Quite often we hear the words, ‘I’m a fainter’ by clients when they come and get pierced with us, which can make the experience much more daunting and scarier than it needs to be. It can also be a scary idea for anyone who has never fainted before, but may have never had a piercing, or is quite queasy anyway! But there’s nothing to be worried about! While fainting can be quite common, and any professional piercer should be equipped to handle it, it really doesn’t happen as often as you think it might. But let’s discuss fainting, what it is, why it happens, and how we (at Rogue) minimise the chances of it happening to you!
Fainting is a short-term loss of consciousness. It happens because of a sudden drop in blood flow to your brain. A fainting episode usually lasts a few seconds or minutes. Then, you wake up and return to normal.1 It occurs when the body over reacts to certain triggers, causing that sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate, making the blood flow to the brain slow down. These triggers can include (but are not limited to), standing or sitting for a long time, dehydration or extreme heat, stressful or emotional situations, and seeing blood or having an injection.
At your appointment, some of these things can be tied altogether! For example, it is very common for some people to be nervous about the pain or the procedure, which can cause feelings of anxiety causing stress levels to rise. Depending on your piercer, and the piercing you’re having, you may be sat or laid down for your piercing, so if you stand to quickly it can cause you to feel lightheaded or faint. You may not have had food before getting pierced, or not enough food, so during the piercing your blood sugar might be low, and then it can drop further due to the adrenalin response after being pierced. However, it is still very rare for us to have a fainter in the studio!
When you put a number of these factors together, and very quickly, it drastically increases your chances of feeling faint, or passing out, which is why we have a number of procedures to minimise this as much as possible.
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!
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!
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!
1st Morning!
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!
Ready for their first downsize!
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!
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!
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!
A fresh set of 2g Cheek Piercings.
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.
A forehead surface piercing for Phebe!
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.
Lower Navel Piericing!
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.
A fresh set of paired central eyebrows!
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!
A Custom BVLA Septum Jewellery
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.
A sweet forehead piercing for Phebe!
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.
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.
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.
With Christmas seeming like it’s been gone forever, it’s officially time to start celebrating the New Years Season. But how could we do that without ending this year on a warm, soppy and heartfelt look back at everything the team at Rogue has achieved this year!
Solid 18k White Gold Chain Ring from F:LUX Jewellery.
Aiden!
For those of you that don’t know, Aiden is our head piercer and the Studio Owner here at Rogue, and the guy who does all the work behind the scenes to keep the studio running effectively! It’s been a fun and impressive year for Aiden and we can’t thank him enough for everything that he’s done for us and Rogue along the way. Alongside mentoring Jay through the second year of their apprenticeship, and helping round out Gemma’s training, he has been a very busy man.
This year he got the show on the road with F:LUX Jwllry, making some brilliant 18k gold rings, charms and chains. We have had some beautiful pieces come through the studio, and they have looked absolutely amazing on our clients.
A gorgeous and perfect fitted F:LUX chain
Aiden also attended UKAPP this year (again), but the exciting news is this year he was teaching again as well! With the help of Gemma rounding up and wrangling piercing videos from expert piercers all across the world, Aiden made a full demonstrative video on how each and every single piercer pierces differently. Different techniques, jewellery, methods and processes, but as long as you are executing safe and viable piercings, then it doesn’t matter how you do them. We are all human and individual, it would be impossible to do everything the same as the next person. This class was definitely a big hit and left a lot of piercers feeling happy and refreshed, and ready to try new things.
Throughout all of this, running a business, being a mentor, travelling the world, and being a good boss, Aiden has been producing some amazing work this year. From heavy large gauge and intimate work, to shiny nose piercings, he’s definitely blown us all away.
UKAPP Teacher
Suspension Day
Taking the young un’s to BMXNET
Breo!
Breo is our resident head piercer, piercing full time at Rogue. Breo has done his fair share of travelling and surprising piercers world-wide this year. In the spring he travelled to Madrid for the Spanish APPE and in Autumn he travelled with the rest of the Rogues for another weekend at UKAPP in Manchester. This was an exciting conference for everyone at Rogue as this was Breo’s first ever time speaking and teaching a class at a conference. Over the past few years, Breo has been researching body language and it’s importance to piercing and how we as piercers should be reading our client’s body language to help their time with us go much more smoother. As Breo is originally from Spain, English isn’t always his first language, also working at a studio in Nottingham city centre means Breo works with a range of clientele who don’t always have English as their first (or even second) spoken language. He realised that body language is sometimes much easier to help ease a clients appointments, as it often helps us read in between the lines of missing pieces of information. Of course, being the sweetheart he is, decided to share this information with as many people as he can.
UKAPP Teacher
The class!
Large gauge work in action!
Throughout his busy year, his work has only improved. Both technically, with his techniques, and aesthetically with the finished product. He has been absolutely smashing large gauge work left right and centre, and pulling off some beautiful classic piercings that work great with a clients anatomy. As Breo is often in the piercing room, it’s very rare that he will help a client choose their jewellery, which means often it is a surprise of what he is working with. Yet every single time does a client finish their appointment, does that piece look beautiful and unique, as well as perfectly fitting their anatomy.
A perfect fitted Beaded Baguette from BVLA
Gemma!
For the past two years at Rogue, Gemma has been known as our junior piercer. After not having a great start in their piercing career, Gemma joined Rogue in January 2022 and has been a fantastic addition to the team. Over the time they have been here, they have worked extensively inside and outside of work to further better their skills and learn new things. This year they have been focusing on building their portfolio for intimate work (and oh boy have they done an absolutely fantastic job), but also their large gauge work. They have also helped Jay in their apprentice work, teaching them skills and knowledge that has helped themselves. They have been producing some absolutely stunning work and we couldn’t be more proud of them. From the new year in 2024, Gemma will no longer be our resident junior piercer, but instead will be another one of our piercers leading the studio.
A Micro dermal piercing on the chest area as part of Gemma’s training.
Not only this, but Gemma had a very exciting 2023, especially in the summer. After the UKAPP conference in 2022, Aiden, Breo and a few other piercers had encouraged Gemma to apply for the 2023 Las Vegas Scholarship for the annual APP conference. And of course, without a doubt she absolutely nailed her application and interview process and got awarded the Legacy Scholarship. So off she went to America, by herself, to yet again further and better her skills and knowledge in her career. She came back so full of energy, confidence, and a new found feeling of trust in herself that was absolutely amazing to watch. I hope she is as proud of herself and how far she has come in the past two years, as we are. She also volunteered to work alongside Hika and vendor for Queen of The Ashes Jewellery at the UKAPP conference.
Gemma joining the Vegas Scholar Legacy
Vendor work with Jay and Hika
Vegas friends!
Vegas… AGAIN!
Kat!
Kat is our dedicated jewellery specialist at work. They could recite the entire catalogue of BVLA and their gem list and options if you asked. They are definitely a special addition of the Rogue team. Kat works extensively with clients to build and create custom orders for jewellery, as well as curations that are fitting for the client, both aesthetically and financially. Thanks to Kat, our jewellery cabinets are always full of brand new shiny pieces for our clients to choose from, but it is a struggle to keep the team from buying everything. We can collectively agree Kat has some brilliant taste.
A gorgeous long term creation Kat has extensively worked over.
For the second year in a row, Kat taught a class at UKAPP all about Wound Healing Dynamics. Being the resident scientist in the studio, it was only fitting to use their knowledge and teach it to those who create wounds day in and day our in their careers. It’s beneficial all around!
And while we’re mentioning Kat being our resident scientist, can we all just say a massive congratulations! Last September, Kat went back to university to study and complete their Masters degree in Microbiology and Immunology. They officially graduated two weeks ago, and we couldn’t be more proud of them. While Kat isn’t a piercer, they extensively work with clients and piercers day in and day out through troubleshooting, jewellery management, and jewellery installations. They decided to help further their education and knowledge in the piercing industry to benefit both piercers and clients, and anybody else that may deal with piercings on a regular basis. The entire community is grateful for their tireless work.
UKAPP Teacher
2023 Masters Graduation
Teaching moment!
Getting their learn on.
Jay!
Jay is our apprentice at the studio! They are the loud and colourful, pink loving chaos gremlin who will be blasting System Of a Down at 9:30am in the morning as soon as you walk into the door. In November Jay hit a massive milestone here at Rogue, and over the next 10 months will be working through their third and final year of their apprenticeship at Rogue. From the new year Jay will be moving up into and offering apprentice rate piercings on large gauge and intimate piercings, as well as microdermals and surface work.
As part of their training, Jay added a second (but more correctly placed) septum piercing.
2023 has been exciting for Jay. They have volunteered and worked with two different vendors at two different conferences. First they worked with Inari Organics at the Manchester Trade Show, and then Queen Of The Ashes Jewellery at the UKAPP in Manchester too! Alongside this, they travelled outside of the UK for the first time to head to Berlin for the BMXNet conference! They took every single class they possibly could, and was very excited to put their certificate on the wall when they arrived back. Hopefully 2024 will bring a lot more travel and fun for Jay!
Jay and Damien at the Manchester Trade Show
Mentor and Apprentice BMXNET
BMXNET Class
UKAPP Firewalk
So all in all, 2023 has been a hectic but amazing year for all of the Rogues, and I haven’t even touched on some of the stuff they’ve been up to. However, we can say we are proud of every single one of them, and we’re really excited to see what they bring in 2024.
We also want to extend many thank yous to you guys, our clients. Without you Rogue wouldn’t be able to run. We wouldn’t be able to do the beautiful work we do, or go to conferences. Our apprentice and junior wouldn’t have been able to progress either. Everything we do, we can only do with your amazing support. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and have a happy new year! Here’s to 2024!
There are very few things in the world of piercing that constitute a genuine piercing emergency, but plenty of things that can happen that might be a touch stressful! In this blog we will be going over the most common ‘urgent’ issues that you might have, and what to do whilst waiting for your appointment at a trusted piercing studio.
Piercing Emergency: Losing Jewellery
Our jewellery is high quality, implant-grade, and very secure! However, the universe leans towards entropy wherever possible, and so your jewellery may loosen over time. Picture it: You wake up in the morning, reach up and feel an empty space where your jewellery used to be. You wash your face and hear that classic tink-tink-tink of a metal ball hitting the floor. Dang! What do you do?
Don’t panic! Losing jewellery happens to everyone, even piercers. What matters most is what you do in the next ten minutes once you notice your jewellery is gone.
Check your body. Take a look at your piercing – Is the post still in place? If so, excellent!
Find it! Body jewellery is tiny, so grab your phone torch and have a really good hunt around. The phone torch will be super helpful as quality jewellery is super shiny! If you can’t find it by hand, don’t stress. Grab a pair of tights or a sock and place them over the neck of your vacuum cleaner. Run your vacuum over the room where your jewellery has gone, and you should pick it up!
Clean it. Obviously, you cannot sterilise jewellery at home, but you also cannot reinstall jewellery that’s got floor on it! If possible, clean your jewellery with an alcohol wipe before putting it back in. If you don’t have anything else to hand, wash with antibacterial soap and water.
Reinsert it as best you can. If you feel confident, you can put the jewellery back in! Screw the ball on, or push in the threadless end, and you’re all put back together. If you struggle to reinsert the jewellery, then sometimes the easiest thing to do is to just put the post in backwards so you can see what you are doing.
Come and see us. If you don’t feel confident getting it back in perfectly, don’t stress. The most important thing to do is keep the piercing channel open. If you find it easier to put the labret post in from the front, then do that. Pop a little piece of micropore tape over it to keep it in, and pop in and see your piercer as soon as you can so that we can reinstall your jewellery perfectly!
Overswelling
It happens! Quality piercers will assess your anatomy and estimate how much extra length your new piercing will need to swell, but bodies can be unpredictable. Here’s what to do if you notice you are experiencing an overswelling piercing emergency.
Don’t panic! See a theme here? It’s most important that you remain relaxed – Every piercing problem can be fixed easily.
Assess what happened. Is your piercing fresh? Is it healed? Has it been downsized? What caused the swell?
Assess your jewellery. Does it still have space on it? Is it sinking in at all? If there is still space on the bar, then fear not. You still have room to swell, and swelling doesn’t last forever. If you notice the jewellery is sinking in at all, then keep reading.
Cool it down. A cold-pack wrapped in clean, disposable paper towels can be applied near to the piercing. We don’t recommend smushing the piercing directly, but applying a cool pack to your temple or neck can really soothe any ear piercings and diminish your swelling. If you know that you are safe to do so, now might be a good time to consider an anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen. Always speak to your primary care doctor before taking medications if you are unsure.
Stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause you to retain water, making swelling prolonged and excessive. Keep your fluid intake up!
Avoid alcohol. Alcohol makes you swell more – Don’t drink if you are swollen!
See your piercer. If your jewellery is too tight, this can cause more swelling and serious discomfort. The best thing to do is book a checkup with your piercer as soon as you can, so that they can install longer jewellery that allows breathing room for your swelling.
Take it back to basics. In short, keep your piercing clean, keep it dry, and leave it alone!
Get a downsize. Once your swelling has come back down, please come back and have your jewellery downsized again! Wearing oversized jewellery is a common cause of… you guessed it… swelling. Don’t get caught in that wicked cycle!
All jewellery needs a little room for swelling.
Healing Shut
If you have removed your jewellery for a period of time, then there is a chance that your body will have begun the process of shrinking down the piercing channel and healing it up. Our bodies are incredible healing machines! We are often asked, ‘How long before I can take my piercings out and they won’t heal up?’ This is an excellent question. The answer is… Never!
A good analogy is this. Imagine you wear braces. You look after your teeth, your teeth shift into a perfect position, and then you take your braces off. When do you stop wearing your retainer? Never! That is because your retainer is the only thing keeping your teeth in alignment. And it is the same for piercings. Your jewellery is your braces – Without them, your body will always try and heal your piercings.
However, for whatever reason, you have taken your jewellery out and now you can’t get it back in! What do you do to solve this piercing emergency?
Don’t panic! We should definitely make t-shirts with this written on them! Stay calm, and don’t google it…
Don’t force it. The most common cause of issues we see is when people panic, and force their jewellery back into a closed piercing without taking their time. If your piercing cannot be reopened with minimal pressure, then do not keep pushing.
Take a warm shower. The first thing you need to do is soften and relax your skin. A hot, steamy shower is the best way to do this.
Get lubed up. Apply a small amount of water-based lubricant to your jewellery – No lube, no love!
Be gentle and consistent. Apply a gentle amount of pressure with your jewellery – Just enough to get things started. Be gentle and consistent, and your jewellery should slowly slide back into place.
Know when to call it a day. If, after all of this, you still can’t get your piercing reopened, then do not spend the next 45 minutes getting into a flap and causing more damage. If you can’t get it back in after 10 minutes, then it is simply not going to happen. Take a break.
Come and see your piercer. If you can’t get your jewellery back in, then the best thing you can do is book in to see your piercer! We can use tools and skill to gently taper your piercings back open. You would be surprised at how many piercings we have rescued that their owners thought were a lost cause!
Double Lobe Piercings
Help – I can’t get my jewellery out!
Picture this – You have an MRI coming up, a surgery, school, or an important event. You need to take out your piercing! But you just can’t figure it out. What do you do in this piercing emergency?
The first thing to do is to understand your jewellery. If you are trying to unscrew a threadless end, you might be there for some time… Click HERE to find guides for all of the styles of jewellery that we offer.
Tips and Tricks for Threaded Jewellery
Threaded jewellery is the style that screws together. This can be a little fiddly to work with!
Clean your hands and the jewellery. Removing any oils or buildup from your hands and the jewellery will increase your friction and help you to crack that initial unscrew!
Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Your jewellery unscrews in the same orientation as any screw-top bottle. Imagine you are holding a milk bottle. Your jewellery unscrews the same way!
Wear gloves. If you are seriously struggling, a set of nitrile or latex gloves will seriously increase the twisting power. And if you are really in trouble, wear two sets of gloves. Double gloving doubles your torque and can help you to crack even the most stubborn of balls.
Tips and Tricks for Threadless Jewellery
Push-fit jewellery is often seen as the easiest style to remove yourself at home. Still, it’s pretty fiddly stuff!
Clean your hands and the jewellery. Like with threaded jewellery, clean hands and jewellery will improve your grip!
Lose the nails. Long nails can make removing threadless jewellery a pain – Get some hands involved that have relatively normal nails. A little bit of nail can help grip snug-fitted jewellery though so there is a midground to be found.
Grip both ends. Get a firm grip on both the labret disc and the threadless end. You can use a set of tweezers if the disc is in a tricky spot like a nostril or forward helix.
Give a little wiggle. A gentle rocking wiggle can help crack that first little movement. It helps, we promise!
Gentle pull apart. Once you have a little motion, then gently pull your threadless end off.
Tips and Tricks for Seam Rings and BCRs
How you remove BCRs and Seam Rings really depends on your end goal. Do you just want to swap the jewellery? Do you want to preserve the piece, or are you happy for it to go in the bin afterwards?
Clean your hands and the jewellery. Again, we need this on a poster don’t we!
Find the seam. This is easy on a BCR – The clip-in will be the seam point. It’s a little trickier on a seam ring, but find that tiny join.
Bend into a spiral, not a pringle! If you can, just flex your BCR sideways until the ball pops out. For seam rings, open them out into a spiral if you can.
If all else fails… You can use a set of nail scissors or jewellery pliers. Put the jaws of your tools into the middle of the ring and open them so that the jewellery folds open. This is a last-ditch move as you will irreperably damage the ring and need to throw it away.
Genuine Piercing Emergency
Although incredibly rare, there are some things that we would consider a genuine piercing emergency. The main things that we would consider an emergency are:
An infection.
Tongue piercing embedding.
Infections are incredibly rare. When following appropriate aftercare, and keeping yourself, your hands, and your piercing clean, then the chances of getting a bacterial infection are almost zilch! That being said, a genuine infection is a piercing emergency. Do not skip go, do not collect £200, go straight to urgent care for antibiotics. There is little your piercer can go to treat an infection – We are not doctors! The most important thing to do is assess if you have a true infection, which you can read a little more about here.
And finally, another true piercing emergency is any issues you may have with tongue piercings. Tongue piercings are generally super easy healers, with a full heal in just 4-6 weeks. However any issues you may have in the first week can very easily become more serious, so please keep an eye on your piercings! If you notice that your jewellery is too tight, please book an appointment with your piercer for longer jewellery. Do not put it off – This is an emergency that we would even recommend calling out of work for if necessary.
Conclusion.
So there you have it! A plethora of information about the most common piercing emergencies and what you can do about them both at home and in the studio.
If you have any issues with your piercings, do not hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us over the phone, via instagram, via email, and you can always book in for an in-person consultation or checkup.
We will see you again next Friday for our next blog! Follow us on instagram to stay up to date with our latest work and announcements.
It’s that time of year again, folks! It’s time for the Rogue annual piercing gift guide, where we show you all the options you have for the piercing lover in your life. And if that piercing lover is yourself, then who are we to judge?
The run up to Christmas can be a difficult time for independent businesses – Who are we to compete with the big box stores and online retailers like Amazon? If you can, always support local businesses. High quality, ethical piercing studios are the lifeblood of this industry. Support us however you can, as we will always be here to help you feel at home in your body. Whether that be through purchasing jewellery, booking for piercings, bringing us your piercings to troubleshoot, we are always here to help in ways that big retailers or chain piercing shops simply can’t.
We’ll talk you through some options for a few different piercing placements, and some more general options as well.
Piercing Gift Cards
The quickest, easiest, and sometimes the most thoughtful thing you can do as part of your piercing gift guide is to purchase a gift card. We know, gift cards have a bit of a reputation… But buying a gift card at Rogue is more like buying someone a personalised service than it is an item – Being able to come in, work with the team, get a piercing or choose your own personal piercing upgrades is a really epic gift. Don’t snub it just because!
Within the realm of gift cards – Did you know that you can use gift cards to place custom orders through Rogue with all of your favourite brands? If your partner, sibling, mum, dad, or any other loved one has been yearning after a particular piece of jewellery, or wanted something that we stocked that has since sold, then getting them a gift card to use as part or all of a custom order is probably the sweetest thing you can do!
Buying jewellery is kind of like buying someone perfume – It is really difficult to capture who they are as a person and get them something that they truly love! But if you know the person well, and you get them something that they adore, then… There is literally no better feeling in the world. So if you think you can nail it, absolutely go for it!
You can buy jewellery from Rogue a couple of different ways – Firstly, you can do it in-person under the expert guidance of our jewellery specialists by booking a Jewellery Consultation here. That way you can bring reference photos, inspiration, and generally help us figure out the perfect gift to match their vibe.
You can also purchase our entire jewellery collection online! Simply head to our WEBSTORE and scroll through our vast array of options, with in-depth descriptions on sizing, gemstones, and pricing available at your fingertips. You can also click HERE to find an excellent guide on how to get the best out of our online shop!
Lobe piercings are really, really versatile. There are so many ways to style them! See the above slideshow for some inspiration on how you can purchase for your loved one. Some of our favourites are:
BVLA ‘Mini Moon’ Threadless End – The cutest things in the world – We love these as dainty additions in second or third lobes.
Piercing Gift Guide – Nose Piercings
BVLA ‘Blaze’ ring fitted into a healed nose piercing.
Inari ‘Lime Opal’ End
BVLA ‘Round Cab Prong’ set with London Blue Topaz
Anatometal ‘Tiny Tribead’ Threadless End
BVLA ‘Mini Choctaw’ End
BVLA ‘Ares’ End
BVLA ‘Afghan’ End
Flux Jewellery ‘Hammered Seam Ring’
Nose piercings are quite personal – The choices go far beyond ‘ring or stud!’ If your loved one is a ring person, we always recommend booking them in for a checkup where we can measure and fit the right size for them, unless you know the exact size they need. You might be able to do this by sneaking a ring out of their collection and bringing it to us to be measured… Studs however, are a little bit more straightforward. Especially if they already wear threadless (push-fit) jewellery!
Anatometal ’18k Prongs‘ – The CLASSIC nose piercing look. Available in a tonne of different sizes, too!
Flux Jewellery 18k Seam Rings – Again, a really classic look for those people who adore nose rings and need a little bit of luxury in their lives.
Piercing Gift Guide – Cartilage Piercings
BVLA ‘By Your Side’
Full warm-toned BVLA setup including Garnet, Oregon Sunstone, and Smokey Quartz.
This ‘snonch’ was pierced so perfectly, with the ‘Live To Tell’ sitting flush against the skin.
Faux Rook
Triple flat project using Neometal.
Double conch using Neometal.
Neometal Conch
Helix piercing using a Neometal White CZ Flower.
Helix piercing using an Industrial Strength Cluster.
Double Flat piercing using two Neometal Opal Cabochons.
Cartilage piercings are a really fun place to buy jewellery! They tend to be versatile placements where a lot of different ends will look really cool. You can do either lots of gems and sparklies, or keep it relatively toned back!
BVLA is the leading designer and manufacturer of fine body jewellery in the world. Rogue also has an entire cabinet stocked with exclusively their jewellery. But why? Why are they so great? What makes them so special, and better than any other goldsmiths on the market? Well, let’s find out.
Who are they?
BVLA, Body Vision Los Angeles. They are designers, manufacturers and innovators based over in the heart of Los Angeles, California. Founded by their owner Nick Martin in 1996, they have proudly built up a business that has exceeded industry standards, provided top quality body jewellery, and defied the status quo. At present, they have 100 employees and five jewellery workshops, all dedicated to the process of turning dreams into reality.
You can find BVLA’s jewellery all around the world. At current, they sell their jewellery to some of the best piercing studios in the world, in over 25 countries. You can find BVLA stockists in New Zealand, France, Spain, Malaysia, the UK, the Netherlands and many more destinations.
Why are they highly recommended?
If you have been looked into a higher quality piercing studio, or different high quality studios, you will notice that there are lots of companies that offer gold, or fun colours and cute designs. But what makes BVLA stand out from the crowd? Why do they have the ultra-lux reputation that they do?
They are ethical: BVLA are arguably one of the most ethical companies in the piercing industry, and consistently make responsible choices in every regard. The Gold that they use is recycled to help minimise environmental impact, and all of their Diamonds are ethically sourced and guaranteed to be conflict free. They are also big believers in equality and diversity for all humans. They currently have a programme called the ‘BVLA Future Stars‘. This programme is an apprenticeship that aims to support and provide full-time paid positions for under-resourced BIPOC, in order to help them forge careers in fine body jewellery and manufacturing.
They have an infinite amount of choice: BVLA is currently the home of over 3000 unique original designs, and this collection still continues to grow and evolve every day. They work with 7 different metals (both 14k and 18k Yellow, White, and Rose Gold, as well as the ultimate luxury: Platinum). They also have the ability to offer over 150 different choices of gemstones, from Sapphires and Diamonds to Labradorite and Rose Quartz. You can find a rainbow of colours a dozen times over. There is also additional choices of textured materials, and the different types of finishes and cuts. Choose between hammering or sandblasting? The choice is truly yours.
They are high quality: BVLA are the basis of high quality jewellery and manufacturing. With every single product being designed, handmade and hand polished in LA. Every part of the the process is intrinsically thought out to achieve the best results. Every time they receive a new order, the responsibility is handed to an individual jeweller. This means the jewellers and makers can avoid the boring tedious task of just making the same design over and over again, and can have pride and joy over their creations, while still keeping their brain active and fresh.
They offer a lifetime warranty: This is a huge factor for piercers. From human errors to machine breakdowns, you can never be 100% certain about anything. Especially with body jewellery. Offering lifetime warranty on manufacturers defects is a big bonus. They take such huge pride in their work and are so confident in their craftsmanship that they will repair or replace any item that they have ever made, totally free of charge.
They offer completely custom work: One of BVLA’s most attractive features is their custom work. Every single piece of jewellery they offer can be customised by the client in hundreds of ways. From choosing between hundreds of gemstones and finishes, to redesigning the minutiae of each item, BVLA really provide the opportunity to be creative. But it doesn’t stop here. They also work with piercers and take on custom order projects and custom designs. If you can think it, they can make it! They also offer a service that is incredibly unique and rare in the piercing industry, and that is reworking. They offer the ability to rework and reset gemstones and traditional jewellery into body jewellery. For example, you can no longer wear your family heirloom Diamond ring because of work? They can help turn that classic earring into body jewellery for you. Fancy something a little different? Lets make it into a septum ring!
A gorgeous BVLA curation with Gold, Rainbow Moonstone and Swiss Blue Topaz.
A stunning custom order piece using Green Tourmaline.
A brilliant trio project starring a BVLA Afghan and three genuine Diamonds.
A custom order for a creative Dinosaur end!
Why Do Piercers like BVLA?
Of course, BVLA are not the only jewellery manufacturer making high quality pieces, or fancy gold ends, or even working with genuine gemstones. But apart from the previously listed reasons on why they are amazing, why do piercers have such a connection with BVLA?
Well BVLA work very closely with piercers. Each studio that is a stockist of BVLA has their own personal point of contact. For example, Kat (our jewellery specialist at Rogue) has been in touch with the same personal contact (Hi Phoebe!) for the duration of their time at Rogue. Some piercers will work with the same contact at BVLA for decades. Whether that’s talking about previous or existing orders, any questions or quotes, purchased jewellery etc. This helps provide a truly personal feel between BVLA which creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere, rather than being passed from person to person to find answers.
BVLA also recognise their clients (that’s us!). When we place our jewellery orders, sometimes we like to treat ourselves to something new as well. When piercers or counter staff place an order for a personal piece of jewellery, BVLA offer a small discount on that piece. This helps piercers feel recognised and appreciated, and its a really sweet gesture. We are forever grateful!
They also continue to show their support and appreciation of piercers by attending conferences. They attend the APP conference is Vegas quite regularly, and this year they went out of their way to travel to the UKAPP Safe Piercing Conference in Manchester to be a vendor. They also donated 3x generously priced gift vouchers to the piercers raffle, valued at over £10,000. That could be genuinely life-changing for a piercer or studio!
So, why should YOU care?
Overall, BVLA has arguably the highest level of care for their jewellery, clients, and their own staff and future in the industry. They continuously offer the highest quality jewellery, and a high quality service. They are a consistent pleasure to work with. BVLA offer unique services, not just for piercers and piercees (such as reworking and resetting) but they offer unique advantages such as their Future Stars apprenticeship! Their jewellery is potentially the finest and greatest jewellery that is on the market. While being ‘expensive’, (Price and value are truly personal to each person – What is expensive to one person is not for another) their price consistently matches the quality of the item you receive.
If you are interested in learning more please check out more of our blogs! If you would like to place an order for your own piece of BVLA feel free to contact us at customorder@roguepiercing.co.uk!
Head to our instagram for a full BVLA lookbook of some of our favourite pieces.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy
