• Feb 10-11: Flesh hook suspensions at Dirty Show in Detroit with Miss Highwire and Cookie Sunshine!
• Feb 26- March 2: Flying out to Baltimore and then driving to New York hitting every shop along the way.
• Feb 18: Genital Piercing class at Madtown Kinkfest
• Feb 19: Play Piercing class at Madtown Kinkfest and again at Sabbat de Sade followed by Sabbat de Sade.
• Feb 25: Flesh Fashion at CUTMUZE in Milwaukee
• March 3rd is still in the works, but I may be doing suspensions in Chicago.

You may ask, why am I traveling to visit all these shops? A partner and I started a new jewelry line with a product never seen before, solid ruby plugs. These are sold exclusively in Madison at Tailor Made. They will also be available to a few select studios in different cities who are high end enough to carry them.

What this means is that if you want a piercing, you should call ahead. I apologize for not being around as regularly, but I will make it up to you if you work with me and have a little patience. Remember, nothing is a greater indicator of success than the ability to delay immediate gratification!

First, we need to look at who says what it is. The first thing most people see is 316, this simply means low carbon. But, where does that number come from? The people who developed the standards were welders and the measurements were more concerned with how the metal welds and how little it rusts. Stainless Steel differs from carbon steel in that it will not rust when exposed to moisture. Instead it contains a percentage of Chromium which creates a protective film which presents rust. The other ingredient that we’re concerned with is Nickel, which is what makes jewelry react poorly in the body. All stainless steel body jewelry has about .5% Ni. Stainless steel is an alloy, meaning its a combination of other metals that when mixed together create a product that is better than the individual parts. The International Organization for Standardization created a range of materials included to measure what kind of steel it is. The regulation is actually a range and if you looked at the numbers, its a broad range. In order to be 316 compliant, it can be along the low end of the spectrum in regards to how much chromium or nickel it contains or it can be in the high end. The ASTM has a little more strict measurement, but it’s still a range.

316L vs 316LVM: 316L simply is the measurement of materials but doesn’t indicate how it was created. All metals react to their environment, some such as Lithium or Potassium react more violently. The difference with 316LVM is the magic VM, which stands for Vacuum Melted. When the materials are processed they are melted in a vacuum which keeps most of the nickel in the core.

The most important part of a piece of jewelry is the mirror finish. If they people making the jewelry don’t care about the finish, how much do you want to bet they didn’t care about the materials? Higher quality metals will be able to polish better than lower quality materials. Also, when you buff the jewelry to a mirror finish you create a really nice layer of chromium oxide, remember that stuff that stops metal from rusting. The other benefit to a mirror finish is illustrated when you look really closely at it. A dull finish is actually composed of lots of little scratches and those little scratches are big enough for cells or other bacteria to hang out it and we don’t like them. However, a mirror finish has that effect because the light is refracted in one direction instead of multiple directions as in a dull finish. This makes the jewelry feel more smooth and soft to the touch. It also looks pretty!!!

This is where we get to titanium. Ever hear of someone say they had a stainless steel implant? Rarely, maybe bone screws are steel. But, most medical implants are titanium. Implant grade titanium is ASTM F136 6AI-4V ELI (Wrought alloy for surgical implant), which “spontaneously and immediately forms a stable, continuous, tightly adherent oxide film upon exposer to exygen in air or water.” Titanium works best in the body because it has 0% nickle and has a zero lymph response rate. You’re body wont waste energy attacking the metal, it will instead repair the tissue with less swelling. Its also light weight and very strong, it would even last during cryogenic freezing.

Titanium can also be anodized by running an electric current through the metal and the different voltages change it into different colors, brown, dark purple, dark blue, light blue, ice blue, light yellow, dark yellow, pink, blurple, teal, and green. It can’t however be turned black, Niobium however can be made black.

Another interesting note, Sierra Leone has one of the world’s largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used in making titanium.

My Mom is a nurse, (which is why I grew up reading medical books. I knew more about anatomy & blood borne pathogens than the average 5th grader). She also thought it would be okay to give me my old unused anit-biotics. This was a big mistake! Within ten minutes, I’m scratching my palms thinking money was coming my way. Then, my neck started itching, my feet, and my face got really hot. I started gasping for breath as my airway started to close up. I had no idea what was going on at the time. Anaphylactic shock. We rushed to the ER and on the way these two bleach blond girls thought we were racing them and kept cutting us off. I got to the hospital and they gave me a shot of adrenaline. After that, I was right as rain. Actually, I was ripped and full of energy.

This is the kind of knee jerk reactions that a lot of people do when they don”t understand what”s going on. The healing dynamics seems to be a mystery to a lot of people, even doctors & nurses. I get a lot of people coming in saying, “It”s infected!” They say it with a little whimper & whine all while poking at the irritated piercing. I answer with, “No, it”s not infected… it”s healing. But, you”re pissing it off.” The body goes through a few stages during the healing period of a wound.

First, all the vessels seal up so that the bleeding stops, but blood rushes to the area to supply it with rich red blood cells. This is called the Inflamation Phase. We need red blood cells to repair tissue. NOT white blood cells. But, we”ll get back to their role. Whats happening is the cells are migrating to the site of injury. We generally don”t get scabs with piercings like we”re use to with cuts & scrapes. The reason is the jewelry seals off the wound and forces the wound to heal around it.

The second stage is where granular tissue starts to grow around the wound. This tissue is pinkish in color because it”s highly vascular (remember, we need red blood cells to heal tissue). Then, epithelial cells start to line the edges of the piercing. This epithelium thickens and become fibroblast tissue. This tissue is more dense and less elastic than epithelium that makes up most of our skin. Fibroblast tissue is what we think of as scars. This fibroblast tissue creates a tube called a fistulla. A fistulla is technically a tunnel connecting two organs, in this case skin to skin.

Final stage is Maturation Phase. Here our newly developed fistula is like a 2 year old child. It”s finding out how to work and fit into it”s new world. The collagen is being synthesised, remodeled, and becoming more organized. Certain anticeptics can interfere with the healing process.

Chlorhexidine is a good anti-microbial agent that doesn’t interfere with wound healing. Bactine probably isn’t great, neither is Pierced Ear Antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, or Hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is simply an unstable molecule: 2 hydrogens per 2 oxygen. When it come in contact with a catalyst (i.e. blood) it speeds up the reaction and become water & oxygen. It bubbles & stings. The only thing it kills is bacteria or viruses that can”t be exposed to oxygen (Anaerobic bacteria or viruses). It also tends to over dry the skin & kill your epithelial skin cells (you’ll notice the skin turns white where peroxide comes in contact). Skin heals better when it”s moist, so drying out the area isn”t good.

You’re probably wondering why it has the crusties & yucky stuff! What I wrote above addresses the cellular workings of repairing tissue. We have different interworking systems which include integumentary system, the circulatory system, and my all time favorite the lymphatic system. What your seeing in crusties is the lymphatic secretions. The way we keep our insides clean is this lymph fluid is leaked out of the blood vessels and kinda hangs around the cells. It picks up any dirty stuff and carries it back to the blood vessels & then gets filtered in the lymph nodes. These are located by the neck (the glands your doctor feels for when you have strep throat), arm pits, inner thighs, and lower abdomen. This is where it gets the yucky stuff out of our blood stream so it doesn”t go back to the heart.

Lymph is like police cars patrolling Los Angeles. They drive around looking for abnormal behavior then bring the hoodlums (pathogens) in for investigation. A detective (B-cell) is sent out to investigate. He finds the gang leaders & their specific gang signs then gets special operation forces (T-Cells) to go attack. These Special Ops only attack the specific gang members and eat them up. They don”t work out of their jurisdiction though; and they don”t kill anything that hasn”t been authorized.

When you see that crusty stuff, it”s just lymph fluid. If the discharge is a white or clear fluid, it”s normal.Piercing infection isn”t very common, contrary to what people will say.

Signs of infection include: Redness that surrounds more than just a halo. It will be inflamed and very hot to the touch. The discharge will be a putrid smelly yellow-green goo. Excessive drainage may be something to get looked at too if it”s red & tender.

If you think a piercing is infected stop into your local piercing shop and let them take a look at it. They’ve probably seen a lot of piercings during the different healing stages and they can tell you if you should get it checked out by a doctor. An infection will have to be cultured to determine the type of infection it may be.

Causes for infection: MRSA or Staphylococcus (staph) is the most likely to cause an infection. This is a bacteria found on the skin and/or in the nose of healthy people. It is usually harmless unless it gets into the body through breaks in the skin. I’m sure you can figure out that touching a piercing with your unwashed hands is the biggest proponent of infection. So-Don”t-Touch-It!

If you think your piercing is infected, don’t remove the jewelry. This is everyone”s knee jerk reaction (aside from unused anti-biotics). Also, don’t put antibiotic ointment on it. The discharge needs to be discharged. It has to get out or else you may develop an absess and it may need to be drained. If you remove the jewelry the ends seal up and everything is stuck inside. If you put ointment on there such as neosporin or bacitracin it will clog the hole and it can”t exude. Plus, it tends to make it more swollen and more goopy & gross.

Moral of the story: Don”t give your kid unused antibiotics, even if you”re a nurse. Always go to a professional, a person who knows or has a good idea about what you”re dealing with. If you don”t understand piercings, don”t use the same methods you would if your little one gets a boo-boo.