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I get this question from people A LOT.  They think that they have a keloid, when they have something completely different.

99 out of 100 people I have had ask me if they were forming a keloid actually have something called hypertropic scarring.
To begin this lesson I’m going to explain what a keloid is:

By medical definition a keloid is “an abnormal proliferation of scar tissue that forms at the site of cutaneous injury (eg, on the site of a surgical incision or trauma); it does not regress and grows beyond the original margins of the scar.”  Check my source here.

In less technical terms a keloid is a scar that forms where an injury is, and this means any injury, including body piercing, that grows beyond the bounds of the initial wound. They usually form bulb like lesions that look something like the following image:

Keloid scarring can be hereditary. If someone in your family has formed keloid scarring, take that into account before you get a body piercing.  Your risk is greater if someone in your family has presented with keloids before. Note that this does not guarantee you will develop keloids. Doctors still do not know why some people form them and others do not.

The greater majority of people that ask me if they have a keloid actually have hypertropic scaring.

Hypertropic scars are raised scars that do not leave the boundaries of the initial wound. They can be red, have liquid in them, and be painful or irritating; but remember they do not keep growing! On most body piercings this type of scarring appears as small raised bumps.  Most of the time I see them on cartilage piercings, like those in this picture:

This site made for a New York Dermatologist has many good pictures of both Keloids and Hypertropic scarring.  I highly recommend looking at it. Check the site out here.

IF IN DOUBT, GO GET IT CHECKED OUT by a medical professional.

Keloid Treatment

If you are forming a keloid, see your doctor. Keloid scarring needs medical and surgical intervention for treatment. DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THEM YOURSELF. You can do serious damage to yourself that may result in further keloid scarring, infection, or permanent disfigurement to the affected area.  Your friend who thinks that they’re cool because they can get a hold of a scalpel IS NOT A DOCTOR! I can not stress this enough, because I know there are people out there impressionable enough to do something that dangerous.

(stupid/naïve + sharp objects = FAIL)

If you are interested in more information for the treatment of keloid scars please check out the following links.  Both will take you directly to the article on keloid treatment:

Medicine.com

eMedicine.com

Hypertropic Scarring Treatment

Hypertropic scars generally do not need intervention from a doctor.  Though they do not go away in their entirety, they do shrink over time on their own.  Most of these scars just need some TLC and time to improve.

If there is any fluid in the scar, do not pop it. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but it won’t help much in the long run.  If you want to get the fluid out I would recommend the following method found on BME.

Mix a mild sea salt solution in hot water, much like you would to clean a piercing.  IT should be no stronger than the strength of your tears. Be sure you are using sea salt, not table salt.  Also make sure that you will not burn yourself.  Test the temperature of the water on the inside of your wrist.  Steep a chamomile tea bag in the solution and place it on the affected area.  The tea bag acts as a warm compress which will help draw the fluid out.

If the scar is not production any fluid try the following:

To help the natural reduction of the scar you can massage it with tea tree oil or vitamin E oil that has a concentration of 14,000 IU or greater.

For more information on Tea Tree Oil click me.

For Vitamin E Oil click me.

DO NOT INGEST EITHER OIL.  TEA TREE OIL IS TOXIC both to humans and animals.

IMPORTANT!

***Remember these are home remedies.  Make sure that you test any oil that you plan to use on the inside of your wrist first to make sure that you will not have an adverse reaction. If you think you are having a reaction to it, stop using it.***

When you are purchasing oils for use on your body always buy for quality, not price. There are no regulations on the qualities of these oils, though some companies do have their own guidelines that they use.  I recommend the brand JASON for oils.  They are made for cosmetic use and they have high quality standards.

Rejection defined:

re⋅jec⋅tion /rɪˈdʒɛkʃən/ [ri-jek-shuhn]

n.

1. The act of rejecting or the state of being rejected.
2. Something rejected.
3. Medicine The failure of a recipient’s body to accept a transplanted tissue or organ as the result of immunological incompatibility; immunological resistance to foreign tissue.
4. Piercing The act of the body slowly forcing a foreign object from your body, much like if you get a splinter in your thumb.

Before we proceed I am going to clarify a couple of things that I found that can be argued as not quite true. First, some people out there argue that cleansers can be the sole cause of rejection.  This can be a factor in your piercing not healing properly, and thus it may start to reject.  Generally this will not be the sole factor in the rejection, nor is it the only cause of rejection.

Second, all piercings are at risk of rejecting, and I do mean ALL PIERCINGS.  Some piercings are at a much higher risk of rejecting than others, such as surface piercings.

A surface piercing is a piercing that spans from one surface of an area of skin to another, instead of going through a part of your anatomy.   Most people do not know this but both navel and eyebrow rings are surface piercings.  This is why they tend to have more issues with rejection and migration than other popular piercings.

This is a rejecting surface piercing in its beginning stages.

The end stages of a rejecting Madison.

This should have been taken out long before it got to this point.  This will be a nasty scar, and kind of makes me want to puke a bit.

The signs of piercing rejection are:

-Constant soreness and sensitivity.

-The skin over the jewelry being thin enough for you to see the bar through it.

-The jewelry hangs differently, more loosely than it used to.

-The hole around the piercing looks larger.

-The piercing is being held in by much less skin than it used to be.  If you take the jewelry out you can see two long scars that look like indents on both side of the piercing.  This is a common sign of rejection on older piercings.

If you are experiencing any of these signs, talk to your piercer.  They will probably recommend that you take the jewelry out and let the piercing heal.  The relationship is over, even if it has just begun.

Now that we have a basic understanding of the nature of the issue, we can move on to the serious stuff.  The following is a list of contributing factors to piercing rejection as sourced from BME’s wiki on rejection.  I have changed some of the wording and gone a little more into depth with the explanations.

Factor 1: Up-pressure – The jewelry used for the piercing puts pressure on the skin above it.  In some cases this puts stress on the tissue and cuts off the blood supply to it, causing it to die.  The dead skin falls off and the cycle repeats until you are left with almost no skin to hold the jewelry in, or it just falls out, leaving you with an ugly scar.

Factor 2: General Damage – Whenever you get a piercing damage is done to the surrounding tissue, which weakens it. After the damage is done your body immediately begins to heal itself, and in some cases begins to reject any object that may be in a wound.  Remember, a piercing is an intentional wound, but a wound none the less and your body is going to treat it as such.

Factor 3: Motion- If the piercing is placed in an area that moves a lot, it greatly increases the risk of rejection.  All of that twisting and turning and bending that your flesh does is transferred to the entire piercing, including the entrance and exit holes.

Factor 4: Impact- Each time that something bumps into your piercing it can damage it. Even if it is just clothing or accessories, it can still do damage to your piercing.

Factor 5: Drainage- The crusties on the ends of a new piercing are normal.  They are from deceased tissue from the area and the cells that were sent up to help that also expired after their job was done.  If a piercing is too long, or the exit holes are blocked this can prevent the piercing from draining properly.

Factor 6: Changing the Jewelry Too Soon- If you change the jewelry in a piercing before it is healed you can cause a piercing to start migrating and rejecting. This is because the jewelry that is worn in a piercing after it is fully healed is far too short for a healing piercing.

The best way to prevent rejection is to get pierced by someone that knows what they are doing. I can not stress the importance of this enough.  I have seen plenty of messed up, rejecting piercings done by inexperienced piercers.  Make sure you look at the artist’s portfolio.  If you are getting a surface piercing or dermal anchor, looking at the artist’s portfolio is especially important.  Make sure they can show you pictures of successfully healed surface piercings that they did.

Remember ANY PIERCING CAN REJECT at ANY TIME for NO REASON other than your body will not tolerate a piercing in that area.

And always, if in doubt go get it checked out.

I want a tongue piercing but I don’t know what they stand for. I want one because I find them to be pretty but I heard they mean you perform oral. Can you help?

After many attempts to answer this in 140 characters or less, I gave up and decided to expand upon it.

I actually have gotten this question on more than one occasion, and here is my answer:

The belief that having a tongue ring means that you give oral is wrong.  A piercing does not dictate what you do, or do not do.  But be aware that there is a social stigma of sorts attached to almost all piercings.  The best thing you can do is be confident and laugh it off if you hear something that you know is not true.

These days piercings are meant to be additions to your body for your own personal beautification, or for spiritual or sexual reasons. Some people feel that tongue rings can enhance oral pleasure, which would be why they make vibrating tongue rings and other tongue ring toppers meant for that purpose.

So I say if you want it, and it will make you feel more beautiful, go for it.

Here are some Fun Tongue Piercing History facts courtesy of Wikipedia:

“There is a history of ritual tongue piercing in both Aztec and Maya cultures, with illustrations of priests piercing their tongue and then either drawing blood from it or passing rough cords, designed to inflict pain, through the hole. This was done to honor their gods.  There is no evidence of permanent or long term tongue piercing in Aztec culture, however, despite the practice of many other permanent body modifications.

Piercing the tongue has a long history in religious and performance practices. Mesoamericans such as the Aztecs practiced this as well as other perforations as a part of offerings to their deities. Islamic Fakirs and Sufis from the Middle East, and Asian Spirit Mediums of the Far East practiced tongue piercing as an offering and proof of trance state (which they still do to this day).

The reason for the central [ Aboriginal Australian ] holy man’s practice of piercing the tongue was to enable the holy man to “suck with his tongue the [evil] magic out of his patients body. From the turn of the 20th century, Western Carnies borrowed many of their sideshow tricks from fakirs bringing to American and European audiences their first glimpses of tongue piercing.”

Here is the link if you are interested in the full Wiki article.

Also, on a side note some cultures believe tongue piercings to represent strength.

If you are interested in the procedure of getting your tongue pierced, check out this link to BMEzine’s Wiki on Tongue Piercing. Please be warned it may be a bit extreme or graphic at points.

-Never, ever, EVER attempt to change the jewelry before the piercing is healed. This is a recipe for disaster.  If the piercing is not fully healed before you try to change it you will do more damage than good.  You can damage the new tissue growth, lengthening your healing time and possibly creating a bloody mess.  That’s if your lucky.  Some people who change their jewelry too early end up losing the piercing all together because they can not get the jewelry back in.

-I know that the large hoop/bar looks tacky but I can not stress this enough: DON’T CHANGE IT BEFORE IT IS HEALED.  If you put jewelry in that is too small in diameter or length the piercing could start to migrate, reject, or embed.  None of these are very pleasant things, and all of them are painful and could result in the loss of the piercing.  If you have any questions about healing time and when it would be safe to change your jewelry, talk to your piercer.

-Avoid touching your new piercing as much as possible. If you need to touch your piercing, make sure that you wash your hands with anti-bacterial hand soap first.

-Don’t pick at the crusties no matter how gross they look.  Picking at the crusties can actually damage the new tissue that is forming.  Use a gentle cleanser to remove any dried discharge that may be around the piercing.

-Use something gentle to clean your piercing. Every person reacts differently to cleaning solutions, but no one should ever use rubbing alcohol or peroxide to clean their piercing.  This can damage new tissue, and dry out the piercing making causing it to become red, irritated, and take longer to heal.  Make sure that the cleaning solution you buy is approved or made specifically for body piercings.  Some piercers recommend Bactine, but this can be to harsh for people.  The same goes for anti-bacterial hand soap, like Dial. If you chose to use these cleaning products and start experiencing redness or dryness around your piercing you may need to switch to something gentler. Saline solutions are the gentlest. You can make your own using sea salt diluted in warm water to the concentration of your tears.  Never use table salt if you chose to mix your own.  You can also buy a premixed product like H2Ocean. Buying a premixed product is easier for most people because it is both portable and easy to use without worrying about making something that is too strong or too weak.  Always talk to your piercer to see what they recommend.

-For oral piercings, make sure you rinse with an alcohol free mouthwash.

-Do not use petroleum based products. These can trap bacteria and provide them with a good environment in which to grow.

-Do not go swimming in public pools or hot tubs until the piercing is fully healed.

-Avoid using lotions and other personal care products around a fresh piercing. Some products that you use every day can irritate a new piercing.  If you get something on it, make sure you clean it off as soon as you can.

-Always talk to your piercer and see what they recommend. If you suspect that your piercer has given you bad information, go and get a second opinion, or even a third if you want. It is perfectly acceptable to do so.  Also BMEzine is a great resource for all people who are involved in any form of body modification.  Please be warned that the content on BME can be graphic at times.  Also use the information given on the site at your own risk.

First, acrylic is a form of plastic.  It is generally hypoallergenic, though some people still have reactions to it.  You can find it used for different components in body jewelry.  Here are some examples:

These are all acrylic plugs.

These are all acrylic barbells with threaded acrylic balls.

This is navel ring with a surgical steel bar and acrylic balls.

Caring for acrylic jewelry is pretty simple.  The biggest rule you have to follow is DO NOT CLEAN IT IN RUBBING ALCOHOL OR PEROXIDE.  This only leads to bad things happening, like the jewelry discoloring and breaking.  Also acrylic jewelry is not to be sterilized in an autoclave.  This could cause the jewelry to melt.

If your jewelry has any steel parts, like the navel rings in the third picture, as long as you can take off the acrylic balls you can clean the steel part in rubbing alcohol, peroxide, or an autoclave.

If you have a tongue ring with acrylic balls and you use mouth wash, be sure that it is alcohol free.

Wood/Bone/Horn:

Wood, bone and horn are some of the most demanding materials of organic jewelry. The basic guidelines for the care and keeping of  plugs made with these materials are the following:

- Take them out when you shower or swim. Some wood likes to absorb water.  This can cause it to discolor or warp, making your plugs look ugly or causing them to break if they have inlays.  It can also effect any glue or adhesive used to keep inlays in the plugs.

- No alcohol or peroxide. Using these to clean wood, horn, or bone can also damage it.  Use an alcohol free cleanser, or just anti bacterial hand soap.  Make sure you dry your plugs thoroughly after you clean them.

- Invest in some oil. Every so often with wood, horn, and bone you are going to need to put oil on your plugs.  The best oils for this purpose are jojoba, olive, peanut, mineral, or Vitamin E oil.  Food grade oils tend to break down with heat and time, so you will need to wash and oil your plugs often.  Also oiling your plugs can cause the material to darken over time.  This is normal.

-Do NOT autoclave your organics! It can cause craking and breakage of the jewelry.

Stone and Glass

Stone and glass are low maintenance organics.  There is no oiling involved.  You can clean glass in alcohol or peroxide, but make sure to rinse them with water before you put them in your ears after using either to clean your jewelry.

Avoid submerging stone in alcohol or peroxide. Some stone is dyed to make it a more vibrant color, and using these cleaning methods may effect the color.

Do NOT autoclave either type unless it is stated by the manufacturer that it is safe to do so.

You do not have to take these organics out when you shower or swim, water does not effect either material.

If your organics involve any type of horn, bone, or wood; even if it is just an inlay, you need to follow the care instructions for horn, bone, and wood.

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