I'm an avid experience reviewer. I come along and see at least two or three DIY's a day and as I read them I'm shocked the person's body part literally didn't fall off. I'm also shocked none of them have appeared in the Darwin Awards. (For those who don't know what the Darwin Awards are, they are awards given out for people who have killed themselves using their own stupidity. Search for them on Google, its quite entertaining.)
At A Glance Author San Contact [email protected] IAM BlueStar When N/A Ok, first of all, we'll start with the equiptment. I do pierce myself and I find I don't like using clamps on myself. However, it is much easier. Kitchen tongs don't work, kid's. Invest in some Penningtons or Forresters. They aren't hard to use. I see a lot of mis-use of real clamps too. People clamping so hard they click the clamps! No way! Wrap an elastic band around them somewhere and adjust the tension to a comfortable and workable level. They should not hurt a lot. There may be some discomfort but it shouldn't be excruciating. That's your first decision: Freehand, or clamps. You're more likely to get a straight, even piercing using clamps. However, that's only if you use the clamps properly.
Ok, I've gotten a bit ahead of myself. I should start with sterilization vs. disinfection. An autoclave sterilizes. You may think your Bic lighter is sterilizing your equiptment, but see that black stuff? That's contaminating it. Alcohol is a disinfectant. It kills germs. It does not kill everything. If you are using jewellery that you've only used on yourself before, alcohol or peroxide is a decent disinfectant. If you're using your friends jewellery or new jewellery, have it autoclaved at a shop.
Use gloves and change them. I usually religiously wash my hands after touching something and that gets tedious, and the bacteria from your hands that wasn't killed by the "Kills 99% of bacteria!" anti-bacterial soap you just spent $15 on, is still there, duplicating, making bacteria thats harder to kill. Gloves are not that expensive. Any pharmacy carries them. Most don't ask questions. Hell, I went in, bought a pair of surgical scissors, EMLA and gloves. No questions asked. (I split my clitoral hood, in case you're curious.) Change gloves if you touch something that isn't sterile or properly disinfected.
Back to equiptment. Use a proper piercing needle. You can easily buy them online, and even get them (sterile) from animal supply shops. They aren't expensive. That sewing needle kit you just bought for that "16 gauge" sewing needle properly costs a lot more than a piercing needle. Some head shops, or body jewellery shops even sell needles. Be careful and make sure its sterile. No, putting it in your oven will NOT sterilize it!
Now, don't use safety pins. They rust. They're also dull and too small for most piercings. You can get fancy jewellery that looks like a safety pin, if you please, but don't use one to pierce you. I must also stress this: Sewing needles and safety pins and whatever the hell else people use to pierce themselves with do not come in gauges. I have never come across a pack of 16 gauge sewing needles or safety pins. They may have the size in mm marked on the package, but its pretty much guess-work.
Now, onto setting up. Use a sterile sheet, like dentists use, or if you don't have one, use something clean. Paper towel, maybe. Have extra paper towels, kleenex, q-tips, whatever, on hand just in case you bleed a lot. If you want to be really cautious, you can get Stop-Bleed from BMEshop. However, if you're that worried, you should really be getting the piercing done professionally. Wear gloves while you set up. Get out some lube. KY Jelly or any other WATER-based lubricants are favoured among piercers. My piercer uses vitamin-E, and thats what I use too. Unpackage the needle and place it in a glob of lubricant. Get the jewellery out of the sterile bag, or disinfectant and take out the bead if its a CBR or unscrew a ball if its a barbell. If you decide to use clamps, take them out of their package, or disinfectant, and wrap an elastic around them. Change gloves accordingly.
Now, to pierce yourself. Disinfect the area with alcohol, betadine, green soap, whatever works for you. Mark the area next. If you can get your hands on a surgical marker, use that. If not, use something reasonably clean. Continue changing gloves. Clamp the area, or grab the area, with one hand, and push the needle through as quickly and cleanly as possible. This is hard. Your skin is a lot tougher than you think. For me, cartilage is the worst. It may take a bit extra time for you to freehand it than use clamps. If you aren't using clamps (or if you want), use a (sterile or disinfected) cork, or even a paper towel, to catch the needle. I sometimes use the cap from my surgical marker as a receiving tube. It should not take you half an hour to pierce yourself, like it would with a safety pin.
Once the needle is through the hard part comes. I usually use 12ga or 13ga needles for 14ga piercings on myself. Especially when I'm piercing with a CBR. Line the jewellery up with the needle and hold the needle with one hand and the jewellery with another. In one motion follow the jewellery through. This is the hardest part. If you've used a bigger gauged needle than the jewellery, its a lot easier. Stop bleeding, and disinfect the area and dispose of the needle and anything else contaminated PROPERLY.
This wasn't really supposed to be a "how-to". Take everything I said with a grain of salt. This is just some advice.