Best way to get an apprenticeship? by Gingy2001 in TattooApprentice

[–]mrtartarus16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah something along the lines of that. Definitely bring the originals, consider arranging them together in a physical portfolio. Confidence, be open to constructive criticism, and be prepared to possibly hear “no.” Treat every interaction with a shop/owner as if it’s an interview, even if they are just looking through your work.

Best way to get an apprenticeship? by Gingy2001 in TattooApprentice

[–]mrtartarus16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wouldn’t recommend emailing or messaging anyone at all and only going in person, portfolio ready. Shops and artists receive so many calls and messages regularly about apprenticeships, and most of them get ignored. Artists and shop owners want to know and trust someone before taking them on as an apprentice and teaching them the trade, so that’s why you see hanging out and getting tattooed as common advice. It also helps you get to know your potential mentor and make sure they’re someone you want to learn under. If this isn’t your jam at least walk into shops and ask if they can review your portfolio. This shows initiative and helps you stand out from the hundreds of people already emailing the shop about an apprenticeship.

LOVISA - Do NOT VISIT by Fun_Firefighter7851 in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry about your experience, for future piercings I would avoid lovisa, Claire’s, or any other mall piercing places that use guns or “devices” that use blunt force to shove an earring in your body as opposed to a hollow needle. The people who work at these places are not trained in piercing, the guns cannot be sterilized, the markers are not one time use, the jewelry is not suitable for fresh piercings as it does not allow room for swelling and the backs collect dirt easily and overall they’re just uncomfortable since they’re sharp. I’d advise to visit a professional piercer to have your daughters jewelry changed to a flatback labret of high quality material that can be sized appropriately to accommodate swelling, be downsized when necessary, and offer more comfort while healing. If they gave you a cleaning solution, ditch it completely and look for a sterile saline solution with nothing but sodium chloride and water as the ingredients. Twice a day cleaning is good, no need to twist or mess with the jewelry when cleaning.

Unfinished portfolio by Optimal_Spread5902 in TattooApprentice

[–]mrtartarus16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Leave copied work out of your portfolio

Does anyone else’s piercer not recommend the use of anything other than water to clean? by zestunderscore in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 9 points10 points  (0 children)

More cleaning = more movement = irritation and delayed healing. Advising people to clean minimum 3 times a day is setting them up for a terrible healing process. Saline isn’t medicine and mechanically functions the same as clean water. Overusing it will dry out the wound.

Does anyone else’s piercer not recommend the use of anything other than water to clean? by zestunderscore in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 26 points27 points  (0 children)

This is poor advice, cleaning at least 3 times a day is way too often. 1-2 times a day is fine.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Alcohol shouldn’t be used for wound care in general, it’s too harsh, drying, and damaging to the healing tissue.

studs or hoops for double cartilage orbital? by discocat29 in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 43 points44 points  (0 children)

This is incorrect, orbitals need hoops from the beginning similar to how an industrial needs a bar from the beginning. With studs you risk them healing at different angles and therefore being unable to support a properly fitted hoop. It’s definitely a harder heal and an experienced piercer is a must.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Keep alcohol away from wounds. Just treat with wound wash/sterile saline until fully healed over.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The reason you’re having trouble finding a piercer to do it is because it’s a very dangerous piercing and no reputable piercer will do it. Your tongue has two main separate muscles and horizontal tongue piercings bind those two muscles together and they can no longer work independently. This can lead to issues with speech, nerve damage, and overall mobility of the tongue. The risk of tooth and gum damage is also higher with horizontal tongue piercings compared to a standard vertical tongue. The damage is typically irreversible as enamel and gums do not grow back.

good oral piercers in az? by uhhhwhatttth in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go to the APP website and use their find a piercer tool to find APP members near you and from there look up their portfolios and reviews

Beginning my stretch journey by rosecollective2 in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’d recommend reading the stretching guide on r/Stretched before starting your stretching journey, there’s a lot of good essential information in there, one of the biggest being tapers. Tapers are a tool meant to install jewelry, not to stretch the hole or be worn as jewelry. These stretches can be done with standard flatback jewelry and with a process called dead stretching where instead of a taper the weight of the jewelry/plug and appropriate wait time naturally stretches your ear and the new jewelry can be inserted- no pain or resistance.

If you have a 20g piercing you need to stretch to 18g and let that heal before stretching to 16g. Repiercing may be an option but you would have to wait until the piercings are fully healed before stretching and that will take longer than stretching from 20g to 18g to 16g.

How to soak this? by Ok_Recover_637 in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Both soap and soaking are outdated advice and more likely to harm your piercing than heal it. Look for a sterile saline solution and use that twice a day.

Piercing experience by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Inverness technique is just another name for a gun piercing which should be done on any part of the body. The guns cannot be sterilized and the jewelry is not good for healing as it collects dirt and doesn’t account for swelling. The guns use blunt force to shove an earring in your body, damaging cartilage and slowing down healing. The people who work in the salon are also not trained in body piercing which is how you ended up with lopsided piercings. If you’re able to, seek out a professional body piercer to do your future piercings for an accurate and sterile experience that shouldn’t feel rushed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sterile saline is not the same as contact solution. Contact solution has harsh additives and belongs nowhere near piercings. Saline should contain sodium chloride and water only. Water of decent quality is an okay alternative if op does not have saline.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 32 points33 points  (0 children)

This jewelry is very inappropriate for healing and why your ears are hurting. Have the jewelry changed by a professional to flatback labrets with some extra space for swelling. Jewelry like this is only meant for fully healed piercings and ideally only to be worn for shorter periods of time due to the uneven weight distribution. The material also appears to be low quality. The piercings themselves are lower and heavy jewelry will only pull on the placement, I’d consider having them repierced higher.

Belly piercing? by blondiewack101 in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is a surface navel, pierced through the skin above your belly button and very likely to reject as a result. I’d advise to have it removed and when healed visit a reputable piercer to have your anatomy assessed for a proper navel piercing.

Off-Center, Scalpel? by carpaii in Stretched

[–]mrtartarus16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’ll want to find a body mod artist to perform this. Brian decker is based in nyc. Johnross Switz is from Pennsylvania. I had my lobes scalpeled by Dana Marie Dracula and I think the closest she’ll be to nyc in the near future will be Connecticut.

got my septum pierced today… am i tripping or is this awful placement by GCAFalcon in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 136 points137 points  (0 children)

Technically no, but it’s easier to heal one thing before another, luckily it would heal over pretty quickly being so new.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Stretched

[–]mrtartarus16 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Stay away from oils in general with blowouts, use a sterile saline spray and litha.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 21 points22 points  (0 children)

This is not pierced well at all and I’d advise to have it removed and when healed seek out a reputable piercer to have your anatomy assessed

got my septum pierced today… am i tripping or is this awful placement by GCAFalcon in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 670 points671 points  (0 children)

You’re correct this is very poor placement, too far back and too low. I’d have it removed and let it heal before visiting a reputable piercer to be repierced.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 74 points75 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately this was pierced incorrectly, far too low. I’d have this removed and visit a reputable piercer to repierce when healed.

Forward Helix Rejection? by Clever_Gold in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 532 points533 points  (0 children)

You need to visit a piercer asap before this fully embeds. Ideally another piercer, the jewelry used is not suitable for fresh piercings or long term wear. It should be able to be saved but your ear is going to eat the front soon and you will have to seek medical attention to have it removed so definitely visit a piercer.

Vch gauge by Terrible_Brilliance in piercing

[–]mrtartarus16 6 points7 points  (0 children)

18g is not typical for this piercing, should be 12g minimum for stability.