Six things you should know before getting a piercing

Let’s admit it. Piercings are cute. They look good on anyone sporting them and even more beautiful when adorned with the appropriate jewelry.

Nose piercings, standard ear piercings, upper lobe piercings, and helix piercings are a few examples of the many kinds of piercings that exist.

Commonly, piercings are usually done as a sign of artistic expression, spiritual beliefs, and beauty. A piercing can be made using a sharp object such as pin, and piercing gun, to puncture a hole in the skin.

Asides the face, piercings can be made on other parts of the body such as; the belly button.

But getting a piercing is a big deal and it’s important to be aware of the processes involved in getting pierced as well as what to expect.

• Why are You Getting a Piercing?

As stupid as it seems, you may want to seriously ask yourself why you are getting a piercing. This is because getting pierced is no small deal.

Piercings mean different things to different people and for you, getting a piercing done might be tied to exploring a new beauty trend, spiritual beliefs, or expressing yourself. However the case might be for you, being in tune with the ‘why’ for going done the piercing route.

Piercings can completely alter your look and people’s perception about you [although this does not matter a bit] hence, having a genuine motive for getting pierced is a great idea.

• Are You Old Enough?

Wahile there are no popular public laws prohibiting piercings in Nigeria, it’s important to know if you’re old enough to get pierced. Generally, the official adult age in Nigeria is 18 so if you’re below this, you may want to rethink your decision to get pierced. Furthermore, should you be under-aged, your parents should be aware of your intent and either accompany you or make arrangements for a trusted older person to accompany you.

In addition to this, should you be above 18, it’s important to consider whether your parents will be receptive to your latest decision.

Do not overlook your parent’s opinion on an important decision such as getting a piercing because you think you’re ‘grown’. You could incur their disapproval or worse, their wrath. Be open-minded to their opinions and if possible, stand your ground while respectfully demanding they respect your decision and see things from your perspective.

• Who’s Getting You Pierced?

Except you want to end up getting a horrible piercing job Ikeja Under Bridge is popular for, take seriously who you let pierce you. You may want to ask around for the authenticity of the piercer. Checking for a piercing parlour’s review online is also a good way to verify their genuineness.

Never rely solely on online or offline bragging of piercer’s as they could hold empty promises. If possible, request that a trusted friend or acquaintance accompany you in searching for the right piercer. After all, you’d want to get your money’s worth for the services rendered.

• Are They Using Sterile Tools?

Most times, body piercers make use of the indisposable tools such as pins and piercing guns for all their customers. This automatically endangers your health since most times, piercings trigger cuts. Bacteria and viruses thrive in these cuts and could lead to the transmission of deadly diseases such as HIV and AIDS.

To avoid getting infected, make sure the person piercing you is making use of sterilized tools. If possible, insist that they sterilize these tools in front of you. In addition, insist the piercer uses gloves when attending to you.

Should you notice a piercer attempting to use unsterilized tools on you, flee for your life!

• Expect the Pain

‘Tortured beauty’, and ‘Il faut souffrir pour être belle’ [translated to mean, ‘beauty is pain’], are popular English and French expressions describing the painful procedures one may have to go through to achieve beauty.

These expressions are true for piercings. A few days or weeks after getting pierced, you experience some pain. Do not be alarmed as this is perfectly normal. However, you should know that people experience various levels of pain when pierced. While person A might feel only a sharp sting which wears off after some hours, Person B might feel pain on or around the pierced area for some days or weeks.

The pierced spot could bleed initially, and may also, secrete yellowish or white fluid, and crust formation. These are normal and commonly occur during the healing process.

• Watch Out For Infection

Poor after-care could cause infection of the pierced area. It’s important to be aware of this.

Infections could be in the form of extreme reddening of the pierced area secreting discoloured pus, itching of pierced area, fever, or the area being too soft to the touch.

Should you notice any of these symptoms, contact your doctor to have the area checked. Also, never attempt to self-administer drugs or research medication procedure off the internet as you could cause more ham than good to the already bad situation.