Anti-Revision Techniques

Because Persona 101 is in the midst of exam revision/illness (even though he managed to post before me, therefore I shall be ripping out his scrotum through his nose later, that should clear out his head, eh?), I thought I should finally get around to posting something like I promised both myself and him back at the beginning of June.

So, today's (rather long) post will be on the topic of body modification. I was hoping it would turn into another two-sided thing, but it seems that Persona 101 knows stuff all about this area, surprise surprise. So this will be one sided, very biased, and hopefully quite fun to read, although I'll only discover that if people comment! *hint hint hint*

Before we start, a little disclaimer - I am in no way a professional. Everything I say here has come from experience, but I seriously recommend consulting a piercing or modification specialist before embarking on anything new. If in doubt, here's a good website to get you started. Be warned, some of the posts are quite extreme, and possibly unsuitable for those of a nervous disposition/those new to the world of modification. Proceed with caution.

I currently have six piercings - two in my left ear, three in my right, and my lip. Hopefully, I'll be adding a nape piercing (a horizontal bar piercing across the back of the neck) to this collection after the end of the exams. I also intend to begin stretching my left lobe piercing again over the summer. At it's largest, it was stretched to 10mm across, but after taking it out, I've had a lot of problems trying to start it up again. With any luck, I should be more successful this time around, as I have around 10 weeks to get it back to the size I want.

On the subject of stretches piercings, they have become much more common over the past year or two. I never fail to be a little saddened when I see indie kids, or even chavs, wandering around with piercings that obviously aren't very happy with their owners. I've spoken to people who have taken a piercing from it's original size, less than 1mm across, up to 5 or 6mm in a few days; this is incredibly stupid as it can tear the skin inside the piercing, leading to infection, and also causing problems when trying to stretch the piercing further as scar tissue has built up around the inside of it. If you're going to stretch a piercing, please, do it slowly! Move up one step at a time, no more than 0.5mm at a time up to 5mm, and no more than 1mm at a time after that, with at least a two week gap between each step, and you should be on the road to a healthy, happy stretch.

I love, no, ADORE my piercings, and feel that they are a part of me now. I instantly gravitate towards someone with a piercing, whether it be something unusual, or just something simple that suits the person's body. In the same breath, I will generally drift away from people who either have badly placed piercings, too many piercings, or those who get a piercing just because it's "cool", like the tragus (the small bump of cartilage that sticks out to protect the entrance of the ear) piercings that have suddenly gotten very popular recently.

Piercing is not the only part of the modification world that I have an interest in; I happen to also love tattoos. Despite this love, I am instantly saddened by people who have names tattooed on various parts of their body, the same going for brands, logos and, worst of all in my opinion, football badges or other team tattoos. These are the kinds of tattoos that make me wonder how the tattooist can have a shred of self respect. It is astonishing how bad some pieces are, whether they have been badly done (much to the misfortune of the recipient), or just generally a bad idea to start with (this is where my hatred of names, logos etc. comes in, along with anything Betty Boop or Playboy related). I'm also generally against full body tattooing, but this is only because I have yet to see a person covered in tattoos that doesn't have at least one that doesn't fit with the rest of the design. However, I do think that a full arm or leg sleeve, or a large back piece can look particularly beautiful if done well.

Sadly, what with the age restrictions for tattooing here being 18 without parental consent, it looks like I have another two years to wait before I can get my first piece. This is most likely a good thing, as it gives me time to plan out the perfect design, something which a minority of people neglect to do, choosing to pick their tattoo from a book in the shop. A tattoo should by no means be a thing that can be simply chosen on the spur of the moment; this design will be part of you forever, so it should be something that has a deep significance to you, at the very least a design you have thought of yourself. Why cover a part of your body in something that doesn't reflect who you are? I think the best way to show how I feel in this area would be to point you in the area of the programmes "LA Ink" and "London Ink", both of which are focused on not only the tattoos themselves, but the stories behind them.

So, as much as I could ramble on with this post forever, moving into the depths of scarification, implants, and other various things, I think that this is a nice introduction for now. I will write another post in this area at some point, but only if someone tells me to!

-Hlctwh93