This isn’t a submission of an awful modification, but a question. So today I went to a shop to  get my septum done, they didn’t have any horse shoes so I went to where they get their jewelry and I got fifty percent off of the jewelry, and they took ten off of the regular price for the piercing which was thirty. I told him that I liked his, and to put it in the standard place, which is the sweet spot. It’s basically through the bottom of my nose. I’m really pissed. I thought it would be perfect considering there’s only one other shop here, and they do shitty  everything. They screwed up on my lip piercing and hit a blood vessel and it bruised up and didn’t stop bleeding until it was fully healed. My mom got her cartilage pierced there a long time ago, and it was fine. I was kind of nervous because once I told him where I wanted it, he just put the clamp on, didn’t mark it, and stuck the needle through before I even knew where the hell the placement was gonna be. It was like saying “It’s your piercing but I’m gonna do it wherever the fuck I want to.” I called him and he said it was the shops policy that he did it where I said, and as I said before i said standard piercing place. I think it’s  too far down, and I guess they’re going to redo it for free further back when it fully heals. I’m really pissed. ._. Do you guys think it’s too far down? ________________________________________ MODERATOR’S COMMENT: Yes, it’s too low. I would not go back to that shop, why do you think it’s going to be any better this time? There are so many red flags here. They didn’t have the jewelry you wanted, for one. What kind of shop doesn’t keep circular barbells in stock? And the fact that you could go pick up jewelry from their “supplier” hints that it’s probably not good jewelry, because they should be ordering jewelry wholesale from a reputable company. Not getting it from a retail shop. And the “it’s shop policy to place it there” thing is just an excuse. Piercers and piercees pick the placement, not the shop. He’s trying to make it out like it’s not his fault that you had a bad experience, and it is. Take it out, keep it clean, let it heal, and I STRONGLY advise you don’t go back there, even if it’s free. If you give us your location we can try to locate a good piercer for you. I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. :( I hope it heals up quick and easy. - Hayley
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This isn’t a submission of an awful modification, but a question.

So today I went to a shop to  get my septum done, they didn’t have any horse shoes so I went to where they get their jewelry and I got fifty percent off of the jewelry, and they took ten off of the regular price for the piercing which was thirty. I told him that I liked his, and to put it in the standard place, which is the sweet spot. It’s basically through the bottom of my nose. I’m really pissed. I thought it would be perfect considering there’s only one other shop here, and they do shitty  everything. They screwed up on my lip piercing and hit a blood vessel and it bruised up and didn’t stop bleeding until it was fully healed. My mom got her cartilage pierced there a long time ago, and it was fine. I was kind of nervous because once I told him where I wanted it, he just put the clamp on, didn’t mark it, and stuck the needle through before I even knew where the hell the placement was gonna be. It was like saying “It’s your piercing but I’m gonna do it wherever the fuck I want to.” I called him and he said it was the shops policy that he did it where I said, and as I said before i said standard piercing place. I think it’s  too far down, and I guess they’re going to redo it for free further back when it fully heals. I’m really pissed. ._. Do you guys think it’s too far down?

________________________________________

MODERATOR’S COMMENT:

Yes, it’s too low. I would not go back to that shop, why do you think it’s going to be any better this time? There are so many red flags here.

They didn’t have the jewelry you wanted, for one. What kind of shop doesn’t keep circular barbells in stock? And the fact that you could go pick up jewelry from their “supplier” hints that it’s probably not good jewelry, because they should be ordering jewelry wholesale from a reputable company. Not getting it from a retail shop. And the “it’s shop policy to place it there” thing is just an excuse. Piercers and piercees pick the placement, not the shop. He’s trying to make it out like it’s not his fault that you had a bad experience, and it is.

Take it out, keep it clean, let it heal, and I STRONGLY advise you don’t go back there, even if it’s free. If you give us your location we can try to locate a good piercer for you.

I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. :( I hope it heals up quick and easy.

- Hayley

Submitter comment: Source: Me. It was over the summer, I went over to this guys house who I knew from freshman year and knew that he did and still does drugs. One of his room mates was giving himself a tattoo and I asked if he could tattoo a heart on my wrist. Another room mate took my wrist and drew a way-too-big heart on my wrist with pen and let the first room mate go at it. When it was done it still had ink on the skin that was making it look good, it was only until after I took a shower I saw how horrible it looked. The next day I went back and a different room mate offered to “fix” it for me. He ended up giving the heart another pointed end to it, making it look wonky and diagonal. I have tried scrubbing it, it will not come off. Whats awful: Oh so many things. Unsanitary, the guys who worked on it were high on meth, they used open ink, it was in a container but it was by no means bacteria free, I was 16, still 16, it was worked on two seperate occasions, it was done on a cloth footrest with ink stains all over it, it was incredibly painful, it barely resembles a heart and has two end points…. How to fix it: When I am 18 I will get a cover up to block a horrible reminder of horrible people. Or be smart and DONT GET AN UNPROFESSIONAL! UNSANITARY TATTOO. It does hurt and it looks stupid. Update on the guys who gave me this tatto, they now have a tattoo gun and are giving themselves tattoos such as juggalo for life and just horrible, temporary things like that. Two of them are 18 and they all smoke meth. Good job me! You really pick out awesome friends…
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Submitter comment:

Source: Me.

It was over the summer, I went over to this guys house who I knew from freshman year and knew that he did and still does drugs. One of his room mates was giving himself a tattoo and I asked if he could tattoo a heart on my wrist. Another room mate took my wrist and drew a way-too-big heart on my wrist with pen and let the first room mate go at it. When it was done it still had ink on the skin that was making it look good, it was only until after I took a shower I saw how horrible it looked. The next day I went back and a different room mate offered to “fix” it for me. He ended up giving the heart another pointed end to it, making it look wonky and diagonal. I have tried scrubbing it, it will not come off.

Whats awful: Oh so many things. Unsanitary, the guys who worked on it were high on meth, they used open ink, it was in a container but it was by no means bacteria free, I was 16, still 16, it was worked on two seperate occasions, it was done on a cloth footrest with ink stains all over it, it was incredibly painful, it barely resembles a heart and has two end points….

How to fix it: When I am 18 I will get a cover up to block a horrible reminder of horrible people. Or be smart and DONT GET AN UNPROFESSIONAL! UNSANITARY TATTOO. It does hurt and it looks stupid.

Update on the guys who gave me this tatto, they now have a tattoo gun and are giving themselves tattoos such as juggalo for life and just horrible, temporary things like that. Two of them are 18 and they all smoke meth. Good job me! You really pick out awesome friends…

SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: In late July I went to a piercing shop in town to have my ears stretched to 7/8”.. I had been tapering from day one so I assumed it a standard enough procedure. The piercer ended up ripping my lobes and then stuffed them with silicone tunnels, which I have since learned it a big nono on fresh wounds. Bacteria got in the seal and started multiplying.. By day three my lobes were huge, purple and on fire. I went to a different shop in town and was immediately seen. The piercer there popped the tunnels out which was followed by a river of blood an infection. He cleaned up the wounds and sent me to emergency where I was prescribed ten days of intensive antibiotics. I was lucky to have it taken care of when I did and still have my ears. I tried to approach the bunk piercer afterwards and he has turned me away every time. He has since mutilated many people and claims no responsibility. A hard lesson learned.. my ears healed well and are back at a double zero. Be good to your bodies!! Sorry about the photo quality!
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SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: In late July I went to a piercing shop in town to have my ears stretched to 7/8”.. I had been tapering from day one so I assumed it a standard enough procedure. The piercer ended up ripping my lobes and then stuffed them with silicone tunnels, which I have since learned it a big nono on fresh wounds. Bacteria got in the seal and started multiplying.. By day three my lobes were huge, purple and on fire. I went to a different shop in town and was immediately seen. The piercer there popped the tunnels out which was followed by a river of blood an infection. He cleaned up the wounds and sent me to emergency where I was prescribed ten days of intensive antibiotics. I was lucky to have it taken care of when I did and still have my ears. I tried to approach the bunk piercer afterwards and he has turned me away every time. He has since mutilated many people and claims no responsibility. A hard lesson learned.. my ears healed well and are back at a double zero. Be good to your bodies!! Sorry about the photo quality!

SOURCE: previous AM posts, and myself. SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: I don’t think I need to explain what’s awful, lol. Just showing the (huge!) difference between home/friend/self-done piercings, and one done by a professional. Yes, those bottom two images are both of myself, and yes, my septum really was pierced by Elayne. So was my philtrum :D Go to a professional! You won’t regret it.
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SOURCE: previous AM posts, and myself.

SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: I don’t think I need to explain what’s awful, lol. Just showing the (huge!) difference between home/friend/self-done piercings, and one done by a professional.

Yes, those bottom two images are both of myself, and yes, my septum really was pierced by Elayne. So was my philtrum :D

Go to a professional! You won’t regret it.

SUBMITTER COMMENT: So I’ve seen some posts about people related to/knowing a hairdresser who claims to be a licensed piercer and, while we all know this can’t possibly be true I wanted to offer a little bit of information on where it comes from for those who don’t know.
I am a hairdresser, I have a coworker who claims to be a licensed piercer. When he was in beauty school a guy came to the school selling piercing gun kits and teaching people how to “properly” use them. After some “Here’s how you wipe this down” and the like they did some test piercings, were told they were now trained professionals and were set free to pierce the heck out of each other and other students. 

Because of this lovely day in beauty school my friend is now convinced he can pierce just about anything safely and at least as well as any piercer working out of a real shop. He tried to insist he could do my nose piercing and should be the one to do it, sadly the bad information he gained in school lead him to not believing the correct information I offered him as to why I wouldn’t let him near me with that evil gun. 

So for those of you out there who weren’t aware why some hair dressers think they are or claim to be professional piercers, its because they’re being told they are after taking a short sales based course from a piercing gun salesmen. Try not to hate on these people too much, they’re victims of misinformation and should be reeducated, nicely.

Source: it’s a screen shot of an iMessage conversation between myself and a friend. What’s Awful: I already knew she stretches her ears with Kaos eyelets, so I showed her an example of what could happen if it goes wrong, from AM of course. According to her, the person pictured just “doesn’t know how to take care of their shit” because hers have always been “fine.” She claims she takes care of hers perfectly…but always complains about how the eyelets get stuck to her ears after she uses them to stretch, and talks about the smelly “ear cheese” she constantly gets (which she just “cleans up” by taking the eyelets out and putting them on a dirty table, swabbing her lobes with a dry q-tip, and then putting the dirty eyelets right back in her ears). She NEVER cleans her jewelry (and I mean NEVER), and never listens to any advice I ever give her about her piercings. She also refuses to stop using the word “gauges” with the same ‘justification’ every other moron comes up with. And she also talks about how her ears can handle “what they say you shouldn’t do,” which has included self-piercing with a safety pin, and changing the jewelry in every single piercing she’s ever gotten way too early & justifying it with “I’m impatient hahaha.” She also had her navel pierced at a cheap-shit (and very dirty) tattoo shop because it was cheaper than the piercing studio we both normally go to in Philadelphia. Shockingly, they used low-grade externally-threaded crap and her navel piercing got horrendously infected and migrated a whole bunch, and she had to take it out. She still has some nasty scars from it. How it can be fixed: She’s the type that’s so stubborn, she’s beyond help. If only we lived in a perfect world where people would just take some damn advice. I love my friend dearly but it just makes me so sad that she’s pretty much choosing to harm her own body when it comes to her mods.
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Source: it’s a screen shot of an iMessage conversation between myself and a friend.

What’s Awful: I already knew she stretches her ears with Kaos eyelets, so I showed her an example of what could happen if it goes wrong, from AM of course. According to her, the person pictured just “doesn’t know how to take care of their shit” because hers have always been “fine.” She claims she takes care of hers perfectly…but always complains about how the eyelets get stuck to her ears after she uses them to stretch, and talks about the smelly “ear cheese” she constantly gets (which she just “cleans up” by taking the eyelets out and putting them on a dirty table, swabbing her lobes with a dry q-tip, and then putting the dirty eyelets right back in her ears). She NEVER cleans her jewelry (and I mean NEVER), and never listens to any advice I ever give her about her piercings. She also refuses to stop using the word “gauges” with the same ‘justification’ every other moron comes up with. And she also talks about how her ears can handle “what they say you shouldn’t do,” which has included self-piercing with a safety pin, and changing the jewelry in every single piercing she’s ever gotten way too early & justifying it with “I’m impatient hahaha.” She also had her navel pierced at a cheap-shit (and very dirty) tattoo shop because it was cheaper than the piercing studio we both normally go to in Philadelphia. Shockingly, they used low-grade externally-threaded crap and her navel piercing got horrendously infected and migrated a whole bunch, and she had to take it out. She still has some nasty scars from it.

How it can be fixed: She’s the type that’s so stubborn, she’s beyond help. If only we lived in a perfect world where people would just take some damn advice. I love my friend dearly but it just makes me so sad that she’s pretty much choosing to harm her own body when it comes to her mods.

Multiple stories.

1.) The new ASL (American Sign Language) teacher at my high-school is a nice person, supportive, humorous, and a good teacher. He has a few piercings (nostril, a few in his ears), all of them well taken care of from what I can tell. But what I cannot stand is his constant giving of inaccurate piercing advice. He cut into a conversation I had with a friend about her wanting a Monroe piercing, claiming it would leave a “huge ugly scar”, and claimed that if I wanted my nape done, then I could ONLY get ANY surface piercing done with a flexible straight bar. Um, no. 90 degree titanium surface staple, if you please.

What’s awful: Inaccurate advice that some poor kid may take to heart. He won’t believe any other piercing advice but his own.

2.) This one happened today, actually. A newer friend of mine has stretched ears, and is currently at a 0g and plans to size up soon. They looked healthy at a glance, so I asked how she went about it. She frowned, looking embarrassed as the tells me she jumped from her 20g initial piercing to 6g in one go! Holy cow!

What’s awful: 20g to 6g in one go!

3.) There are literally ten people I know who have self-pierced. The worst one of all, I am sorry to say, is a very close friend. She has piercing guns from her aunt’s salon, claiming her aunt (who is a hair stylist, not a piercer) is a certified professional. No pro would pierce with a gun. And now a 16 year old has a piercing gun. She pierced her middle school aged little sister’s cartilage and lobes with it without taking any small secondary precautions  The second worse case of self-piercing is when another close friend came in with a Monroe that she did with a sewing needle and an earring. Her mother noticed it as soon as she went home, don’t know how she planned not to get caught with it.

Why it’s awful: I think it speaks for itself.

And now to end on a high note. The replacement Polymer and Crystalline Engineering teacher we have this year has the healthiest stretched lobes I have ever seen in my life and he will stop to educate those who are doing it way wrong. His advice echoes what I’ve seen in your stretching FAQ, he abhors the word “gauging”, and abhors improper jewelry and home tattoos. He may only be at a 0g (and plans to stay there), but the time and effort that went into those perfect stretched lobes should not go unnoticed.

SOURCE: My boyfriends body.SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: So, all of my boyfriends tattoos were done in a home. With “unsanitary” equipment, by a “scratcher”.Those are in quotations because I think you guys need new things to say. I agree, most of the tattoos submitted here aren’t terrific, but there have been a few that are above par, yet their shoved in the ground because someone did them out of their home. I am a licensed body modification artist.  & let me tell you something: unless someones home is filthy, then a tattoo shop is no better. People are constantly walking in & out, touching things, leaning on counters, checking out material, going places theyre not allowed (it happens more regularly then you think) etc. I worked at a tattoo parlor for two years before I quit & began doing them out of my home. I make more money doing it this way & my name gets out more (nothing bad either). Ive never once had a complaint about my work.I also have a few licensed friends who work out of their homes as well. I see nothing wrong with home tattooing if you are working in a clean environment , because half the time when you say the place is ‘unsanitary’, the tattooer is wearing gloves/face mask, has a clean machine, new needles, & has their ink in clean caps.  ______________________________________ MODERATOR’S COMMENT: Wow. Erm. I didn’t even notice until just now that this wasn’t a normal bad tattoo submission. The picture really threw me off. I’m not sure what kind of tattoo shop you worked in, but the one where I work is nothing like that. We clean the place from top to bottom every single day. We use medical disinfectant (bactericidal/fungicidal/tuberculocidal/virucidal) on all surfaces, constantly. We follow all of the laws and standards to make sure everything is clean and done with aseptic technique. And no customer EVER goes where they aren’t supposed to be or touches anything they aren’t supposed to touch. Period. Just because the tattoo artist is using new materials doesn’t negate the fact that it’s done in an environment that isn’t clean. It also perpetuates the idea to non-professionals that getting tattooed in a house is okay. Just because you make more money tattooing out of your home (only because you don’t have to pay shop overhead, duh) doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. You’re taking away from professionals that are actually willing to pay to provide a safe, clean environment for their clients to get tattooed in, and that’s disgusting. You obviously care so much about the people you’re tattooing. Where I live, and where many others live, it is illegal to tattoo out of any home, “licensed” or not. Just because you sat through a class to get your piece of paper doesn’t mean you evolved into a magically perfect, all-knowing, sterile-fingered being. But yeah, you sure showed us. You’re a badass tattoo artist with your TWO YEARS of professional experience, forgoing the cost of maintaining a professional, sanitary environment (rent, electricity, insurance, health department fees, autoclave servicing, inspection fees, supplies, etc.) so you can make some extra bucks off people who don’t know any better. - Hayley______________________________________Wow. Damn, Hayley. I’ve been leaving this sitting in our queue to deal with later and forgot about it. You left probably a more articulate response than I could ever come up with and I thank you for that.If anyone wants to check out what a joke a lot of tattoo licences are, you should go check out the artists certified by the APT. Last time I looked through there, some of the artists in my area had the shittiest portfolios and were tattooing in what looked like, at most, a poorly lit room without even anything looking vaguely clean.Frankly, what shows a good tattoo artist is someone currently licensed in at least  bloodbourne pathogens, aseptic technique, and general first aid. AT LEAST THAT. And also a shop that does everything Hayley just described. An artist who won’t cut corners health wise just to make a few extra bucks. And also has an amazing portfolio.-Kat 
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SOURCE: My boyfriends body.

SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: So, all of my boyfriends tattoos were done in a home. With “unsanitary” equipment, by a “scratcher”.
Those are in quotations because I think you guys need new things to say.

I agree, most of the tattoos submitted here aren’t terrific, but there have been a few that are above par, yet their shoved in the ground because someone did them out of their home.

I am a licensed body modification artist.  & let me tell you something: unless someones home is filthy, then a tattoo shop is no better. People are constantly walking in & out, touching things, leaning on counters, checking out material, going places theyre not allowed (it happens more regularly then you think) etc. 

I worked at a tattoo parlor for two years before I quit & began doing them out of my home. I make more money doing it this way & my name gets out more (nothing bad either). Ive never once had a complaint about my work.

I also have a few licensed friends who work out of their homes as well.

I see nothing wrong with home tattooing if you are working in a clean environment , because half the time when you say the place is ‘unsanitary’, the tattooer is wearing gloves/face mask, has a clean machine, new needles, & has their ink in clean caps. 

______________________________________

MODERATOR’S COMMENT:

Wow. Erm. I didn’t even notice until just now that this wasn’t a normal bad tattoo submission. The picture really threw me off.

I’m not sure what kind of tattoo shop you worked in, but the one where I work is nothing like that. We clean the place from top to bottom every single day. We use medical disinfectant (bactericidal/fungicidal/tuberculocidal/virucidal) on all surfaces, constantly. We follow all of the laws and standards to make sure everything is clean and done with aseptic technique. And no customer EVER goes where they aren’t supposed to be or touches anything they aren’t supposed to touch. Period.

Just because the tattoo artist is using new materials doesn’t negate the fact that it’s done in an environment that isn’t clean. It also perpetuates the idea to non-professionals that getting tattooed in a house is okay. Just because you make more money tattooing out of your home (only because you don’t have to pay shop overhead, duh) doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. You’re taking away from professionals that are actually willing to pay to provide a safe, clean environment for their clients to get tattooed in, and that’s disgusting. You obviously care so much about the people you’re tattooing.

Where I live, and where many others live, it is illegal to tattoo out of any home, “licensed” or not. Just because you sat through a class to get your piece of paper doesn’t mean you evolved into a magically perfect, all-knowing, sterile-fingered being.

But yeah, you sure showed us. You’re a badass tattoo artist with your TWO YEARS of professional experience, forgoing the cost of maintaining a professional, sanitary environment (rent, electricity, insurance, health department fees, autoclave servicing, inspection fees, supplies, etc.) so you can make some extra bucks off people who don’t know any better.

- Hayley

______________________________________

Wow. Damn, Hayley. I’ve been leaving this sitting in our queue to deal with later and forgot about it. You left probably a more articulate response than I could ever come up with and I thank you for that.

If anyone wants to check out what a joke a lot of tattoo licences are, you should go check out the artists certified by the APT. Last time I looked through there, some of the artists in my area had the shittiest portfolios and were tattooing in what looked like, at most, a poorly lit room without even anything looking vaguely clean.

Frankly, what shows a good tattoo artist is someone currently licensed in at least  bloodbourne pathogens, aseptic technique, and general first aid. AT LEAST THAT. And also a shop that does everything Hayley just described. An artist who won’t cut corners health wise just to make a few extra bucks. And also has an amazing portfolio.

-Kat 

My Neighbors

SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: I had a neighbor whose boyfriend bought a tattoo gun. Every couple of days for a few weeks, one of them would come outside and show me their new additions. They were ALWAYS wonky and awful looking. Another neighbor told me to draw out her husband’s name so she could get it tattooed on her ankle by this guy IN HIS HOUSE. So I did. I don’t have a picture of it, but its terrible and faded. 
Then one day the girlfriend came outside and told me, “You need to give me a tattoo sometime!”

I’ve never handled a tattoo gun, never even touched one, so I said no.
Who the hell does this?

WHAT’S AWFUL: Home tattooing, asking someone who doesn’t even know how to tattoo to give you one.

Source: my own ears and my own photo Submitter comment: This was my ear a few months ago. Despite only being a few rounds of tape away from being at 1 3/8”, I had wooden plugs that I got back over the summer that I couldn’t wait to put in. So I decided to be an idiot and shove the plug through my ear. It immediately started burning, and turned very red and became sore. I tried to take the plug out, but it was actually stuck in my ear. Since I had to shower, I couldn’t wear wooden plugs. After minutes of tugging on my ear, I finally ripped the plug out and a mess of blood came with it. I tore my ear along the whole right side of the inside of my lobe, blew it out, and had to clean puss and dried blood off my neck for a very long time. Why it’s awful: Impatient stretching, and trying to force a plug in when my ear clearly wasn’t ready. Using wood in a freshly stretched lobe. Very, VERY angry looking too. How it can be fixed: I downsized back to a little over 3/4, did sea salt soaks, and waited for my ears to completely heal before I started taping up again. Luckily for me, my ear stretched up pretty quickly because I had downsized so much, the blowout disappeared, and my ears are now healthily at 1 3/8” again. Take this as a lesson, stretching up quickly IS NOT fun. At all. 
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Source: my own ears and my own photo

Submitter comment: This was my ear a few months ago. Despite only being a few rounds of tape away from being at 1 3/8”, I had wooden plugs that I got back over the summer that I couldn’t wait to put in. So I decided to be an idiot and shove the plug through my ear. It immediately started burning, and turned very red and became sore. I tried to take the plug out, but it was actually stuck in my ear. Since I had to shower, I couldn’t wear wooden plugs. After minutes of tugging on my ear, I finally ripped the plug out and a mess of blood came with it. I tore my ear along the whole right side of the inside of my lobe, blew it out, and had to clean puss and dried blood off my neck for a very long time.

Why it’s awful: Impatient stretching, and trying to force a plug in when my ear clearly wasn’t ready. Using wood in a freshly stretched lobe. Very, VERY angry looking too.

How it can be fixed: I downsized back to a little over 3/4, did sea salt soaks, and waited for my ears to completely heal before I started taping up again. Luckily for me, my ear stretched up pretty quickly because I had downsized so much, the blowout disappeared, and my ears are now healthily at 1 3/8” again. Take this as a lesson, stretching up quickly IS NOT fun. At all.