AboutBrian Skellie Expertise I can answer questions in regards to and not limited to: jewelry safety, specifically material, shape, proportion, and related issues; aseptic technique and sterilization as it applies to piercing safety; ethical issues of technique and bedside manner; the aftercare and recovery process for piercings.
Experience
Past/Present clients
Tens of thousands of one on one client experiences. http://www.piercing.org/ Body jewelry design and safety expert: Member ASTM committee F04(www.astm.org)
Member AAMI (www.aami.org)
Research advisor and educator for the APP for over a decade(www.safepiercing.org) teaching advanced studio setup, sterilization and equipment management, freehand piercing, aseptic/sterile technique and much more.
Distributor for SciCan StatIM sterilization and cleaning products. http://www.piercing.org/statim/
Expert: Brian Skellie Date: 7/1/2008 Subject: Should I be scared?
Question So I really want to get my nose pierced but I'm totally scared of pain! Could someone tell me if it hurts a lot? And is it better with a needle or a gun?
Thanks folks!
xXx
Answer Piercing has many positive points and can be easy to heal and enjoy. Most of the clients have interacted with say, "That was it?" when we are done, since it is so simple, gentle, quick and non-invasive. The sensation is better experienced than explained. Let it suffice to say that for an instant you feel a sharp pressure, but never unpleasant or bad sensation from our gentle procedure, and immediately afterwards it is gone without a trace, and you are left with a big smile and an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment! People keep coming back for more once they cross that first threshold, and realize how much more of the feeling is psychological, and how much we care about creating the optimal experience for you.
A gun is brutal and the jewelry is not safe for healing in the nostril. http://piercing.org/shop shows what we have the greatest success rate with.
I'm going to tackle your questions in a holistic sense, and if you need further clarification, please let me know.
Glad to help, we'll be here to welcome you with a smile.
The service is valued at $50 for the nostril. The jewelry, a small bar with your choice of gemstones in titanium would be about $20. We could make the jewelry any color you like for no extra charge if you please. We never use rings or ear posts as initial jewelry, and encourage you consider them like high heeled shoes, kind of awkward and best used carefully or only for dress up. As soon as you are past the healing process, you can switch over to a safe titanium ring for as little as $6 or different and smaller gemstones.
Our procedure for nostril piercings
Please use the information on our http://www.piercing.org/pexy/technique/technique.html page for safety procedures for all piercing.
As for the actual part where we make a hole and put in jewelry, that part is pretty simple.
1. We select custom fit jewelry
2. We have the client fill out a consent form
3. We explain and give printed recovery information
4. We steam sterilize the disposable gloves, gauze, cannula, and jewelry by a state of the art vacuum autoclave process
5. We bring the client to a private clean room used only for piercing services
6. We make the client feel comfortable, confident, and trustful
7. We put on a surgical mask and protective eyewear
8. We scrub our hands
9. We put on sterilized nitrile gloves
10. We mark the skin where the jewelry will live
11. We prepare the skin with a surgical cleanser
12. We put on sterilized nitrile gloves
13. We pick up the freshly sterilized gauze, drape, cannula and jewelry
14. We put a sterile fabric drape with the window in the drape positioned over the area we are to decorate
15. We align the tissue by hand, like a surgeon would line up tissue to suture
16. We ask the client to take a deep breath and tell them that when they let it out, it is over
17. The client breathes out smoothly, and the skin is penetrated gracefully, quickly and with great attention to aim, passing through to create the openings needed
18. The jewelry, a small bar made of titanium implant material, connects to the cannula and gently follows it through
19. The bar is closed
20. The client gets a first look and gets to live happily ever after with their new jewelry
The first words out of your mouth will probably be, "That's it?" because it can be so much easier than an ear piercing gun.
http://piercing.org/faq/aftercare.html describes in detail what you should be doing to protect it while your body heals. This applies to ears as well, and works more easily and with less negative reactions than the common antiseptic method you may be familiar with.
In about 30 to 90 days, it should be finished healing, with no antiseptic, or soaking, or washing. We encourage our clients to return for a checkup within the first 30 days to make sure everything is going well. When it is sturdy enough, we put in the other jewelry if you please, a clear quartz retainer, a ring or bar of the appropriate fit, $6 and up. If you heal well, the color and texture of the piercing should closely resemble that of the surrounding skin so that if it is removed, the scar should be virtually unnoticeable. That would be it in a nutshell...
