You want to know more!

 The Differences in the Body Piercing Metals

The 3 most common metals used in body piercing today are surgical steel, titanium, and gold.

Surgical steel is the most prevalent as it is the least expensive to produce. The highest quality surgical steel is an alloy (a metal made by mixing variety of metallic elements) and contains 13-15% nickel with a chromium oxide finish that helps prevent the nickel from making contact with the skin or body. Nickel is not a biocompatible metal and can cause mild to severe reactions in most people. The chromium oxide bond is usually highly effective in healed piercings that come into less contact with moisture. New piercings, however, are exposed to higher levels of moisture due to healing and the cleaning process. That tends to cause longer, more painful healing times and more complications.

Titanium is non-alloy base metal. That means it is a pure metal free of additives. It is light weight, at only 60% the weight of surgical steel. That means less tension on your piercing, less pain, faster healing, and a reduction in complications. It is also one of the strongest metals making it able to withstand years of wear and tear and is less prone to micro-abrasions. It can be anodized to come in a large variety of colors including a gold-like finish.

Pure gold is exceedingly biocompatible and has been in use the longest. Modern gold jewelry is classified by it’s karat content, the higher the more pure. Body jewelry should ideally be between 14-18k. Any higher and it is too soft and susceptible to breakage which can harbor bacteria. Any lower and the gold content is not enough to sustain use in a hypodermic (under the skin) application. Gold jewelry also comes in several finishes- rose, white, and yellow being the most common. If you have sensitive skin, or just want the luxurious look and feel of real gold, there is no substitution!

Hypertrophic Scarring and its Treatments

Hypertrophic scarring is your bodies overreaction to heal a wound. Unfortunately in this case, it’s your new piercing! Hypertrophic scarring can present in a range of appearances from pink or red raised bumps around the piercing to even looking like a pimple. But do not attempt to pop the scarring! While this may allow for some drainage this will not get rid of the bump. It may be seemingly full of fluid but it is just an overgrowth of collagen around the piercing site. We treat hypertrophic scarring using two different methods: silicone and pressure or Hydrocortisone cream. Both corticosteroids and silicone are proven scientific methods for removing scarring. So abandon the tea tree oil! Starting out we like to treat the scarring with an overuse of hydrocortisone cream; applying as much as you can throughout the day and minimizing touching the piercing. An overuse of corticosteroids breaks down collagen, thus breaking down that scarring. If that isn’t effective enough, we put silicone discs on either side of the piercing to apply some pressure and smooth the scarring out. The combination of the pressure and chemical makeup of silicone work together to flatten the appearance of the scar. Hypertrophic scarring can be a luck of the draw situation. You can follow every aftercare step perfectly and it doesn’t guarantee you won’t have any issues.