The SO Piercing Questions & Discussion Mega-Thread

[Rogue Robot]

I heard by doing your own piercing you get extra uneven scar tissue that leads to little lumps. The needles they use at a doctors or professional piercing parlors are hollow so they pierce and take out extra flesh to make a clean hole that heals up evenly.

i think it depends on how well you do it, actually. the only ones of mine that have lumps are the ones in the cartilage, which is expected.

but, that could just be me.

 

[fizzle]

starting a piercing is a little bit different than stretching a piercing.

i put every piercing hole i have in my own ears, but i didn't stretch them myself unless i had tapers.

Really? I didnt know you had to go somewhere to get them stretched, I always thought people just gradually moved up to larger and larger sizes.

I guess I learned something new today

 

[alicat72]

Anybody have experience with piercing or similarly modifying your own body? Can it be done really cheaply?

I used to have between double and triple gauged earrings. However, they have been out for 5+ years and now they are almost closed up entirely. Can I repierce the hole (there's still a hole since I got them at 12 gauge originally, ie a chunk of my ear was taken out) and then stretch them up myself.

I plan to gauge them using electric tape around something thin (maybe a thin tree branch?). Then gauge them up to around double zero and have my friend carve me something cool (he's good with wood).

Anybody have any experience spiking/nailing/piercing/stretching themselves?

mods, maybe 2nd opinion? I didn't know honestly.

um......please do not have your ears 'punched'.....it is really easy to find gorgeous spiral tapers in glass or bone.....

i bought some super cheap plastic spirals to start....it only took me a week to go from 8 gage to a 0 gage.....i have never gone higher than double 0, and my ears have shrunk back to a decent size with time...if you have them punched, they will never go back. never.....

 

[alicat72]

starting a piercing is a little bit different than stretching a piercing.

i put every piercing hole i have in my own ears, but i didn't stretch them myself unless i had tapers.

i did my first piercing in my nose with a needle and a carrot....(never seen the movie you referenced)......

i have been trained as a professional body piercer since then, and i now know that this is a very bad idea.....i come from the age of the original gutter punks....they all walked around with safety pins in their eyebrows/lips....some even had the web of their fingers pierced.....

it's better just to save your money and get it done professionally....much cleaner, safer and you know that the piercing will be straight.....

 

[Rogue Robot]

Really? I didnt know you had to go somewhere to get them stretched, I always thought people just gradually moved up to larger and larger sizes.

I guess I learned something new today

you can, but it can rip or tear. it's better to have it done professionally or use a taper.

those are similar to the ones that were used on me, but they make plugs now with tapers that work quite well.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Anybody have any experience spiking/nailing/piercing/stretching themselves?

Not a very helpful story but when I was 11 I pierced the cartilage of my left ear with a safety pin. 2 reasons: I really REALLY wanted my ears pierced, and also I like the pain. Messed-up child I was!! :D
Needless to say, the piercing didn't stay in...

 

[Jabberwocky]

I pierced my penis when I was 16 with a safety pin (still have a small scar although it is slowly disappearing ).

Well, I already have a 12gauge hole punched in my ears, alicat (6 or 7 years ago). It has shrunk up smaller than 12 gauge it appears, though it flairs out to 12gauge at the edges (the middle is tight though).

I think I'll just gauge it up using electric tape around something plastic and cylindrical. That sound safe?

I used the electric tape trick to gauge up originally, since I don't like the look of the tapering gauging horns some people wear. My plan: just add a strip of electric tape every few days and pretty shortly you're where you want to be.

My parents will be disappointed that I'm gauging my ears again (lol I'm 25), since they were so happy when I decided to take them out years ago haha.

 

[Rogue Robot]

if you MUST do this at home, make sure your ears are well lubricated. another thing you can do to help the transition go a little faster is sit in a bathtub, and while in there, have your plugs or whatever jewelry you are wearing at that time in your ears. after sitting in there a while and your ears are wet (you'll have to probably wash your hair or face to do this, obviously), gently pull on your plugs. this will help stretch them a little faster. don't pull too hard. just pull with enough pressure and strength that you would get from wearing titanium curved barbells or the like.

glass ones work really well, too.

 

[Carsick]

I split my tongue on my own.

 

[CII~360]

I took my labret piercing out and it grew up and I re-pierced it two years later with a sewing needle and some alcohol.

I have one word to say about this.

OUCH!!!!!

(but it worked)

 

[CII~360]

I split my tongue on my own.

Are you fucking serious!?!?!?!?


How did you do it?

DOUBLE OUCH!!!!

 

[TheAppleCore]

I split my tongue on my own.

Man, I've been wanting to do this for awhile now... sounds like so much fun.

edit: err, the result sounds fun. Not the actual splitting process, lol.

 

[Kitforkat]

I pierced my penis when I was 16 with a safety pin (still have a small scar although it is slowly disappearing ).

WOAH! I have my naughty bits pierced too, but I can't imagine doing that myself!! Anyway, I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but my advice is to get is repierced professionally with a 12 guage and use tapers to stretch. I had a bad experience with DIY piercing, and ears are cheaper than other parts by far. I stretched some of my piercing with tapers and it was fine. Just don't get over zealous and try to go down a gague before the previous one heals. It will hurt constantly and who needs that?

 

[sunshinefix]

I keep seeing all these really pretty plugs all over the place and it makes me want some really bad. Do they really go back to normal after you take them out?

When I pierced my ears before, I sterilized a sewing needle or pin until it was red with a lighter, let it cool while I held ice on my ear and just went for it. Make sure you mark your ears first before you do it so you don't get them crooked.

And I can't even imagine piercing any other part of my body myself. I've had my lip pierced and it wasn't really painful, just awkward feeling.

You pierced your penis yourself? That sounds like ouch.

 

[Rogue Robot]

I keep seeing all these really pretty plugs all over the place and it makes me want some really bad. Do they really go back to normal after you take them out?

in most cases, yes. it's difficult for me to get my 00g back in if i've left them out for a couple of hours.

 

[alicat72]

I pierced my penis when I was 16 with a safety pin (still have a small scar although it is slowly disappearing ).

Well, I already have a 12gauge hole punched in my ears, alicat (6 or 7 years ago). It has shrunk up smaller than 12 gauge it appears, though it flairs out to 12gauge at the edges (the middle is tight though).

I think I'll just gauge it up using electric tape around something plastic and cylindrical. That sound safe?

I used the electric tape trick to gauge up originally, since I don't like the look of the tapering gauging horns some people wear. My plan: just add a strip of electric tape every few days and pretty shortly you're where you want to be.

My parents will be disappointed that I'm gauging my ears again (lol I'm 25), since they were so happy when I decided to take them out years ago haha.

dude. that is frightening! ouch!!!!!!!!

i just know poeple who have double 0 punched ears and they look awful without jewelry and they will never shrink anywhere close to their original size....

it does sound safe to do the electrical tape....i would just be sure to keep your ears and jewelry clean....salt water works well....just a pinch of sea salt in a little water will do...if your ears get gooey and red i would wait a few days before increasing the size of the jewelry....just wait till they heal to increase....

good luck

 

[Jabberwocky]

is salt water better than that bactine stuff, cheaper eh?

yeah, mine closed up totally i was happy (after being larger than 00).

i'm thinking they will stretch faster than normal because they've already been stretched.

I think also I can just do it entirely with electric tape (just wind it around itself).

 

[pennywise]

I didn't read through all the posts, so I don't know if anyone has given this advice yet, but here goes...

don't stretch your earlobes into giant freakish saggy holes. You may regret it somewhere down the line during the other 70% of your lifetime.

 

[alicat72]

bactine can actually be really irritating if used over and over again.....salt water is what i was trained to recommend....just don't use too much salt...that can also be irritating....i gave on of my clients a hand out on post piercing care after i told him about the salt water....he came back a few days later and the piercing was really red and swollen....i was like what the heck? have you used the salt water? and he said he had been putting straight salt on it! dumbass.

neosporin can be good too especially to lube the ears before stepping up the gauge.....

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

I did my own bellybutton almost ten years ago. I still have it.

It took me a really long time *hours?* to get the needle through because I couldn't do it in one big push. Was painful. Very, very painful but I didn't give up and eventually screwed it through somehow. Like I said. Was painful. But after I did it I was like "Damn woman, you sure have a lot of will!"



Oh yeah and I also did all my own ear ones but I think they are filled in now because I never wear earrings. Those were much much easier than the bellybutton.