alpaca-punch: ruthdecay: adamrichins: kev-n: lyssa-jayne: modernmartyr: modificationnotmutilation: OMG hahahahaha No this is what happens when you stretch with unsafe materials and don’t take your time *puke* 😱 lil jojoba… thatll buff right out.  I don’t feel bad for these people at all. If you never ask a professional the right way to do it then you deserve the consequences. God fucking damnit!!! Stop, just stop! I can’t handle crap like this anymore. Patience and high quality jewelry does one really good. FUCK!!! I think i might actually puke. oh god. I’m not sure how many of you have seen this already, but it keeps showing up on my dash. This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly.Got it? Good. -Kat
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alpaca-punch:

ruthdecay:

adamrichins:

kev-n:

lyssa-jayne:

modernmartyr:

modificationnotmutilation:

OMG hahahahaha

No this is what happens when you stretch with unsafe materials and don’t take your time

*puke* 😱

lil jojoba… thatll buff right out. 

I don’t feel bad for these people at all. If you never ask a professional the right way to do it then you deserve the consequences.

God fucking damnit!!! Stop, just stop! I can’t handle crap like this anymore. Patience and high quality jewelry does one really good. FUCK!!!

I think i might actually puke. oh god.

I’m not sure how many of you have seen this already, but it keeps showing up on my dash. 

This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly. This is why you stretch slowly.

Got it? Good.

-Kat

Source: barba-eternus

Hand Poked tattoos

You guys semi-frequently ask if we condone hand-poked tattoos. Usually I respond with that I, personally, don’t unless they’re done by a professional. I’m not about to condone using india ink, pen ink, black paint, etc. and a safety pin that you boiled in a kitchen pot as something you should use to permanently mark yourself.

However, I found this interview because of this post and think it’s quite interesting and also impressive. This guy is 100x better than anything that will EVER show up on “fyeahstickandpoke”.

This was also recently posted to BME. Different artist, but still hand-poked tattooing.

-Kat

Q:Hi, can you describe (and if you can, provide pictures) the difference between an infected pierced and an irritated piercing? And how long irritation symptoms can last? My navel has been irritated since I got it, and I'm afraid it might be an infection instead.

weirdtits

Irritated piercings:

Symptoms: Sore, red, swollen, itchy, bumps developing, maybe warm. White or barely off-white colored discharge is normal. Crusties are normal, but might increase if the piercing is irritated.

Duration: Potentially indefinitely as far as I’m aware. A piercing will stay irritated until it is either removed, the jewelry is changed to a different material, length, or size, or something is done (like sea salt soaks, chamomile soaks) to reduce irritation. Things like hair products, make-up, everyday dust and dirt, clothing, smoking, you name it can irritate a new piercing.

Frankly, a piercing is going to be irritated for ___ amount of time after you got it (dependent on piercing, difficulty of healing, your body etc.). You just had someone create a wound and put something in that wound and are trying to get your body to heal around it. Your body’s natural reaction is “no, get this out of me, what is this foreign object”. Also it takes time to heal wounds. Stop touching it, be patient.


Infected piercings:

Symptoms: Very red, very swollen, painful to the touch, warm to the touch, smelling funny, oozing pus (green, yellow, or gray gunk/liquid), or even bleeding. (New piercings are prone to bleeding as they are wounds, don’t worry if you see blood the few days after getting a new piercing.)

Treatment: Go to your doctor, the ER, walk in clinic, whatever you have access to ASAP and get anti-biotics. Do not remove the jewelry (until on anti-biotics) as that might trap the infection and make it WORSE. A true infection will not go away with soaks, oils, or soap.

-Kat

“Hello, sorry to be a pain sending more than one ask today, but I want to nitpick Kat’s infection vs irritation post. It isn’t actually possible to tell the difference between a *mild* infection and irritation for sure without taking a swab and culturing it. Infections *can* go away with soaks and time if they are not too severe and if they are draining. If you think you have an infection, you should *also* continue soaking and can even apply light pressure around the wound to aid drainage.” - imperfect-illusions

This is a good point. It’s generally difficult to tell the difference between the beginnings of an infection or a very mild infection from regular irritation. However, if symptoms are getting worse instead of better OR you are debating going to the ER/your doctor/whatever, chances are YOU SHOULD GO ASAP.

Q:i have a friend who might stretch with plugs instead of tapers, is that a good idea? i tried searching google but nothing really came up. i want to tell her she shouldn't stretch with plugs because that just sounds like a bad idea, but i want to be sure that it's unsafe!

sixteenthcentury

Stretching with just plugs, otherwise known as dead stretching, is perfectly safe. It’s how I’ve been stretching back up from my downsize in early November. Essentially it is waiting until your ears have self-stretched to the next size over time and can accept it easily, without the aid of stretching tools like tape or tapers. I wish I’d known about it before when I stretched the first time around.

Round-backed colorfront plugs are perfect for the job and also come in those awkward “in-between” sizes (like 1g, 11/16”, 13/16”, 15/16”, and such). Round-ended steel plugs are a pretty good alternative, but are more limited in sizes. Both are pretty cheap. (Note: Those particular metal plugs are low quality economy grade plugs and you should use caution if you buy them. If your ears don’t like economy steel because of a nickel allergy, you should definitely go with glass or higher grade steel or titanium. I provided them as an alternative to the glass plugs because they are an option and people like options. The polish on those plugs is also inferior and the glass will be a lot smoother.)

Metal (or even glass) eyelets/tunnels are okay to use, but can be sharp on the edges and often have o-ring grooves, which can both make stretching more difficult or uncomfortable or be the reason your ears react badly to a stretch. Use those at your own risk.

Dead stretching, like any other method, should be very very minimally uncomfortable at the most. Proper lubrication should be used - some sort of oil or lotion that you are not allergic to; this is not the time to try out something new. When I say “uncomfortable” I mean that the new plug (which should be 1mm larger than your current size at most, but glass plugs can vary slightly) might feel a bit tight in your ear or you might feel a very slight stinging sensation or your ear might turn a bit pink and warm-ish (simply just from being squished around like after a massage) for 5-10 minutes. Anything more than that most likely means you’re doing something wrong and should go back down a size and try again in a week or two (providing there was not any blood or ripping involved in which case more time should be given). 

If you’re talking about using silicone eyelets to stretch with, then I highly recommend she try a different method. I suggest you have your friend read this from the Kaos website.

Also please note that some people’s ears just aren’t stretchy enough for this to work and she might have to try another method. :)

Answering this publicly so it can be referred to later because dead stretching does come up somewhat frequently and I don’t want to type all that out again.

-Kat

P.S. If I missed anything or messed up some info, please correct it/add to this ask, other mods.Â