Piercings: Don’t try this at home

Self-piercing can lead to various health issues, so piercings should always be performed by a professional

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Margaret Mellott, JagWire editor-in-chief

Over the course of two years, I have acquired quite the extensive collection of piercings. It started with my mom’s gift to me for my 15th birthday­ — my cartilage piercing. I was really nervous at first, but things went really smoothly.

I credit this to the fact that I went to a professional piercer with the proper training and resources.

I’ve had 11 piercings since then, including my nose and a couple unusual ones such as the daith and rook. I’ve had absolutely zero problems with these piercings — no infections, no bleeding and no deviation or movement.

Way too often I am asked if I did the piercings myself. Honestly, it scares me that someone would pierce themselves instead of going to a professional.

In the end, going to a professional is so much more important than acting on impulse and getting the piercing done.

— Margaret Mellott

I understand why teenagers give themselves piercings. Many times, it’s because they can not afford to have it done professionally or their parents won’t allow it. Teenagers tend to ignore the obvious dangers that come with self-piercing.

From what I’ve seen, having piercings done by someone other than a professional is just a bad choice. Growing up, my older sister had a couple friends that decided to pierce their lips themselves. While their wallets might’ve been saved, their lips weren’t.

For a solid month, their lips were infected and swollen. There was no covering it up and, it was disgusting. Unfortunately, ear piercing infections are just as bad and a lot of people don’t know how to properly treat them.

According to the Association of Professional Piercers, using unclean equipment can lead to a various number of infections. This is very much so a reality for many self-piercers that use unsterile tools.

In the long run, doing piercings yourself is just not worth the overall hassle and risk. When getting a piercing done, it’s easier to just do your research and/or be patient and wait until you’re older. I know waiting can be annoying, but safety is so much more important.

Doing proper research is crucial when getting a piercing. You have to find the right place and the right professional to get your piercing. It might take a while and some heavy research but it’ll be worth it in the end to have it expertly done.

In the end, going to a professional is so much more important than acting on impulse and getting the piercing done. The dangers that come with self-piercing far outweigh the convenience of it. I’ve had all my piercings done professionally and I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

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