MRI s and Body Piercings

MRI’s and Body Piercings Help! I need to get an MRI, but I have a bunch of piercings- what do I do! This is such a common situation and concern. What do you do if you need to get medical imaging done. But you have piercings. Particularly fresh piercings that can’t safely be removed, or surface piercings like microdermals and surface bars? Well, let’s take a look. First of all, what is going on when you get an MRI? MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. We use strong magnetic fields and radio waves […]

Menstruation and Piercings

Menstruation and Piercings Menstruation! This is the natural cycle by which folks with uterus’ prepare for pregnancy- and if there’s no pregnancy sheds the lining of the uterus. Menstruation obviously comes with bleeding from the vagina, but it also comes with fun side effects like bloating, tender breasts, cramps, headaches, fatigue, and back pain. Menstruation is often viewed as isolated to the uterus and vagina, but its actually a full body experience. And menstruation can also effect your piercings as well! So today we are going to take a closer look at the way menstruating can effect your piercings, both […]

My Nipple Piercing Experience- an Honest Look at Longterm Effects

My Nipple Piercing Experience- an Honest Look at Longterm Effects Anyone who has followed me or interacted with my content for a bit knows that I am deeply passionate about piercings. And more than just piercings and the industry as a whole, I primarily focus on making education and resources accessible to clients. I do this for a number of reasons- more knowledgeable clients often make my job easier, this information helps people get and heal piercings better, it promotes safe piercing, and it keeps important history and practices around. But more than all of these things, I do a […]

Mistakes Happen- How to Handle it when a Piercing Goes Wrong

Mistakes Happen- How to Handle it when a Piercing Goes Wrong It’s every piercer and every clients worst nightmare. Everyone is excited, happy, and ready to go, and then, something goes wrong. Maybe connection is lost on the transfer, maybe the piercing has come out a bit crooked, or jewelry isn’t sitting correctly. Maybe the jewelry has accidentally broken. Whatever the case, something has gone wrong. And, while it might be a nightmare, it’s also a reality of being pierced. Today, I want to talk about what happens when a piercing goes wrong, and also how to handle it. To […]

Misleading Marketing- How to Safely Shop for Body Jewelry

Misleading Marketing- How to Safely Shop for Body Jewelry Marketing is important- the way companies advertise products we obviously know effects how we view them and if we purchase them or not. And most folks already know advertising is designed to convince you to buy a product. But what do we do when companies are using marketing and advertising to mislead customers into buying a product they don’t actually want? This is a major issue in body piercing and body jewelry, so I wrote this article to help clients learn some marketing tricks and ensure that what they are purchasing […]

Industrial Piercings 101- A Look at these Popular Ear Piercings

Industrial Piercings 101- A Look at these Popular Ear Piercings Let’s talk about Industrial piercings! These piercings skyrocketed in popularity in the 90’s and 00’s and were all the rage for a long time. If you were cool, you had an industrial, and I can attest to this as I personally BEGGED my parents for an industrial at 14. It was all I wanted in the entire world and I fought tooth and nail to get permission to get it done. It also failed after less than a year. As cool and cute as industrials are, they are also one […]

Internal Threading VS External Threading: Don t get Screwed by Catchy Marketing

Internal Threading VS External Threading: Don’t get Screwed by Catchy Marketing “There’s no way I could be reacting badly to my jewelry. I paid a lot of money for this piece and my piercer promised it was totally safe!” Unfortunately, we see this same scenario unfold again and again. Something thought to be safe because it’s advertised or sold as “surgical” or “solid”, ends up containing sensitizers like nickel that cause irritation. So how do you, as a consumer, protect yourself from buying low quality jewelry? Well, there are a few different ways to tell what material a piece is […]

Imposter Syndrome and the Body Piercer

Imposter Syndrome and the Body Piercer Today marks my 11 year piercerversary, the anniversary of when I started in this industry. To think that it has been 11 years that I have been working in studios, piercing clients, and creating connections in this industry feels a little unreal. Next year I turn 30, and I will have spent almost half my life at that point as a body piercer. For my anniversary, I usually try to write a more personal, special piece. Something that reflects on this industry, my relationship with piercing, etc. You can find my previous pieces here […]

Is Client Courtesy Dead?

Is Client Courtesy Dead? Recently, while reading the news, a trend in headlines stuck out to me. “Airlines report record number of unruly, aggressive customer interactions” “Restaurant workers quit over violent customers” “Business owners post signs asking customers to be polite” And, sadly, they gave me a bit of relief. Because it meant that the piercing industry wasn’t alone in facing these issues. For a while, I had thought we might be, but it seems to be a larger issue effecting any and all customer service or retail businesses recently. Covid has put a large amount of stress and strain […]

Is Anyone Entitled to an Apprenticeship?

Is Anyone Entitled to an Apprenticeship? What did you want to be when you grow up? When I was younger I wanted to be an artist- a painter, a sculptor, a photographer. I wasn’t sure which, I just wanted to create art. Some kids want to grow up to be doctors. Others dream of playing pro sports, or being a prima ballerina. Whatever the dream is, many of us grow up and realize there are some realities to our dreams that make them far more difficult than our young selves realized. I realized quickly that art was a very difficult […]