piercing

Hey, this is going to be the first of hopefully many instructables about Piercing. I am quite into piercings, having them and giving them and it is my hope that I can help some of you to decide which piercing you want, how to take care of it, and if you really want how to do it yourself at home properly.

Piercing yourself or a friend at home is not something you should take lightly. It is not something you do when you are drunk with your friends and happen to have a safety pin or some other blunt object in your hand. Piercings can be wonderful and beautiful in done correctly.

Cleanliness is not godliness, It is what keeps your new piercings from getting infected. And it is very important. I can not stress that enough! Keep everything clean and disinfected, your hands, tools, your piercings, and the area in which you will pierce (eg. Table top).

Things you will need to buy

The piece of jewelery that you want to place in your new piercing.

(don't just pick up some random earring you have laying around buy one that suits your needs.

They should be made of surgical steel, titanium or some other high grade metal

recommended for piercings)

Needles

a lot of how the piercing turns out depends on the needles. Do not go with the old rusty safety

pin, or your moms sewing needles just because a friend has done that.

You need Hollow needles with a beveled point , they look just like a hypodermic needle just

just without the plastic syringe attachment.

Disinfectant for piercings

piercing kit

while this is not essential to have it is a definite plus they usually come with most of the basic

equipment that you need (eg. Clamps pliers etc..) check them out to your right.

you need to decide on the gauge(size) of the piercing you want and buy the needles and piercing according to that.

Preparation

Its a good idea to buy a package of latex gloves and use them while cleaning and hen change them before you actually do the deed. Some people think that its not a necessary procedure, and it night not be every time if you wash your hands well with a good disinfectant, but my thinking is, latex gloves are very cheap and if there is even a small percent of a chance that it will help..why not better safe then sorry.

Ok so with your latex gloves on disinfect the table or desk where you are going to do it.

Then place a couple of paper towels down, and a paper cup with a little disinfectant in it and drop the new piercing into it . Carefully half way open the needle package and put that on the paper towel as well. Change your gloves, and disinfect the place on the body that you will pierce. Now with a fine tipped permanent marker place a dot in the spot you think you want it. Examine it to make sure it is straight and looks good.

The deed.

Take the needle out of the package, hold it firmly and place the tip at the marker point push it through in one firm smooth push.

Once that is done take the piercing out of the cup and put one end of it into the hollow of the needle, then gently pull the needle back out or push it all the way through if you have the piercing in the other end of the needle.

Close the piercing and throw away the needle do not be tempted to reuse it they also are cheap.

After care

Wash a new piercing with water and neutral soap about 3 times a day healing times vary from 1 to 6 months for most piercings. Also try to gently move the piercing back and forth and turn it so that it does not get stuck to the scabs.

This was just a general how to of piercing different piercings come with different complications and little things to do . I will try to explain how to do most of the basic piercings in following posts.

I will also hopefully talk a bit about which gauge to use for which piercing, and will touch a little on stretching. So until next time.