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Wearing Glasses With Your New Piercings!

Piercings and glasses, just how important is it? Very! It is currently estimated that in the UK 69% of people require glasses, making it fairly common for clients to require that visual aid, and despite people choosing to use contact lenses, there are still people that choose or will need to wear actual glasses, I am one of those people. When it comes to bring both glasses and piercings together, there are many considerations to be thought off!

Facial Piercings

There are quite a few facial piercings that you might want to consider when getting pierced! Despite nose piercings resting on the bridge of our nose, they can move up and down and be bumped – creating contact with our eye area.

Bridge Piercings – Bridge piercings and glasses can be compatible, but this isn’t always the case. Depending on where your glasses rest, there might be a space that would allow for the jewellery to sit comfortably without intervention from the jewellery. You still want to be careful when placing them on or removing the frames, to avoid any knocks or snags. However, if you are the type of person who wears their glasses quite high up on that bridge, then you may not be suited towards a bridge piercing. You can try with frames that sit lower than the bridge, or forego the piercing entirely.

Nose Piercings – Nose piercings and high nostrils are commonly effected by your glasses. As we discussed previously, its quite common for our eye wear to slip down our nose, and bump into those new piercings. And if care isn’t taken, it is very easy to catch those nose pads on the end of our piercing and give them a quick snag, especially fi wearing taller or larger profile ends. Some clients decide that this is something they can deal with, and some decide it’s not worth the hassle. For example, I personally choose not to get high nostrils because i’m not prepared for the knocks and snags that would happen (I’m typically quite clumsy). Your lifestyle will always need to come first!

Ear Piercings

If you are a glasses wearer, you will need to heavily take this into consideration with your ear piercings. With the arms of the glasses sitting on top of your ears and around the back, these arms can be a number one risk of bumps and snags.

When we pierce you, we want to make sure there is enough clearance between that longer post and your glasses. There is no point giving you an industrial piercing if it is going to be in constant contact with the arms, this is a recipe for disaster. That constant pressure is going to cause irritated and grumpy piercings that won’t settle, and can even migrate or move those angles.

The same can be said with helix piercings, conches, or even forward helix piercings. We want to place them in a position where when removing or placing your glasses on that they’re not going to get hooked onto that longer labret post and create a sudden snag or pull. A) That’s going to be painful and B) we want to avoid causing any irritation bumps to give you a smooth and easy healing period.

Considerations

You can absolutely still get ear and facial piercings with glasses, however there are a few things to keep in mind so that we can give you the best possible heal we can.

  • Bring your glasses to your appointment!
    Even if you only wear your glasses *sometimes* we want to work out the best possible placement to create a smooth heal. Every pair of glasses is different, some are thick and chunky, some are quite thin. We want to see how your glasses sit on your face and around your ear and work out the risk of impact between the frames and jewelelry.
  • Be mindful of your glasses!
    it’s really easy to forget we are healing a new piercing, but when removing your glasses, or wearing them, it’s really important that you take a quick second to think about it. You don’t want to just throw them on and they snag that labret post, or remove them quickly and catch the nose pad on your nostril piercing.
  • Keep them clean!
    It’s really easy to forget to wipe down the arms of your glasses, or the nose pads, but bacteria, hair/face products, dirt and debris can build up on there really quickly. Make sure you’re giving them a quick clean and wipe down to avoid any of this transferring to your healing piercing.
  • Downsizing!
    You should always follow up for a check-up and a downsize for your piercings at the recommended time frame. However, especially as a glasses wearer this is really important. Wearing appropriately sized, snug and fitted jewellery will really minimise any impact between your frames and your jewellery.
  • Experiment with your frames!
    You may find that changing to glasses with adjustable nose pads work much smoother for your heal. You may realise that adjusting the shape or size of the frame allows more space for bigger or chunkier jewellery (if that’s your goal). Don’t hesitate to experiment with different frames to find what is perfect for you.
An initial labret post – a snag risk for glasses

There’s so many misconceptions surrounding wearing glasses and having piercings, but it is important to note that the answer is never a straight yes or no. There are so many considerations to be taken into account, and sometimes just small changes can change that answer from a no to a yes! So don’t hesitate to have a thorough discussion with your piercer, or change things around. However, ultimately, your lifestyle, your needs, and your comfortability should always come first.

You can chat with us in person via a consultation to thoroughly discuss any piercings you have in mind!

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The Carbon Cost of Piercing

Hi folks! It’s Aiden writing the blog post this week. It has been a while since I have written a blog as the wonderful Rogues have been doing such a good job. With the last coal fired power plant closing down this week (It’s just outside Nottingham!) I thought I would take a look at the environmental cost of piercing. This is going to be a big old subject focused on the Carbon footprint of piercing techniques. This is going to focus on the elements that can be changed during a procedure, so will not cover elements such as needles, skin prep, studio running costs etc. This isn’t going to say there is a right or wrong way to go about piercing but more an honest look at the effects of our choices. It is also important to note that the Carbon cost isn’t the only deciding factor in choice of technique. The safety of the client and piercer are paramount and will be put before Carbon cost generally. So, let’s get stuck in!

For those of you that don’t want to read through all the data, here is a TL;DR for you

The Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station just outside Nottingham

We are going to use the UK average Carbon cost for 1kWh of electrcity in 2023 which was 162g. This is taken from carbonbrief.org. Now, obviously each piercing studio will have a different energy contract from different suppliers so some may be using fully renewable energy and some may use fossil fuel derived energy, but I’m going to use an average for this blog. We will also look at the maximum power use of each item using their listed power draws. In reality, equipment doesn’t run at full capacity all the time but this is the easiest way for us to make a comparison without owning and measuring every device available.

Reprocessing

There have never been as many ways to create a piercing as there are currently. When you head to a studio to get a piercing, your piercer will have already made choices about the tools and equipment they will (or will not) use. The most common way that piercers across the UK work is with tools that are reprocessed after use. This reprocessing will involve the use of chemicals in a disinfecting machine and then sterilisation in an autoclave and as with everything piercing; there is never just one way.

A Hydrim C61 instrument disinfector

Ultrasonic Vs Instrument Washer

Ultrasonic cleaners are a system where tools are submerged into a bath of chemicals and then an ultrasonic transducer sends ultrasonic waves through the fluid. This method has a two pronged approach to disinfection, as the chemicals will break down organic compounds (blood, skin oils etc) and the ultrasonic will physically remove debris. The “bubbles” in an ultrasonic are small pockets of vacuum which “suck” debris off the tools. The biggest cons of ultrasonic cleaners are that they must be used carefully to prevent contaminating the area around them, they can be used incorrectly by operators so training is required for both efficacy and safety and the chemicals must be disposed of carefully as they can be damaging to the aquatic environment. The most commonly used chemical in the UK is Rapidex. According to the MSDS (found here), Rapidex is not damaging to the environment but should be kept away from drains. This means the most ideal way to dispose would be to use absorbent granules but this is not always the case. Generally, ultrasonic cleaners have a relatively low electricity use compared to other options.

Carbon Cost – A 5L ultrasonic bath is the common size used in UK piercing studios. A reputable machine such as Allendale Ultrasonics 5L ultrasonic is listed as using 200 watts of power (100watt heating and 100watt ultrasonic transducer). Ultrasonics are generally used for 10-20 minutes once a day and will generally be used for approx. 15 tools at a time. This would therefore come out as (200w * 0.16 hours)/1000 = 0.032kWh which equates to 5.184grams of Carbon. This, divided by 15 for each tool, would be 0.3456g.

Instrument washers are like dishwashers on steroids. They are automated systems where once the cycle is started, the error can be minimal. Like ultrasonic cleaners, they use chemicals to break down organic material but instead of using vacuum “bubbles” they will use water jets to remove debris. The Hydrim HIP MSDS states that chemicals are safe to be disposed of through drains as long as they are diluted. The brochure states that water use is between 11 and 30 Litres depending on the cycle type. The biggest con of instrument washers (aside from a much higher purchase cost) is that they require more power use, but their main pros are that: user error is minimised; user safety is increased as it is an enclosed system with much safer chemical handling; the chemicals are disposed of much easier as they are plumbed into the waste water system, and they are much less likely to contaminate their surroundings. The majority of instrument washers can be used in a piercing room because of how enclosed they are.

Carbon Cost – The most common instrument washer found in UK piercing studios would be the Hydrim C61. Common is somewhat of a misnomer, as these are still quite rarely used due to their price point being higher than ultrasonics. The Technician Service Manual (not linked as info generously shared by a technician) states a 2.7kW max load. This seems a lot more than an ultrasonic, but more tools are able to be decontaminated at once and to a more uniform standard than an ultrasonic, and more tools can be decontaminated at once. According to the operator’s manual, a Hydrim C61 can decontaminate up to 120 tools at a time. It would be unusual for a piercing studio to be able to use this many tools in the time frame that they would need to be decontaminated and re-used, so to allow for real world use this figure will be halved to 60 (this would still be high for a UK piercing studio). The Carbon created breaks down as (2.7kW * 0.53 hours) = 1.404 kWh which equates to 227.48g of Carbon. This divided by 60 tools would be 3.79g.

A Statim 2000s Autoclave

Class B vs Class S

Class B and Class S are different types of autoclaves. They both achieve sterilisation using steam, heat and pressure but they use them differently to get their results. A Class B will generally fill a boiler with steam and store the steam until it is required, whereas a class S will generate the steam as it is required. Class B is the most common type of autoclave found in UK piercing studios, but class S is the most common in high quality piercing studios.

Understanding the environmental impact of these autoclaves requires looking into more than just the power use. Most Class B autoclaves are larger and can sterilise more at once but the tools, equipment and jewellery will need to be bagged in sterilisation pouches for later use. Class S autoclaves, however, tend to be smaller and sterilise less but run “naked” cycles where the tools, equipment and jewellery is used as soon as the sterilisation cycle is complete. Sterilisation pouches are normally half paper and half polypropylene plastic. A box of 200, 35mm*75mm sterilisation pouches weighs 194g. As one side is paper, we will half this value to 97g for 200 which is 0.485g per pouch. The Carbon cost for producing 3Kg of polypropylene is 3Kg according to this website so that would be 0.485g of Carbon per small pouch. Tool pouches used for forceps are larger, so as it is 0.485g for 0.002625m^2 (35mm * 75mm) for small pouches, and forceps pouches are 135mm*255mm which is 0.034425m^2 this equates to 6.36g of Carbon, per forceps pouch.

Both types of autoclave require distilled water. There are two options for sourcing this. It can be purchased, or it can be distilled in-house. I have been unable to find information about power use for purchased distilled water, so will look at in-house distilled water. This Carbon cost will need to be added on to both autoclaves’ Carbon use. A distiller creates 5L of distilled water at a time – this can last for approx. 20 cycles in a Class S and approx. 5 cycles in a Class B.

Distiller Carbon Cost – (0.75kW * 4 hours) = 3kWh which equates to 486g of Carbon per 5L water.

Class B autoclaves found in UK piercing studios will generally sterilise around 12-20 tools at a time, so we will take a median value of 16 tools. We will use the Excel Enigma 12 Litre class B for our information, as this is a commonly used autoclave in the UK.
Carbon Cost – (2kW * 1 Hour) = 2kWh which equates to 324 grams of Carbon. The distilled water needs to be added to this, which would be 486g / 5 cycles = 97.2g making the subtotal 421.1g. Then, this is divided by 16 tools, so the total per tool sterilisation is 26.31g of carbon, but the pouch cost must be added so the final total is 32.67g of carbon.

Class S autoclaves generally sterilise 2-4 tools at a time so we will take 3 tools as the median value. The Statim 2000S is the most commonly used Class S autoclave found in UK piercing studios, so our data will be based on this machine. The power use is listed as 240 Volts and 6 Amps which equals approx. 1.4 kWatts. The cycle time for a hollow unwrapped cycle is 8 minutes.
Carbon Cost – (1.4kW * 0.13 hours) = 0.182 kWh, which equates to 29.484g of Carbon. Plus the distilled water carbon cost, this is 53.784g. This then needs to be divided by 3 for the number of tools, so the final total is 17.928g of Carbon per tool sterilised.

An Oil based plastic disposable Septum clamp

Disposable Piercing

A relatively new option open to piercers now is disposable piercing. Disposable piercing removes the requirement for reprocessing and sterilising tools, as the equipment is purchased pre-sterile from the manufacturer and is then disposed of through incineration or recycling. There are 4 main ways a piercer can pierce in a disposable manner. These are plastic disposable tools, metal disposable tools, using needle blanks and freehand (aka tool free).

Plastic Disposable

Plastic disposable tools are generally made from acrylic and are EO gas sterilised in sterilisation pouches. There has recently been a move by some companies to move to biodegradable and plant based plastic disposable tools. Wheat straw is listed as the material for one manufacturer’s biodegradable tools, so we will use these for this option.

EO gas sterilisation is used for both disposable material choices. Unfortunately I was unable to find data for how much carbon is produced during EO gas sterilisation, so cannot add this into the calculations. EO sterilisation isn’t a method that can be used in piercing studios as it is a large scale industrial process. This method uses sterilisation pouches, so we will need to add in our Carbon values from earlier on.

As we can’t look at the sterilisation cost and there is no reprocessing of disposable tools, we will look at the production cost. Disposal or recycling Carbon costs will have their own section further down.

Acrylic (PMMA) plastic being made from oil means it inherently has a high Carbon foot print. According to renewablematter.eu acrylic produces 5.5Kg of CO2 for every 1Kg of acrylic produced. We weighed three of the acrylic tools we have in stock and they came in at 8.91g, 5.08g and 10.22g. We will take an average across these to get a single figure for our use. The average weight we will use is 8.07g. Taking the Carbon production cost, it means that 8.07g of Acrylic equates to 44.385g of Carbon. When we add in the sterilisation pouch, it brings our Carbon total to 50.745g (44.385g + 6.36g).

Wheat Straw-derived plastics are a new innovation in the piercing world. In the industrial world wheat straw plastic is named polybutylene succinate (PBS). Wheat straw is a by-product of the farming industry that would normally be disposed of by either composting or by burning. Also, the process of growing wheat is removing CO2 from the atmosphere, so this method should be more of a closed loop. Wheat has been shown to absorb more Carbon than it emits (link) but I unfortunately could not find data to equate how much Carbon is absorbed by the wheat straw, nor how many hectares of wheat straw goes into a given weight of wheat straw derived plastics – so the figures for this section need to be taken with a pinch of salt. According to sciencedirect 1kg of wheat straw plastic produced 3.43Kg of Carbon. I do not currently have any wheat straw based tools, so looking at the material density it is very similar to acrylic at 1.26g/cm^3 vs PMMA at 1.18g/cm^3. So, taking our average acrylic tool weight of 8.07g and multiplying it by a ratio of 1.06, our average wheat based tool weight is 8.6g. Knowing this, we can then work out that 8.6g of PBS equates to 29.5g of Carbon. When we add in the sterilisation pouch, that brings our total to 35.85g (29.5g + 6.36g).

Needle Blank Disposable

Needle blanks are needles that have not had a sharp end ground into them. They can be very useful for piercing procedures as they can be used as receiving tubes, as snips (a method of connecting jewellery to the needle for insertion) and for making our own disposable tools. Available in sizes ranging from 26g up to 2g means that they offer piercers a lot of options to make the equipment they need quickly and cheaply. Needle blanks were an innovation that fulfilled a need for piercers who did not reprocess tools, before companies were producing disposable tools. They are not an outdated method and are still very much in use today, as they are a very versatile option.

The most commonly used needle blank sizes used in piercing studios would be 8g 2″ and 26g 1″. They would normally be sterilised in a Statim as needed. We will look into the production Carbon cost of these tools. The amount of carbon released from the production of steel varies greatly depending on where the ore was mined, where the steel was produced, the process used to make the steel, the grade of steel produced and whether the steel was recycled or made from virgin ore. We will take an average of all the steel produced around the globe to try and get some figures we can work with. According to carbon chain the production of steel in 2020 accounted for 8% of global Carbon emissions, at 1.88 tonnes of Carbon per 1 tonne of Steel produced. This makes the steel industry one of the top 3 global Carbon emitters. This includes the mining of iron ore and coal and then the production of steel.

An 8g 2″ needle blank weighs 1g, equating to 1.88g of Carbon.

A 26g 1″ needle snip weighs 0.015g, and this would equate to 0.0282g of Carbon.

If the blank and snip used for a piercing are sterilised in a Statim, no plastic packaging would be required so the Carbon cost of the tools alone would be 1.88g + 0.0282g = 1.9082g

A metal septum clamp

Metal Disposable

The newest form of piercing tool supply in the market is metal disposable tools. Aces Supply have recently entered the UK market with a form of closed loop supply. They provide pre-sterile metal tools and sharps/tool bins that are reusable and they reclaim the metal and recycle it back into new tools. With this system being a closed loop, we are going to look at disposal and production as one cost as the processes are combined.

Just like with the plastic tools, we are going to take the weight of three types of tool and take an average across these. The three tools we weighed were 36.7g, 27.7g and 43.34g which gives us an average of 35.9g of steel. When we calculate the Carbon cost of these using the data from the needle blank section, it gives us a Carbon cost of 66.9g.

Metal disposable tools arrive to studios pre-sterilised in sterilisation pouches, so we would need to add this Carbon cost too. This would bring our total up to 66.9g + 6.36g = 73.26g.

A clinical waste incinerator

Disposal

The final aspect of the piercing process we need to take a look at is disposal. The waste generated from piercing is classed as clinical waste and therefore must be disposed of carefully. There are different categories of clinical waste and this defines how it should be disposed. As piercers, our waste falls into 2 categories; Offensive Waste and Sharps. The offensive waste can go to landfill, but the safety of this would be questionable. This means that one of the big pros of PBS is negated, as it doesn’t go to landfill to biodegrade, and would be incinerated for the safety of staff working in the waste stream. At Rogue we use waste collection services that send our waste for incineration. Sharps waste also goes for incineration, but the metal from this can be recycled as there are no pathogens that can survive the process of melting steel. The metal tools that are recycled would be recycled through the sharps waste system.

Offensive waste is the category into which the paper and plastic elements of the piercing process would fall when it comes to being disposed of. As we are not covering the paper elements in this blog (due to them being the same across all piercing methods) we will look at the Carbon cost of incinerating plastics. Sadly I was unable to find data on individual plastics and the data available varies greatly, so we will have to look at an average.

Oil-derived plastics – According to QMRE, for every 1 tonne of oil-derived plastic burned, 2.9 tonnes of Carbon is released. So for our oil plastic disposable tools, the Carbon cost for incineration would be 147.16g (50.745g * 2.9)

Plant-derived plastics – As these are such a new material to the market there isn’t huge amounts of data available. The main aim for plant-derived plastics is to have them biodegrade, so this limits the data for incineration even further. Taking data from this research paper we can see that the Carbon cost is approx. 2.8kg per kg of plastic. The carbon cost of incinerating plant derived plastics would be 103.97g (35.85g * 2.9).

Sharps – Sharps covers the needles that we use as piercers, but it would also cover metal disposable tools such as snips, blanks and disposable clamps. These are all made from steel.

Steel – The Carbon cost of recycling steel is significantly lower than producing virgin steel. Data from 8billiontrees shows us that the Carbon cost is 0.88Kg of Carbon per 1Kg of recycled steel.

Blank and Snip – The combined weight of a needle blank and snip is 1.015g so the Carbon footprint of recycling is 0.89g (1.015g * 0.88).

Metal disposable clamp – The average weight we used above for disposable metal tools was 35.9g which would give us a Carbon footprint of 31.592g (35.9g * 0.88)

Freehand aka Tool Free

There is one final method to mention here and that is Freehand, aka Tool Free. As this method just uses the needle and the jewellery and they would be used for every other technique mentioned above, the Carbon cost for this method would be 0g (on top of the standard items used by all the other techniques). This is unsurprising, as it will always be more environmentally friendly to not use an item than to use an alternative item.

Summary

To put all of this into a format that is more digestible, I have used this data to show the Carbon cost of a septum piercing using the various methods available to us. The choice of septum is because every method of piercing we have looked at can be used. As we are only looking at the differences, this doesn’t include the Carbon cost of the paper products, cleaning products, studio running etc. It is also important to remember that the safety of the client, practitioner and the ease of use of the products needs to be thought about – so the Carbon footprint isn’t the final decision maker for choice of technique. A disposable tool hugely reduces the risk for the client and the practitioner, and as it is long term health that can be affected, this can be a much more important factor than Carbon use. The table below is showing measurements in grams.

The limitations of our results are that we cannot find data for EO gas sterilisation, or the amount of Carbon absorbed during plant-based plastics’ plant growth stage. Even so, we can see that a class S reprocessed tool comes in as the least Carbon intensive, and oil-based disposable comes in as the most Carbon intensive of the tool techniques.

I hope you all enjoyed me being a nerd this week. This is a subject I have been trying to write about for a long time but haven’t been able to get the data – I hope that in the future I can get that missing data. Until next time!

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Piercing with HIV – Ending the stigma

It is currently estimated that over 100,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, both un-diagnosed and diagnosed. But what does it mean for people with HIV when they want to get a tattoo or piercing? In an ideal world, it should mean absolutely nothing!

Unfortunately, there is still a huge stigma that surrounds HIV which means if they choose to disclose this information to their artist or piercer, they may be refused service. Not only is this morally wrong, but it is also illegal. Refusing to tattoo or pierce and individual because they are HIV positive is discrimination under the 1Equality Act of 2010. HIV positive people are automatically protected under the category of disability, which can be found in clause 6 of the act.

Disability

(1)A person (P) has a disability if—

(a)P has a physical or mental impairment, and

(b)the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The definition is very broad, however the Govt website explicitly states that people with HIV automatically meet the disability definition. In conclusion, it is ILLEGAL to refuse service to a person who is HIV positive.

2Progressive conditions

A progressive condition is one that gets worse over time. People with progressive conditions can be classed as disabled.

However, you automatically meet the disability definition under the Equality Act 2010 from the day you’re diagnosed with HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis.

You do not have to disclose your HIV status to us if you do not wish. 3Nobody can force you to disclose that status.

It is important to note that HIV is not a contradiction to tattooing and piercing. This means even though you legally do not have to tell us if you have HIV, you morally don’t have too neither. Any safe practicing tattoo and piercing studio will NEVER refuse service due to HIV. We work to standard precautions with full blood-borne pathogen training. Every single service we offer is performed to the highest level of safety we can. Your diagnosis makes zero difference to the way we carry out our work, or the way we treat you as a person!

Examples of universally used precautions include (but are not limited to):

  • New/clean equipment between people e.g. disposable gloves, single used needles, sterilised tools/jewellery.
  • Appropriate disposal of sharps (needles) and contaminated waste, with appropriate arrangements in place for safe collection.
  • New ink for each client.
  • Jewellery that comes in contact with broken skin (e.g. a piercing) must not be reused or shared.
  • Appropriate steps followed if a needlestick injury occurs.

4It is estimated that out of the 100,000 people in the UK living with HIV today, are diagnosed and on effective medication. This means that the virus is undetectable in their blood, and there is zero risk of transmission via sex, and very low risk via a needlestick injury. So much so, that national guidelines do not recommend PEP in these instances! On the other hand, someone living with HIV who isn’t diagnosed, or without effective treatment can pass on the virus. This is why there is a need for universal precautions.

Unfortunately, studios do have to ask if you about HIV and other blood-borne pathogens (you’ll often see it wrote into the consent form). This isn’t because we need to do anything differently during your appointment. This is because often it is wrote into A) the local bylaws and/or B) written into contracts with the local waste collection company, who handle our sharps and contaminated waste.
Contaminated waste is handled in 4 different ways and all depends on the category they fit into.
1: Incineration – This method is often used for large volumes of infectious waste, animal carcasses, and contaminated bedding materials.
2: Landfilling – Toxic waste can be buried in landfills that are designed to be “permanently” sealed.
3: Treatment – Hazardous waste can be treated using chemical, thermal, biological, or physical methods. Treatment can make waste less harmful, easier to handle, or easier to recover. For example, chemical waste and many bulk hazardous liquid wastes are treated in a treatment plant before being disposed of. 
4: Recycling – Some hazardous wastes can be recovered and recycled. For example, solvents and waste oils can be recovered and recycled as chem-fuels.

An NHS chart detailing the different types of waste.5

Waste companies ask that if we have performed a piercing on someone who has HIV that we tell them so that the waste can be dealt with appropriately via incineration instead of landfill.
At Rogue, we do not believe that this is appropriate. We have strong beliefs that any waste that is considered “contaminated” should be appropriately disposed through incineration, and definitely NOT a landfill. As a studio, we specifically have it written into our contract (by our choice) that all of our waste is disposed of via incineration. Not only is this because we feel that you shouldn’t have to disclose your HIV status to us if you do not wish, but because we also have respect for those who handle our waste.

Every single human deserves to be treated like a person and with the same level of respect and kindness.
HIV is not a death sentence. Piercings and tattoos are for everyone.

If you are living with HIV and would like support, or you would like more information, here are some resources:

  1. https://www.thompsons-scotland.co.uk/blog/employment-law/is-it-illegal-to-refuse-those-living-with-hiv-a-tattoo-or-other-cosmetic-treatments#:~:text=In%20accordance%20with%20the%202010,other%20clients%20from%20HIV%20transmission.
    ↩︎
  2. https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010#:~:text=People%20with%20progressive%20conditions%20can,infection%2C%20cancer%20or%20multiple%20sclerosis.
    ↩︎
  3. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hiv-and-aids/living-with/#:~:text=Nobody%20can%20force%20you%20to,strongly%20recommended%20that%20you%20do. ↩︎
  4. https://www.nat.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Joint%20statement%20on%20HIV%20in%20tattooing%20and%20cosmetic%20procedures_0.pdf ↩︎
  5. https://communityhealthpartnerships.co.uk/tenants/understanding-clinical-waste/ ↩︎

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BMX-NET First Time Attendee

Hi, it’s Gwen! For my first ever blog post it seemed like a no-brainer for me to talk about my amazing experience and my classes I took at BMXNet in Berlin, Germany earlier this month.

I’d been wanting to head to BMXNet pretty much since I started piercing a couple of years ago, and this year I finally got the chance! I travelled over with Aiden and Anna, and the goal was to get as much learning in as I possibly could. 

From the start I knew things were going to get super overwhelming super fast, so I tried my best to be prepared. Thankfully the travelling went smoothly and between the hotels, hunt for food and a quick night’s sleep, we were at the venue before we knew it! 

All I can say is, thank goodness for breakfast! At BMX there was a constant, steady supply of food and drink throughout the day, which made everything so much simpler and massively minimised my stress, because it meant we didn’t have to venture out into Berlin in search of food! It’s so much easier to focus on your classes and have a good, productive time on a full stomach, and sometimes you just get so swept up in the day that you forget to eat unless food is right there in front of you. Also – constant coffee is a must. 

Photos by Babs

Thankfully, I had decided on most of my classes ahead of time and I had a decent schedule set out in my head for how the day was going to play out – which is really helpful for me in a new environment with a lot of people around. That said, I did make a few last minute changes, like attending Shawn Porter’s class on the last slot of the day, where he talked about the history of ModCon in the 2000s. It’s funny looking back on it because beforehand, I had wanted to take a break and decompress – and now I’m so glad that I didn’t, because that class was just insane in the best way possible. The thing I’ve found with conferences now is that while it is super important to find some time for yourself so you don’t burn out, sometimes it’s worth giving yourself an extra push because you’ll be mad at yourself if you don’t. Just make sure you remember to drink some water in the process! 

Brian Skellie has the best classes!

I took so many amazing classes, mainly technique (particularly transitioning from cannula needles to blades, freehand piercing and needle bending, with some intimate fundamentals thrown in) but some really interesting history classes as well. I finally got to take one of Paul King’s classes, which was huge for me as I had missed the ones he taught at UKAPP last year when I was volunteering! As piercers we’re always learning, but especially for me as a junior piercer it’s vital. Having access to such a massive wealth of information, from so many talented and knowledgable piercers, is something I’m incredibly grateful for. It felt extremely validating for me, to be able to learn surrounded by other people who want to do the same. In case you didn’t know, we are massive nerds!

On a small break in between classes me and Elly (who recently guested with us at Rogue!) went up to the jewellery expo to take a look around. I loved that this expo was divided up into smaller rooms that you could move in and out of, as opposed to one big room that was swamped with people. This meant I could actually take the time to appreciate some of the amazing jewellery there, and I even got some cute gold pieces from Anatometal for my healing high nostrils (that had decided to become super angry thanks to the heat)! 

Elly, Anna, Aiden & Gwen

One of my favourite things at BMX was being able to sit outside in the sun and watch live hook suspensions in between classes. The concept of being able to get a coffee and sit on a bench and watch someone have an amazing suspension experience at 3 in the afternoon might seem a bit wild, but it was something that made me feel like I was with my people. I’m really thankful to have been a part of so many of these experiences, even just as a bystander. 

I almost forgot to mention the best thing about the trip, which was getting to meet so many new people and make some great friends, as well as some familiar faces! As someone who is very anxious by default, it’s a relief for me to be able to say that everyone I met was kind, welcoming and just generally amazing. So basically what I’m trying to say is, BMXNet was awesome and I am so full of knowledge after this experience, and I love this industry with all my heart.

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2024 Safe Piercing Conference

Hello! This time it’s my turn (Breo) to write a story about my adventure in Las Vegas, attending the 27th Professional Piercing Conference (APP).

My travel companion was Gemma, which made this adventure much more pleasant and entertaining. At the airport we met Jason Heeney and Jess Farrar, who were also attending the conference and had the same flight as us.

We started with a direct flight from Manchester to Las Vegas that lasted ten and a half hours. They gave us food, drinks and even a cocktail! We had blankets, pillows and a screen with movies, music and series to keep you entertained throughout the trip. Once we arrived we could feel the heat blast, a sensation like opening the oven door on your face, but constant. It made me realize how far away I was from home and I got a little nervous, but I don’t think anyone noticed haha.

 When we arrived, there were already two piercers at the casino spot that will become the meeting point for hundreds of piercers over the next week. One of them was Zakk, a person who has become very dear to me. Zakk guided us to the area where I finally met Caitlin, Jacob and Marina, the main conference managers and volunteers, in person. At times there were too many of us and we were tired and jet-lagged, so I had a hard time learning names and recognizing faces. After helping with some tasks for the grand opening, a few volunteers went for a walk around and saw the city at night, and went to rest.

The next day, all the volunteers left the hotel to have a luxurious breakfast at the Bouchon, in the Venetia hotel (courtesy of the APP). It was amazing! We had free time to socialize and get to know the surroundings.

And then the day of the grand opening arrived!  The conference space was huge, but it quickly filled up with 1,704 piercers in a matter of a couple of hours, all getting their credentials and certificates. I’ve been to many piercing conferences throughout my life, but I’ve never seen so many piercers together in one space, and I was so impressed by the number of people in attendance.

2024 VEGAS

The first class I attended was on forward facing nostrils (aka mantis piercings), taught by Sala. It was a very interesting class and I learned a couple of important keys to doing them better.

After leaving the class I met Joeltron in person, an icon!

The next class was on stretching. I learned a ton in this class, especially what not to do and the consequences of doing it wrong, all very useful to be able to implement in my work.

In the evening we had an opening party at the private pool of the famous Flamingo hotel, with tacos and drinks and a giant, beautiful pool, full of hundreds of piercers having a good time. It was memorable.

 The next 3 days were spent almost exclusively volunteering and taking classes. I learned a ton about anxiety management, how to be a boss in the piercing studio, Guich piercings, troubleshooting, genital piercings, trauma informed piercings.

Breo’s certificate of class attendance

I also had the great honor of meeting Jim Ward in person, it was a moment I will cherish for a lifetime. I attended a lecture by him about the beginnings of Gauntlet and modern piercing. It was amazing to be able to hear the stories of our beginnings from the main character. Without Jim, none of us would be here. Thank you Jim!

And with that, we have arrived at the big closing dinner of the event. Everyone in attendance looked very elegant and fancy! The all-you-can-eat buffet was very rich and varied. After dinner we celebrated Jim Ward’s birthday (which of course is also International Body Piercing Day).

After dinner we had a private disco for all the piercers, and I know I’m repeating myself, but it was amazing!

 I have to say that this experience has changed my perspective on how I see the piercing industry and the community I am eternally grateful for having given me all these memorable moments, having met so many beautiful people, and meeting all my idols in person. I am eternally grateful for having been chosen among thousands of piercers to volunteer, I would do it again a million times without hesitation!

Thanks APP.

 Kind regards,

Breo Hoek (he/him/his) | Professional Body Piercer

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Do I need to Research my Piercer?

So, you’ve decided to get a piercing! Whether it be a classic nose piercing, a large gauge piercing or intimate work you should always research your piercer and/or piercing studio. This is to make sure that they are the right fit for you as a client and that they can provide the work you are looking for at a higher quality level. Your piercer should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to a strong standard that can gain your trust and ensure their credibility. But how do you research your piercer, what should you be looking for? It can be a really overwhelming task if you’re not entirely sure what to look for, which is why I’ve put together this guid for you to use and share.

This is mainly based for the UK, so may be slightly inaccurate across different countries, due to their own laws and regulations surrounding body piercing. This is only meant to be a guide, and it is encouraged that you do your own research for things that may differ in your local region.

  • Education – Your piercer should be able to demonstrate and show off their knowledge and skills and the education they have and are continuing to ensure they are providing the best quality service they can. You may look for certificates on the wall of conferences and classes they have attended, as well as first aid training. They may be showing off their education and own research through social media posts or blogs on their websites, they may even talk about it in the studio with you. You can ask about their training and education too!
Aiden’s wall of certificates from attending and speaking at conferences across the world.
  • Hygiene – Hygiene is such a huge factor when it comes to body piercing. There should be no drinking alcohol or smoking encouraged or practiced inside the studio, and clients should never be permitted to ‘try on’ jewellery. (A safe alternative you may find is piercers using ‘piercing sticks’ or tools to hold up jewellery near the clients skin.) The piercing itself should be performed in a separate room that allows for good ventilation and good lighting. A private bathroom should also be away from any jewellery handling or processing. Some studios (if they aren’t disposable) should have a separate room that isn’t accessible by the general public where they process and clean dirty tools (this is referred to as the sterilisation room). On top of the big things, the studio should look clean and organised when you walk in, hand sanitizer should be freely available, you may notice cleaning wipes/spray tucked away on shelving or cupboards. Hand-washing will be practiced and encouraged between each appointment, as well as cleaning down the room.
  • Sterilisation – All jewellery and tools should be completely sterilised for the appointment. Some piercers may choose to do this via pre-sterilising in pouches. When sterilised correctly their should be a colour indicator on the back, as well as the packet looking crinkled. These should be opened in your Prescence. Other pierces choose to sterilise everything at the time of the appointment via the statim. They will place the jewellery, gauze, and tools (such as needles) into a statim cassette and leave it to sterilise (this typically takes around 7-9 minutes). To prove the sterility of the items inside, a colour changing indicator should be in their to verify, which you can ask your piercer to see. Again, these cassettes should be open in your presence.
A steriliser strip atop of the statim.
  • Contaminated Waste – There should be at least two separate bins in the piercing room. One bin (that can be operated without hands, such as a push-pedal bin) that collects contaminated waste, such as aprons or gloves. The other one is a sharps container that is mounted on the wall. Both of these should be clearly labelled ‘biohazard’. The sharps been is similar to the ones you may see in a doctors office or in the hospital. It is important that there is a sharps been so that you can be certain that needles are being disposed of correctly, and aren’t being reused.
  • Licenses and Insurance – Each individual piercer and studio should have their own licence by the council (where applicable) that allows them to practice body piercing. Each studio will also have insurance that will protect them and you. (Insurances can differ from each company, which is why some studios may have different parameters to work under and may be insured for different things.) Please note that neither a license or insurance can guarantee that the piercer has had adequate trainer, you should check with your local department what their regulations are.
  • Aftercare – Aftercare instructions should be provided to you at each and every appointment, as well as easily accessible via their website. You may find that each studio’s aftercare may differ slightly, but they should still follow the most up-to-date guidelines. A good base to find appropriate aftercare and what to compare it to is the aftercare suggestions written out by the APP.
Rogues aftercare leaflets.
  • Single Use Needles – Every piercer will use a single needle for each piercing they perform on a client. These needles will never be re-used, especially amongst different clients. Piercing guns will also never be offered, suggested or even held by a quality piercer for any piercing.
  • Portfolio – Each piercer will have their own portfolio. In the modern day of technology, you easily find this via their social media pages, or websites. They may also have more private portfolio work that you can ask to see. It is important when vetting a piercer that you check their portfolio, especially if you are looking for specialist work, such as large gauge or intimate piercings. Keep your eyes out for their healed work too!
  • Jewellery – All jewellery should be of high quality, that is well polished with no external threads (such as threadless or internally threaded). There should also be a wide selection of jewellery available which will ensure a correct fit, and is suitable for an initial/healing piercing.
  • Age Requirements – Age requirements will differ for each studio, based on personal opinion and insurance, as well as legislation. No quality studio will be offering to pierce nipples or genital work to anybody under the age of 18 regardless of gender. Quality studios will also have a strict ID policy for all clients, and for underage clients the legal guardian will also be required to be present at the appointment.

These are some of the minimum standards you should be looking for when you research a piercer or piercing studio. As a bonus they may also have membership to either (or both) the APP/UKAPP. A membership to either of these organisations doesn’t mean that they will be perfect, or provide quality work. It means that they are working to a minimum standard that has been set up to ensure that standards of body piercing are improving. These includes things like (but not limited to) being first aid trained, having blood borne pathogen training, certain hygiene standards etc. You should be able to reach out to your piercer and ask questions about their practices and studio standards. Your piercer should gain your trust and make you feel safe and secure during your appointment. If there is something not quite right about a situation, and you aren’t 100%, maybe have another rethink before getting pierced! Always trust your gut and the facts from your own research.

At Rogue each member of the team has their own portfolio which you can see via our social media as well as having their own Instagram work accounts. You can also contact us to see more of our portfolio’s or if you have any questions about our standards. We also post a new blog weekly at 4pm on Friday which you can read.

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Is it safe?

Unfortunately, it is way too common in the UK to be able to walk into a piercing shop and have no idea what jewellery or metal you are being pierced with, how it works or is fitted, and if it is even safe to be worn permanently or even long term. Quite often at the piercing appointment at Rogue, we hear multiple variations of ‘so what jewellery can I wear today?” Typically, the client might mean: What is safe? What can I not wear? What in the cabinets should I avoid until my piercing is healed? And honestly, you are right in asking that question!

Any good piercing studio should be able to answer your questions about the jewellery they stock and why or why not it is suitable for initial use! For example, you may take a look in our titanium cabinet and as about the sparkly white flower. In response we can tell you:

“That is the Neometal Flower! It is made out of implant grade titanium, ASTFM-136 to be exact, which is the exact same grade they use for fake knees and hips. Therefore we know it is safe to be worn in the body for extended periods of time. It is also set with five genuine white Swarovski crystals, so they can keep that sparkle forever, with care and frequent but gentle cleaning. All of our jewellery comes with warranty against any manufacturer defects, so if one gemstone randomly falls out, you can bring it back into the studio so we can have it cleaned and fixed by the jewellery company.”

-Jay

This is all true! All of our jewellery comes with a warranty against any manufacturer defects. Unfortunately, not everything in life is 100% perfect, and this includes the jewellery we have in stock. Despite it being rare that pieces to break, it does happen. This is why we choose to work with companies that will accept responsibility for their mistakes, such as a loose setting, and help us fix that. They care about their clients the same way we do, and we want to provide you with an experience that is as good as possible.

All of our jewellery is completely certified and is 100% safe to be worn in the body for extended periods of time! (Gemma has once or twice said, you can be buried with them!) All of our jewellery meets the standards set out by both the UKAPP and the APP! And for all of our implant grade titanium, each of our manufacturers can also provide Mill Certificates!

Nearly every piece of jewellery we hold in stock we can use for initial piercing. There are of course a few exception!
1. Clicker and seam rings – We will never use clickers or seam rings in any initial piercing. The rotation will often irritate the open channel, and often because they involve a tiny gap can bring dirt and debris into the healing wound. Quite often these rings will be quite small in diameter, meaning there won’t be enough room for drainage. You can learn more about this here!
2. Chains and charms – When healing a new piercing there is often quite a lot of fluid that will drain from the piercing channel, this can then easily become built up around the jewellery. With chains and charms this can get stuck in-between the small gaps, meaning the jewellery cannot be adequately cleaned.
3. Genuine opals – Throughout our BVLA jewellery collection, we have one or two piercings of genuine opal which cannot be sterilised. This is because opals contain a high rate of water, and under extreme pressure and steam from the statim this can cause the piece to explode. Because they can’t be sterilised, this makes it unsuitable for initial use. However, we have lots of faux opals available for you!

Every member of the team at Rogue has a vast knowledge of our jewellery collection, and can tell you about each of our cabinets, the manufacturers and brands we use, as well as the individual pieces. They take class after class at different conferences across the world to ensure they are provide a safe and confident service to their best of their ability. These classes include safe and unsafe metals. Aiden himself (our head piercer) actually teaches his metal classes at some conferences, so you can place your trust that we are providing you the best quality jewellery we can.

Everything in our jewellery collection that we have in store can be viewed online in our webstore! You can also book jewellery consultation appointments to have a browse and a discussion about what we have, or what we can get.

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Downsizing!

If you’ve been pierced at Rogue (or any other quality studio) you’ll often be told to come back in for a check-up and a downsize. But what is a downsize, and why is it so important?

Downsizing is shortening the length of your jewellery to make a nice snug and comfortable fit to your body. When we pierce you we always start with bigger jewellery, either longer in length or bigger in diameter. this is because during the first stage of healing, the piercing site will swell as a normal reaction to the wound we have created. We need to accommodate for this swell, thus meaning bigger/longer jewellery. (If you are interested in why we swell and the phases of healing check out this blog post.)

A fresh mid-helix piercing with ample room for swelling.

Why don’t we pierce with the short bar? Again it cycles back to the swelling. Without adequate room for the swelling, it can quickly become a problem. Often if there’s no room, the body will start to swell over the jewellery, which can cause it to be embedded or lost. This can quite often be very sore and painful. Depending on the severity of the swelling, we can pull the jewellery and replace it with a bigger pierce, or in very rare/severe circumstances we may have to refer you to urgent care.

A triple flat piercing embedded.
The middle pierce of jewellery is starting to be ‘swallowed’.

How do we downsize? Downsizing is fairly easy. We don’t cut the jewellery down, and we don’t replace the entire piece. We just replace the wearable with something much comfier. For example: take a helix piercing, the swelling has come down and now it’s starting to move freely. We simply just remove the decorative end, take out the labret, fit a smaller labret, and put the end back on. Abracadabra its just that easy! For piercings with rings (such as a daith) we will simply just replace the ring for one with a smaller diameter!

When should I downsize? This varies for each piercing, but ultimately your piercer should let you know. However, for most oral piercings it will be between 7-14 days. Cartilage and other piercings (such as navels/nipples/eyebrows etc) it will be around 4-6 weeks. Intimate piercings can be either, depending on location!

How do I know if I’m ready to downsize? Typically the jewellery will start to feel and look longer. You may notice that it also starts to move around more freely by itself. Sometimes you may see that the jewellery is sticking up and out, or that it is getting caught more easily on clothes/hair/glasses. The best way to tell is definitely to pop in for a visit with your piercer! They’ll be able to assess it from all angles and swap that bar over for you.

Plenty of space = Downsize to smaller bar!

What happens if I don’t downsize? Now it’s not going to be the end of the world if you do not downsize your jewellery, and your ear or nose won’t fall off! However, once the swelling subsides and the fistula is less tight, the jewellery may start moving up and down or back and forth. This can cause irritation to a sensitive and healing channel, which may lead to irritation bumps and higher chances of knocks and snags. Over time, this can even create migration and rejection as well as wonky angles. Depending on the severity of the damage, this may result in you having to retire the piercing.

For oral piercings, such as tongues or labrets, you can cause serious teeth and gum damage with excess length in jewellery.

How many downsizes will I need? Well this depends on quite a few factors. For example, which piercing is it? Cheek piercings require multiple downsizes due to the rapid swell of the area, and how slow it returns back to normal. If you tend to be a ‘sweller’ you may require 2 downsizes for piercings such as a nose or helix, as you may need a ‘half-way’ size. Gaining or losing weight may also mean you might need to shorten or lengthen the jewellery, Certain medications, being ill, being in warmer climates can all effect how the piercing heals, swells, and settles, so it is never a definitive answer.

Sometimes you may not even need a downsize. Some piercings just don’t need it. For example, microdermals! Rook and daith piercings are definitely a choice, the aesthetic of these is often the longer curved bar, or the larger ring to show off decoration. Other piercings can be variable, such as nipple or industrial piercings. However, it is important to note that most piercings will need to be downsized.

A stunning fresh daith piercing – pierced with the desired jewellery, and no downsize is needed!

So there you have it! What is downsizing, why it is important and all things in between! If you think your piercing is ready for a downsize, book in for a check-up with us here! If you’re not local to Nottingham, check out the piercer map to find your closest UKAPP piercer to help assist you, or reach out to us for recommendations!

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The Adrenaline Response

The adrenaline response, also known the ‘fight or flight’ response, is a hormone (adrenaline) release from the adrenal glands in response to stressful or dangerous situations. This release of adrenalin gives us a boost to act quickly. It can also cause feelings of distress, anxiety and feeling unwell. The aim of this release is to help you face dangerous situations and be ready to “fight or flight”.

How does it affect piercing?

When preparing for your appointment, and actually waiting to get pierced, a lot of people can be worried or anxious thinking about the pain, especially when you don’t know what to expect. The adrenaline response can be triggered by these thoughts of anxiety or stress in response to physical harm of the body (even though we decided to do this, these thoughts are completely normal and valid). This response often has physical presenting symptoms on the body, including.

A diagram showing the reactions and symptoms of the adrenalin release.
https://www.sfh-tr.nhs.uk/media/3782/fight_or_flight_and_relaxed_breathing.pdf

In this situation though, the release of adrenalin isn’t always helpful! Running away (fight) won’t necessarily help, and we definitely don’t recommend trying to fight your piercer! So we implement techniques during your time with us to help manage these symptoms. First of all, we learn what the signs and symptoms can be (see above diagram) and figure out the best way to help you. We have sweets on hand to help with blood sugars, as well as cool water and compresses on hand to help with body temperature. We also help prepare you for the piercing by focusing on breathing techniques. We get you to focus on the ‘in and out’ of breathing, slowing it down, and releasing on the ‘push’ of the needle. By doing this, we can shift the focus from the anxiety, and help ‘rebalance’ the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide we might have from the temporary imbalance we might have caused from shallower breathing.

Even though these feelings can be scary and unpleasant, they are not dangerous. You are also in the hands of safe professionals who are prepared for all of this! And despite how cool you may think your piercer is, we still get nervous too! Yes, even when we get pierced!

So why do I feel weird after the piercing?

This is the adrenaline rush to help you manage the pain. Because your body senses a heightened emotion, your adrenal glands create a quick release of adrenaline into your bloodstream to help manage the pain you are feeling. It is your own body’s way of creating it’s own distraction technique from the pain and sensations you are feeling by increasing mental stimulation. The adrenaline also dampens the pain response in your nervous system so you won’t get slowed down by your injuries (the fight or flight response!).

It’s not just fear and pain that can spike your adrenaline, it can also be excitement! For example, some people enjoy dangerous sports or rollercoasters because of the ‘thrill’ they get from it. This thrill is the adrenaline surging through your body, despite not being in danger. This can happen in piercing too. The excitement of being pierced or getting pierced can easily trigger this response. (This happened to Jay after their cheek piercings!)

It’s not always super fun though. Sometimes you may get light headed or dizzy, and feel a sense of irritability. This ‘rush’ can sometimes be stressful for some clients. As always, your piercer should be on hand and prepared for all outcomes! For example, everyone at Rogue is first aid trained, so if you do feel lightheaded or dizzy, let your piercer know! Often we will elevate your legs to bring the blood back to your head steadily, and grab you some sweets to bring your blood sugars back up! Sometimes you might just need a glass of water.

Why do I sometimes feel ‘bad’ later on?

After your piercing you may feel like you are invincible or on top of the world, this is super normal, however over the next few hours the body will slowly start to return to normal after the surge from the hormonal release. The adrenaline surge can last up to an hour, as it returns back to normal levels you may feel a ‘comedown’ effect. These symptoms can include low levels of energy or tiredness, as well as a drop in mood (also known as ‘post-adrenalin’ blues). There is absolutely nothing to worry about! We recommend doing something that you find helpful in terms of self care. Whether this is getting super cosy on the sofa with snacks and watching movies by yourself, or hanging out with friends, it is super important to look after yourself. We also recommend grabbing some good food, and something full of sugar (such as a full fat Coca-Cola) however you should avoid over-consumption on caffeine as this can increase the adrenaline in your body.

Breo showing off one of our sweet jars!

The adrenaline response is nothing to be scared about. It is a natural reaction that the body has been using to protect itself for thousands of years, and it is rare we see ‘bad’ reactions to the adrenaline response from piercings. However, if you are feeling super nervous our team are always on hand to help you out and make you feel better!

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Fainting At Your Appointment.

Quite often we hear the words, ‘I’m a fainter’ by clients when they come and get pierced with us, which can make the experience much more daunting and scarier than it needs to be. It can also be a scary idea for anyone who has never fainted before, but may have never had a piercing, or is quite queasy anyway! But there’s nothing to be worried about! While fainting can be quite common, and any professional piercer should be equipped to handle it, it really doesn’t happen as often as you think it might. But let’s discuss fainting, what it is, why it happens, and how we (at Rogue) minimise the chances of it happening to you!

Fainting is a short-term loss of consciousness. It happens because of a sudden drop in blood flow to your brain. A fainting episode usually lasts a few seconds or minutes. Then, you wake up and return to normal.1 It occurs when the body over reacts to certain triggers, causing that sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate, making the blood flow to the brain slow down. These triggers can include (but are not limited to), standing or sitting for a long time, dehydration or extreme heat, stressful or emotional situations, and seeing blood or having an injection.

At your appointment, some of these things can be tied altogether! For example, it is very common for some people to be nervous about the pain or the procedure, which can cause feelings of anxiety causing stress levels to rise. Depending on your piercer, and the piercing you’re having, you may be sat or laid down for your piercing, so if you stand to quickly it can cause you to feel lightheaded or faint. You may not have had food before getting pierced, or not enough food, so during the piercing your blood sugar might be low, and then it can drop further due to the adrenalin response after being pierced. However, it is still very rare for us to have a fainter in the studio!

When you put a number of these factors together, and very quickly, it drastically increases your chances of feeling faint, or passing out, which is why we have a number of procedures to minimise this as much as possible.

  1. Eating! On our consent form we ask if you have eaten in the last 4 hours prior to your appointment. Having a healthy amount of food in your system can stable your blood sugar and prepare it for the drop in blood sugar once the adrenalin response happens. If you have not eaten, we have a variety of snacks and sweets on hand that we will ask you to eat before you go onto the room. We also have sweets for after the appointment to give you that litlle boost of sugar back!
  2. Lying you down! For most piercings at Rogue, we will have you laid down. This means that if the blood flow to your head slows down, it has less fight against gravity. And if you do feel faint, it is easier to bring your legs above your head laid down, than stood up or sat down!
  3. Breathing techniques! When getting pierced at Rogue, we will get you to focus on your breathing, keeping it nice and steady, and taking breaths in and out to alleviate the pain on the ‘push’ of the needle. But alongside managing pain, breathing techniques are a really great grounding technique and can help reduce stress and anxiety before the hard bit.
  4. Focusing on you! As the piercer and the person ‘in control’ of the room, it is really important that all of our attention is on you, even if you don’t notice it, we are always watching you and your reactions to pick up on any warning signals that you may feel faint. These signs can include going pale, or sweaty. If we pick up on it early enough, we can typically help you out by giving you some water and or sweets, a cool compress if needed.

Despite everything we can try and do to prevent fainting, it can definitely still happens. But there is still absolutely no need to worry. Every member of Rogue is First Aid trained, and we take annual courses to keep up to date with any changes. We have sweets and water on hand for when you come round, and we’ll always stay with you for a small time to make sure you’re feeling back to normal (or as much as possible) before you leave the studio. If you are prone to fainting, just let your piercer know, that way we can be as prepared as possible beforehand!

Feel free to book an appointment with us, and we’ll make you feel as comfortable as we can!

  1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21699-fainting