39 thoughts on “Surface Pierced Star Project”

  1. I love that you can still just make out the tracery of the lines the piercer used to line everything up, it makes the angles sharper to my mind. Very cool, a shame it wont be long term though, although I suppose she’ll have a nice little selection of scars if the entrance/exit wounds heal before she takes the tygon out.

  3. may i ask why do you think they will not heal? yes many surface projects are done for a short term purpose, but i have many clients with tygon from three years ago no problems no worrie.

  4. It’s not going to be *easy* to heal, but because of the high rate of motion and so on in the area, this (Tygon) is definitely how I’d recommend doing the piercing to give it the best chance of lasting as long as possible…

  6. i like how one of the points of the star seems to make a triangle with her navel barbell and some other surface bar’s ball…cute idea

  8. it may hold, but there will be some serious migration especially from the lower points. the chances of it looking like this in the long run are very slim to none. also the tygon looks a little long. its a cool idea, but not something i would suggest. just my opinion though. if it works out with no problems, good deal. 🙂

  12. Well, technically they can heal and can is used loosly. You can never say a piercing won’t heal even when done completely incorrect. I have seen some really horribly done surface piercings heal without incident.

    Conversely, I have seen a lot done with perfect technique, perfect placement & jewelry fail fast. Most of the time it’s due to aftercare and not just “cleaning” but the atmosphere the piercings are put in afterwards.

    The reason I see these piercings not healing is the placement- where they are at. It’s a very high impact area that’s involved with a lot of movement. The tygon does put some upwards pressure on the skin, but it still has a chance to heal.

    I’d still consider this temporary and really would be concerned with the scars they will leave behind if the person is concerned with that.

  17. i’m glad that microdermals aren’t completely phasing out surface piercings, but i do think that in a high-impact area, and considering that tygon has to be replaced regularly, microdermals might’ve been a better choice.

  18. Oh she’s gona have fun moving and sitting down! I always had to watch everything I did when I still had my surface work. It sucked! These look really good, I’m looking forward to seeing the scars =]

  19. I agree that it looks like it’s going to be difficult to heal. The tygon looks really long, and that area is really difficult to avoid bumping them or anything.

  21. Long surface piercings are damn hard to heal. My 4cm surface piercings gave me hell and had to be retired. I’m fairly sure it would be near impossible to heal the 9″ surface piercings that nickk does.

  23. Lexci – Maybe someone else can pop in and give the reference, but I remember that a few years back at the APP convention someone gave a talk where they had EXTENSIVE statistics on the healing rates of Tygon work that they’d done… They claimed a far higher rate than I would have guessed (probably because we’re more likely to hear about the problems than the successes), and had the customer records to back it up. It was quite interesting — if I remember right they were looking at a 75%-80% success rate over a multi-year period…

  24. Shannon, I would be VERY interested in seeing that.
    I’ve done a lot of surface piercings with tygon – and even more with surface barbells. I can tell you from firsthand experience that when comparing results in similarly placed surface piercings using both tygon and surface barbells, on the same person using the same aftercare, even! – surface barbells have a MUCH higher sucess rate. To the point where the use of Tygon is out of the question for my clients.
    As well – shorter length surface piercings have a much higher chance of healing without incident than longer ones (such as these) due to the piercing being able to drain fully throughout the length of the barbell. I’ve found that surface piercings that are over about an inch in length – without regular hot-compresses in aftercare – are likely to abcess.
    Now I’ve seen crazier things heal. But I would be REALLY interested in seeing extensive statistics on tygon being the better material to pierce with (Over an implant grade material surface barbell).

    But as you know, our highly one-up-ya piercer mentality keeps us piercers constantly on our toes learning and discovering new methods and techniques. The things I picked up at APP a couple years back are irrelevent nowadays and the majority of piercers *I* know have quit using Tygon altogether.
    As a project for a photoshoot or a special event – these piercings “look” pretty neat.
    I just DO hope that the client was informed of the (usually inevitable risks involved.

  28. with statistics you’d have to view each section of the body individually and not lump all area’s together. Napes with napes, lower navels with lower navels, sternums with sternums,etc. As you could successfully do 10 nape piercings with tygon(silicone tubing) and do 2 failed hip attempts with the same material…and thus meaning a better overall success rate for the material then 50% or less,etc.

    Tygon (Silicone Tubing) has its place in the industry but sadly most have no clue how to use it properly or even what material to use…As that was clearly made obvious at the most recent APP Conference…As certain piercers could not tell the difference between Tygon(Silicone Tubing) and Teflon(PTFE)

    Now in regards to this specific image…I have to agree with the other professionals who say this girl will have a hard time healing it 100% due to high movement,etc. ALSO you can clearly see upward pressure/tenting issues with a few of the entry/exit points…Some of them look like they exit out at 90 degree’s while others do not look this way and look like they are laying parallel to the skin. Thus will create irritation/scar tissue and potential rejection.

    Ultimately I think it has a chance to last longer then some piercings…But due to certain issues it probably won’t last forever…However I’ve been wrong in the past and I’m sure can be wrong in the future. I just hope she makes sure to recognize the signs of rejection and takes the jewelry out asap to minimize scar tissue…Unless she WANTS scar tissue to form.

  29. The angle of that photo is way trippy; she looks like a giant!

    I’m not sure what I think about this. I can’t deny that it looks pretty cool, but man that’s going to be a bitch to heal. She’ll never be able to wear trousers that are any higher up than that!

  30. I do use tygon for a lot of surface work, and have great success with it. I prefer using it over surface bars in places that have movement because of it’s flexibility. A lot of it depends on the procedure (most people that use tygon think it can be simply pierced in like a normal barbell and that is a big problem that causes lots of failure), the client coming back in to get the tygon switched out regularly, and proper aftercare. I also suggest clients come back after a year to have the tygon switched out to a metal bar bent to the shape the tygon has hardened in.
    I have dozens and dozens of clients out there with surface piercings done with tygon that are several years old. I have 2 nape piercings myself with tygon in them that are over 8 years old.
    The majority of my clients that end up losing the piercings don’t lose them because of rejection, but by getting tired of them, taking them out for jobs, going to jail, taking them out for surgery, etc. I’d say the 75-80% success rate is accurate.
    I do think that they shouldn’t be done too long though. The ones I’ve seen a lot of problems with are piercings over 2″, and sometimes even between 1-2″ (although that’s much more rare). Piercings that long have a hard time draining out the dead cells and lymph and start to have build ups of that in the middle of them. This normally leads to a hole opening where the build up is so the body can push this out. Once that happens, it’s almost impossible to get rid of the hole and stop the piercing from rejecting.

  31. thanks to all who care
    no she is not a client,
    yes she is a good friend who very well understands ALL the risks involved here ,
    i asked her to only do it as a temp thing,
    i do not want all of you out there thinking i am just stabbing people to make modblog or what ever it is that you might think i have standards and i do follow them, i am not a “one-up-piercer” all of the “crazy” piercings submitted by me are all for fun and play sessions “for photos” i only want to be the best i can i do not want to put anyones health at risk because they want to break the longest piercing record or what ever they are thinking i have created a fourum on my page so that we can discuss this as well as other issues that we might have from this subject

    i beleive this is the link to it i could be wrong

  33. (Thanks for taking the time to write your imput Steve (stainlesS) I really respect your work and understand you’re a piercer who knows what you’re doing because you’ve taken the time and study to KNOW it.)
    Nickk, you’re saying that the piercings featured on Modblog-and the similar ones on your portfolio are for “play” or “for photos”
    Awesome!
    I think it’s important to be pointing those kinds of details out – There are a lot of piercings/clients out there who are doing these piercings “for real” (or whatever you want to call it) and will end up with a very undesireable effect.

  34. those are not my intentions at all as you and i spoke a few years ago about my portfolio along with other topics : lexci : you know i have respect for you along with all the other piercers with twice my experience and education i look up to you all on here thats why i am here to further my education as well as get critique on my portfolio yes i will only do “permanent” piercings in ares of the body that will properly heal with minimal to no trauma with the proper material to make the application function properly it is important not to be experimenting on others as this is not something ANYONE should take lightly yes you may be able to remove a piercing :as one of my clients today looks in the mirror and states: “we could always take it out and move it” ……….

  35. #33: Very well said Lexci.

    #31: Nickk, we’ve talked in the past, not all that often though…From those few discussions I know you mean well,etc hence why I won’t question your professionalism,etc.

    However totally unrelated this is something I’d just like to bring up when you wrote: “no she is not a client, yes she is a good friend”

    This statement is often used MANY times in regards to certain work that is often brought up for debate/discussion,etc.

    What I’d like to publically ask all piercers is this…Why are friends not considered clients? Why is it that piercers are willing to do things, they wouldn’t normally do on regular customers…Simply because they are “friends”

    My personal opinion on the matter is this…Be it a random unknown, a regular or a friend…No matter what, they should be considered clients as you are working on them…And as a professional every single person that enters into the piercing procedure room, needs to be treated identically.

    I just never have gotten the: “It wasn’t a client, its my friend” statements made by people.

  36. well for the record
    i treat my friends just like my clients as they are supposed to be warren it makes no difference your right, i was making a statement about the client everyone is treated the same in the room, i mis-worded myself in that statement.

  37. I figured you did Nickk…But sadly there’s MANY piercers out there constantly using that statement in relation to doing things they wouldn’t normally do on other people (harsh jewelry removals, work they KNOW isn’t safe,etc)…Simply because they are “friends” and not the standard clients.

  39. Hey Nickki !! i was wonderin if u can get back to me and mail me some tygon ASAP.. still have not found anyone who does tygon and i am out on a search for it babes… ashley i believe took hers out but i am going on 3 years and i love it and i need more tube if i want to make it lasr forever..? or maybe your can tell me where i can order my size of tygon and ill go get it myself if i can find it here.. thanx nickk I LOVE U AND MISS YOU A TON>> WISH U WERE STILL HERE IN DIEGO

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