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Sharing Jewellery

A very common question we get is, ‘You pierced my mum a few months ago, can you reuse her worn jewellery in my piercing?” Sharing body jewellery is a very controversial topic within piercing. Across the board, it is seen as a huge no-no. That being said, there seems to be some discrepancies – Would you wear earrings second-hand? Would you wear something someone else wore in a fresh piercing? Where do plugs, weights and hangers fit into this discussion?

Worn Jewellery Degradation

Jewellery degrades over time. This is true of all things – Entropy comes for us all! This is not necessarily a cause for concern – Titanium labrets age very well and do not tend to cause issues to the wearer. Issues only tend to arise when an attempt is made to reprocess, sterilise, and re-implant the jewellery into a new person. Please read the below figures as they are super interesting!

Brand new Titanium alloy implants, ready for use in medical patients.

We do not have any data specifically from body jewellery (yet!), however Titanium alloy implants from dentistry and osteology are an excellent (and well-studied) source of reference. As you can see, the surface of the implants can become scratched, dented etc through normal wear. This worn surface causes no problems in a healed piercing as the piercing is settled and robust. This is not a surface that should ever come into contact with a fresh piercing, as jewellery is stored appropriately at the studio to avoid damage and a damaged or worn labret is never used in a fresh piercing.

The same Titanium alloy implants after wear in the body. Note the scratches, dents etc.

Biological Contamination

Using a worn post in a fresh piercing is cause for concern- that imperfect surface can scratch and irritate the fresh piercing. The main issue with this though is the fact that it is impossible to fully sterilise this item. The cracks, folds and imperfections can collect biological material which is difficult to remove from the surface. Introducing this into a fresh wound is not hygienic and should not be done by any professional piercer.

Biological debris still clearly present on the implants after cleaning and sterilising.

The above images shows the presence of biological contamination – This can be carbon residues, proteins, biological cells, all of which are permanently adhered to the surface of the implant. Testing has shown that since the surface cannot be completely cleaned, there is a high risk of prion residue. Prions are proteins found on the surface of cells, which can become damaged and misfolded. These prions can then cause Prion diseases such as CJD. Although very rare, the potential existence of prions on the surface of worn jewellery is enough of a risk that we would never reuse worn jewellery in a fresh piercing, especially not across different people.

A common argument I hear is ‘But we’re related!’ This argument is moot. Pathogens, as far as we are aware, do not discriminate between related and unrelated individuals. Even if they did, the contaminants and biological matter would still cause an immune response and opens you up to potential infection.

Equipment Contamination

Jewellery needs to be appropriately sterilised to be used in a fresh piercing. Putting a worn piece of jewellery into our autoclaves would potentially contaminate them with biological matter, which is inappropriate and opens up the risk of spreading contaminants across clients! This risk is obviously low due to strict reprocessing protocols within the studio, but the safest risk is the risk you don’t take in the first place.

Healed Piercings

Healed piercings are generally robust and not as vulnerable to infections from worn jewellery. The issue with this to us as professionals is that spreading biological contaminants between people is always too high of a risk. Biological swabs of worn earrings showed that up to 485 colonies of bacteria can be found on a single piece of jewellery, with species including Staphylococcus and Bacillus. Some species of which are responsible for Staph, MRSA and Meningitis. 1 in 30 people are thought to be asymptomatic carriers of MRSA – Inserting jewellery contaminated with their microbiome, skin cells, sebum and other debris leaves you at risk. For example, if you are sharing stretching jewellery and cause any microtears during the insertion process, this leaves you very vulnerable to infection.

You would hope that worn jewellery being sold online would at least be sterilised, but it is difficult to prove this and many listings simply skirt around the topic of hygiene. The average reseller simply does not have access to the type of machinery required to reprocess and resterilise jewellery. This is a very concerning thing to see from a professional studios point of view as you do not know the health status of the previous wearer, and cannot assume that the jewellery is safe to wear even if the seller claims it is ‘pre-loved, but in great condition!’ This is one of many reasons why we do not use jewellery purchased outside the studio in fresh piercings.

In general, we would recommend extreme caution when purchasing worn or preloved jewellery, even for healed or stretched piercings. The risk is far too high. It is unhygienic – Comparable to wearing someone else’s used underwear or sex toys!

To conclude, we know it’s really tempting to go down the worn jewellery route. High quality jewellery, especially Gold jewellery, weights and hangers, are quite expensive and it can seem like a savvy financial decision to find them second-hand. However, the risk of infection, bloodborne pathogens, and irritation to your piercings is too high for it to be a sensible choice. We always recommend finding your nearest high quality piercing studio and purchasing brand new jewellery for all of your piercings – Your body is worth it! You only ever have one body, so treat it well. High quality does not always mean high cost – Neometal offers a wide range of high quality body jewellery with a very accessible price tag. You can also find Glass jewellery for stretching on our website!

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or queries you have! Don’t forget to follow us on social media to ensure you don’t miss any posts or announcements.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6764709/

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/9/836/htm

https://journals.lww.com/implantdent/Fulltext/2012/10000/The_Biological_Aging_of_Titanium_Implants.15.aspx

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Piercings and the Seasons

As Autumn and Winter roll back around, it’s time to talk about how you should protect your piercings through the year! As your environment changes, so does the care your piercings need. This is especially true for exposed piercings such as ear and nose piercings, and definitely true for stretched piercings like lobes and septums! So, how do you care for your piercings in winter?

Winter

Ear Piercings in Winter

Ear piercings are particularly sensitive to Winter – The constant changes in temperature from hot to cold, the mild irritation of hats… There’s a lot for your ear piercings to deal with! The main thing to keep in mind is to keep your ears at a steady temperature, and shield them from abrupt changes in temperature. You may have noticed (if you are particularly perceptive) that when you come in from a cold walk in the wintertime, your ears get pretty red and can even swell a little bit. If not properly protected, this can cause excess swelling on a fresh piercing. We recommend wearing a clean loose buff or winter hat, or other gentle ways of shielding your piercings from the cold, dry air. Make sure you are washing your hats, earmuffs etc regularly as they can be a source of bacteria! Soft, lint-free materials are ideal so as not to risk introducing loose fibres to your piercing. As always, be super careful to avoid snagging your piercings on any hats you do decide to wear! Every pierced person knows that a wooley hat can be the nemesis when you have ear piercings, so do be extra cautious.

Nose Piercings in Winter

The main thing that people can be worried about when caring for new piercings in the wintertime is “What if I get a cold?” The winter is known for having higher rates of cold, flu, and even Covid-19. This not because cold temperatures make viruses more contagious, but because we tend not to properly ventilate our homes and workplaces and spend more time in close physical contact with others. A cold or flu will not make healing your new piercing impossible though, so don’t let that put you off! The main thing to keep in mind is that your piercing is more resiliant than you think. Importantly – Be gentle. Blow your nose as needed, keep your piercing clean and dry, and be patient. The best thing you can do is to avoid getting ill in the first place – Keep your home well-ventilated, wash your hands regularly, and make sure you’re eating a healthy diet with plenty of the necessary vitamins and minerals!

The best way to blow your nose with a fresh piercing is… Carefully.

Stretched Piercings in Winter

We will be focussed on stretched piercings in winter that are more likely to be exposed – Stretched earlobes and stretched septum piercings are the most common! Both are susceptible to that cold, dry air. They are a little more fragile than standard gauges, simply because the tissue is thinner and the jewellery often larger or heavier.

With stretched lobes, the best thing you can do is take the opportunity to downsize the gauge of large stretched lobes during the winter. This means that the piercings are not experiencing as much stress, have a better blood flow, and can settle to become more robust in the long run. The process of downsizing and upsizing in time with the seasons can help to thicken thinning lobes as well! We recommend downsizing by 1-2mm on smaller sizes (10mm-14mm), and 2-4mm for larger sizes (16mm+). For stretched lobes smaller than 10mm, you won’t necessarily see any benefit to downsizing.

Stretched septum piercings can be trickier to maintain in winter. They often wear thick, heavy metal jewellery. Although this looks very cool, this style of jewellery can be impractical in very cold weather. Metal jewellery chills quickly in cold weather, transferring warmth from the inside of your septum to the outside where it quickly radiates away. This heat sink effect is uncomfortable, and at worst could cause damage to your piercing by causing a cold burn. In the winter it is best to swap to more tucked away, subtle jewellery such as simple glass plugs or pincers. These act as much less of a heat sink and are a super comfortable way to wait out the cold months. Something that you might not consider when having a stretched septum in the winter is condensation! The moisture on your breath will condense on the jewellery if it is large enough and can even drip down your face! This is another reason to swap to more invisible jewellery.

Large-gauge septum jewellery can act like a heat sink in the winter and this can be uncomfortable. Ensure you wear light, comfortable jewellery!

Summer

Summer brings its own special considerations to piercings! The main things that can cause issues are the heat, humidity, and the changes in our lifestyle such as flying and swimming.

Heat and Humidity

The main things that can cause irritation to piercings in the summer are heat and humidity. On extra hot days, we can often expect a bit more swelling especially on very fresh piercings. The best way to combat this is to keep cool, hydrated, and avoid overexerting yourself. Drinking plenty of fresh, cool water is not only good for you, but good for your piercings! If you know you are safe to do so, taking an anti-inflammatory medication such as paracetamol or ibuprofen is a nice way to minimise your swelling. Speak to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about this though.

Flying

Summer holidays are the most popular time for international flying! Over 100,000 international flights occur in the 6 weeks of the holidays, so you can imagine how many new piercings there are flying across the world at any one moment! The main thing to keep in mind with flying is that pressure change. We all know that you can swell a little bit when flying, and that is definitely true with new piercings. This is not a reason not to get pierced, but it is important that your piercer is informed of any flying, international travel, holidays etc. This means that we can add an extra millimetre or two of swelling room to account for this.

If we know you’re flying, we’ll add a smigeon of extra swelling room!

Swimming

The most important thing that you need to consider when getting a new piercing is that you cannot safely swim for 4 weeks afterwards. That means no swimming in the sea, lakes, swimming pools, saunas, jacuzzi or any other bodies of water. And no, just because the sea is salt water doesn’t make it safe to swim in! In a single drop of seawater, there can be over 190 individual species of bacteria. Once you are past the 4 week mark, you can slowly start to swim again! Make sure you rinse your piercing with clean tap water or bottled water afterwards, and dab dry to avoid leaving your piercings waterlogged.

Alcohol

Summer means BBQ season, and BBQ season means the opportunity to enjoy an alcoholic beverage (or four!) with friends. We cannot pierce you if you are under the influence of alcohol, or have had even one unit of alcohol the day of your appointment. Please keep this in mind when booking! Alcohol can thin the blood, which means you can expect a bit of extra swelling and crustiness if you drink the week after you get your piercing. This is nothing to be concerned about, so just clean your piercings as normal. When you are intoxicated, it’s more likely that you will accidentally snag or knock your piercings. It’s all part of being a human being! Don’t punish yourself – Just take the time to look after them when you are feeling back to normal.

If you are struggling with alcohol, please look into support in your area.

Sunburn

It is always really important to protect your skin, however when you have a fresh piercing it is extra important. Burnt skin is damaged skin, which leaves your piercings exposed and vulnerable to infection. Not only that, but a sunburn can slow the healing process, and can even irritate healed piercings! We don’t recommend applying sunscreen to a fresh piercing as the chemicals can cause irritation, so the best thing you can do is cover your piercings in strong sunlight. The main methods of doing so are staying out of the sun, wearing long and loose clothing, and wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat!

Protect your skin, protect your piercings, protect your health!

So there you have it, some of the main ways that the seasons will impact your healing piercings! With winter coming, the main things to remember are: Be careful with winter clothing, and make sure you keep yourself as healthy as is possible for you!

If you have any questions, just get in touch.

Make sure you follow us on social media to see our piercing work and keep up to date with everything that happens at Rogue!

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Lobe Stretching 101

It’s well established that people have been piercing their ears for as long as people have had ears to pierce. In fact, the worlds oldest body piercing is a stretched lobe dating back over 5000 years. Some people consider lobe stretching a modern western fad, but this is clearly far from the truth.

In the UK (at time of writing), first lobes are most commonly pierced at 18g (1mm), 16g (1.2mm) or 14g (1.6mm). Lots of factors determine the initial size for a piercing, including client/piercer preference, jewellery style, anatomy and desired aesthetic. These sizes would be considered ‘standard’ sizes.

For many of us, lobe piercings are our first venture into the weird and wonderful world of body piercings and a lot of people tend to have their first lobes pierced at a young age. So what happens if you have your ears pierced at a ‘standard’ gauge and change your mind later about the size you’d like your lobes to be? No problem! Due to the soft, elastic nature of ear lobes, stretching the piercing channel to create a larger diameter is absolutely possible and lobe stretching has been practiced by many cultures all across the world for thousands of years.

Some beautiful, healthy stretched lobes. This is the goal!

How It’s Done

A quick search on Google or Youtube will bring up a plethora of information about how lobe stretching is achieved. As with anything, there is a tonne of misinformation and unsafe practices being preached over the internet. We always recommend visiting a professional piercer to discuss your goals with ear stretching and never to undertake the journey alone. And it is definitely a journey.

Ear stretching takes a heck of a lot of patience in order to achieve your desired goal safely. You need to be willing to give your body plenty of time to adapt and heal in between the different stages of lobe stretching. This is not a process to be taken lightly and doing so will have life-long implications (more on that later!)

Once you have decided to start your lobe stretching journey and you’ve discussed your goals with a professional piercer, your lobe should be stretched in millimetre increments. The best way to do this is to allow your piercer to stretch your lobes for you. Although you can stretch at home, leaving it to the professionals is the best way to avoid mistakes.

The physical stretch can be performed in two main ways. The first – Dead-Stretching – is simply waiting a long enough time that the lobe has naturally stretched out and the larger size of jewellery can be simply slotted into place. The second method uses an insertion taper to guide the new jewellery into place. The Gold Standard for stretching jewellery are single-flared Glass Plugs. These are comfortable, smooth, non-porous and safe to wear long term.

Tapers are often considered ‘the devil’ when it comes to online stretching advice! This is not necessarily the case. Like any tool, they can be used correctly or incorrectly. The main thing to know is that tapers should never be left in the piercing channel and worn as jewellery. Many tapers sold online are made from material such as acrylic which is not safe for long term wear on the body – You can read more about safe materials here. Tapers are much longer than plugs and tunnels which puts you at a higher risk of snagging your piercing, and yet the gradient of the stretch is so steep that you risk tearing your piercing. Tapers are simply an insertion tool to guarantee the smoothest introduction of the next size of jewellery. They are best left in the hands of a professional – We do not recommend their use at home.

Once the taper is inserted, a plug or tunnel will be inserted whilst the channel settles and relaxes into its new size. The plug or tunnel should be made of biocompatible material such as ASTM F-136 Titanium, ASTM F-138 Steel or borosilicate glass. The jewellery needs to be non porous as otherwise it will allow for the collection and growth of bacteria- The most common cause of that classic stretched lobe odour.

You should be leaving at least 6-8 weeks in between each 1mm stretch in order to let the channel settle, heal and relax into it’s new size. Stretching too quickly is a very risky procedure that often ends with very poor results. Everyone will stretch differently – the above time is often the minimum appropriate length of time. It is not at all unusual to wait far longer.

What Happens When It Goes Bad

Lobes are very forgiving – The most forgiving piercing when it comes to stretching. However this doesn’t mean they can be abused. The most common causes of issues with stretched lobes are caused by:

  • Stretching too quickly.
  • Stretching using tapers as jewellery.
  • Wearing inappropriate jewellery in unsafe materials.
  • Wearing jewellery that is too heavy.
  • Using threaded jewellery that traps a portion of the piercing fistula inside.
Even if the blow does not blow out or split, thinning of the lobe can easily occur.

The most common result of these issues is a blowout. So, what is a blowout?

The inside of a piercing channel is called a Fistula. This fistula is made from a type of collagen scar tissue. Scar tissue is far less elastic than the normal skin that surrounds the lobe piercing. When this scar tissue is not given the appropriate amount of time to relax after a stretch, it can be split, damaged or pushed out of position. This extruded scar tissue is called a blowout.

This is a fairly extreme example of a fresh blowout.

Blowouts are difficult to repair. When caught early on, the best way to help minimise them is to immediately remove your jewellery for an extended period of time – 3-4 weeks. Once any initial irritation has settled, it is recommended to gently massage the lobe with a neutral oil like Jojoba. Once the blowout has completely settled, you can gently reinsert jewellery. Often this jewellery will be much smaller in diameter than the one that caused the blowout – A fair cautionary tale against rushing the process.

If a blowout has progressed too far, it is often too late for an easy fix. A true permanent blowout can only be repaired via a surgical procedure to remove the blown out tissue and stitch the lobe back together. This is outside the legal remit of piercers in the UK, however we can recommend artists outside of the UK who can perform this for you. Within the UK, the only route is to visit a plastic surgeon. Depending on their experience with this procedure, results may vary.

Lobe Stretching Maintenance

Once you have started to stretch, or when you have reached your goal size, this does not mean the work stops! Maintaining stretched lobes means getting into a routine of cleaning and caring for them.

  • Clean your jewellery on a daily basis. Once you have sat at a size for a few weeks, we recommend removing your jewellery in the shower so that you can wash your entire lobe with a gentle fragrance-free soap. You should also be washing your actual jewellery in the same way. This is the best way to avoid a dirty or odorous lobe that can cause irritation later one.
  • Once you have cleaned your lobes, it is important to dry them well to avoid moisture irritation.
  • When your lobes are squeaky clean and dry, you should gently moisturise them with a neutral oil such as Jojoba oil. Less is more – Use your oil sparingly.

In the winter, it is very important to protect your lobes from extremes of temperature. Ensure they are covered with a hat if you are outside for prolonged periods of time, and make sure they do not experience a temperature shock when you re-enter a centrally heated home. It is not at all uncommon to need to downsize lobes in the winter and take extra care when cleaning and moisturising as the lobe tissue will dry and contract. The annual cycle of downsizing and upsizing can improve blood flow and ensure your lobes stay healthy in the long run.

In the summer it is so important to keep them clean when swimming. And the most important thing which people often forget: SUNSCREEN! Ears in general are susceptible to burns, and your stretched lobes are very fragile. Take good care of them and avoid sunburns. A cause that is very close to Kat’s heart: Skin cancers often begin on the ear due to years of neglect when it comes to sun protection.

The Pay Off.

There are hundreds of designs to choose from, even from just one brand.

The journey of lobe stretching is long, often tedious and requires a lot of commitment, time and patience but let’s have a look at why it can be so, so worth it! The styles of jewellery worn in large-gauge lobes are simply not available to the general public, and the sheer variety of options is pretty mind blowing.

These Dichroic Weights from Gorilla Glass might be our favourite. You can purchase a pair here!

At Rogue, we do a lot of large gauge work whether that’s initial piercings or long term stretching projects and one of our all time favourite large gauge jewellery creators are Gorilla Glass. Based in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Gorilla Glass artisans have been hand making high quality soda-lime and borosilicate glass jewellery since 2002.

Gorilla Glass are like a family – And they have a pet Donkey who you can follow on instagram here!

Gorilla Glass are our go-to for single-flared glass plugs – The gold standard for stretching jewellery. These are an affordable, safe option when it comes to stretching. We carry a wide range in-studio and can custom order anything from their website that you could possibly want!

The Takeaway

  • Let a professional do it for you whenever possible.
  • Take it slow – Wait 6-8 weeks between stretches as a minimum. If it hurts –> Stop!
  • Wear single-flared glass plugs when stretching and wait at least 3 months after stretching to change styles.
  • Never wear tapers, pinchers, spirals or other asymmetrical jewellery when stretching.
  • Keep your lobes moisturised with a light oil.

As always, we are available 7 days a week to stretch your lobes or provide jewellery upgrades and troubleshooting. You can book your appointment here.

Follow us on social media, or contact us via email with any comments and questions!

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Lobe Piercings in the UK

Lobe piercings are probably one of the most common piercings in the UK, and more than likely one of the first ever attempted piercings on mankind. Piercings have been around for thousands of years, and there’s much debate about the oldest ever one. There have been many sources stating mummies dating back to 5000 years ago have been found with their ears pierced (however some sources can date back to 12,000 years ago), or even stretched! Archaeological evidence of the mummy Pharaoh Tutankhamen shows that he had his ears pierced, and many pairs of earrings were found alongside him in his tomb.

Different cultures have different reasons why they choose to pierce their lobes, and different methods by which they do it. Ancient civilizations across the world, from Africa to Asia, have been known to use body modifications to determine social status or function as spiritual protection. The oldest mummified person, Otzi the Ice Man, had pierced earlobes. Some of the first documented lobe piercings were among native African and southeast Asian tribes that pierced for spiritual purposes. Wearing metal ear piercings was believed to prevent bad spirits, due to the belief that spirits and demons were repelled by metal. Ancient Romans were also believed to have worn studs in their ears.

Of course, lobe piercings were not the only piercings that date back across eons, but in this blog post I’d like to look more into how lobe piercings became commonplace in the UK, and how they became so popularized. 

William Shakespeare

Christianity had a huge impact on body modification, with the church considering it to be pagan and against God’s image. This view contributed to body piercings in the western world becoming underground. At some points in history, only those on the outskirts of society had their body adorned with such metal and jewelry. However the tradition of lobe piercings in the western world can be sourced back to being symbols of wealth, power or status. During the renaissance era, men started to adorn their ears with earrings to show their nobility. Every nobleman would have at least one piercing, and typically larger diamonds and pearls were worn to show off one’s wealth. This was a really good way to become known on the marriage market. On a famous portrait painting of William Shakespeare, you can clearly see a golden ring threaded through his lobe, and even portraits of male monarchs at the time, such as Charles 1, you can see beautiful earrings, such as pearls.

Charles 1

Its also noted that around the same time and possibly even earlier, earrings were also worn by sailors. There’s many theories surrounding why; including it helped their eyesight, to signify their bond with the sea (like a marriage), and also being a symbol of accomplishment of sailing the world. Another one was that because they were solid Gold rings, they could fund their funeral after they died.

A famous portrait showcasing lobe piercings, is the oil painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, commonly known as the girl with the pearl earring. 

But when, why, and how did lobe piercings become as popular and as normalised as we know them to be now, especially among women and young girls? Well, all eyes are on Queen Victoria for starting this trend. The pre-Victorian era saw a general decline in earrings due to the changing fashions of the time, as chic coiffures (headscarves) began to cover the ears. However, Queen Victoria began to adorn her ears with pendant style drop earrings, and long earrings set with many luxuriant gemstones. Because the Queen had significant power and influence across Europe, she had a huge direct effect on fashions of the time. we soon saw lobe piercings once again be in vogue, with the pendant drop especially favoured.  She reintroduced this practice during her Coronation as she wanted to wear a pair of very rarely used earrings from the Royal collection and so had her ears pierced for the occasion. 

Much later on, after World War 2, around the 1950’s there was a boom in the economy and women started spending more money and time focusing on their looks, and this is where we see another surge in the ear piercing trend. Typically it was a single lobe, and surprisingly it was a lot of clip on piercings. Over the years the trend of ear of single lobe piercings stayed, (whether real or fake), and choices of jewellery saw a demand in larger, showier pieces. Rings in the lobes were also a hugely popular choice.

During the late 70’s and 80’s ear piercings started to become more popular in general, especially amongst gay men and teenage girls. This is where we see a trend of multiple lobe, and upper ear piercings become in demand. The large statement pieces became replaced with much smaller earrings made of gemstones and pearls. During this decade was when we saw another increase of men having their lobes pierced. George Michael is an excellent example, as he adorned his piercing with a simple gold ring. 

However there was a lack of brick-and-mortar piercing studios during this time, and at-home piercings were quite the norm. Over time, piercing studios began to pop up around the UK and become more normalized. The second ever piercing studio in the UK was the London Piercing Clinic. The founder and owner was the famous Mr Sebastian – The father of the UK body piercing industry. Despite not being the first, they were the first ever studio to have a high street presence and address. Set up in May 1988, it helped to make waves not just across the piercing industry, but in popularising and normalising body piercings across the UK and in popular culture.

Since the rise of social media since the late 2000s, body modification and especially body piercings are becoming more and more accepted and popular every day. It doesn’t take long once walking out of your front door to spot someone with their ears pierced, whether they be a man or woman. Often you might notice multiple lobe piercings, or even multiple or various piercings scattered across the ears. And here at Rogue, we perform lobe piercings on people as young as 8, and our eldest client was 92. Lobe piercings are becoming more versatile as we go along, with a huge range of jewellery and placements now available. Gone are the days of a standard single lobe piercing – Now we are getting creative with stacks, triangles and other styles of ear curations.

You can book your appointments via our website – Click HERE to book!

You can also follow us on instagram.

Thank you for reading! We will be back next Friday with another blog 🙂

— Jay <3

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Aftercare – What Not to Do

Especially in the age of the internet, it is so incredibly easy to find advice on your piercing problems. Online forums, often filled with piercing enthusiasts, are the go-to when it comes to aftercare advice, how to treat your piercing bump and troubleshooting. Unfortunately, often the advise given in these forums are anecdotal and not backed by the medical world nor by experienced, high quality piercing studios. This blog will be all about debunking common aftercare cures that we regularly hear about, and what to do instead!

Homemade Salt Water

Homemade salt water is probably the number one incorrect aftercare that we see as a quality studio. So why is it still so common? It’s still commonly advised to customers by old-school, low quality, or inexperienced piercers as homemade saltwater was once the recommended aftercare given by all piercers. However, this was only the standard aftercare advice in the late 90s and early 2000s – It has not been recommended by high quality piercers for over 20 years. So why is it not good?

Homemade saltwater has three main issues: Sterility, additions, and concentration. Firstly, when you boil a kettle of hot water it has not been sterilised. When you add salt to it, the nonsterile salt contaminates the water with yet more bacteria. This means you can potentially introduce bacteria and other irritants to your piercing. Secondly, additions. Salt often has anti-caking agents and other additives that you do not want to introduce into your piercing. Thirdly, concentration. 99% of the time, homemade saltwater soaks are made far too highly concentrated. More is not better in this situation! A strong salt solution will damage your healing cells, removing necessary fluids and plasma from the skin to cause contact dermatitis and salt burns.

We do not recommend homemade saltwater soaks for any piercing – We have simply moved past it as an aftercare routine. If you are having issues with a piercing and are using salt water, we recommend moving over to a sterile saline solution to remove a possible irritant that could be damaging your piercing.

Homemade salt water soaks are a common cause of irritation bumps.

Tea Tree Oil

We do believe that the tide of public opinion is finally turning against Tea Tree Oil. This harsh essential oil has no place in the piercing aftercare arsenal. Tea Tree Oil (TTO) is an essential oil made from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree. Unfortunately, natural does not mean harmless in this situation as Tea Tree Oil is very caustic especially when applied undiluted as is often the case with piercing treatment. When applied multiple times a day as is often recommended, TTO is simply going to burn the skin and damage your healing cells. Tea Tree Oil is also a common allergen, causing contact dermatitis and painful rashes in up to 5% of the population.

We cannot stress enough how much we do not recommend using TTO!

Aspirin Pastes

Aspirin is NOT recommended to solve your piercing bump.

Aspirin pastes have long been touted as the ultimate cure for your piercing bump. If you are a long-time reader of our blogs, you know that there is never one simple solution and aspirin paste is definitely not the answer! Aspirin pastes contain Salicylic Acid, a harsh acid irritant that burns off the bump over multiple uses. This does not solve the underlying problem that is causing the bump, and can often make it worse due to damaging and weakening the surrounding skin. Aspirin paste usage can also increase your skins sensitivity to UV rays which can increase your risk of damage.

In short, it is always a bad idea to misuse medical items against their intended use. Please do not use aspirin pastes on any of your piercings!

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide is a classic piercing aftercare product, but another that has no place in the modern piercing industry. Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidising agent, and a type of bleach. Hydrogen Peroxide is too harsh to apply to a piercing and is definitely too harsh to apply multiple days in a row as is often recommended. H202 is a common irritant that damages your skin. Your piercing problem may look like it has improved for a day or so as the skin lifts and dries, but the underlying issue has not been rectified and so the bump will invariably return.

In addition to this, due to Hydrogen Peroxide being an oxidising agent, H2O2 can be very damaging to your jewellery. Titanium in particular is susceptible to being oxidised by H2o2 application, which damages the surface finish of your jewellery leading to a porous, scratched surface that can compound any irritation you are experiencing.

The jewellery on the left has been damaged by Hydrogen Peroxide application.

Antiseptic Creams

This is one we see fairly often. This often comes from the misconception that your piercing bump should be treated like any other cut or injury on the body which requires medical help. Antiseptic creams such as Savlon, Germolene or Sudocrem are not intended for application to a piercing, where they can smother the piercing and prevent the cells from respiring and the wound from draining. Creams will leave your piercing wet, and soaked in moisture which can exacerbate your problems and extend your healing time. Antiseptics will damage the natural skin flora, leaving you more susceptible to overgrowths of harmful microbes. Especially when applied multiple times a day over a long period of time, creams like this can damage your cells and do not help your piercing in the way you think it will.

Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list of all of the bad advice you can find on the internet. There seems to be a new fad each week! A common counter-argument we hear when we debunk these type of things is ‘But it worked for me!’ Unfortunately we don’t accept anecdotal evidence. Confirmation bias is a very real phenomenon and is a logical fallacy – What may have worked for you has been proven to cause harm to most other people!

If you are having trouble with any of your existing piercings, we highly recommend booking in for an in-person piercing consultation. Head to our TROUBLESHOOTING FAQ to see if anything jumps out at you as a probably cause.

You can also contact us via email or social media!

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Nipple Piercings 101

Some folks may be surprised to learn that nipples are among the most common piercing we perform here at Rogue, and we’re not alone! Most people that you see out there, in their suits and ties, with their fancy frocks and briefcases, they’ve got a barbell-shaped secret under their shirts.

So, why would anyone want to pierce their nipples? Lots of reasons! Although they’re quite a private piercing as they’re not on public display as much as nostril or ear piercings for example, they are definantly a piercing that can help people to feel empowered. A piercing that is just for them and whoever they choose to share it with. We are always honoured to be a part of that experience for someone. Of course, nipple piercings can also serve a sexual purpose and as such should never be performed on anyone under the age of 18.

History Time

It is difficult to confirm when nipple piercings became popular in the West. There are many stories online of Bavarian monarchs piercing their nipples in order to accessorise extravagant dresses. Or sailors using them to mark a particularly long voyage. There is some evidence presented in ‘The English Mechanic and Word Science’ magazine in the form of letters written in 1880’s that provide insight into the opinons people had at the time regarding these piercings and also the experiences that (in particular) women had when travelling out to Paris to have these “operations” performed. In response to a lady teling of her desire to get gold rings pierced into her nipples, someone writes “it is incredible that in this enlightened 19th century any Englishwoman should wish to mutilate herself in a way that is utterly without sense or reason”. Needless to say, it appears that his opinon is a lot less common today. Throughout the discussion on “The English Mechanic”, several writers express concerns about the practically of breast feeding, even today we continue to bust the myth that a correctly performed nipple piercing will prevent breast feeding in the future. You can read more about that here.

We also have Jim Ward to thank for documenting his first experience with nipple piercings and how they were popularised throughout the underground fetish and LGBTQIA+ scene of 1960’s America. That’s right, we have kinky gay men to celebrate for bringing piercings to the mainsteam world! In his book “Running the Gauntlet”, Jim describes how he was fascinated by the idea of piercing his nipples after discovering “the erotic pleasures of nipple play”. He had small gold rings made up by a watchmaker and used them as his inital jewellery (we live and learn through the trials and tribulations of piercings pioneers such as Jim, thin gauges are definantly not recommended these days in order to heal a nipple piercing well!)

Nipple piercings were almost exclusive to gay men involved in the leather and BDSM community, underground and often unsafe by modern standards. However, thanks to the rise in acceptance and education of these marginalised groups, nipple piercings are incredibly common. Worn publicly by celebrities such as Rihanna and Kendall Jenner, nipple piercings have become a strong fashion statement for people to wear with tight shirts and no bra. In the year 2022, we have the privelege of performing many nipple piercings each week here at Rogue, from the standard 14g all the way up to 8g for those who are a fan of heavy gauge work (anatomy dependent of course!)

NOTE: Sources used to research the history of nipple piercings come from documents written in English and are therefore bias to English perceptions. If you have any information regarding piercing history from anywhere around the world, in any language, please feel free to reach out to us at hello@rougepiercing.co.uk – we always love to learn!

Anatomy of the Nipple

A common problem we see with nipple piercings, is placement. The piercing should pass through the nipple itself and not the areola surrounding the nipple. If you take a look at the diagram below, you can see that the nipple is it’s own delinieted tissue with a clear boundary between it and the aerola (the often slightly darker skin that sits around the nipple).

Piercings should never pass into the areola tissue

Biologically, male and female nipples devlop the same way. Begining in utero at around the fourth week of development, each fetus begins to grow breast tissue. During puberty and extending to early adulthood, female breast tissue will continue to grow as estrogen levels rise in the body. Lobules inside biologically female breast tissue transport milk through the nipple ducts when stimulated to do so by hormones released after giving birth.

Nipples and Surgery

There are two main types of surgery that effect the nipple: Breast augmentation, and a mastectomy or top surgery. Both can impact your anatomy and wether we can pierce you!

We recommend having a discussion with your surgeon before the procedure about your piercing aims, so that they can give you as much information as possible. The general advice that we give clients is to wait a full year post-surgery before booking in for nipple piercings. Surgery takes a large toll on your body, and we do not want to take energy away from your healing body to heal your piercings. In addition to this, it’s important to keep in mind that the scarring from surgery (especially methods that involve full nipple removal and re-attachment) can change in shape and size over time and again needs to be fully healed and settled in place before we pierce through them. If pierced whilst the body is still healing and regenerating, we cannot guarantee as good a heal, or a straight piercing. Patience is definitely the name of the game with this! It is always better to wait longer than you think, than go into it too soon and have less-than-perfect results.

What to Expect

At Rogue our aim is to always make you feel as comfortable and safe as possible, regardless of where you’re getting pierced. You’re always welcome to bring a chaperone for moral support and we will talk you through each step of the process as we go, answering any questions/concerns/queries you may have along the way.

When you arrive for your nipple piercing (which you can book here), we will initally do an anatomy check and measurement of the nipple to discuss placement and provide you with your initial and healed sizes for jewllery. Then comes the fun part, picking your jewellery! We carry a range of options for you to choose from and we’re always happy to help with recommendations, you can check out some of barbell ends here (remember, these are sold seperately to the barbell itself which can be purchased here). As your new jewllery sterilises, we will chat to you about how to care for your piercings.

Aftercare & Healing

As always, follow the three Golden Rules for piercing and click here for a more detailed post about that!

  1. Keep it Clean
  2. Keep it Dry
  3. Leave it Alone!

Clean with sterile saline twice daily, pat dry with clean kitchen paper/non-woven gauze and avoid soaking/submerging your piercings.

Some healing times to consider:

  • 4 – 6 weeks – come see us for your check up & downsize, you can book that here
  • 3 – 4 months – you’re about halway there! you can safely change your jewellery at home and potentially swap to rings
  • 6 – 9 months – that’s your full heal! everything should be back to normal and fully settled at this point

If you every have any concerns about your piercings, pop in to see us for a check up and we will help troubeshoot with you 🙂

When it comes to getting your nipples pierced, we will always endevour to make you feel at ease, we understand that this piercing can be an intense one and bringing along some moral support is always recommended if you’re feeling a little nervous. Never hesitate to ask for reassurance (or a cuppa!)

In Conclusion

We love nipple piercings here at Rogue, no matter the size or shape, they’re certainly an empowering piercing for everyone with a wonderful and weird history behind them. Whether they’re for functional, sexual or aesthtic purposes – pierced nipples are a great way into the world of body piercing and they’re far more common than you might think!

Special thanks to Dr Matt Lodder for his research guidance, much appreciated!

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Piercing Myths

Today we will be tackling a broad and fascinating subject, and something we have to hear about fairly often working in a high quality studio. There are so many misconceptions surrounding piercing, especially as most people find their aftercare advice or do research for their piercings online. As we all know, the internet is a great and terrible place for misinformation and myths! We will be covering 6 of the most common piercing myths we hear, and explain what, if any, truth comes from them!

Nipple Piercings prevent you from breastfeeding.

This is quite a common one we hear! This is based on the fact that some people believe piercing a nipple can damage all of the milk ducts. The nipple contains on average 9-20 milk ducts, and a 1.6mm needle will never be able to permanently disable all of them. Clients with nipple piercings can definitely still breastfeed after a nipple piercing, and it does not affect your flow of milk! Keep in mind that we do recommend removing all nipple jewellery during the breastfeeding time period as it constitutes a choking hazard for your baby.

White Opal Nipple Barbell, available to purchase on our webstore.

Infections are Common.

It is fairly common for clients to mistake normal healing symptoms as symptoms of infection. It is also really common for irritated piercings to be called infections as well! This is definitely a myth, and a misconception that we are trying to change. Infections are in fact extremely rare – One in 10,000 if not more rare. Irritated piercings can be red, swollen and produce a small amount of clear/yellow/green discharge. This is entirely normal! However, when googling your symptoms you can cause yourself an unnecessary panic! We have a whole blog dedicated to irritations vs infections, which you can read here.

Infections are a serious medical matter – Thankfully practically unheard of in high-quality piercing studios!

Cheek Piercings Give You Natural Dimples

There are lots of myths surrounding cheek piercings, but this is the one we hear most often. The myth goes that you can get your cheeks pierced, heal them for 3-4 months, and then when you take them out you are left with beautiful natural looking dimples. This is far from the truth! Aside from the obvious fact that cheeks are a very complex and fairly high-risk piercing (read more on that here!), the main issue with this is that the scarring caused by cheek piercings is often unpredictable and almost never give perfect nor symmetrical results. Cheek piercings are a lifetime commitment and not something to be pierced on a whim. The best way to get dimples is to consult a facial plastic surgeon, not a piercer.

Nose Piercings can Paralyze You.

This is an odd one that we occasionally hear! We are not sure where this myth originated, but we do sometimes hear of it from clients. This one is 100% a myth and definitely nothing to be concerned about when booking for your piercing. On very rare occasions you may feel a small amount of mild numbness around the piercing site – This is due to initial swelling and is not permanent. This piercing myths may originate from viral news articles where a handful of people have had severe infections due to unsafe piercing practices that have resulted in long-term health issues. We work to the highest standards of safety and hygiene, and if you correctly follow our aftercare advice you have absolutely nothing to worry about!

Nose piercings are by far the most popular facial piercing that we offer.

The (insert ear here) side is the gay side!

This is one of the most common piercing myths that we hear! We have actually written a whole blog explaining its origins. This myth originates from the early days of the piercing industry, when it was still a very gay underground operation. Piercing was seen very differently then, and often was used as a method of silent communication between gay men and general piercing enthusiasts. We love this side of our history and are very proud of our roots, but this has definitely changed since the 1980s and we would not say that any piercing has any specific gay connotations anymore. If anything, all piercings should be considered gay as this is where our industry started!

Daith Piercings can cure Migraines

This is a difficult subject to discuss, and there are many pitfalls to consider. We will be taking a scientific approach to tackling this unfortunate myth. The daith piercing myth comes from old medical information regarding vagal nerve stimulation. The vagal nerve is said to be able to be medically stimulated to reduce chronic pain, however there is no evidence to suggest that the vagal nerve or any of its subsidiaries pass through the daith region of the ear. Traditional VNS treatments involve an implant in the chest, not the ear. In addition to this, vagal nerve stimulation has only ever been FDA approved for the treatment of epilepsy and depression, not migraines. Even with this approval, the success rate for this treatment has been fairly limited and more research is definitely needed. In terms of daith piercings, there is very little actual research. Most people offering daith piercings as a cure for migraines are relying on anecdotal evidence and small surveys, or reports that are not peer-reviewed or published in any scientific publications.

We really wish a simple ear piercing could be offered as a safe cure for migraines, but there is simply not enough evidence to prove this claim at this moment in time. We would not feel comfortable misleading people suffering from a distressing medical condition that a single piercing will cure them. We can offer a beautiful and safe piercing that can be a really nice adornment to your ear, but we would never want to take advantage of someone in pain. If you come into your daith piercing with an open mind and not put all your hopes into it as a cure, then that is the ideal way to approach it. The placebo effect is an incredibly strong psychological phenomenon, so it may very well work for you! We pierce dozens of daiths every week, and they are beautiful and fairly easy to heal as well. If it doesn’t work for you, you still get an epic piercing regardless!

Daith piercings are absolutely gorgeous, and the array of high-quality jewellery is almost infinite! We love performing daith piercings, so do not be discouraged by this unfortunate piercing myths.

We hope that this has shed some light onto some of the most common piercing myths spread about piercings. As with any topic, new myths and false information will always pop up so we may make this piercing myth post a series!

If you have any questions regarding piercings, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

To book your piercing appointments, CLICK HERE.

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Lip Piercing 101

Let’s explore the world of lip piercings. Where they originate, how they’ve developed, what they’re called and how to care for yours! Lips are one of the most popular facial piercings so let’s talk about the anatomy of the lip and what options are available to wear in your lip piercing.

The History of the Lip Piercing

Lip piercings have a fascinating and ancient history. As far back as 6400 B.C we have evidence of lip piercings being worn in Sudan. Probably the most well recognised ancient piercing practice is the lip plate body modification practiced by the Mursi and Surma women of Ethiopia in which large plates of clay or wood are worn in lip. These can then be decorated with carvings and inks. Traditionally, once the girls reach child-bearing age and are ready for marriage, the lip is either pierced or cut by their mother to begin the lip plate process and then slowly stretched up to the desired size. Lip plates are a symbol of great beauty, worn during ceremonies, times of celebration and when presenting their husbands food. As the tradition is passed down orally to each generation, there is no clear documentation as to why this practice began. Some speculate it may be connected to dowry payments, the larger the lip plate, the larger the payment in exchange for marriage. Others believe it is a symbol of fertility and commitment to the tribe. Regardless of it’s origins, images of tribal members adorning large, decorated lip plates still fascinate people all over the world to this day and contribute to tourism throughout Africa from curious travelers.

The Western world embraced lip piercings throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s, particularly within the alternative scene. Many metal musicians rocked a labret including David Draiman of Disturbed and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte. The most common is the lower lip piercing, worn either in the centre or towards the edge of the lower lip. A paired set of lower lip piercings is known as “snake bites” and these became very popular in alternative teenage circles throughout the early 2000’s. We’ll talk more about placement names later so don’t worry! And here we are, in 2022 and the love for lip piercings is just as strong. With the resurgence of 90’s nostalgia and pop culture, here at Rogue we have been loving the comeback of this classic piercing. In all it’s placements and with all it’s jewellery choices, there’s never been a better time to embrace the tradition and find a lip piercing that works for you and your lifestyle!

Lip Anatomy and Piercing Names

Let’s look at the anatomy of the lip. It’s important to keep the base anatomy in mind when marking and piercing lips!

The vast majority of lip piercings pass through the Orbicularis Orbis – The ring of muscles that encircle the vermillion zone (the lips themselves). The Orbicularis Orbis is actually made from four seperate quadrants of muscles. Top and bottom, left and right. The fibers are split into ‘deep’ and ‘shallow’ sections. The deep allow for chewing and swallowing, and the shallow are used for speech. The main blood supplies that feed these muscles are the superior and inferior labial arteries and veins.

mouth piercings

Because of the vast amount of places on the lips that can be pierced, there are many names that have been coined for each type of piercing. There is a lot of contention surrounding the names of lip piercings and these names can also change culture to culture and country to country. Here is an example of a few.

If you’re ever unsure of the name of the piercing you’d like, don’t worry! You can always show us reference images or simply point to where you want your piercing to be. (Of course we always double check placements with you before the piercing is performed!) The names for lip piercings change so often that it is often tricky to keep up!

No matter what you want to call your lip piercings, we love them all! They’re a great celebration of piercing world history and a fantastic facial adornment. Check out a small selection of the lip piercings we’ve had the pleasure to perform here at Rogue, and some of the beautiful lip jewellery worn by our team.

Click here to see more of our work on Instagram

Oral Piercing Aftercare

Oral piercing aftercare is slightly different to other body piercings as the piercing passes through both a mucous membrane and normal skin. Our usual aftercare advice can be found HERE.

  1. Keep It Clean! –> We recommend cleaning the outside of your lip piercing twice a day with sterile saline solution. Spray a small amount on, let it soak into and soften any crusties, then gently wipe to remove the crusties with a piece of folded kitchen roll or nonwoven gauze. Dab dry. Clean the inside of your lip piercing a maximum of five times a day with an alcohol-free, chlorhexidine based mouthwash. If you snack, smoke, or have sexual contact using your mouth then rinse afterwards with just clean water.
  2. Keep It Dry! –> Avoid soaking and submerging the piercing for 4-6 weeks.
  3. Leave It Alone! –> Do not touch, fiddle, twist or turn the jewellery. Do not rattle the jewellery across your teeth!

Healing Times

Standard Lip Piercings – 12 Weeks

Vertical Labret/Jestrum – 6 months

Cheeks – 18-24 months.

Downsizing

As with any oral piercing, wearing jewelery inside the mouth can pose a risk of damage to your teeth and gums and this can be a particular problem if you’re wearing inappropriate jewellery. Your piercer should always endevaour to ensure that they consider your teeth and gums when discussing placement and provide you with adequate information on the assosiated risks.

The most important way to protect your oral health is to downsize the length of the jewellery once your swelling comes down. This is usually recommended to be done 2-3 weeks after your piercing. Jewellery must be longer initially to allow room for your swelling, but that excess length will cause issues when it comes into contact with your teeth. If you do nothing else with your lip piercings, please have them downsized! Once downsized, lip piercings can experience what is called ‘nesting,’ where the disc sits just inside the soft inner oral tissue. This is completely normal and actually ideal as it again protects your teeth and gums from damage.

So there you have it, a good introduction to lip piercings! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Sources

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tmi.12812

https://www.icdo.at/the-mursi-tribe-and-lip-plates/

https://www.mursi.org/introducing-the-mursi

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Curved Problems

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

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

Shape

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

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

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

Curves or Bends?

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

Bends

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

Curves

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

A CNC wire bender in action

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

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

Circulars or Horseshoes?

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

Horsehoes

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

Circulars

Hydraulic press 10 ton
A hydraulic press with pressure gauge.

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

Threading

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

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

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

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

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Repiercing 101

We are often asked if it is possible to pierce in the same spot as an old piercing. There seems to be some misinformation floating around that says that if you have had a piercing in X location, you can never have a repiercing in the same place! This is not the case and we will explain why, but also talk about which conditions need to be met in order for your repierce to go smoothly.

What Is Scar Tissue?

Your piercing scar is made of scar tissue. Scars are a natural and unavoidable product of your wound healing response – There is little you can do to prevent the growth of scar tissue! Healing a piercing is a careful balance of healing a scar in a certain way to support jewellery. A piercing is a wound, after all. That scar tissue is avascular (has no blood vessels) and is made mostly of collagen. The collagen is not assembled into the organised layers that undamaged skin is, but is quite jumbled and rigid. This is why you might feel a little solid ‘lump’ where your old piercing used to be – That is the scar tissue that formed the piercing channel of your old piercing. As your scar matures, the amount of collagen drops by as much as 20% and you can feel the scar get softer and softer, until you might barely even notice it. This is what we are waiting for when we ask you to remove your jewellery and wait for a re-piercing!

Everyone heals at a different rate. There is no set time frame for when your old piercing has settled enough to repierce. Interestingly, it may take longer for young people to be ready for a repierce as our immune systems are too good at healing! The re-epithelialisation stage of wound healing is when the collagen for the scar tissue is produced. The younger you are, the more energetic this response is and the more collagen you produce. The more collagen you produce, the heavier the scar tissue will be and the longer it will take to settle and be ready to repierce. People over the age of 50 tend to scar less, as their immune response is lower and they do not undergo such an overproduction of collagen. You can read more about the healing process here!

When Am I Ready To Repierce?

This is different for everybody. The best way to know if you are ready to be pierced in the same spot is to head to your piercer and allow them to assess the area. We know what to look for in a scar! Is it hard and granular still, or has it softened enough to repierce?

Repiercing before you are ready can cause issues. Like I mentioned earlier, scar tissue is avascular. This means that if we repierce before the scar tissue has diminished, then there will likely be less blood flow and nutrients to the area which can significantly extend the healing time of your repiercing. Not only would your healing time be extended, but piercing through hard scar tissue is not fun! If the old piercing fistula is still open, you can also have issues where the new and old piercing channels interact and cause issues with draining of fluids.

As a general rule, we recommend waiting:

  • At least 8 weeks to repierce soft tissue like a lobe or navel piercing.
  • At least 12 weeks before repiercing ‘soft cartilage’ like a nose or septum piercing.
  • At least 6 months before repiercing hard cartilage, such as daith, helix or conch piercings.

This is not a hard and fast rule though. Everyone is different! Check in with your piercer if you are unsure, and always wait longer than you think you need to. There is no rush to repierce! A good piercer will produce a great piercing that will last you the rest of your life.

A beautifully settled and repierced second lobe piercing. When done well, you wouldn’t even know that this has been pierced before!

Taking Care of Your Piercing Scar

After removing your old piercing, you shouldn’t need to do anything special to it. No special cleaning, no lotions and potions. The piercing itself will shrink down and seal over fairly quickly, and needs no special care even if the piercing was very new when you removed it.

If your scarring is particularly obtrusive, we recommend that after you remove your jewellery you begin a daily routine of very gentle massage. Use a non-scented natural oil such as Jojoba oil to lubricate the skin, and gently massage the scarring between thumb and forefinger. This can effect how the scar remodels over time, and can break up the scar into softer, more pliable, tissue. There is not a huge amount of evidence (besides anecdotal evidence, which should always be taken with a grain of salt!) that scar massage is super effective, but keeping the area moisturised and stimulating blood flow will not hurt you either. If you have excessive scarring, like in keloid formation or large hypertrophic scarring, then a trip to the dermatologist wouldn’t go amiss. There are lots of things modern medicine has to offer such as laser, silicone patching, corticosteroid injections, and lots of other treatments that can soften and minimise scarring. A standard repiercing shouldn’t need all this special attention though! Time is the greatest healer of all.

As a side note, there is no discount in piercing fee whether it be a new piercing or a repierce. We use exactly the same tools and it takes exactly the same amount of time as a fresh piercing!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch via our instagram or email!

Citations

Bond, J.S., Duncan, J.A.L., Sattar, A., Boanas, A., Mason, T., OʼKane, S. and Ferguson, M.W.J. (2008). Maturation of the Human Scar: An Observational Study. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, [online] 121(5), pp.1650–1658. Available at: https://journals.lww.com/plasreconsurg/Abstract/2008/05000/Maturation_of_the_Human_Scar__An_Observational.19.aspx [Accessed 11 Nov. 2021].