Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

I was reading Karen Hudson’s account of getting new micro dermal anchors inserted on her blog on the about.com site (here) and it occurred to me that people who get tattoos often get multiple piercings as well.

I don’t have any piercings I couldn’t show my grandmother, if she were still around. However, I do have three piercings in each ear, and have occasionally thought about getting more. The general accounts of the pain involved in getting a cartilage piercing have kept me from going any farther than just thinking about it, though.

I know quite a few people who have more exotic ear piercings (my daughter got a tragus piercing a few years ago, for example) and who have their ears decorated with all kinds of studs, jewelry, rings, bars, etc. I know other people who have piercings that are, shall we say, not usually on show to the general public. I probably know more people who have those kinds of piercings and who aren’t talking about it, so I don’t know who they are.

I can’t, from personal experience, say whether pierced people are more likely to be tattooed, or whether tattooed people are more likely to be pierced, but it does seem that the latter statement tends to be true. I think once one gets into permanent body art, one naturally starts exploring beyond one’s initial endeavors.

I had two of my three pairs of ear piercings already when I got my first tattoo, and added the third set of holes shortly after I got my third tattoo. None of the more exotic piercings appeal to me at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I might not change my mind later on.

The dermal anchors were something I’d never heard of before. They certainly complement Ms. Hudson’s gorgeous body art. I don’t think I’ll be seeking any for myself any time soon, but at least now I’ve seen them.

Do any of you have unusual piercings to go with your multicolored skin?

photo credit: darkenstormyknight1

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As I mentioned before, I am one of the many people who is sensitive to nickel.

I don’t know whether it’s all because my first pierced earrings were cheap, because up till the time I got my ears pierced, I seldom wore much jewelry. I’ve been trying to think back before that to remember if I ever got the itchies from something I wore, and I just don’t remember.

I had a nice neck chain that was supposed to be “rhodium plated” that made my neck itch like nobody’s business, but I think I got that after I had my ears done. I know I owned it in the same town we lived in when I got my ears pierced for the first time, but that’s as close as I can come on the timeline. Rhodium is related to platinum and it is supposed to be nonallergenic. Whether the manufacturer of the chain was a bit less than honest about the contents of the plating or whether I truly do react to rhodium, I don’t know. I have avoided rhodium plated jewelry like the plague ever since.

Of new holes and old

I got the first ear piercings done when I was sixteen. Two friends and I went to a local doctor’s office to have it done, and we were told to bring our own earrings. Foolishly, I trusted my mother to buy the earrings for me, and she just flat-out didn’t listen to the instructions. I was suposed to have plain gold balls. She bought daisies, made of who knows what. By the time I saw what she’d bought, it was too late to get replacements. The result of that was pretty much a foregone conclusion–I got horrible red crusty patches behind the earrings and ended up having to take them out and put lengths of nylon guitar string through the holes to keep them open while they healed enough to put new earrings in. Ugh.

However, those holes have stayed with me all these years and have never closed up. I can’t say the same for the second set of ear piercings I got. Of course, I got the second set done at an earring shop, with a piercing gun. I don’t think most people knew what a bad idea that was, at the time. Those holes tend to close up if I don’t wear earrings for more than a few days, which is a real nuisance.

The third ear piercings are right next to where the cartilage begins, on the outer edge of my ear. They were done by a professional piercer and (as one would expect) caused me the least pain and the fewest problems. Those holes don’t close up, but they do narrow down.

On finding good earrings

When you’ve got nickel allergy, finding good earrings isn’t always easy. Even the ones labeled “for sensitive ears” sometimes give me problems. I’ve had horrible reactions from ear posts labeled “surgical stainless steel.” On our recent vacation I wore one such pair by mistake and arrived at our destination with the second ear holes hurting and mostly swollen shut. Sigh. I have gold earrings from Tiffany’s in New York, that my aunt gave to me, that I can’t wear without coating the posts with clear nail polish. It seems as though neither price nor material is any guarantee.

So what do I wear when I want to be sure nothing’s going to happen? Titanium ear studs from the Fire Mountain Gems catalog. They don’t hurt. They don’t itch. The problem is, they are small and rather blah looking (even though they come in several colors). I need to find a source for more decorative, guaranteed nonallergenic earrings. If you can’t find ‘em at Tiffany’s, where on earth can you go?

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