34. Bad Nostril Piercing

Another 'piercings gone wrong' post.... Take a look at this nostril piercing. Believe it or not, she was pierced with this jewelry.



As you can see, it's a very small U shape style. What happened? The entire piece healed inside her nose. There was no exit point on the inside. Apparently, it was this way for a year. The reason why she came in was because the jewelry was beginning to migrate, and that little point on the U shape jewelry started poking out the top of her nose. She didn't even know it had healed completely inside her nose.



You can see the second hole about 1/4" lower than the initial piercing hole. It had almost poked all of the way through by the time I removed it. I think she got really lucky with this piercing....she could have had much worse things happen!

It's always important to keep an eye on your piercings, and not go to a place because it's "cheap". This is what happens at those types of studios!

33. Bad Microdermals

Here's an unfortunate end to six microdermals about a week old. Two on the wrist, two on the lower back, and two on the stomach. She had them done at another shop, by a tattoo artist who also pierces. It's obvious that he did not reach the appropriate depth and most of them had already started rejection. She told me that it took him about 15 to 20 minutes to do each piercing, and that it was extremely painful. He told her to force them down with band aids to help them "set". Hah! If anything, the force from the band aids made her problems worse. He also charged her an outrageous amount of money, for six microdermals that are a style I'm pretty sure they don't make anymore.

I removed all six for her.

This is not what microdermals should look like after a week. They should be flush with the skin and there should be little to no redness. They're also not that painful of a procedure. It's important to look at portfolios and look at pictures of microdermals the piercer has done. Even if they have pierced you before, if there are no microdermals in their portfolio, chances are they may be inexperienced with the procedure.

17. Extreme Industrial Scarring

This industrial is about 6 months old, and apparently this scarring has been around for most of its life. She said she didn't take the advice of the piercer, and began to remove the jewelry after a couple weeks, once every other day for school sports, because she had to. She says "I'm sure that's what caused the bumps, but lately it is so painful all of the time, when I take it out or when I sleep. I've had piercers say I should take it out, but I don't want to! I love my piercing!"

This is probably some of the worst scarring I have ever seen on an industrial piercing in person. Despite everything I said to her while she was in my shop, she left here with the jewelry in and will probably continue to not take care of it. Even if the jewelry was removed, I don't think this scarring will dissipate much, if at all. But by leaving the jewelry in, it's likely her scarring will continue to grow. It's unfortunate to see something like this, as it makes the industry look bad.

This is what happens when you disregard the aftercare of a professional and don't take care of your healing piercing. Ear piercings can be sensitive and proper aftercare should be given. There is a reason why we tell you to not move or remove the jewelry for a certain period of time. Severe scarring and/or keloiding can happen to anyone who takes advantage of a fragile piercing.