Shop Life Archives - Rogue Piercing

Posted on 25/10/202424/10/2024 by Gemma Suter — Leave a comment

An Ode to Rogue

This is a difficult blog entry to write but one that I feel necessary to have as a small testament to my time at Rogue Piercing.
I started in January 2022, after a conversation explaining that I wanted to progress and grow as a piercer but felt limited in my current work space. I was welcomed with open arms immediately and guided through a journey into an industry that I’d teetered on the edges of for over a decade. I’d grown up in the alternative scene and started collecting piercings of my own free will around 13. I’d spent time hanging out with piercers and tattoo artists in the typical early 2000s studios, getting silly piercings and tattoos to pass the time.

I never planned to be a professional anything, never mind a piercer. I was destined for office work and technical support jobs, keeping my alternativeness to just about a socially acceptable level. Then the pandemic hit.
A lot of people think I’ve been in the industry longer than that but my career started completely by chance in October 2020 when I agreed to help out at a piercing studio by covering the front desk. I’ll blah blah through the ins and outs because it’s not my story to tell but in 2021, I had been piercing for a few months in Derbyshire and I came to Rogue because Aiden was the only person I knew of who was offering high nostril piercings and had the portfolio to showcase his results. So I booked the appointment for after my shift one day and headed to Nottingham.

If you’ve ever felt bad about showing up to an appointment not looking/feeling your best – I’m about to make you feel a lot better.
I’d never driven to Nottingham before, I raced in rush hour traffic, took 2 – 4 wrong turnings and parked at the car park on the opposite side of the city centre. It was the hottest day of the year for 2021 and I walked for 20 minutes in a leather skirt to get to my appointment. Not only was I late, I was SUPER late, covered in sweat, trying to catch my breath and past the point of anxious. Despite all of the stress of the journey, and the magnitude of the embarrassment I felt, Rogue immediately eased my worries. The atmosphere was calm, I wasn’t treated like an inconvenience and after apologising profusely for my lateness and grossness, I eased into the appointment. I soaked in everything, hanging on every word I was told and following each step of the process so I could absorb as much information as possible. “How high do you want to go?” “In the brain if possible”. Aiden pierced my high nostrils super high and they healed like an absolute dream. I’ll never forget taking his calm bed side manner to heart and implementing that at every opportunity I could. Oh, throughout all this, I had a bug in my hair that I brought into the piercing room by accident. I was convinced that I’d never be allowed back again for leaving sweat, blood and tears (also a bug) in the studio.
But Aiden continued to support me while I navigated my introduction to piercing. Answering all of my questions and never making me feel silly for learning.

Let’s jump to January 4th 2022.
I was vaguely aware of the term ‘imposter syndrome’ but never actually realised how hard it can be to manage. My very first piercing at Rogue was a septum piercing and holy shit was I scared. Septums are notorious for being a technically difficult piercing to perform and I am sure I almost sweated through my gloves during the process but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t a super straight, super shiny septum that I am still proud of nearly 3 years later.

My first year was a whirlwind of education. I honed and expanded my skills exponentially and had my mind opened to so many new experiences. There are not enough words (you’ll read this phrase a lot in this blog) to express how thankful and grateful I am to have been mentored under Aiden and Breo. They shared so much information and experience with me that I would not be half the piercer I am without their endless guidance and patience. I got to join the UKAPP and attend my first ever UK conference, I opened up my appointments to offer intimate work and met a whole new bunch of incredible people!

Anna is one of the most talented, strongest women I’ve ever met. And bloody lovely too!

2023 didn’t slow down for me at all. I was honoured to receive the Legacy Scholarship for the APP and attend my first international conference as a volunteer. That experience absolutely changed my life. You can read all about my adventure to the APP here. My second UKAPP conference gave me so much more confidence and it was amazing to see how far I’d come in 12 months. I completed my supervised intimate piercings and expanded my skillset even further, offering larger gauge piercings and much more advanced placements. My personal highlight of 2023 was experiencing body suspension for the first (and second and third) time. I’ll always struggle to find the right words to describe that first time but I owe it all to Alicia, Aiko and Aiden. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me something that I knew I needed – you opened up a world to me that has changed my brain for the good.

Moving right on into 2024.
Some more firsts for me! First time in Edinburgh with the team to visit the very first Wee Scottish Piercing Expo. This was an amazing few days and such a beautiful event. Huge thank you to the Bold and Gold team and the Bliss of Pain suspension team for all their hard work.
And then I turned 30! I took myself out to Leipzig for a well earned break to visit two of my favourite people, Andre and Maxim (and their puppies!) It was a magical trip and I loved, loved, loved every single second. Thanks for hosting me and letting me hang out in your amazing studio! I will absolutely be back soon. Once my solo trip was over it was time to get ready for APP again but this time I was joined by Breo and we had an unbelievable time. It was so fun to watch Breo experience Vegas and the APP for the first time and I was so happy to be reunited with my Volunteer Family of ducklings. You can read about our trip from Breo’s point of view here. On top of my piercing role, I stepped into the position of studio manager at Rogue and had the pleasure of telling our newest Rogue, Gwen that we were ready for them to join us! I’ve loved working with Gwen and I can’t wait to see what they get up to in Birmingham.
Speaking of, it was so cool to watch the Birmingham studio transform from an empty unit to a luxurious piercing space in a matter of weeks! Aiden and Gwen worked really hard to get everything up and running and now there are two Rogue studios across the East Midlands. I’m so excited to see Rogue grow and expand even more and continue to offer top quality, premium piercings to all of our clients!
2024 also saw the very first UKAPP conference in Nottingham. We had hundreds of piercers from all over the globe, meeting up in our little city and popping in to see our studio. No pressure! My favourite part of the UKAPP conference this year was knowing that Breo got to pierce in front of industry icon Brian Skellie, who left a glowing review and really made everyone’s day with his presence and kind words. The conference was such a busy time for us but well worth all the work.

Thank you for being one of my best friends Jay <3

And so here we are, at the end of October 2024. I’ve re-written this section at least forty times. I have a whole bunch of feelings and thoughts that I can’t articulate very well. As of Halloween 2024, I will be leaving Rogue Piercing to head back to my home city of Sheffield and pierce with the lovely team at The Owl and The Pussycat. On a personal note, I have a lot of not super fun memories tied to the city where I grew up but the opportunity to create new, beautiful memories in a gorgeous space, doing what I love the most, is super duper exciting for me. Leaving Rogue is of course incredibly bitter sweet. So many pivotal moments in my career have happened here and I have been fundamentally changed as a person thanks to the team and the clients that I’ve been privileged to meet.

It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. I’ll see you in Sheffield and I’ll see you across the world. I wouldn’t be Gemma without Rogue. Without the guidance, care and patience of the team. Without the trust and commitment of the clients. Without the experiences I have been so, so thankful to have.

To Aiden, Breo, Jay, Gwen, Anna, David and Armelle, I love you and I am eternally grateful for the time we’ve spent together.
To the clients that I’ve met over the past 3 years, your trust in me has been life changing and I appreciate every single one of you from the bottom of my weird little heart.
To Lisa and Chloe, I can’t wait to join your team and grow with you. Thank you for believing in me.

And lastly, to Elizabeth. I love you and I like you. I wouldn’t be writing any of this if you hadn’t saw something in me over a decade ago and brought me on this mad little journey with you into the world of body piercing.

Posted on 23/08/202421/08/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

Don’t Be Sorry!

Stop apologising to your piercer about things outside of your control! Every day I come into the studio, and especially on days I am piercing, at least one client will apologise for something they don’t need to apologise for. There is a million reasons why people may over-apologise, including being nervous, concerned or overthinking. But I am here to help calm those nerves, and tell you things not to apologise for and why you shouldn’t apologise!

Things not being in your budget!

When I talk you through pricing and jewellery selection, I like to break down the cabinets we have and what jewellery is in each one. Sometimes, I’ll have a client fall in love with a piece that is out of their budget, and apologise! I even had someone say “I hope you don’t think i’m being tight!’ And I don’t! It’s okay to have a budget and stick to it!

At Rogue we offer a range of jewellery, from simple plain balls to the most extravagant gold, because we WANT to cater for everyone’s budget and personal needs. We are not here to judge you based on how deep your pockets are, and we want you to leave the studio feeling happy and comfortable with whatever you choose!

A Vertical Labret
Infinite ‘Amethyst’ Claw
Inari ‘Sleepy Lavender’ Opal

Changing the placement of your piercings!

As your piercer, we can only advise you of placement. We are not the ones who have to look at it every day, and as long as it’s a safe placement, we don’t care! We always start with the *ideal* placement that we think would be the most suitable, but if you don’t like it that’s okay, we won’t be offended. If you choose a placement that we think might not fit your needs, we will discuss that with you. For example, some people’s final goal for a nostril piercing is a ring, but they want that initial placement to be quite high up, and so we will discuss that the higher you go the bigger the ring.

I’ve also marked multiple placements for a client when they’ve been unsure, and still settled on my original marking. You don’t need to apologise for that neither. We’d rather you be 100% certain about the placement, because it is easier to change the mark than to change a whole piercing channel!

Taking your time in decisions!

Quite often I have clients that may spend 5-10 minutes choosing jewellery, and asking to see individual pieces and how they’d sit. This is also okay, and if anything we encourage it. Our aim during your appointment is to make sure that when you leave you are happy and content with your choices. Some people are also indecisive! When clients apologise, I like to make a joke that “they should see me in the chocolate aisle in Tesco!” I don’t want you to feel rushed or forced into a decision. The same way that I want to make sure I am going to enjoy whatever chocolate bar I choose, I want to make sure you are going to be happy with the jewellery that you are going to wear!

We have such a wide selection of jewellery!
BVLA Chrysoprase Set
2x Round Prong
Sunray

“Wasting” our time!

Especially if you have an appointment, there is no such thing as wasting our time. When you book an appointment with us, that is our time. If that is a 10 minute appointment for a quick check-up, a 30 minute appointment for a pair of lobes, or even halfway with a 20 minute consultation, that is our time. If we spend most of the appointment browsing jewellery or remarking or even discussing further piercing plans, that is time well spent.

Too often I have clients apologising because they feel like they’ve wasted my time. As long as you leave the studio satisfied or at-ease, then my job is done and I am happy.

This isn’t a comprehensive list of everything you shouldn’t apologise for, but I hope it makes some of you feel more at ease about your appointments with us. I think it’s really important to remember that we are just regular people too! Piercing may be our jobs, and we may be passionate about it, but at the end of the day our main focus is always providing the best experience for you, from start to finish.

Check out our Instagram for more information and what we get up to in and out of the studio!

Posted on 16/08/202420/08/2024 by Gwen — 1 Comment

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.

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!

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)!

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.

Posted on 02/08/202413/08/2024 by Breo Hoek — Leave a comment

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.

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.

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

Posted on 14/06/202421/05/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

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!

https://www.osmosis.org/learn/Cerebral_circulation

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.

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!
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!
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.
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!

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

Posted on 10/05/202410/05/2024 by Gemma Suter — Leave a comment

The Importance of Taking a Break

It’s hard to know when the time is right to step away from something and often we’re not aware until it’s too late. There are many times in our day to day life where it is so important to take a break from what we’re doing. This applies to every one, not just Piercers and enthusiast.

Have you ever worked in front of a PC at an office? It’s recommended that you step away from the screen every 2-3 hours to give your eyes a rest. In most manual jobs, you will be given designated breaks throughout the day to rest, re-hydrate and eat. Even a small break from work is important, but how does this apply to Piercers and people being pierced? We/You need breaks too!

“I love my job, I could work all day!”

While this is a great mentality to have in theory, an over-worked Piercer is less likely to give each client 100% of their best self and when you are putting your trust in us, we want to make sure we always give you the best experience possible.

For Piercers:

Piercing people all day everyday can be emotionally, physically, mentally and socially taxing. We spend several hours a day, many hours a week, interacting with the public in the studio and online. This can quickly drain our social batteries, leaving little left for after work activities. Spending all day making small (or big) talk with clients, companies and colleagues can leave little energy left for socialising with friends and family once the day is over at the studio. Even on the best day, with the best clients and piercings, it can take a toll just to be present for that long.
During your day, it is important to take small moments where possible to step away, here is a list of things you can do to take a small break during your shift as a Piercer

Take a moment somewhere quiet to take slow, steady breaths and lower your cortisone levels
Schedule your lunch break! A hungry Piercer is a shaky Piercer
Hydrate yourself
Step outside for some fresh air and sunlight. Being indoors for 10 hours is no good for your body or your brain

But I’m a piercing/modification enthusiast, how does this apply to me?

I hear you. But have you considered how often you are having piercings or tattoos? Have you got the ‘itch’ for new modifications and a bucket list of ideas you are desperate to get through? Take a break! We don’t recommend healing more than 3 piercings at any time but we often don’t take into other modifications such as tattoos, fillers and even dental care. All of these things can have an impact on your healing and your immune system. Even if you feel tip top after 4 or 5 piercings, your body needs time to heal. Wherever you are in your modification and self expression journey, consider taking small breaks to rest and recover before moving on to the next step.

It’s also important to consider other aspects of your life. We know a lot of people like to get a piercing to represent an important change in their life. New job, new house, start or end of a relationship, visiting a different country. All of these things impact our health. This is not to say we don’t want you to punctuate a significant event with a piercing, but it is important to factor in the stresses of life and how that can take it’s toll on the healing of a new piercing. In the process of moving house? Maybe take a little break (a few days, a week) before you book that tattoo appointment. Rough break up? Get the piercing you always wanted, but schedule a few days to rest, recover and indulge in some self care before the next big thing.

This is a career that piercers are incredibly passionate about and as such, we tend to take the job home with us. Making an 8 hour work day into a 24 hour day. Some things that are important to create a work/life balance include:

Setting times for when you will respond to work related questions and not responding outside of that (ie studio hours)
Consuming content that isn’t piercing related (is your IG feed just piercers posting work? make a second account for dog content instead!)
Having activities outside of the studio such as painting, gaming, running, yoga or just hanging out in your pjamas
Evaluating your social circle to include people outside of the industry, this can help to get a fresh perspective on things that as Piercers we feel mountains, but in reality may just be mole hills
Scheduling actual holiday time. And no, Conferences do not count as holidays. Take a week to step away from work and just be a person who is on holiday. Whether that be on a sunny ol’ beach or your sunny ol’ sofa, take a rest from the studio and do something different. It’s so good for your brain.

Coming back to work after a break can be daunting but you should hopefully feel refreshed, rejuvenated and excited to be back. Don’t let piercing just become another mundane 9-5 that you begrudge. Step away and step back with a new sense of appreciation for what you do. And for our clients, we promise we are better people and better Piercers when we’ve had a little break. This means when you see that we are on lunch and you give us the space to be alone for that time, we are extra appreciative and extra nice when your appointment time comes!

If you’re not due a break from piercing, or you’re on a break from other things, come see us! Book in 7 days a week here!

Posted on 19/04/202401/04/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

My Experience: Cheeks

So, on the 27th of February 2024, I got my cheek piercings. Well… sort of? Gemma coined the term ‘Deek Piercings’ because they are a midway placement between Cheeks and Dahlias. The reasoning for this was my anatomy! And with cheeks regaining popularity, and them being a fan favourite, I thought I’d tell you all how my piercing experience went!

Now, I have to preface this by saying I am only two weeks into my healing, and cheeks can take up to 2 years before they finally Settle down and get comfortable. You can read a deep dive and overview of cheek piercings here! But, I definitely think those first two weeks are A) the most important and B) the absolute worst.

On my own personal scale of 1-10, the actual pain of having them pierced was quite low, maybe around a 4? I can definitely remember my tragus piercing hurting way more in the moment. They were pierced by Gemma as part of her training, under direct supervision of Aiden. The beautiful thing about it was that Gemma had done her first set only 2 hours prior! Aiden held my hand and was super supportive of us both, as you can imagine we were both nervous but for very different reasons!

Before
After

The after feeling of the piercing was amazing, I had an immediate rush of excitement and happiness, especially when I got to look at them in the mirror. They just looked great and I couldn’t have been happier, I couldn’t stop laughing for a solid 5 minutes. And then came the difficult bit – eating. We were having a film night at Rogue that evening, and we collectively ordered Wagamama’s together. I realised the 24mm bars in my mouth, and the tight constrictive feeling that was happening, meant that eating was going to be difficult. I played it safe and had some soft bread and katsu curry!

The next day I went ahead and got myself a bunch of meal replacement shakes. To be quite honest, I think the first week was possibly the most nutrients and vitamins my body has ever had! I’d also bought a ton of water, and easy to eat soft foods, such as instant mash and plenty of tinned foods. I just needed something easy to swallow. I also ate a lot of rice!

We headed off to the Edinburgh expo on the Saturday, and on Monday and Tuesday I was starting to fill my face again! I started off with pizza (and I cannot tell you how good it was to eat solid food, plus they had the best garlic sauce I’d ever tasted). By Tuesday night, the swelling had started to decrease and the bars were starting to poke out of my face and move as I ate! I had to take a bite of food, and then hold the bars while I chewed. Definitely looked a bit funny!

I returned back to work on Friday, so only three days later, and it felt absolutely horrible to talk, and I couldn’t even smile at people! I had to keep apologising to people and say “Hey, I promise i’m smiling, my face just hurts a lot right now!” Thankfully, most people were incredibly understanding! We also did the first downsize! 24mm initially pierced, dropped down to 18mm! The relief was amazing! We also upsized the balls on the inside of my mouth to 5mm. This was because the balls had started digging into the swelling on the inside of my cheek and was creating a lot of uncomfortable pressure and soreness!

By the the following week I was mostly back to normal, drinking and eating as I had been before, although I definitely chomped down on the larger balls a few times. There is still a mild bit of swelling happening (although I definitely didn’t look as puffy as I did the first week) and a lot of of localised redness. They’re also incredibly crusty, and every time I eat it pushes out more lymph node ( I keep just telling people my face is leaking), but It’s definitely a good sign that everything is healing and doing what it needs to. And just before the 3 week mark, we downsized the 5mm balls back down to 4mm, and my mouth has never felt so spacious!

Healing!
Overall look!

I am still healing and making gradual downsizes, week by week, but the hard part is definitely over! There’s still quite a bit of localised swelling/pinching around the bars, as well as redness and many crusties each day, but for me it’s definitely worth it.

I decided to write this blog as when I was looking into other people’s experiences with cheek piercings, there wasn’t much out there. I’m very much a person who likes to know exactly what to expect. And so hopefully it might be helpful to someone else! Now of course, please keep in mind that everyone heals differently, and so your experience could be totally different! If you also want to see a day-by-day highlight of the healing process, check out my Instagram highlights for a close up view!

If you are interested in booking your own cheek piercings, book a consultation with Aiden or Gemma here!

Posted on 29/03/202422/03/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

Custom Order Favourites – BVLA

In Rogue we pride our selves with our vast collection of jewellery. However with limited space in the studio, there is only so much we can hold, and with the 7 main jewellery companies we stock plus all the others that are available, we certainly cannot hold one of every single piece. This is why we offer custom orders! By doing this we can offer every single piece of jewellery, in every single size and colour of gold and gemstones the company allows! We can order custom fitting lengths and gauges of jewellery that we don’t normally carry. We can order a full curation of beautiful pieces for that special event, or just because you want to!

With the next BVLA custom order deadline looming over us, I thought I’d show you some of my personal favourites from the pieces you guys have chose to order through BVLA with us!

My first favourite is this gorgeous 14k Yellow Gold Marquise Crown Charm with Green Tourmaline. Delicately paired with a 14k Gold Seam ring from APEX jewellery, this was perfectly positioned in an incredibly well healed rook piercing.

Next up is this stunning ‘Dino’. 14k White gold with impeccable details all round. This was pierced straight into a fresh flat by the wonderful Breo.

How could we miss this beautiful rook! 2x gummy bear green Chrysoprase gems set in 14k Yellow Gold. It’s not often people order custom rook pieces, but we’d definitely love to do more. This Bezel with Tri Bead rook curve was perfectly pierced by Gemma!

I may be a little bias with this one, as I pierced this myself! But how cute is this Pear Prong Ring in this fresh Daith! 14k Yellow Gold with Green Tourmaline! (I’m definitely starting to see a reoccurring theme of yellow gold and green gems here).

Mini Kandy’s will always be a fan favourite, they are perfect for any position, including this super cute Forward Helix By Aiden. 14k White Gold with Rose Cut Swiss Blue Topaz! Super cute.

We’d absolutely love to order some more fun shapes and designs, as well as more charms and chains for that extra movement! Here’s some of my personal favourites that I’d love to see get ordered from BVLA!

Call Me! Seam Ring
Anarchy End
Double Bullet Chain Charm
Delicate Snake End
Trillion Bell Barbells

If you’d like to enquiry about any of the above pieces, or any of your own ideas or designs, just shoot us an email at customorder@roguepiercing.co.uk and we can work with you to find your perfect piece of jewellery! If you’d like to know more about or custom ordering process, have quick read of this blog that details how the process works! And to stay up to date with our deadlines for custom orders, follow us on Instagram!

Posted on 23/02/202423/02/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

Moving into Spring!

As the evenings slowly start to get lighter again, and that frosty chill is starting a steady exit, we begin to make our way into the spring season, which i’m sure we’re all ready for. However, before we say our goodbyes just yet to the winter months I thought we’d have a quick look at how 2024 has started for Rogue, from piercings to jewellery it’s definitely been a fun one.

Aiden started his year with a nice long break from the studio, using his annual leave for a fun adventure. Upon return to the studio though, you guys definitely didn’t make it easy for him! From 2g cheeks to intimate projects Aiden’s been working hard to fulfil all the piercing dreams you guys have given him!

Breo is another one who has been taking some plentiful time away from the studio, and taking a much needed trip back to his home town in Spain. He was definitely missed though, upon arrival back in the studio his first day back was busy with rooks and helix piercings, and even a large gauge set of lobes chucked in there.

Gemma’s had a an interesting start to 2024, and has begun to take on more responsibility within the studio! She has been putting out some excellent work, from a classic helix’s, lower navels and fun intimate projects. Next month is Gemma’s turn away from the studio as she embarks on a week long journey to visit Andre in Germany, and progress her body modification journey.

Jay’s 2024 has started off with lots of training, from tongue piercings and septum’s, to VCH and Prince Albert piercings, Jay has started the ‘weird and wonderful’ and has been producing some amazing work. She also put some of her own training into practice when Kade shadowed in the studio, and helped pass on knowledge of bevel theory and blade needles.

Kat has been working alongside clients to continue to bring their jewellery dreams alive! From placing custom orders and helping put together that one unique piece, to helping curate ears, Kat has been kept on their toes. They’ve also taken a further step into the jewellery side of piercing and is now assisting FLUX Jewelellry!

We’ve also had a few guests and shadows join us this year!

We ended January with a two day visit from Phebe, who came up to shadow septum piercings! Phebe is an absolute delight to work with, and we can’t wait to have her back, hopefully to guest next time and put her skills into practice. While she was here, Breo pierced her and gave Phebe a gorgeous forehead surface piercing which suited her set up brilliantly.

February started with a week long visit from the wonderful Hika, who came and guested while Breo was travelling to Spain. She helped assist Jay on apprentice piercings and fed her some new knowledge, while also producing her own amazing work. She also got pierced by Aiden and left with a shiny new tragus and lobe duo.

Hika in action! Marking a bridge piercing!

Last but not least, we had Kade come and stay for a week too. He came to do some shadowing, and was an absolute delight to have in the studio, and we can’t wait for him to return. He left with some knew found knowledge and a new best friend (Jay). Not only did he get pierced while he visited, but Jay, Aiden and Gemma all pierced him as part of an ear project consisting of 5 vertical helix’s around his ear. Between them, they pierced three, leaving four and five for his next visit.

Kade putting knowledge into practice with Jay’s help.

Overall it has been an absolute whirlwind of a start to 2024, and hopefully we will see this continue through the warmer months! With two more guests planned in March and a conference, the Rogues are definitely going to be kept on their toes. Don’t forget you can book your own appointment with us here, and discuss anything from piercings to jewellery with us and fulfil your own dreams.

Posted on 05/01/202403/01/2024 by Jorjie Abell — Leave a comment

Stop Touching Your Piercings!

When you walk through the doors at Rogue you will instantly see signs on our main desks, our mirrors and even in our jewellery display cabinets, all telling you not to touch, change or remove your jewellery. You may have noticed both our piercers and counter staff asking you to stop touching your piercings, or to sanitise your hands. We also ask that all jewellery brought into the studio is inside of a small bag or pouch and isn’t handled inside the studio with bare hands.

*Image from* Jef Saunders Blog courtesy of Dannielle Greenwood

Now you may think this is over bearing, or that we are on a power trip, or even that it might just be a weird obsession over cleanliness/hygiene, but we can assure you that it’s not! We do all of this to avoid the risk of any cross contamination in the studio. Hygiene at Rogue is one of our biggest focus points, and we have consistent measures in place to ensure that we are doing the best we can. From working with aseptic techniques during the piercing procedure, as well as having both daily and weekly cleaning tasks. Every member of the team at Rogue takes annual training in Bloodborne Pathogens (keep your eyes out for our certificates around the studio). This is so we can stay up to date with any changes in standards and protocols to keep both you and ourselves safe.

In the studio we have very careful procedures that we perform every single day to minimise any spread of cross contamination. We thoroughly clean and sterilise any tools and equipment at the end of each working day. We continuously wash and sanitise our hands while also donning and doffing PPE (wearing and disposing of Personal Protective Equipment such as masks and gloves) appropriately. Any of our disposable work tools that may have touched anyone are also disposed of correctly, through sharps bins and dedicated waste disposal bags and services.

Jay showing us examples of PPE worn in the studio.

So, what is cross contamination?

The definition of cross contamination from Oxford Languages English Dictionaries is: The process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, with harmful effect.

Outside of piercing, most people think of cross contamination when it comes to food, especially raw chicken. For example, if you are cutting raw chicken you may end up with some of the raw juices on your fingers and hands, and once dried you may not know it’s there. The bacteria from the chicken can be spread across the kitchen on cutting boards, towels, and reusable wipes. If you don’t wash your hands and touch your mouth or nose or a small/large wound, you can become sick from the bacteria even if you don’t see it. This is because bacteria (such as salmonella) is easily transferable through open wounds and mucous membranes.

The same happens with body jewellery. At some point, the jewellery you have worn in your body has been in direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood. We as piercers have to assume that everyone’s blood, or any other bodily fluids that has been in contact with your jewellery, is contaminated with a bloodborne pathogen that has the potential to carry or spread viruses. The reason we do this is because, just like raw chicken juices, we cannot always see potential threats or dangers, and we’d rather be over-cautious and keep everyone’s health in tip-top shape.

Imagine the journey that bacteria might take across our studio. A client touches their grumpy piercing, and then touches the front desk or a display cabinet, or the arms of the sofa. This is then touched by the next client, who then touches their eye or mouth, or their own piercings! This bacteria can be transferred from one person to the next. Imagine not one client, but dozens per day! By not touching our piercings, washing our hands, and not allowing worn jewellery to touch any of the studio surfaces, then we break this chain of spread.

This is also part of the reason why we cannot reuse, refund or resell body jewellery that has left the studio. We have to assume that any body jewellery that has been purchased has been worn. We also recommend that you never buy and wear pre-used or pre-worn jewellery – You can read more about this in our ‘Sharing Jewellery’ blog. It is the equivalent of clothing stores having a no-returns policy on underwear. It is not safe to risk sharing fluids between clients.

As scary as it sounds, we’re just trying to show you that cross-contamination is super easy to avoid. So, all in all, please top touching your piercings and sharing body jewellery. It is unsafe and unsanitary! Practice regular safe hygiene processes, such as washing your hands and sanitising when and where needed.

Keep an eye on our blog as we post a new informational blog every single Friday! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.