SUMBITTER’S COMMENT:-This is my first tattoo I got, I went to a licensed tattoo artist and I’d seen some of his other work and thought he was good so I did do my research. For some reason it didn’t turn out how I wanted even though I gave him a very detailed picture and explained what I wanted but he did it wrong :/ My other tattoos are much better.
WHAT’S AWFUL: I think the shape of it is awful and the line work is really bad, want it fixed so badly.
Submitter Comment: I wore these for about 2 weeks in 2011. It was almost a year before my lobes were healthy enough to stretch again, and even now I’m only able to stretch about a mm per year. I can still feel the difference between the piercing that had the bottom plug (exposed to mystery metal) and the one with the top plug (only exposed to mystery coating).
What’s Awful: Flaking coating over mystery metal, a significant scratch on a wearable surface, poor finish on the one that didn’t flake, and a visible seam and filler hole mark. The bottom one broke within about a week of buying it.
How it can be avoided: Learn which materials, styles, shops and companies are acceptable and don’t buy jewelry if you don’t know that it’s good quality. If you do end up wearing something like this, remove it as soon as you notice problems and seek advice from a reputable piercer.
this is one of my facebook friends. she’s from my hometown area, and I’m pretty sure she’s not even 18 yet. she has absolutely no experience, except doing her own piercings and will probably be doing this out of her own home. seems super legit.
Moderator’s Comment:
Wow. Home scarification is one of the most terrifying DIY mods I can think of besides if people are trying to DIY tongue splits and implants. Not only is that going to leave you open to things that other at-home mods do, but scarification is a sensitive art that is really really dependent on the kind of wound left and how the person with the piece scars. Someone at home is not going to be able to do that. Removing chunks of flesh from someone’s body willy nilly isn’t something you fucking toy around with. The width, depth, length, how the person heals cuts are ALL factors. You learn it carefully and well from those who do it best.
-Kat
SUBMITTER COMMENT- This is a girl who went to my high school and posted a pic on FB. She got this done when she was 16 and she even said in her comments that her mom didn’t want her to go but that she signed off on it anyways.
WHAT’S WRONG- The tatt is flat and the shading is bad. Also the flowers do not look great. At all.
This is my own story about how stumbling across your page saved me from my own ignorance. I was stretching at the time and by stretching, I mean shoving acrylic tapers in my ears that were two sizes too big. Eventually the inevitable happened; one of my ears got a nasty blowout. I quickly took them out and looked online for modification sites for help. I stumbled across Awful Mods and read through easily 20 pages of submissions. I have three self pierced holes and four done with a gun, which I was completely unaware was bad. I signed all of the anti gun petitions and vowed never to use them again. I went and got my daith pierced in a very reputable shop as well as my navel and stretched back up safely, following directions you guys have posted as closely as possible. I also got a tattoo for my 15th birthday (legal in my state with parental consent) at the same reputable shop that I go to for my piercings. I try to educate my friends on what not to do and discourage their self piercing attempts. My friend recently offered to “make me some gauges” out of polymer clay, which I declined and warned her not to use. I credit this blog alone with most of my modification interest and knowledge. Thank you guys and keep up the amazing work!
Source: My phone, facebook
This is a girl I used to know. She did a lot of drugs and thought she was so bad ass. her brother stole her a machine. She tatoos herself and others.
It’s terrible, lines are wonky, under age, unsanitary.
She needs to stop, wait untill she’s of age. Do it right.
(SOURCE)
WHY IT’S AWFUL: I refuse to believe that that is acceptable jewelry for this kind of piercing.
HOW IT CAN BE FIXED: Invest in proper jewelry before it catches on something.
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MODERATOR’S COMMENT:
This is the kind of thing where just changing the jewelry wouldn’t do much. You’d want to take it out, let it heal, and have it done again with the right jewelry/method.
edit: Just gonna point out that this is a new piercing. I’m not linking to the person’s blog for obvious reasons, but on the post it was captioned as being a new piercing.
SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: So today, as I was scrolling down my news feed, I stumbled across this. I was not surprised this happened, as a few months back the girl, Taylor, posted a picture of her holding a tattoo machine. She then offers Dalton a tattoo and he takes up the offer. This young Lady is also only 17 and has no training, that I know of.
What’s Awful: Wonky lines, awful colouring, done in a dirty house (I assume) by a untrained 17 year old.
How can it be fixed? Go to a professional and get it covered or get tattoo removal.
i desperately want to learn how to and start piercing people, although its not suggest i have pierced myself a couple of times and none have rejected nor gotten infected due to careful cleaning and proper “technique” or what little i have. where should i start looking? does one have to be a certain age before being allowed to pierce people? and last of all where could i find synthetic skin to practice on without the consequences of screwing up somebodies body?
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MODERATOR’S COMMENT:
If you really want to become a professional piercer, stop what you’re doing.
Don’t pierce yourself. Don’t pierce your friends. Don’t pierce “synthetic skin.”
Piercing is about so much more than just being able to stick a needle through something. Find yourself a good apprenticeship under a good (I cannot stress this enough, don’t just jump at the first opportunity you get) piercer, and they will get you started on the right path. It’s not necessarily an “easy” industry to get into, since everyone and their mother wants to be a piercer.
In the meantime, all I can suggest is doing some research. Find all the information you can, and read it three times. Use your internet resources! Comb through BME, blog posts by industry professionals, back issues of The Point. I know reading and learning is ~boring~, but if you’re looking for an exciting action-packed glamor job, you’re checking out the wrong industry.
DISCLAIMER: In case someone somehow reads my post wrong, I would like to point out that DOING THE RESEARCH I SUGGESTED DOES NOT MAKE YOU A PIERCER. IT DOESN’T EVEN NECESSARILY MAKE YOU QUALIFIED TO DISH OUT YOUR OWN PIERCING ADVICE. LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS.
- Hayley
SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: This was a random dude I had on facebook. Just the tip of the ice berg. He works in one of the worst shops in the city, and brags about doing the most “outrageous” work he can think of. He is very experienced and his work is sterile - but that’s about where the positives stop. He has a creative mind, but not even nearly enough knowledge on anatomy or body modification to utilise it. Other work of his includes corset piercings using CBR’s, multiple piercings crammed so close together they’ll never settle (we’re talking 6 in one case), nipple piercings intentionally done so deep they’re in the areola, piercing through the fatty part of a finger between the first two knuckles using a circular barbell… you get the idea.
WHAT’S AWFUL: In this particular one, it’s GUM piercings. Through the gum between teeth. Common sense alone can point out how intensive the potential dental damage is.
HOW IT CAN BE FIXED: Take it out. Never let him attempt his “creative” work on you again. Also go to a dentist to get whatever damage he’s already caused fixed.
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MODERATOR’S COMMENT:
Just gonna point out that a lot of corsets are done with CBRs by reputable piercers; they’re usually only meant to be temporary anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
I know this subject is up for a lot of interpretation, whether you consider these things “awful mods” or just “different, possibly misunderstood mods.”
- Hayley
