Piercing FAQ
We know that the world of body modification can be a bit mysterious at times, it feels like it can have its own language! Here, we want to break down some of our client’s most frequently asked questions to help you feel more comfortable with everything that happens in and out of a piercing studio
The short answer is a no, but let us explain! When you’re getting a piercing, we’re creating an open wound and then implanting a foreign object into that wound. If we cannot verify the materials of your jewelry that you bring in, we could be putting you at risk for whatever reaction it may have on your body. If you bring in jewelry that we are able to verify the materials of, then we would be okay using your jewelry! Fresh piercings require implant grade materials to be put into the body for the highest chances of success. Implant grade must not be mixed up with terms like “hypoallergenic,” as implant grade refers to real standards backing the legitimacy of the jewelry. Organizations, such as the ASTM International and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), are the ones who set and update the standards that determine the biocompatibility for these metals. These standards go far beyond jewelry, as these are set for a myriad of medical implantation devices! Terms like “hypoallergenic” and “surgical steel” sound like safe options, however these terms are less definable than the average consumer may realize. “Hypoallergenic” does not have a set of standards like “implant grade” does, and there is nothing at the federal level that makes a clear definition as to what makes jewelry “hypoallergenic.” “Surgical steel” also does not have any federally defined standards, however it’s primarily used for medical instruments like forceps and hemostats, with minimal amounts of implantation devices. While these terms can create comfort for you when purchasing your jewelry, often times they’re used as marketing ploys to gain your trust rather than being fully transparent! At the end of the day, your piercer cares more about making your healing process run smoothly than they do about making you spend more money. If your piercer pierces you with outside jewelry, not knowing what the material is, you may end up paying even more down the line on troubleshooting!
Have you ever had your piercer tell you not to sleep on your piercing without explaining why? Well, we’re here to reveal this mystery! This is more on the technical side of piercing, but it’s important for our clients to understand that the goal for most piercings is to pierce perpendicular to the tissue, creating a 90 degree angle. For lobe piercings, it’s not the end of the world to sleep on them because the tissue is so squishy. However, for cartilage the tissue is much thicker, stronger, and less malleable, so the amount of pressure put on the piercing will cause the jewelry to shift at an angle. Now why is this such a bad thing? For starters, when the jewelry shifts and changes the angle of the piercing, it causes the jewelry to pinch the tissue and your body can respond with piercing bumps. Piercing bumps happen when the piercing gets irritated, and the placement of the bump can actually reveal a lot when it comes to diagnosing the origin! Healing a crooked piercing is a very difficult feat, but not totally impossible. Every body is different, and some may be more or less sensitive to others. The likelihood of a crooked cartilage piercing having a successful heal is very low, so it’s really important that we try to mitigate complications of the healing process! Before your procedure, your piercer should go over the risks of complications of cartilage piercings, as well as confirming that you’re not healing any cartilage piercings on the other ear and making sure you’re comfortable not sleeping on the fresh piercing ear for quite a while. One important aspect to highlight is that we cannot control what we do in our sleep, and that’s okay!! If you wake up on that side, don’t fret too much, just make sure that you don’t make a habit of it as best as you can! Actively going to sleep on your back or the other side that does not have a healing piercing, and also using piercing pillows or traveling neck pillows are great ways to lessen the impact of sleeping on that piercing.
Many of us here in Tucson know the importance of having access to a pool, but we do not recommend swimming if you got a fresh piercing! Shared bodies of water, like pools, jacuzzis, oceans, rivers, and lakes, contain a mix of bacteria that can cause a lot of trouble for you down the line. Bacteria, dead skin cells, dirt, and debris thrive in the water, and we want you to avoid those as much as possible! As we’ve said before, piercings are fresh open wounds! The difference between an open wound and a piercing open wound is that what we’re trying to do is create a fistula (piercing channel) that a foreign object will have healed around it. When you get a cut, it generally takes a few days up to a week to heal depending on severity. However, with piercings, as many as you know that healing time period can last up to months and years. The general consensus for when you can go back into the water is around 8 weeks. We here at Honeycomb like to be a little extra cautious, and suggest that for piercings with longer heal times (cartilage, for example) should wait up to 16 weeks. We know that sounds like a long, long time, but healing a piercing that has been exposed to dirt, debris, and bodily fluids outside of yourself will make your healing experience a much harder and more difficult time. We can’t force anyone to not go into the pool, especially with temperatures over 100 degrees. We can only provide the information and advice, it’s up to you to make the right decisions for your body! Above the neck piercings are easier to keep out of the water, just make sure you don’t fully submerge your head! Under the neck piercings, like nipples, navels, and surface anchors, can be covered using a waterproof transparent film dressing (we do not recommend doing this on very fresh piercings). You can use an alcohol wipe around the piercing (not directly on it!!) to help clean any debris off your skin as it’ll help the adhesive stay on. And hey, think about getting those long term healing piercings in the fall/winter if you want to swim in the summer!
We know this might seem like common sense, but we want to make sure that our clients are fully informed and prepared upcoming to their appointments, so we decided to shed some light on this topic! If you’ve been thinking about coming into the studio for a piercing service, we ask that you make sure that for both the night before and day of you’re well rested, eat at least 4 hours before your appointment time, and drink plenty of water! Staying hydrated and well fed will help reduce risk of dizziness or fainting, and being well rested will help you stay focused and calm throughout the piercing process. Going into a piercing studio impulsively and deciding to get something done is a tale as old as time, so how can we be prepared for this spontaneous event? If in the moment you decide to get a piercing done, think about your current state. You should first ask yourself about when the last time you ate was, and how much water you had to drink that day! We know it sucks, but try your best to settle into reality, think about the commitment it’ll take to get your piercing healed nicely. Are you ready to not sleep on that ear for the foreseeable future? If this is a decision being made while intoxicated, know that you could be putting you and your piercer at risk for complications. It’s illegal to work on intoxicated clients, so think about the position you’ll be putting your piercer in if you continue through the service. And if you plan on drinking the night before your piercing, we strongly advise you reschedule your appointment!! Alcohol is a blood thinner, which can raise the risk of complications in the piercing room. Even if it’s from the night before, your blood can still be thinned from the alcohol. These steps seem pretty easy to follow, but we get that life can be messy and chaotic! Some days it’s hard to make sure you’re drinking enough water, or having to skip lunch to catch up on work. We ask that you answer honestly on your consent forms as to whether or not that you feel prepared for your appointment, because we want to make sure that you have the most safe and comfortable experience!
Externally threaded vs. internally threaded, the ultimate piercing debate! Today, we’re going to go on a deep dive into this elusive jewelry style. The key difference between internally and externally threaded jewelry is where the threading is located on the bar. Externally threaded jewelry will have the threading exposed on the bar, with beads having an opening for the bar to screw into. This style is easily replicated which makes it extremely easy to mass produce it, often with lower quality metals such as nickel. When we discuss quality of metal, what we’re focusing on is the ability for safe implantation. That’s why you’ll often hear phrases like “implant grade”as these indicate a level of testing and regulation that allows them to carry that grade. So, what’s the big deal? The main issue with externally threaded jewelry is that with the threading exposed on the bar, the amount of direct contact that threading has with a piercing can cause micro tears in your piercing channel, and further discomfort through the healing process. And with the lower quality metals, for initial piercing it can put you in unnecessary risk for allergic reactions and difficulties with healing if you have metal sensitivities. At Honeycomb, we do not pierce nor sell externally threaded jewelry, as we want to put your health first! But this doesn’t mean that you should never wear this style of jewelry, or feel any specific way towards it. While we don’t recommend wearing this jewelry for initial piercings, it’s not the end of the world if you wear this style in healed piercings and don’t have any metal sensitivities or reactions to it. We’re not fans of the threading touching the piercing channel at all, but we also know that many folks aren’t in a financial position to spend a ton of money on jewelry. As long as it’s healed, and it doesn’t hurt you, then there shouldn’t be an issue. However, whenever you’re ready to upgrade your jewelry, we’re here and ready to help!