What you should know before you book your first appointment!

Beauty is a broad church encompassing a range of different arts and sciences to make us look as fabulous as humanly possible at all times. And as diverse and fluid as the notion of beauty often is, so to do our attitudes towards it change. Let’s face it, how often have you looked back at pictures of yourself wearing what you thought was cool years ago that now mortify you. Of course there are some elements of beauty like our clothes, accessories and even hairstyles that we keep in a near permanent state of rotation. Others like tattoos and piercings require a little more thought and commitment. Lots of people, boys and girls, get their ears pierced either by their parents as babies or later in childhood. But if you’ve escaped the needle until your adult years, you may be unsure about whether it’s too late to take the plunge and get your ears (or anywhere else pierced). Ultimately, the choice lies with you, but here are some facts about piercing that will help you to make an informed choice…

Where you pierce will determine the risk of infection

Although the gun vs needle debate has raged for years, no piercing, however sanitary the procedure itself, if free of the risk of infection. Wherever you pierce it’s reasonable to assume that you’ll experience redness and swelling for a while your body does its own thing to see off any risk of infection. However, while this should be considered, you also need to be aware that the greater the blood flow to a certain area, the faster it will heal and thus, the lower the risk of infection. Thus ear lobes, tongues and lips have some of the fastest healing times while upper ears and noses have some of the slowest.

There will be pus!

If you’re thinking of getting a piercing as a way of spicing things up with your significant other, it’s important to factor in the healing process. There’s certainly potential for your new piercing to be a lot of fun but before you shop nipple bars, it’s a good idea to let your partner know in advance rather than it being a surprise. Why? Because whenever you pierce a body part, pus will form around the site of the piercing for a while as the piercing heals. The best way to treat this is to wash with salt water twice a say. Avoid using chemical soaps or antibacterial agents as these will only exacerbate the problem.  

You can expect heightened sensation

Not only can your piercing make you feel pretty, empowered and sexy, you will likely also experience heightened sensation in the pierced area. This could either be a pro or a con, especially if you piercing is somewhere where you can’t show people on social media. If you’re already prone to sensitivity in certain areas, simply running up or down stairs can become a bit of an ordeal.

Remember, you can go back

The good thing about piercings is that you’re not stuck with them for life. Unlike tattoos which are time consuming and expensive to remove, if you don’t get along with your new piercings, after a while you can just take them out and let the hold heal up naturally over time. Just be aware that the more often you do this, the more difficult it may become to change your mind and get the same body part pierced again.