Piercings and glasses, just how important is it? Very! It is currently estimated that in the UK 69% of people require glasses, making it fairly common for clients to require that visual aid, and despite people choosing to use contact lenses, there are still people that choose or will need to wear actual glasses, I am one of those people. When it comes to bring both glasses and piercings together, there are many considerations to be thought off!
Facial Piercings
There are quite a few facial piercings that you might want to consider when getting pierced! Despite nose piercings resting on the bridge of our nose, they can move up and down and be bumped – creating contact with our eye area.
Bridge Piercings – Bridge piercings and glasses can be compatible, but this isn’t always the case. Depending on where your glasses rest, there might be a space that would allow for the jewellery to sit comfortably without intervention from the jewellery. You still want to be careful when placing them on or removing the frames, to avoid any knocks or snags. However, if you are the type of person who wears their glasses quite high up on that bridge, then you may not be suited towards a bridge piercing. You can try with frames that sit lower than the bridge, or forego the piercing entirely.
Nose Piercings – Nose piercings and high nostrils are commonly effected by your glasses. As we discussed previously, its quite common for our eye wear to slip down our nose, and bump into those new piercings. And if care isn’t taken, it is very easy to catch those nose pads on the end of our piercing and give them a quick snag, especially fi wearing taller or larger profile ends. Some clients decide that this is something they can deal with, and some decide it’s not worth the hassle. For example, I personally choose not to get high nostrils because i’m not prepared for the knocks and snags that would happen (I’m typically quite clumsy). Your lifestyle will always need to come first!
3mm Ball – Plenty of space between the glasses and end
Bridge with Glasses
Single nostril and glasses
Ear Piercings
If you are a glasses wearer, you will need to heavily take this into consideration with your ear piercings. With the arms of the glasses sitting on top of your ears and around the back, these arms can be a number one risk of bumps and snags.
When we pierce you, we want to make sure there is enough clearance between that longer post and your glasses. There is no point giving you an industrial piercing if it is going to be in constant contact with the arms, this is a recipe for disaster. That constant pressure is going to cause irritated and grumpy piercings that won’t settle, and can even migrate or move those angles.
The same can be said with helix piercings, conches, or even forward helix piercings. We want to place them in a position where when removing or placing your glasses on that they’re not going to get hooked onto that longer labret post and create a sudden snag or pull. A) That’s going to be painful and B) we want to avoid causing any irritation bumps to give you a smooth and easy healing period.
A triple helix project with plenty of space!
A custom industrial project – complete clearance from the glasses.
A rook is perfect as there is no connection with glasses.
A helix piercing perfectly placed to allow room for the arms.
Considerations
You can absolutely still get ear and facial piercings with glasses, however there are a few things to keep in mind so that we can give you the best possible heal we can.
Bring your glasses to your appointment! Even if you only wear your glasses *sometimes* we want to work out the best possible placement to create a smooth heal. Every pair of glasses is different, some are thick and chunky, some are quite thin. We want to see how your glasses sit on your face and around your ear and work out the risk of impact between the frames and jewelelry.
Be mindful of your glasses! it’s really easy to forget we are healing a new piercing, but when removing your glasses, or wearing them, it’s really important that you take a quick second to think about it. You don’t want to just throw them on and they snag that labret post, or remove them quickly and catch the nose pad on your nostril piercing.
Keep them clean! It’s really easy to forget to wipe down the arms of your glasses, or the nose pads, but bacteria, hair/face products, dirt and debris can build up on there really quickly. Make sure you’re giving them a quick clean and wipe down to avoid any of this transferring to your healing piercing.
Downsizing! You should always follow up for a check-up and a downsize for your piercings at the recommended time frame. However, especially as a glasses wearer this is really important. Wearing appropriately sized, snug and fitted jewellery will really minimise any impact between your frames and your jewellery.
Experiment with your frames! You may find that changing to glasses with adjustable nose pads work much smoother for your heal. You may realise that adjusting the shape or size of the frame allows more space for bigger or chunkier jewellery (if that’s your goal). Don’t hesitate to experiment with different frames to find what is perfect for you.
An initial labret post – a snag risk for glasses
There’s so many misconceptions surrounding wearing glasses and having piercings, but it is important to note that the answer is never a straight yes or no. There are so many considerations to be taken into account, and sometimes just small changes can change that answer from a no to a yes! So don’t hesitate to have a thorough discussion with your piercer, or change things around. However, ultimately, your lifestyle, your needs, and your comfortability should always come first.
As of today, Friday 1st November 2024, it is officially my last day under the title “apprentice piercer” at Rogue. Tomorrow, Saturday 2nd November, it marks the 3 year anniversary since I joined Rogue piercing as a baby piercer taking my first steps into the industry. Despite the fact I will no longer be Rogues apprentice, it doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop learning, or that that much will change overnight. I still have lots of piercings to get under my belt (i’m mainly looking at you intimate piercings), and I still have lots of new skills to add to my toolkit. I still plan to attend conferences, and meet new piercers, and still aim to keep raising and bettering my standards and skills. And even though this is just the end of my apprenticeship, it is still the beginning of my career. So lets take a look at everything I’ve done during my apprenticeship!
Conferences!
Over 3 years, I have attended 6 conferences! I have attended the UKAPP Conference as an attendee my first year, a vendor for Queen of the Ashes my second year, and as a volunteer a part of the AV team for my third year! I also attended the Piercing Tradeshow to as a vendor with Inari Organics! This year I took a very long trip to Edinburgh to attend the Wee Scottish Piercing Expo. And my biggest accomplishment was leaving the UK for the first time to attend BMX-Net in 2023 in Berlin, Germany!
UKAPP ’22
Double Apprentice, Double Mentor – UKAPP ’23
Piercer Tradeshow ’23
Ukapp ’23
Ukapp ’23
First UKAPP Members meeting ’23
Working with Hika QoTA – UKAPP ’23
UK Piercers at BMX NET ’23
Apprentice and mentor – BMXNET ’23
Me, Matty, Paul King, UKAPP Afterparty ’23
Sam Holmes Class – UKAPP ’23
Event Planning!
During the past 3 years, I accidentally on purpose became Rogue’s official events planner! From planning Christmas parties, to charity days, as well as helping plan and book days out, conferences and everything in between!
Christmas party 2022
Getting ready for the 2023 Christmas Party
Christmas Party 2024
Curations!
Last year I fell in love with helping my clients plan fully designed curated ears. I can spend nearly 2 hours some days mapping out piercings on my clients ears, as well as choosing jewellery for each and every single piercing. This is definitely one of my favourite appointments to do!
Left ear – piercing curation
Right ear – piercing curation
Detailed map of piercing and jewellery curation
Piercings!
The most important bit, actually performing the piercings. Both as a completely supervised apprentice, to piercing completely independently! It’s great to see how much I have improved, changed and fell in love with throughout my apprenticeship.
1st ever piercing!
1st Bridge!
1st Philtrum!
1st Rook!
I absolutely love tongue piercings!
Post surgery nipple piercing!
My favourite conch with a peek-a-boo BVLA Snail
1st Septum!
1st Transverse Lobe!
Blogs!
During my 3 year apprenticeship at Rogue, I have written 54 blogs from fun and upbeat, to history, to jewel schools and education! I’ll leave some links to some of my favourite ones below.
Since my first year at Rogue I have been the lead decorator for the seasonal holidays! Decorating the studio for Halloween, Christmas, and birthdays! As well as making seasonal window displays for autumn or easter!
My first Rogue Christmas tree
Decorator and outfit planning for MTA Charity Fundraiser
Getting pierced!
I have also been pierced multiple times, from my cheeks to my ears I’ve had piercings pretty much everywhere from the team at Rogue! I definitely used my apprenticeship as an excuse to be a pin cushion!
I got my cheeks pierced!
My first (and only) large gauge piercing!
Some cheekbone microdermals!
A triple flat piercing!
This definitely isn’t everything I have done or achieved over the past three years, but it’s definitely not the end neither. I’m really excited about moving forward into the future and progressing into my career. I have made some absolutely amazing friends throughout the industry, who I can’t thank enough for the amount of support they have provided. Both knowingly and unknowingly. The past 3 years definitely have not been an easy ride in my personal life, but it has definitely been made easier by those around me.
I also haven’t been able to make it this far without the constant support of my clients. Those who have trusted me with my first ever piercings, my new techniques. Those who have let me put into practice things I have learned. I have created so many meaningful relationships. Some of you have even made me cry with Christmas gifts, and Sanrio mugs when I moved into my new home.
I want to make a personal thank you to both Breo and Gemma, who have kept my head above the water when I felt like I’ve been drowning. Who have continued to hold my hand and guide me (sometimes quite literally), and have gave me a constant shoulder to lean on. I could not have done it without you, and I couldn’t have chosen anyone else to do this with.
I also owe my entire career to Rogue, and very specifically Aiden. Who was the one who took a chance on me, and brought me into this world. Who looked at the 19 year old dressed in a suit, knew nothing about anything in the industry, and shouted about loving One Direction and Harry Styles during her interview, and said yes, I want you to be my apprentice.
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.
APP Las Vegas 2023
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.
Dream Team baby!
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.
The Monroe and the Madonna are arguably two of the most well known lip piercings that we are seeing going out of fashion, and it’s such a shame! But what are they? Well they are both individual upper lip piercings that sit either on the left or the right side. They are famously known for representing the beauty marks that were located on both Marilyn Monroe and Madonna. Although Monroe’s beauty mark was situated more on her cheek than above her lip.
Madonna Right hand side beauty spot
Marilyn Monroe Left hand side beauty spot
These piercings rose in popularity throughout the late 90’s and early 00’s. They quickly gained traction due to their unique placement, and their famous counterparts. Over recent years we are seeing and piercing less and less of these piercings, however we are seeing a slow introduction of them in various subtly different placements.
Madonna Piercing – Repierced by Jay
2.5mm White Swarovski Prong – Neometal
These piercings should always be pierced with a flat back labret stud initially. Typically these will be pierced at 16g or 14g (1.2mm or 1.6mm). The length will always vary on anatomy, but can range between 10-14mm with a downsized and healed length of 6-12mm on average. Downsizing is typically performed at the 2-3 week mark for oral piercings, and it is really important that you downsize the length of the jewellery. Wearing oversized bars incredibly increases your risk of tooth and gum damage. This is because you are more likely to catch/bite/pull the bar with your teeth, and with the excess length it is quite common for it to rest and rub at your gum lining. Downsizing and wearing appropriately snug fitting jewellery can help decrease your risk. Some people even find they may have more than one downsize.
Aftercare is super easy for these guys! Follow your 3 basic rules! 1. Keep it clean. Clean the outside 2x a day (morning/evening when you brush your teeth) using a bottle of sterile saline solution and clean kitchen paper. Clean the inside 5x a day (morning/evening and your 3 main meals) with non-alcoholic mouthwash. 2.Keep it dry. Avoid soaking/submerging for 4 weeks. Pat dry with clean kitchen paper after showering. 3. Leave it alone. No twisting/turning/fiddling with your jewellery and don’t use your teeth to pull or play with the bars. During the healing time it is important your avoid smoking, snacking and any sexual intercourse (which does include kissing. However, if you do decide to do any of these things, be smart and group it together with a mouthwash or rinse with plain cool water afterwards. If you would like to read a full in depth aftercare and healing times head over to our website here!
We currently have 5 piercers across 2 studios in Birmingham and Nottingham who can offer a huge range of oral piercings. This includes the infamous Madonna and Monroe, as well as the classic philtrum’s and labrets, to more unique verticals and eve the trickiest oral piercings: Cheeks. If you want to book in for any of these piercings or have a more in depth chat in person feel free to book in or contact us!
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!
A full piercing curation by Jay
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.
We’re here to help!
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!
Spinel, Sardonyx and Peridot. A various array of different stones to represent the summer month of August, which is one of three months that have three different birthstones. (the others being December and August). With a variety of options, August definitely brings a solid group of choices to suit everyone’s style and budget. However, for this blog we will mainly be focusing on Spinel and Peridot!
The months that are lucky enough to have more than a singular birthstone, these are separated into two lists: Modern and Traditional. The more common of the two is the modern birthstones, which were defined in 1912 by the Jewelers of America in an attempt to standardise (and commercialise) birthstones. This was further updated in the 1950s, to include gemstones such as Citrine for November, or Alexandrite for June. Modern stones are based on what’s easier to sell in large quantities (making it the more affordable choice).
Peridot
Peridot is the Modern gemstone for August, rather than the the Traditional, and is also known as the “Sun-Gem”. Peridot is the yellowish-green to greenish-yellow gem variety of the mineral olivine. Alongside Olivine, it also is made up of Magnesium and Iron. The amount of iron present in peridot is what gives it its brilliant shine, the more the iron, the more the green glow. The origin of the name Peridot is unclear, but we do know that it is infamous for its lime green glow. It has quite often been mistaken for other green stones, such as Emerald and Topaz. It even earned itself the nickname as the ‘Evening Emerald’ because of it’s unique capability to sparkle under both natural and artificial light. But don’t be fooled, this gemstone is absolutely gorgeous evening or day.
BVLA Quad Prong Cluster – Alternating Peridot and Green Tourmaline, Alongside BVLA Round Cab Prong with Emerald.
Despite its unknown origin, many scholars have agreed that the word “peridot” is derived from the Arabic “Faridat”, which means “gem” and “unique”. However, some believe that it’s rooted in the Greek word “Peridona”, meaning “giving plenty.” This is maybe that’s why peridot was, according to lore, associated with prosperity and good fortune. Some historians even speculate that Cleopatra’s famous emerald collection may have been comprised of peridot! Now, Peridot is used to celebrate 16th wedding anniversaries.
This August birthstone has an amazing history behind it. The oldest recorded source of this stone is the Egyptian island of Zabargad (the name now given to Topazios), and it is theorised that mining of Peridot may have been as early as 340–279 BCE. Peridot sourced from Zabargad is highly desirable, and has been prized for centuries. It has even been displayed in various prestigious museums around the world. Another incredibly important source for peridot is Myanmar (formerly Burma) which has produced some of the finest quality peridot, with deep colour and superb transparency. In modern times, most peridot on the market is sourced from China, Tanzania, Vietnam and the United States, some have even journeyed to Earth on meteorites!
Peridot scores a 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, meaning it is softer than most gems. It is also damaged by some acids, making the cleaning process a delicate one. Neither a steamer, or ultrasonic should be used to clean this stone. The safest method is a soft bristled toothbrush, and a mild soapy water!
Spinel
Spinel is the other modern birthstone for August, often mistaken for a ruby or pink sapphire due to it strong resemblance to both. It is also often found in the same locations! The main difference between them is chemical, but despite their differences, some of histories well known “ruby” gems have turned out to be spinel, which is often known for its wide variety of colours, such as orange, pink, purple, and even black! Pink spinel has became a perfect choice for those seeking hot pink or even bubble gum pink tones. For any colour choice of spinel, the price point is dependant on the saturation of those colours, meaning the richer, brighter and deeper those colours, the more expensive it will be. In rare instances, Spinel can also be colour-changing under iridescent lighting.
It is believed that the word Spinel is derived from the Latin word “Spina” – translated to thorn, in reference to the shape that spinel crystals form in. Unfortunately, due to its long history of confusion with the Ruby, Spinel does not have some of the great traditions ands beliefs as most birthstones. Despite its lack of history, it is often associated with joy and is believed to bring great energy to its wearer. Today, Spinel is now creating its own history by being set into the Great Britains Imperial State Crown, just above a diamond! Alongside Spinel setting its own history it is now given as the 22nd wedding anniversary!
The August birthstone is now set with more than 3000 diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. It can now be seen in the tower of London.
Today, Spinel can be found in several locations across the world. The most common sources for this stone are Tajikistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tanzania and Pakistan. Myanmar is very well known for producing some of the most striking spinel gems, such as hot pinks and the infamous ruby red. These are more rarer than a diamond, and thus the price is severely influenced. The Spinel gems that have been sourced there are so shiny that the locals call them “spirit polished”.
Spinel is typically a durable stone, scoring an 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness, making it a perfect choice for every day wear. Steam cleaners and ultrasonics can be used to clean this stone, but any fractures may cause a problem. As for any stone, warm soapy water is the safest way to clean your jewellery!
We stock jewellery from brands from across the world, and can source items in all birthstones imaginable! If you would like to treat yourself to some meaningful pieces, just get in contact with us.
Make sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, and keep an eye out as we post new blogs every single Friday!
Jonathan is a piercer in South Carolina, we met in 2023 when we both received the Legacy Scholarship for the APP. We talked prior to this year’s conference about growing up in the church, falling in love with piercing and the experience of volunteering in Vegas.You can find his work here.
Gemma: I wanted to talk a bit about your background
Jonathan: So I’m actually from Vermont, which is a state much more north than South Carolina where I am now. I moved to South Carolina when I was 16 and it was a big difference because Vermont’s a much more liberal state. South Carolina is the Bible Belt, much more conservative. I’ve been living here since 2004.
G: What was it like growing up in Vermont?
Jonathan at APP 2023, photographed by John Balk
J: I’ve always been a weird kid but I grew up in what they called an independent fundamental Baptist church which is very conservative. Girls couldn’t wear pants, they had to wear skirts. No tattoos, no piercings. I couldn’t have facial hair. I wasn’t allowed to listen to any of the music I like to listen to. They made Harry Potter evil. They made Pokemon evil. If it wasn’t written by a Christian, it was evil.
I liked Pokemon. I liked Anime, I liked metal music. I liked pop punk music, but I really wasn’t allowed to be open about it. I always had to hide it and only talk to certain people about what I enjoyed. I couldn’t talk to my parents, couldn’t really talk to my brothers because they’d get me in trouble so I used to hide it. I used to listen to the radio, and then when I could get a CD, I’d burn CDs. I always wanted to go to concerts, but I definitely couldn’t go until I was much older.
Because I wasn’t allowed to listen to the music I enjoyed, I used to sneak it through video games. There’d be bands like The Offspring and Bad Religion on the game soundtrack and I’d get to listen to it through there.
G: What was your first exposure to body modification?
J: I remember going to the mall and seeing people with septum rings, I think that’s probably my first real memory of body mods but I never really noticed until I was much older. For me, piercing was definitely not a possibility until I was 18. My parents always told me that tattoos and piercings would mean getting kicked out of the house. So I didn’t play with that, I very much didn’t want to be homeless.
I got my first piercing at 26. I really wanted an industrial piercing for some reason but my ex-wife wasn’t supportive of piercings at all. And a lot of people in my life at the time thought piercings were “gay”. It’s that conservative belief structure of being anti LGBTQIA. Growing up, I had similar thoughts until I started working in an office and this one girl I was working with randomly mentioned that she never found the penis attractive. And I thought to myself “well, neither have I, so how can I be upset with somebody who thinks the same way I do.”
At the time I was really into Rise Against and they had a song called Make It Stop that helped me change my perception. Punk rock music really helped me get over some of my outdated beliefs from my upbringing.
G: When did you move from Vermont and when was your first piercing?
J: My dad was in the Air Force and he got a job in South Carolina so we moved down here and I finished up high school.
Around 2014, I was going through a divorce and I remember looking at a magazine and seeing wooden octopus plugs and I thought they were so cool. I remember being in the car with somebody and they were like, “Oh you don’t want to do that, everyone who gets their ears stretched is going to regret it.” Now I make a living stretching people’s ears, so this is wild.
So I was going through my divorce, I was single, I just was trying to more or less find myself or just be okay with myself at 26. I’d always wanted my ears pierced and I’ve had some friends take me to a place to do them. It wasn’t the best but I just wanted to have pierced ears.
You know sometimes you go through breakups and you’ve been in a relationship for so long that you kind of lose parts of yourself. It’s not always their fault, it tends to be more your fault because you’re trying to fit in or trying to make them happy – especially when you’re getting married so young. I got married at 19, I was so young and was still developing myself and my own personal interests.
G: And once you start with piercings, it’s hard to stop right?
J: Tattoos were my go-to body mod for a while because I was working a plant job where piercings weren’t allowed for safety reasons. Then in 2019, I started at a warehouse, and I was finally allowed to have piercings. So I eventually got my nose pierced.
Money was really tight because I was trying to get caught up on bills and in early 2020 I was looking for part time work to fill my days off. I ended up eventually getting a job at the piercing shop I work at as their Front of House. At the time I didn’t want to pierce, I just wanted to make some extra money so I could keep my family afloat. I started the week when COVID shut everything down.
It was very hard at the time because I had my daughter and as a parent you have to make difficult decisions and I didn’t know if I could put everything I needed to into piercing as a career, but I had been given the opportunity to learn how to pierce. So I ended up working both jobs for a while and then I found that I really liked the client interaction at the piercing studio. I don’t think I was good at it at first, I kind of sucked at it a lot. But I found myself getting better, pushing through my own hurdles, and just really starting to enjoy piercing.
Before I had actually started piercing, a friend of mine from another piercing shop showed me the Piercing Wizard podcast and APP. I had been reading the Piercing Wizard Bible and subscribed to Ryan’s Patreon. He had a lot of good information on there that helped me a lot. That year the APP offered online classes because they weren’t doing the conference, so I paid for some of their online classes to learn a little bit more. I was trying to learn as much as possible, from my mentor and other Piercers in the shop and as many external resources as I could get my hands on.
G: What was it that drove your passion for education and improvement?
J: A lot of it is the clients. There’s the art to it that I eventually kind of loved and got into, but it was the clients initially. The Piercing Wizard podcast taught me about understanding your clients and learning to read their energy and work with that.
I’m a very empathetic person and once I leaned into that and learned to control my reaction to their feelings, it helped me a lot to be able to keep a calm and supportive environment. I love helping my clients overcome their fears and get through their own anxiety.
I’m a very introverted person outside of work, I usually just stay to myself and my family. We’re a very busy shop and when you meet all these people, you start having these interactions and I learned eventually that’s what I like more about piercing. It is very powerful stuff that you don’t get at a lot of jobs.
G: We met in 2023 because we both received the Legacy Scholarship to the APP conference, when did you first hear about the scholarship program?
J: So I first actually heard about it in through my friend Carl in August 2020. I put it on the back burner because I never thought it would be something I’d ever receive. I didn’t think I’d qualify but then I heard the Piercing Wizard podcast about it in 2022 and I thought maybe I shouldn’t limit myself by my own ideas. Maybe I should just take a chance and apply. It’s kind of embarrassing to put yourself out there but I feel like my clients deserved a better me.
G: I don’t think many people realise how big America is, how was it traveling to Vegas?
J: It was very nerve wracking but at that point I was like, okay I got the scholarship, I did the work, I just have to get over myself. I’m not a huge fan of flying and I had all the anxiety of what if I do something wrong? The social awkwardness of it all. It was about 22,000 miles from where I live so it’s the farthest west I’ve ever been. Probably the furthest I’ve ever flown
Between growing up conservative, not being much of a gambler and never really seeing myself as somebody who would really do anything big – going to Vegas was never really on my radar. It was very crazy, like wow, I’m actually here, I never thought I’d actually be in Vegas.
G: How did you find the balance of volunteering, learning, and existing inVegas?
J: I loved volunteering. I said this in my interview, I really like the idea of volunteering so that I could give back. I felt like I owed a lot to the piercing community, between people just helping me out, and me having an opportunity to get away from working a warehouse job. I didn’t finish college, so I was kind of just floating from job to job trying to make it work. And, so with this opportunity to volunteer, I can give back to these people who changed my life.
What I really enjoyed was it gave me an in to help with all my anxiety about being around people and being somewhere by myself. It helped me be friendly with people and then knowing some of the behind the scenes things as a volunteer, I was able to help the attendees which I loved.
G: Were there any particularly important moments for you at APP 2023?
J: I just felt at home, it sounds weird, but being a weird kid all my life, it felt like I fit in really well and there was a such a sense of community. I didn’t know any of these people who were volunteering but we just fit together so well. Everybody was so friendly and they treated me like I’m normal, like I’m as cool as them.
I do want to say my other favorite part of Vegas has to be when we went to the Punk Rock Museum. That was so cool. I got to introduce Fat Mike to you which was amazing.
Jonathan introduced me (Gemma) to Fat Mike because I was too star-struck at the Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas
I definitely feel like being an APP scholar has opened some doors and some opportunities. People know that you’re passionate about what you do, because no one’s going to do all that effort if they don’t care.
G: Outside of piercing, you have your family, which is really lovely. Are your children interested in piercings?
J: My oldest daughter, she’s 13. I pierced her second lobes, which is really cool because Ihe’s always been like a little bit more scared. But the best part was she said she wanted to get her second lobes done and she actually practiced my little breathing technique and she listened and the piercing went really well. That felt very good. My youngest is 5, she’s not really there yet. I have a feeling that my oldest will come to me later and probably want something which will be exciting
G: I think it’s important that you’re teaching your children that you can look whatever way you want and still be a good person.
J: My eldest said “all my friends are the weird kids and we like it that way.” That’s how it’s supposed to be.Last year she came to me and said “I like to wear hoodies and boys wear hoodies.” I told her that you just have to do what you want. I don’t usually curse in front of my kids, but I said, “fuck the people that don’t fuck with you”. She’s at that age where she’s trying to figure out who she is and I’m just letting her know it’s okay to be the weird kid.
Jonathan is such a wonderful family man
Helping my daughter understand that if you’re happy, you’re good with your friends, your friends are kind to you, then it doesn’t matter what other people think. Growing up pretty conservative, I was taught to be homophobic by the church and the community so I really encourage my children to know that I’d rather you have a kind friend that’s gay than a mean friend that’s straight. I want my kids to be themselves and be kind and to accept others for who they are.
G: Can we touch on your poetry?
J: I’ve always written, I never developed the skill or the talent for drawing and so I found the way I could express myself was through writing. In high school, I used to write song lyrics and music was always a big part of my life. I started writing a lot of poetry and eventually I got to perform some of it live. Before COVID hit, there was a place I went to once a month to start getting over my nervousness and start performing. Going on stage and really writing and sharing my feelings and my emotions was really powerful.
It’s a good way of letting it out and then helping to connect with people.
G: Is there anything you want to add for people reading this?
J: For any piercer that is interested in the scholarship, just apply for it. Don’t limit yourself by your own ideas of, ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not financially able to do this, I’m not an APP shop.’ Just go for it and don’t limit yourself. Let other people do that and let them decide if you’re the right fit.
The 2023 APP Legacy Scholars
I had the privilege of volunteering with Jonathan again this year and it is such an honour to know someone so caring and kind. A gentle soul who is making the world a better place, one piercing and one conversation at a time. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you friend!
So, you’ve decided to get a piercing! Whether it be a classic nose piercing, a large gauge piercing or intimate work you should always research your piercer and/or piercing studio. This is to make sure that they are the right fit for you as a client and that they can provide the work you are looking for at a higher quality level. Your piercer should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to a strong standard that can gain your trust and ensure their credibility. But how do you research your piercer, what should you be looking for? It can be a really overwhelming task if you’re not entirely sure what to look for, which is why I’ve put together this guid for you to use and share.
This is mainly based for the UK, so may be slightly inaccurate across different countries, due to their own laws and regulations surrounding body piercing. This is only meant to be a guide, and it is encouraged that you do your own research for things that may differ in your local region.
Education – Your piercer should be able to demonstrate and show off their knowledge and skills and the education they have and are continuing to ensure they are providing the best quality service they can. You may look for certificates on the wall of conferences and classes they have attended, as well as first aid training. They may be showing off their education and own research through social media posts or blogs on their websites, they may even talk about it in the studio with you. You can ask about their training and education too!
Aiden’s wall of certificates from attending and speaking at conferences across the world.
Hygiene – Hygiene is such a huge factor when it comes to body piercing. There should be no drinking alcohol or smoking encouraged or practiced inside the studio, and clients should never be permitted to ‘try on’ jewellery. (A safe alternative you may find is piercers using ‘piercing sticks’ or tools to hold up jewellery near the clients skin.) The piercing itself should be performed in a separate room that allows for good ventilation and good lighting. A private bathroom should also be away from any jewellery handling or processing. Some studios (if they aren’t disposable) should have a separate room that isn’t accessible by the general public where they process and clean dirty tools (this is referred to as the sterilisation room). On top of the big things, the studio should look clean and organised when you walk in, hand sanitizer should be freely available, you may notice cleaning wipes/spray tucked away on shelving or cupboards. Hand-washing will be practiced and encouraged between each appointment, as well as cleaning down the room.
Sterilisation – All jewellery and tools should be completely sterilised for the appointment. Some piercers may choose to do this via pre-sterilising in pouches. When sterilised correctly their should be a colour indicator on the back, as well as the packet looking crinkled. These should be opened in your Prescence. Other pierces choose to sterilise everything at the time of the appointment via the statim. They will place the jewellery, gauze, and tools (such as needles) into a statim cassette and leave it to sterilise (this typically takes around 7-9 minutes). To prove the sterility of the items inside, a colour changing indicator should be in their to verify, which you can ask your piercer to see. Again, these cassettes should be open in your presence.
A steriliser strip atop of the statim.
Contaminated Waste – There should be at least two separate bins in the piercing room. One bin (that can be operated without hands, such as a push-pedal bin) that collects contaminated waste, such as aprons or gloves. The other one is a sharps container that is mounted on the wall. Both of these should be clearly labelled ‘biohazard’. The sharps been is similar to the ones you may see in a doctors office or in the hospital. It is important that there is a sharps been so that you can be certain that needles are being disposed of correctly, and aren’t being reused.
Licensesand Insurance – Each individual piercer and studio should have their own licence by the council (where applicable) that allows them to practice body piercing. Each studio will also have insurance that will protect them and you. (Insurances can differ from each company, which is why some studios may have different parameters to work under and may be insured for different things.) Please note that neither a license or insurance can guarantee that the piercer has had adequate trainer, you should check with your local department what their regulations are.
Aftercare – Aftercare instructions should be provided to you at each and every appointment, as well as easily accessible via their website. You may find that each studio’s aftercare may differ slightly, but they should still follow the most up-to-date guidelines. A good base to find appropriate aftercare and what to compare it to is the aftercare suggestions written out by the APP.
Rogues aftercare leaflets.
Single Use Needles – Every piercer will use a single needle for each piercing they perform on a client. These needles will never be re-used, especially amongst different clients. Piercing guns will also never be offered, suggested or even held by a quality piercer for any piercing.
Portfolio – Each piercer will have their own portfolio. In the modern day of technology, you easily find this via their social media pages, or websites. They may also have more private portfolio work that you can ask to see. It is important when vetting a piercer that you check their portfolio, especially if you are looking for specialist work, such as large gauge or intimate piercings. Keep your eyes out for their healed work too!
Jewellery – All jewellery should be of high quality, that is well polished with no external threads (such as threadless or internally threaded). There should also be a wide selection of jewellery available which will ensure a correct fit, and is suitable for an initial/healing piercing.
Age Requirements – Age requirements will differ for each studio, based on personal opinion and insurance, as well as legislation. No quality studio will be offering to pierce nipples or genital work to anybody under the age of 18 regardless of gender. Quality studios will also have a strict ID policy for all clients, and for underage clients the legal guardian will also be required to be present at the appointment.
These are some of the minimum standards you should be looking for when you research a piercer or piercing studio. As a bonus they may also have membership to either (or both) the APP/UKAPP. A membership to either of these organisations doesn’t mean that they will be perfect, or provide quality work. It means that they are working to a minimum standard that has been set up to ensure that standards of body piercing are improving. These includes things like (but not limited to) being first aid trained, having blood borne pathogen training, certain hygiene standards etc. You should be able to reach out to your piercer and ask questions about their practices and studio standards. Your piercer should gain your trust and make you feel safe and secure during your appointment. If there is something not quite right about a situation, and you aren’t 100%, maybe have another rethink before getting pierced! Always trust your gut and the facts from your own research.
At Rogue each member of the team has their own portfolio which you can see via our social media as well as having their own Instagram work accounts. You can also contact us to see more of our portfolio’s or if you have any questions about our standards. We also post a new blog weekly at 4pm on Friday which you can read.
Unfortunately, it is way too common in the UK to be able to walk into a piercing shop and have no idea what jewellery or metal you are being pierced with, how it works or is fitted, and if it is even safe to be worn permanently or even long term. Quite often at the piercing appointment at Rogue, we hear multiple variations of ‘so what jewellery can I wear today?” Typically, the client might mean: What is safe? What can I not wear? What in the cabinets should I avoid until my piercing is healed? And honestly, you are right in asking that question!
Any good piercing studio should be able to answer your questions about the jewellery they stock and why or why not it is suitable for initial use! For example, you may take a look in our titanium cabinet and as about the sparkly white flower. In response we can tell you:
“That is the Neometal Flower! It is made out of implant grade titanium, ASTFM-136 to be exact, which is the exact same grade they use for fake knees and hips. Therefore we know it is safe to be worn in the body for extended periods of time. It is also set with five genuine white Swarovski crystals, so they can keep that sparkle forever, with care and frequent but gentle cleaning. All of our jewellery comes with warranty against any manufacturer defects, so if one gemstone randomly falls out, you can bring it back into the studio so we can have it cleaned and fixed by the jewellery company.”
-Jay
This is all true! All of our jewellery comes with a warranty against any manufacturer defects. Unfortunately, not everything in life is 100% perfect, and this includes the jewellery we have in stock. Despite it being rare that pieces to break, it does happen. This is why we choose to work with companies that will accept responsibility for their mistakes, such as a loose setting, and help us fix that. They care about their clients the same way we do, and we want to provide you with an experience that is as good as possible.
All of our jewellery is completely certified and is 100% safe to be worn in the body for extended periods of time! (Gemma has once or twice said, you can be buried with them!) All of our jewellery meets the standards set out by both the UKAPP and the APP! And for all of our implant grade titanium, each of our manufacturers can also provide Mill Certificates!
Nearly every piece of jewellery we hold in stock we can use for initial piercing. There are of course a few exception! 1. Clicker and seam rings – We will never use clickers or seam rings in any initial piercing. The rotation will often irritate the open channel, and often because they involve a tiny gap can bring dirt and debris into the healing wound. Quite often these rings will be quite small in diameter, meaning there won’t be enough room for drainage. You can learn more about this here! 2. Chains and charms – When healing a new piercing there is often quite a lot of fluid that will drain from the piercing channel, this can then easily become built up around the jewellery. With chains and charms this can get stuck in-between the small gaps, meaning the jewellery cannot be adequately cleaned. 3. Genuine opals – Throughout our BVLA jewellery collection, we have one or two piercings of genuine opal which cannot be sterilised. This is because opals contain a high rate of water, and under extreme pressure and steam from the statim this can cause the piece to explode. Because they can’t be sterilised, this makes it unsuitable for initial use. However, we have lots of faux opals available for you!
Every member of the team at Rogue has a vast knowledge of our jewellery collection, and can tell you about each of our cabinets, the manufacturers and brands we use, as well as the individual pieces. They take class after class at different conferences across the world to ensure they are provide a safe and confident service to their best of their ability. These classes include safe and unsafe metals. Aiden himself (our head piercer) actually teaches his metal classes at some conferences, so you can place your trust that we are providing you the best quality jewellery we can.
July’s birthstone is the fiery red ruby, known for its incredibly deep rich red, and perfect for the blazing hot warmth that typically comes with the summer month of July, but not to be mistaken for Januarys warm and cosy red garnet!
July is a single birthstone month allowing Ruby to take centre stage. For the months that are lucky enough to have more than a singular birthstone, these are separated into two lists: Modern and Traditional. The more common of the two is the modern birthstones, which were defined in 1912 by the Jewelers of America in an attempt to standardise (and commercialise) birthstones. This was further updated in the 1950s, to include gemstones such as Citrine for November, or Alexandrite for June. Modern stones are based on what’s easier to sell in large quantities (making it the more affordable choice).
BVLA – Heart of Paul – Yellow gold + Ruby Photo courtesy of Chloe Victoria
Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum (a crystalline form of aluminium oxide which typically contains traces of iron, titanium, chromium, and vanadium), coloured by the element chromium. All other colours of gem-quality corundum are called sapphire! Ruby gets its red colour from chromium, which also caused fluorescence, making rubies glow deep and fiery. Rubies dominant hue is definitely the red we all know and love, however you can find rubies with undertones of orange and pink! Ironically, despite chromium given rubies it’s most important feature (the colour) it is also what makes it so rare as it can cause cracks in fissures. This makes it incredibly hard for rubies to grow large enough to become quality gems.
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is one of the oldest recorded sources of Rubies. For more then 500 years, Myanmar has produced the most wanted rubies. These are exceptionally known for providing a vibrant red, with a glowing fluorescence, and softened by light-scattering inclusions. Since the latter part of the 20th century, Vietnam has also been a major player in the mining of Rubies, producing this gem in a variety of red to purplish-red tones. The newest but still important source for this wonderful crystal is Mozambique in Africa, which is home to the prolific mines at Montepuez.
For many years in the very late 1900’s, the major source of rubies were sourced along the border between Thailand and Cambodia. Now, other important sources of Ruby include Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar.
In addition to being the July birthstone, ruby is traditionally given for the 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries! Dating back a little to ancient India, Ruby was called the “King of Precious Stones” due to its rarity, hardness and beauty. It’s also been known for it’s “mystical powers” and has long been seen as a symbol of power and youthful energy in Indian jewellery. In previous centuries, it has been believed to predict danger and misfortune, as well curing inflammatory diseases.
Following straight after Diamond, Ruby falls at a 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, making it the second hardest natural stone. This means you should store this stone separately to others so it doesn’t cause any damage. Rubies are often heat treated to remove purplish colouration to improve it’s redness, some treatments can make a ruby more vulnerable to every day wear and tear. As usual, the best way to clean this stone is with warm and mild soapy water and a soft toothbrush! If your stone is untreated, heat treated or lattice-diffusion stones, then ultrasonics and steam cleaners are generally safe to use. However, glass filled and dyed stones should only be cleaned with a damp cloth.
Bvla – Live to Tell, Afghan, Muse Yellow Gold + Ruby Photo courtesy of Jess Farrar
We stock jewellery from brands from across the world, and can source items in all birthstones imaginable! If you would like to treat yourself to some meaningful pieces, just get in contact with us.
Make sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, and keep an eye out as we post new blogs every single Friday!
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