Tattoo & Piercing Q&A

[KelleyCarnivore]

Hey guys, just wanted to see what people can tell me about medusa/philtrum piercings! I'm toying with the idea of getting one, and I wanted to know about others' experiences with them (all the internet info is a bit scary- about them getting infected easily 'n stuff), healing time, do they tend to heal if you decided to remove them, what are employers' reactions to them, are they very painful, that kinda stuff.
I don't know if I'll balls up and get one, since I'm graduating next year and will have to enter the adult world (aaaaah ), but I think one might suit me, and go with my septum quite well...
any advice on this would be great!!

I did my philtrum about 5 weeks ago. It hurt less than I expected. My lip was obviously swollen for about 3 days and I had morning swelling for a week. At 4 weeks I switched to a 3/8" labret stud(was previously wearing 5/16").

It kind of annoyed me until I switched to this shorter jewelry. It would get caught on my gum slighty when I smiled/ laughed/ate. It also took a little time to get used to the back of the labret stud hitting the webbing between my lip and gums. With shorter jewelry all of those problems are gone. I even forget about it now.

It looks healed to anyone who sees it. It still needs time to completely build scar tissue around the jewelry(that's what keeps holes from closing. Scar tissue sounds like a scary term, please don't take that as something bad) it takes 8-12 weeks to heal completely. As far as aftercare I washed it once a day with antibacterial soap, did a saline soak once a day, and rinsed my mouth with alcohol free mouthwash throughout the day. I still wash it everyday, but ive slowed the saline soaks to every couple days. I rinse my mouth out everytime I brush my teeth(2x daily) and right before bed. (just a note, I'm also a smoker, and at work I recommend to my piercing customers that they smoke as little as possible[preferably not at all] while healing. I made sure to rinse after smoking for the first 3 weeks) I should/could have gone longer, but I forgot my mouthwash at home one day and got out of my routine.

Go for it! I love my philtrum piercing. I'm so glad I got it done!



Edited to add picture

[sickgirliezele]

Kelley! - i love it!! you look gorgeous!!

[KelleyCarnivore]

Kelley! - i love it!! you look gorgeous!!

Thanks so much, you gorgeous lady you!

[ruthiselvis]

Oh wow, I only just saw this now, and you look lovely!
Thanks for the advice too! Its great to hear from you just as you'd gotten it done. I'm thinking I'll wait till the summer, when (HOPEFULLY) I'll have a job, and I'll be able to gauge people's reactions to something like that then...
THANKYOU!!

[namelesswonder]

Okay it's been a month and a half since I last heard from the artist that was supposed to be doing my tattoo. She has my deposit, and based on our last emails, I thought she was going to re-draw the design, bigger and more realistic. I'm starting to feel like it's never going to get done. I don't know what a reasonable turn around time is for a fairly busy artist in terms of just getting initial artwork, but so far it's been a month between each sketch after the initial 2-3 weeks for the first one. The second sketch wasn't much different than the first, and now I'm asking for a completely new design so I'm not sure if it's okay that I'm not hearing anything almost 2 months later.

I'm going to send an email to check in, make sure there wasn't a miscommunication about needing more information or images, but I'm wondering if I should start looking for a new artist at this point.

[ruthiselvis]

I just started the colour part of my side piece tattoo on friday, and noticed today that although it seems to be healing quite nicely there's a load of pretty grim bruising around the bits that have had colour. I've never had that come up with my other tattoos, and I didn't get that with the outline of this one, even though it was just as intense on the pain scale/being leaned on by the artist 'n stuff. It doesn't hurt more than ususal but I guess since I've never seen bruises come up like that before it is worrying me a little- has this happened to anyone else?
I can post pictures if anyone needs that to see what I mean...

[CamilleDevine]

I just started the colour part of my side piece tattoo on friday, and noticed today that although it seems to be healing quite nicely there's a load of pretty grim bruising around the bits that have had colour. I've never had that come up with my other tattoos, and I didn't get that with the outline of this one, even though it was just as intense on the pain scale/being leaned on by the artist 'n stuff. It doesn't hurt more than ususal but I guess since I've never seen bruises come up like that before it is worrying me a little- has this happened to anyone else?
I can post pictures if anyone needs that to see what I mean...

I've neer had actual bruises, but every time I get tattooed, I swell up like a balloon. It's always, ALWAYS worse when I'm getting shading done, as opposed to linework.
The bruising seems like nothing to worry about, provided it goes away after a few days.

[ghouliina]

I just started the colour part of my side piece tattoo on friday, and noticed today that although it seems to be healing quite nicely there's a load of pretty grim bruising around the bits that have had colour. I've never had that come up with my other tattoos, and I didn't get that with the outline of this one, even though it was just as intense on the pain scale/being leaned on by the artist 'n stuff. It doesn't hurt more than ususal but I guess since I've never seen bruises come up like that before it is worrying me a little- has this happened to anyone else?
I can post pictures if anyone needs that to see what I mean...

I've neer had actual bruises, but every time I get tattooed, I swell up like a balloon. It's always, ALWAYS worse when I'm getting shading done, as opposed to linework.
The bruising seems like nothing to worry about, provided it goes away after a few days.

a buddy of mine just started a massive chest piece and it bruised like CRAZY. like, i could visibly see it bruise as it was getting done, and he said it hurt like a bitch. basically, i don't think it's anything to worry about, it's all dependent on the area getting tattooed and the amount of capillaries and nerves in the area.

[namelesswonder]

Recommendations for best sunscreen brand/spf/whatever and how frequently to apply if you burn easily? I'm getting my upper arm tattooed at the end of the month. I've never been good about keeping lathered up & can burn even when wearing sunscreen! I might get a wetshirt for swimming this summer heh

[just_icarus]

Recommendations for best sunscreen brand/spf/whatever and how frequently to apply if you burn easily? I'm getting my upper arm tattooed at the end of the month. I've never been good about keeping lathered up & can burn even when wearing sunscreen! I might get a wetshirt for swimming this summer heh

http://www.neutrogena.com/category/sun/ ... hnology.do

^this stuff is supposed to be great!

[CamilleDevine]

K. So. I had my septum done today, but it doesn't seem right. Looking at the below photos, does it seem like she pierced it way too high? Do I just have weird nose anatomy and this is totally normal? Or do they deliberately use a short horseshoe at first until it's healed?
I was expecting to be able to actually see the jewellery. Looking at it before the actual piercing was done, the jewellery seemed a fairly normal shape/size, but looking at my face flat-on you can only just see the balls. I came home, and my house mate asked "where is it?". Exactly.
(Here, have some unflattering up-the-nose photos)

[hell_kitten]

It looks like it has been pierced too high! The jewelry could be too small, but at my shop we use pretty small jewelry for septums and it never looks like that, so even with the smallest horseshoe in it, it's probably still pierced really high. I can't really tell you without looking/ feeling inside your nose, but if I were you I would talk to a different piercer about it and see what they think

[CamilleDevine]

Damn!
Would it be worth going back to the same shop and pointing out that the piercing is barely visible (nicely...)? I got the impression the girl hadn't been there long/wasn't that experienced, would it be likely that the owner or someone higher up would give me advice or change the jewellery?

I'm really annoyed, it looks ridiculous >:[

[hell_kitten]

Yeah I would call the shop and try and talk to the owner, they should be able to help you somehow.

[CamilleDevine]

I went back today (it's the only shop open, everything else is closed for Easter), and they basically said flip it up, leave it for 2 weeks, and they'll do a jewellery change for free later. They said it's not done too high, the jewellery is just not big enough. I think I'll still try to find another piercer to see if it's pierced too high, because it seems like it to me.
Thanks for the help