rubbing alcohol's actually not so great... My piercer told me not to use it.
try the ear care solution that you can get at any accessory store that does ear piercing.

I thought I had posted to this thread before, but I guess not. I have my ears pierced 2 times on each lobe and I have my tongue pierced twice. That's all. :)

ETA: I also have my nipples done.

My belly button is pierced... and I have 3 piercings in each of my ears, though I haven't worn earrings in the 3rd hole in a really long time, but it's not closed yet because I'll occassionally stick an earring in there to make sure it hasn't.

I really want to get my tongue pierced, but I am about to start looking for a professional job, so I don't think it is smart to do it know, since i heard you can't change it to a spacer for like a month. :( :( :(

get some sort of clear bead on the jewelry instead of silver or some bright colour. It's a lot less noticeable.
Talk to a piercer... maybe they could give you some other options too.

I have my ears pierced--2 holes in one ear, 1 in the other. I got my tongue pierced after my jr. year in college about 6 and a half years ago (wow! has it been that long!) I was one of the first people that I knew to have it done that wasn't punk. I just took it out today as a matter of fact. I never really made a huge deal out of it--always forgot I had it till people would remind me. But I will tell you, I know the tongue piercing is bad for you--I chipped a back tooth while eating once and sometimes it irritated my gums. I just decided that I was done with it, and originally I did it b/c everyone and their mother gets their belly buttons done and I wanted something different, now so many people have their tongues done, there just isnt any shock effect left anymore.

Tongue piercing in professional world
 

One last thing--to those concerned about how it will affect them in job interviewing--it just depends on the field. I never had a problem, but I was in engineering.

I have 9 total:
4 in each ear (top in left is in cartilage the top right is closed now)
navel

and two tattoos. And I think I'm done.

I have my tongue pierced and it has never been a problem for me either. I do administration work for various companies.

I have 5--2 in my left ear, 1 in my right, and both my nipples, which I just got done about 2 weeks ago. As soon as they heal, I'm off for some more piercings. :)

I love piercings! :D I have:
my tongue
belly button twice (top and bottom)
nipples
nose
tragus
rook
and 12 in my ears.

As of next spring, I will be taking out some in my ears and maybe my nose since I will be job hunting. I have a spacer for my tongue, so that's no biggie. I have 4 tats also but those are covered up by clothing.

So . . . I took out my tounge piercing around a year ago for teaching. Last week one of my students asked me if I had my tounge pierced. I told her that I didn't think it was any of her business but was curious as to why she would think such a thing. She replied that she could see the hole where it used to be. Why she was looking that closely into my mouth is beyond me but later that day I looked in the mirror and lo and behold there is a tiny indentation where the stud used to sit yet a piercing in my ear that I let close more recently left no mark . . . hmmmmm.

Gosh, I thought I was all pierced-up until I read this thread! *lol* I too love my nose, belly and tongue rings. I had to take off some of the jewelry in my ear so I don't look like I'm all metal.

I had my tongue pierced about a month and a half ago. Before that I was worried, like you, about my job. I talked to my piercer, and he told me I could get it pierced with a retainer (flesh coloured dome instead of a silver ball on top, and the silver ball under the tongue). Honestly, most people didn't know I had my tongue pierced until they saw flashes of silver under my tongue, even then they weren't sure. When it heals (about a month or so), you can screw the bottom retainer and no one will know!!!

Stupid Question Time: What's the point of having your tounge pierced if you can't even tell?


ETA: I have my nose pierced and my ears pierced 8 times, so I'm not against piercings....

If your can't have it pierced at your place of employment obviously you wouldn't want anyone there to be able to see it but then once you're on your own time (nights and weekends) you can change the stud. When I had to do teaching placements in college I didn't want it to be visible but when I was getting ready to go out to a party or chill with friends I would want people to be able to see it.

Re: Tongue piercing in professional world
 

Well, I was managing in a restaurant, and alot of my "kids" have piercings, and they all have to have spacers now. But I am about to start looking for a corporate HR or Training position at a restaurant, and I don't know if that will be ok or not. Thanks for the tips so far!!!

Work, family outings, presentations in class, etc.. anywhere that I would want to look professional in.

I just got my nose pierced - i just have a little diamond stud.

I also have the standard one hole in each ear.

Question: When I go on law school interviews in the fall, should i leave the little stud in (honestly I'm very conservative looking even with the nose stud) or should I get a clear thing and put it in so you cant tell I have it pierced? Will law schools judge me on it, or is it just something I need to worry about when I try to get a real job?

I don't think law schools would care too much at all... I can't imagine why they would care. Law schools are pretty diverse, and the education field in general is pretty liberal.

Now when you go to look for a legal job, I would probably get rid of it. Law is a very conservative field, in general. And even if you get a spacer or something clear, when you're in a close up interview you can still tell something's in their mouth.

One thing that would apply to any situation: if you tend to play with it, click it around in your mouth, etc. I would suggest getting rid of it, because you'll likely do that during your interview, and it's horribly distracting and would be seen as terribly unprofessional. I know not all people with tongue rings do that, but I know quite a few who drive me nuts by playing with it, so be careful.

Danielle thanks for the advice, but one problem - I have my nose pierced not my tongue! You can get this little plastic stud to wear that is barely noticeable and if you do notice it it looks like a little pimple, plus you can put makeup on it to match the rest of your skin. Do you guys think I should get one of those?

And this is where swissmiss thinks of something sharp going thru her tongue and screams :eek:

Lol, i'm sorry, that's what happens when I post before I've had any caffeine.

Still wouldn't worry about it for law school. No one cares what you look like there, lol, until it's time to interview. You may want to talk to the career services people at the law school you go to, they can probably give you a better idea of what's acceptable in the area. But if they're anything like my CS people, they'd tell you to take it out.

I'd still be iffy about it for working in a firm... guess it's kinda like the rush threads about whether or not to take out piercings :)

I know that when I get to the point of interviewing people for a firm someday, I wouldn't care about a very subtle piercing. I'd probably care if someone came in with the bull-ring in their nose- yuck, but something small, no. But some of the older, very conservative partners might. They might personally have a problem with it, think that a judge may have a problem with it, or be worried about how clients would view you.

You've got some time to think it over though :)

yeah i basically got it intending to keep it just until I have an internship after my first year of law school... and if I happen to intern somewhere liberal, definitely take it out for the second summer when you work at a firm usually... but I loove it and I want to keep it as long as possible!

thanks so much for your advice!:D are you at law school yourself?

Yep, just finishing up my second year (2 finals to go). I was a research assistant my first summer, so it wouldn't have mattered. A lot of people work for a judge or small firm their first summer- if you end up doing an externship with a judge, i'd definately say take it out.

Good luck!

Thanks! My LSATs are conveniently out of the way - i took them in february - and now I just have to apply to ten zillion law schools in the fall when I get home from being abroad!

nucutiepie-

although i know nothing about law schools (i'm a teacher) i would say err on the side of caution and just take it out for any interviews. you can just put it right back in afterward but you just never know the type of person interviewing you. they might get a bad vibe from it or look down on it. or they might not. but are you willing to take that chance with something so important to you?

good luck!

Re: piercings
 

i got my labret pierced about a month ago
i have my cartledge pierced *upper right ear*
i have 2 sets of holes in my ears
i'm thinkin about a tongue ring
i have a tat on my lower back too

i finally got a pic with my labret pierced...

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com//share...07074_235.jpg? the one of my tat wouldn't show up.

Couldn't see it?

Make sure to use an image host which allows remote loading (aka hotlinking), so people can see the picture via another site.

Though, that site may have it enabled and the pic may just be offline or not public since you gave a link to the page not the image here.

Anyway, I'd recommend photobucket.com, but there're probably a few others.

really wow...it keeps showing up for me
well i'm sorry i'll see if i can find another way

Might be due to it already being in your cache? Press F5 to refresh (on a PC that is) (while not logged in to the site if applicable) or try clearing your cache if you want to double check.

you right
sorry :(

Thought I'd bring this back to the top. . .
 

I'm thinking about getting the cartilage in my right ear done, but it's been a gazillion and a half years since I've had my ears pierced. I have 3 in my left ear and 2 iin the right. Reading this thread has kinda scared me even more with folks talking about infections and the like. I've never had keloids, but I'm still a little nervous about it.

Comments? Suggestions?

I got my belly button pierced around Christmas time...and now I think I was my cartilage pierced. One of my best friends has the cartilage pierced...one on each ear and she said it hurt a lot. Then my aunt had hers and said it doesnt.

It all depends on people's bodies. My friend pierced her belly button about 2 or 3 months after me and hers is already healed while mine still isnt. Fortunately I didn't get any infections, but that is always a risk.

Just as long as you clean it properly and for the length of time that the piercing parlor suggests (usually around 6 weeks) then your risk of infection is greatly reduced. It all depends on your body.

A suggestion for those who want their NAVEL pierced---get the curved barbell. It is a little bit more expensive, but everywhere i've gone said that it heals the quickest, plus it doesn't get caught on clothes like the ring will.

Believe it or not, I've got a few piercings...4 in one ear (used to be 5) and only 1 in the other (was up to 4 at one time, but that ear is just grumpy for some reason).

If you're going to pierce, please please PLEASE go to a reputable piercer and not some mall piercing place. Piercing guns are B-A-D news. I was an idiot and got my cartilage done with a gun the first time. It was a problem from the start and took forever to heal once I finally gave up and removed it. I don't care if Claires or wherever will do cartilage piercing, it's not worth it.

Find a good piercer and ask questions. Follow the aftercare instructions completely and don't hesitate to call your piercer if you think something is wrong. Reputable ones will welcome your questions and do what it takes to get your piercing happy. Lastly, make the investment in good body jewelry and choose jewelry that is proven to work in your piercing of choice. For me it took 3 tries: first by gun with lobe jewelry, second at a good piercing/tat studio but mostly had metal problems, and finally third time was the charm at a piercing studio and the right jewelry. My cartilage is very happy with titanium :)

Safepiercing.org is the website of the Association of Professional Piercers and is a great resource. Piercology.com is also excellent, even if you don't live in Columbus.

^^^ This is what I was looking for.

Thanks much! :)

You are most welcome.

There's one other site, bmezine.com, which I've used repeatedly--it's darned useful in the middle of the night and a piercing is being tempramental. Trust me, if it can be modified on the human body, it's probably there.

Warning--if you have a weak stomach and/or are conservative in nature--please read their 'warning' page before clicking on a link or doing a search. I've learned a lot there, but have seen things that I wouldn't have believed otherwise.

I have six piercings in each ear and one in my nose. My piercing history is
#1- age 4- my grandmother took me at the mall
#2 - age 13 - had to beg and beg to convince my mother
#3 - age 15 - had to beg my mother to take me to sign the papers and I had to pay for it
#4 - age 18 - London at a Claire's in Piccadilly Circus
#5 - freshman year in college
#6 - right before sophmore year in college
Nose- January of Junior year in college
Tattoo- Senior year in college

I love my nose ring more than anything. I had never been so pleased with a piercing. I have a teeny-tiny CZ that wear most of the time. I did change it out a couple of times with bigger studs, but I am happiest with the orginial CZ.

There is a lot of discussion on this thread and in others about hiding or removing your piercings for interviews and such and it is great that there are all sorts of options. However, when I got my nose pierced, I made the conscious decision that I would not take the stud out for any interview and would not want to take any job that would make me take it out. It is very small and very classy (for a piercing.) It suits me and my face and after over two years it has become a part of me and who I am. I keep it clean and I do not play with it unless I am teasing my swim team kids who think it is weird or gross. If a company doesn't want to hire me because of a inconspicuous piece of jewelry, I don't want to work for them anyway.

18 g. rook
18 g. antitragus
4 g. lobes w/Pyrex plugs that I stretched up from 12

new one will be a 12 g. conch in my left ear as the rest are in my right.