesn’t contaminate the solution once it has been used once. The main way around this is to use an aerosol can where the saline cannot be accessed. Screw or pump top bottles contaminate the saline as air is pushed into the bottle and there will be bacteria and fungus in the air. Saline is a perfect breeding environment for pathogens so it is imperative to prevent this type of contamination. Aerosol cans keep the saline inside a plastic bag and the air is ‘pumped’ in around this bag.

Table Salt and Rock salt are far from pure salt. They both contain other chemicals from the way they are formed, sourced and refined. These other chemicals are fine for us to consume when they are going into our stomach where strong acids can deal with them but when they enter the body through an open wound there isn’t the protection of our stomach and they can damage our cells. Sodium Chloride (Pure Salt) is made in a lab and this is what it used to make saline wound care.

This video is based more around food but shows some of the chemicals involved in Sea Salt and table Salt

Homemade salt water has been recommended for a long time but the medical world has taught us that this is no longer appropriate. There are several reasons for this:

– The mix cannot be made accurately – incorrect salinity damages healing piercings
– Home made solutions are not sterile – potentially spraying pathogens onto an open wound and causing infection
– Table Salt and Rock Salt are not pure – there are other chemicals such as iodine found within these salts that can cause damage to our cells

Twisting and Removal

Image from Jef Saunders Blog courtesy of Dannielle Greenwood

At Rogue we hear this advice every single day, “So I twist it daily and remove for cleaning”. Please do NOT twist or remove jewellery until it is fully healed. This advice is very old and comes from the days when body jewellery surface finish was rough. The bodies secretion during healing would dry on the jewellery and bind it to the skin. Modern body jewellery is super smooth so that the secretion can’t bind. Twisting jewellery in a fresh piercing will just damage the cells that are healing and lead to scar tissue growth. Removing jewellery when it is healing runs a very high risk that you will not be able to reinsert it.

As well as physical damage caused by moving jewellery during healing, there is also the risk of introducing pathogens into the body from touching. Fingers are dirty and should be kept away from open wounds. The best thing to do is to minimise touching and just clean away any secretion gently using gauze. If you are worried about anything you can always pop back to your piercer and get them to take a look for you.

Gauze Vs. Cotton Buds

Cotton Buds might seem like the perfect tool for the job when it comes to cleaning a piercing but they aren’t as good as they appear. Cotton buds are strands of cotton wrapped around a stick. These strands of cotton can be left behind during cleaning and can irritate a piercing if they get trapped between the jewellery and the body. These strands can also get wrapped around the jewellery and detract from the beauty of a well made piece and the gems set into it.

Dental Floss Picks are perfect for cleaning behind snug fitting flat jewellery

Non-Woven gauze is the recommended product for cleaning away secretion build up on jewellery. Non-woven gauze is made so that it doesn’t leave any fibres behind. Be careful when buying gauze as there is woven gauze too. Woven gauze is made of cotton fibres that are loose and can cause the same problems as using cotton buds. Non-Woven Gauze can be obtained from any pharmacy.

For those tricky spots where you can’t get gauze in to clean then we recommend using unscented dental floss or even better a dental floss pick. These are single use, sterile and can be purchased easily all over the world.

Whichever product is used to remove secretion and debris, just remember to be gentle and try not to disturb the healing piercing.

Antibacterial Products

Antibacterial products are WAY too harsh for a healing piercing. These products are meant to be used to first clean a wound and should not be used daily. If you remember skinning your knee as a child you will remember the sting as you are cleaned up but then afterwards it is recommended to just have good hygiene. When your piercer cleans your skin before your piercing they will use antibacterial products. During aftercare you only need to keep a piercing clean. The body will close the wound using secretion to form a natural plaster and this will keep bacteria out. Using harsh chemicals daily can lead to chemical burns as well as killing the good bacteria found on our skin. The good bacteria will fight bad bacteria to keep us safe so it is important we allow them to do their job.

Tea Tree and Other Oils

Tea tree Oil has been used for skin healing for as long as we have known about tea tree oil. Tea tree has it’s place in the skincare world but it is not recommended for piercing aftercare. Tea tree is an astringent which will remove moisture from a wound. The removal of that moisture will damage healing cells by drying them out.

Oils are not recommended for any wound healing because they will block Oxygen from the wound and create an anaerobic (without Oxygen) environment. This change in environment affects how the bodies bacteria operate and how the bodies cells form. It is recommended to keep piercings dry (where appropriate) and allow them to breathe for the smoothest healing process.

Conclusion

The simplest advice we can give when it comes to aftercare is to follow the golden rules:

Keep it clean
Keep it dry (where appropriate)
Don’t touch it

If you follow this the rest will fall into place. If you have any problems along the way then tell your piercer. The sooner you get in touch with your piercer the better. Don’t let small problems turn into big problems.

Next week’s blog will be all about rings and bars, when to use them and when not to use them. Have a good week everyone!

Posted on 27/09/201928/09/2019 by Aiden — 1 Comment

High Quality? Part 9 – Needles

Needles can be a reason to not get that beautiful piercing for some people. Today’s blog will aim to put your mind at rest by making you more familiar with the needles used in the body piercing world . There are 2 main categories to piercing needle; Cannulas and Blades. Just like jewellery, all needles are not made equal. Quality needles will make a piercing a more comfortable experience.

Cannula

Cannula needles are also known as catheter needles and are taken from the medical world. These are the most common type of needle found across the UK and Europe. Cannula needles arrive pre-sterile from the manufacture so they don’t need to be sterilised in-house by your piercer.

This type of needle has extra parts unnecessary for piercing as they aren’t being used for their intended use. Anyone who has spent some time in hospital will recognise that these types of needles are the ones used for IV drips and for catheters. They feature the metal needle, a plastic sheath and a hub. The hub isn’t used for piercing as it is where a syringe or drip would be attached. Some piercers will use sterile scissors to cut the hub off to make jewellery insertion easier.

There is less likelihood of “losing connection” when using cannula. When piercing with cannula the metal needle is removed after piercing and the plastic sheathe is left in place, this means that there is less chance the sheathe and jewellery will come seperate before the jewellery is fully in.

As cannula needles were not designed for piercing they can be large and cumbersome to work due to the length of the needle and hub. Technical ear projects are not always suited to cannula needles. The tip of a cannula needle also has a design which can be seen as less than ideal for body piercing as they are designed to make temporary holes that the body can heal closed rather than a permanent channel that stays open.

Cannula needles are designed so that a medical practitioner can insert them without having to wear gloves. They sometimes come with handles so that the part entering the body never gets touched (aseptic technique). This can be useful for piercing in studios where sterile gloves aren’t worn (At Rogue we use sterile gloves for every piercing, but more on that in the future) but as the jewellery needs to be handles too sterile gloves are recommended.

The main downside to cannula needles is that due to the sheathe, they tend to make an oversized hole e.g. jewellery is 1.2mm diameter and a cannula makes a 1.3mm hole. This leads to excess bleeding during the piercing procedure.

Braun Introcan and Trust Mosquitos would be a quality cannula needle brands to look out for.

Pros: Pre-sterile, simpler jewellery connection, built in aseptic design

Cons: Make an oversized hole which causes excess bleeding, can be too long for working on intricate parts of the body, not legal to use for piercing in some countries, can’t be curved for freehand techniques#

Here is a video provided by Brian Skellie (www.brnskll.com) showing how cannula needles are made

Blade

Blade needles are the original piercing needle and have seen a major comeback in recent years. The name blade comes from the needle looking like a blade when viewed sideways.

As blade needles have been made specifically for piercing they are available in a wide variety of thicknesses and lengths. This means that the perfect needle can be selected for each piercing rather than making do with whatever size is close enough. Choosing a needle the same thickness as the jewellery reduces bleeding during a piercing and it is quite common to have no bleeding at all!

As blade needles don’t have a plastic sheath, individual packaging or a hub the plastic waste generated by them is much less. We gotta look after this little planet of ours! Added bonus of no sheathe is that blade needles can be curved to allow for more comfortable jewellery transfers and to pierce more fiddly areas of the body as well as the piercing being more comfortable as the piercing hole isn’t being stretched to fit the sheath in as well as the needle.

Just like everything else in the world there are good and bad blade needles. Ask your piercer which brand of needle they are using and keep an ear out for Industrial Strength aka sharpass needles, Katana, Kiwami and That’s The Point.

Blade needles have a different tip configuration to cannula. This configuration is called a tri-bevel needle as there are 3 cutting faces. Tri-bevel needles allow piercers to use bevel theory which again reduces bleeding and makes a piercing more comfortable as there is no pop or crunch.

Pros: More sizes available, hugely reduced bleeding, more comfortable piercing

Cons: Inexperienced practitioners can lose jewellery transfer

No matter which type of needle is used it should be clean, sterile, used for 1 piercing and then disposed of safely.

Next week we’re getting stuck into aftercare!