Getting your first piercing

Getting your first piercing is usually the biggest step in getting piercings.
If you are really not sure if you are going to like the looks of it, buy a glitter stick-on and glue it on for a few days. You can even find rings with balls that have to be pinched together and looks like you got a piercing. In this way you`ll know whether you like it and on which spot you prefer it. It`s not too difficult to imagine yourself with it, so it`s not so much an issue if you like the looks of it but the thought of sticking a needle through your skin can be repulsive for people, depending on their own fantasy/ creative mind.. You can make yourself as scared or sick as you want, but you can also try to stay relaxed and realize it`s only a few seconds in total. Which is too short to be really painful. If you heal right and you like your body decorated with it, you`ll not be so hesitant to get another one.

Usually people have got their earlobes pierced, without realizing that you already have a piercing.. Other spots are actually not that different, the skin (tissue) varies in thickness and softness. Ears and nose have cartilage. But a piercing is always performed as quickly as possible, and will never last more than a few seconds. I would say everybody can handle that.

Choosing the kind of piercing

TRY TO KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE, SO YOU CAN CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT.
List of piercings:
earlobe, cartilage, tragus, antitragus, innercartilage, orbital, transversal, industrial, bridge, eyebrow, nose, septum, monroe, lowerlip, upperlip, labret, cheek, eskimo, lipfrenum, tongue, tonguefrenum, nipple horizontal, nipple vertical, navel, outer labia, inner labia, clitoris hood, frenum, Pr. Albert, Pr. Albertina, fourchette, pubic F, pubic M, dydoe, scrotum, guiche, foreskin, ampallang, apadravya.

You can only pierce places that will heal without too much pressure.

Sometimes a customer wants to get pierced somewhere different and unusual. Spots like neck, chest, arms, legs are not suitable to get pierced for healing, but only for temporary piercings (performance, photoshoot, etc). It should be taken out before scartissue starts developing or parts of the body around it might infect.

For some surface-piercings (where skin is very tight en shallow pierced) we offer special surface bars. This is a special (square) piece of jewelry that fits an angle-pierced spot and doesn`t move. To get this kind of piercing you will need extra consultation with the piercer.

Sometimes a piercing influences or modifies the shape of the spot that has been pierced. For instance big, stretched earlobes change the shape of the ear, a largely stretched septum will bring the tip of your nose down and stretched nipples will make your them bigger, a stretched lip will curl your lip more..)

PREGNANCY AND PIERCINGS Nowadays many of the women who are pregnant, will be wearing a piercing. Nobody will start to worry about their earlobes or eyebrow being pierced, but a bellybutton-piercing, or maybe nipple- or genital piercing should make you think and realise some things. During pregnancy, the belly and breasts will swell up and because of this, pressure on your piercing will increase. Being pregnant can make the body react to metals- and so to the piece of jewelry that`s being worn. Pregnant bodies do not tolerate strange objects and materials well-as a defencemechanism to protect the baby
This information is about how to deal with your piercing(s) during and after pregnancy
It is advisable to clean your piercing with a mild seasalt-solution: Make a solution of a quarter of a liter of boiling water and a half a teaspoon SEASALT or BAKING SODA. More of the salt or soda works less. Put this solution in a cup and put the cup for 20-30 seconds against the piercing, so the piercing will soak in the solution.Try to move the jewelry a little while you are doing this. Rinse off with warm water. Do this 1 or 2 times a day. Salt water soaks help to stimulate air and blood circulation which facilitates healing.
PREGNANT AND PIERCED (nipple-bellybutton-genital) Piercing still healing: If you are pregnant you cannot get pierced out of precaution. It is possible that you got pierced recently when you get pregnant. You will have to stick carelfully to the aftercare recommended as well as the healingtime. It can take longer before it has healed because your body is busy growing a baby already. Go and see your piercer monthly to get your piercing checked. Sizes of jewelry can increase heaviliy: the length of a curved barbell for the bellybutton needed can start with 11mm and then change to 18mm after 30 weeks of pregnancy and can even become 22mm after 32 weeks!
Womens` pregnant bodies do not tolerate foreign objects well as it works as a defence mechanism to keep the baby safe. Sometimes it will make the piercing grow out. If this is happening go and see your piercer to get your piercing safely removed. If your body doesn’t react to the piercing at all and stays fine, you will only have to change to a bigger size of jewelry and preferrably change material as well to allergy-free-bendable PTFE. The good thing about this material is that there will be no unnecessary pressure on the piercing because its flexible. During pregnancy your body may react to gold also.
Piercing fully healed: Make sure your piercing will stay clean by always rinsing and moving it in the shower Probably your piercing will swell up as your belly gets bigger. The size of the jewelry needed can vary widely: the length of a curved barbell for the bellybutton needed can start with 11mm and then change to 18mm after 30 weeks of pregnancy and can even become 22mm after 32 weeks! If this is happening, you will have to upsize the jewelry to a preferrably anti-allergic plastic bendable material called PTFE. The good thing about this material is that there will be no unnecessary pressure on the piercing because its flexible. Especially after the first three months you will need a larger width of piercingjewelry-nipples will swell up more, the belly will get under more stress and pressure and labia become engorged with blood in preparation for delivery.
PIERCINGS AND DELIVERY Nipple: having a nipplepiercing will not interfere with delivery and so can be worn. Belly-button: If you are still wearing your bellyring, you can keep it in during delivery also. Genital: Labial and clitoral jewelry would better be removed for delivery. The jewelry could cause damage to the baby. And it is very likely you will loose the jewelry because of tearing. If your piercinghole does look good and undamaged afterwards, the jewelry can be replaced. Keep doing seasalt soaks, at least for a week. And if you have lost the piercing you can always get repierced after some months.
BREASTFEEDING WITH PIERCINGS Nipple: Many women expect problems nursing with nipplepiercings. A nipple has about 40 milkducts. It is possible that 2 holes will be closed off. Most of the time you will not notice anything, sometimes you will have 2 extra holes (especially if your piercing was placed far behind). Even after you have repierced the same nipple a few times or stretched it, and it feels like scartissue (hard), you can still breastfeed. The body will find a way to re-route the flow. Even women who have breast implants or had breast reduction surgery are able to still breastfeed so there will be no problem having a small piercing. If you decide not to breastfeed and you are wearing your nipplepiercings, you will have to soak them at least 1x a day for the coming months. This is because milk is staying inside and the ring or bar worn can be a source of bacteria by movement of the jewelry. If you think your milk ducts are blocked it is even more advisable to do seasalt-soaks and massages. Don’t put anything else on your piercing!!! Avoid wearing bras these months because of the cups and underwires cut off the ducts and may form a clog. And there can be too much pressure on the piercing as well. A nipple ring or –bar looks good but is not comfortable to feel for the newborn baby. Pressure on the baby`s palate can cause damage. U may loose a ball! So its advisable to remove the jewelry everytime before nursing. Mothermilk contains of antibacterial properties thanks to which your piercing is safe from infection, and the baby will never have any risk drinking. If you are planning to keep your nipplepiercings and take them out before every nursing, you will have to keep on rinsing with seasalt 2 x daily. It may occur your nipples will get sore of taking them in and out constantly. If things get too sensitive it is advisable to take out the jewelry. And then get it repierced later on.

Getting it and taking care of it

Getting pierced is the best if you`re rested, nourished, healthy and relaxed.
Make sure you don`t drink alcohol or use drugs the night before, because then you might bleed alot and your skin is more sensitive.
Especially for piercings that swell up , they will swell up more than average if you have alcohol or other drugs in your blood. then your piercing will stay swollen for longer, which means it will take longer to heal also.

Don`t get pierced if you are not sure you really want it. Because then your mind will have to accept it first, before it starts healing. And if you don`t know whether you like it you can get too focused and troubled by it.
Don`t get pierced until having consulted your doctor if you have the following complaints: diabetic, hemofilia, metalallergy, had (plastic) surgery on the desired spot and on spots where you see a swelling or any kind of deformation of the skin.

Since it only takes a few seconds, you should best concentrate on your breathing, then you relax your mind and body the best. This also makes it easiest for the piercer & yourself to do the piercing.

Never take out the jewelry if you think your piercing is infected. Then both open ends will close and the dirt of the infection has nowhere to go! plus the infection can get bigger inside.. Try to see the shop or give us a call!
If your piercing is still fresh and clean, you can take it out but you will not be able to put it back in. The hole will close very quickly, or it swells immediately after you take it out, and you will not be able to find the hole (tongue, lip, nipple). Usually the leftover mark of a fresh piercing is only a needlepoint-size mark/scar.
When you want to take out a healed piercing, it will leave a mark depending on the size (thickness) of jewelry you are wearing. If stretched, how it has been stretched and the period of time you have had it for will influence the scar.
If you massage the spot with a vitamine-E oil or calendulan-lotion afterwards for a few weeks the mark will disappear the best.

Getting more and/or stretching your piercing – THE EARPROJECT

Stretching of piercings has been performed in many cultures for thousands of years. Often most of the nicest piercingjewelry is made in larger sizes, so some piercings have to be stretched before you can actually wear the jewelry you had in mind. To stretch your piercing it has to be healed. Patience and good technique are neccessary for a succesful stretch. Patience is important because with too fast and too big stretching you can develop scartissue which is too hard to stretch any further. Furthermore if you have scartissue you can not go back to the original small size either. If you let your piercing heal well every time and stretch slowly by small steps up, you can also go back from large to small. For a stretched 5mm (=4gauge) earlobe you will be busy for a few months. Other, longer-healing piercings will take longer to stretch also.
WE OFFER A SPECIAL PRICE FOR A STRETCHED EAR PROJECT. DO YOU LIKE GETTING STRETCHED EARS? RANGING FROM 5MM-50MM. This projects includes changing and returning jewelry, stretching by us and yourself and all under supervision of the shop.

Your rights as a customer (service)

After getting pierced, you can always come to the shop and show the piercing you got. If you have any questions or if you just like somebody to have a look at it, go back to the person who pierced you. Sometimes a piercing is not healing totally right and needs a larger size or a different shape of jewelry. you should be able to go back as a service. This should be done by preferrably the same piercer who did it originally and this should be for free of charge.