Hart And Huntington: Navel Piercing *REVIEW*

             This past Saturday I had my navel pierced. I went to the  Hart and Huntington in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the piercer was Paul Fahy. Very happy with my results I thought I'd write a review on Hart and Huntington and walk you all through my experience. When I walked in I was immediately greeted by  someone and was told what to do. The establishment its self is quite neat, having merch in the front, the front desk, a petite but cozy waiting area and each individual piercing or tattooing station. The paper work was quick and easy, pretty much like any piercing shop you go to type write out. Then I picked my jewelry and moved onto the waiting area. The waiting area was neat with a small couch/futon with a coffee table that held a book of some of each artists work. When it was my turn I walked into Paul's area and lied down onto the bed I guess you can call it (Don't exactly know the proper name). The first thing he did was mark off the place he was going to pierce with a small dot made from a marker, he did this multiple times making sure it was just right, I then got up to look at it myself and get a second opinion from my chaperons. Once it was perfect I returned to lying down, there was no build up, not enough time for me to get even more nervous and I was thankful for that. He explained to me what he was going to do then clamped the desired place on my navel simply on the count of three the needle was pushed through. Like a lot of body piercings where the hole is going directly threw a piece of flesh, the needle was a plastic tube (Cannula Needle) which when it has gone threw can be cut down. Jewelry was then pushed threw the hole. Hart and Huntington was a great experience; the look of the shop was appealing to me, the people were all very friendly, and they were very professional. My navel piercing was pretty cheap considering the fact that I luckily showed up when all piercings were 50% off, but the normal price of a navel piercing there, including jewelry would be around $60. The only small criticism I give to this establishment is that the stations should maybe be more private, 2 out of the 3 people I saw getting tattooed were staring at me and everyone else who walked in and a lot of people aren't comfortable in front of people, this wasn't a problem for me, but it might be something they should consider. Overall I am extremely happy with my experience. 

       

Hart and Huntington ---->  http://hartandhuntingtonniagara.com/ 

Wing Tattoos

              Something beautiful and differant. Very customizable and new, wing tattoos on the back are becomeing popular and I love them. These tattoos are usally black and white, or with little colour. They can be big, down the entire back, or small, just across the shoulder blades. There are many differant possibiltys to what kind of wings you get, but the most poppular are: Fallen angel wings, Angel wings, Butterfly wings, Fairy wings, and Demon wings. Wings can also have touches like an affect of coming out of the back or being stitched onto the skin. The Wings can be very detailed, wich means multiple things. One: They can be quite expensive. Two: They can take longer, and or more than one session, and Three: the longer the session the more painful a tattoo can become, the reason being that your pain tollerance can decrease. These tattoos don't have one specific meaning like any other tattoo, they can mean speed, freedom, elevaton, or aspiration, but can also mean other more personal things, then again wings can just be for vanity. Women are most seen with this tattoo but some men have it also. Pain level with this tattoo all depends on who you are and where it is positioned, everyone reacts differantly to pain and has differant pain tolerancys, back tattoos are usually not that painful but the shoulders and especcially the spine are a lot more sensitive. There it is, Something beautiful and differant.
  

Navel Piercing

              Probably the most common body piercing among women. The navel piercing is also known as: belly button piercing, or a belly piercing. It can be anywhere through the tissue around the navel, but is most commonly placed vertically threw the top piece of flesh above your belly button. This piercing is most common with women but is found on men also. The reason for the navel piercings popularity is that it is easy to hide, but also easy to show off, the navel piercing doesn't usually attract criticism or any type of discrimination. The jewelry put in this piercing is usually a curved bar with two balls, one on each end, a smaller one on top and a bigger one with a design or image on it. There is also jewelry with dangling decorations on them, though they are heavy on your piercing, I don't recommend wearing these until the piercing is completely healed. Some don'ts for when you get this piercing are: do not wear tight fitting clothing that will rub up against, and irritate the fresh piercing, don't touch your piercing for any other reason than to clean it, do not change the jewelry until it is completely healed, don't wear heavy jewelry or dangling jewelry, when you first get it, heavy jewelry will pull the piercing down and irritate it, and danglers will do the same thing, there is also a risk of danglers getting caught on belts or pants, and ripping out a new piercing is not good. Do not go into any pool, hot tub or spa with a navel piercing until it is completely healed, the bacteria in the water is bound to irritate or infect, contrary to most rumours, chlorine is not good for the piercing, it is way to harsh on the piercing, same with hand sanitisers, strong soaps, or peroxide. Try to stick to a saline solution, or a piercing spray. One of the most common body piercings among women, the navel piercing.

    
Picture From: ladiesbodypiercings.blogspot.ca

Septum Piercing

                   Beautiful, and one of my favourites. Increasingly popular among alternative fashions, the septum piercing is super cute! This piercing is named after the thin wall of cartilage separating the right and left nostril called the septum. The piercing does not go through the cartilage but usually through the tissue slightly below the septum. Pain varies with every one, but you are sure to tear up, this doesn't mean your crying, it is a natural response when your nose is hit or pierced. Down sides to this piercing is that your nose is not necessarily the cleanest place, if you have allergies during a certain season, I suggest you avoid getting the piercing then, the healing process is also some what slow, due to where it is. One great advantage of the septum piercing is that with certain jewelry, usually an open circular bar bell, it is very easy to hide by simply flipping it, to let it rest in the nose. There are many options to how you want your piercing to look, it can be small and cute, or big and in-your-face looking. I want, and love this piercing .


   
Picture From: www.skateboard-city.com 

Scarification

                              Vanity or Insanity, some people won't see the difference. Scarification has been around for ages and will not die out anytime soon. This is a method going beyond tattoos, it is done by burning and or cutting patterns, designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent mark. There are religious and social reasons for scarification, for example, it is very common in African tribes to mark milestones in a man or woman's life, such as puberty and marriage. It can also be a symbol of identity, that may emphasise a social, political, or religious role. But in more developed places is just a way of being unique or expressing ones self. there are many risks that come with scarification, including a high risk of infection. There are many methods of scarification, some include: Strike branding, Laser branding, Packing, Abrasion, and skinning. Strike branding is very similar to livestock branding, is where a piece on metal is heated and pressed to the skin, this method is also linked to slavery, or punishment of criminals, but as body art less perferable because it is not very precise and tends to spread greatly while healing. Laser branding, is not exactly using a laser, but a device which uses electricity to cut and cauterise the skin, this is more precise than strike branding because it is possible to regulate the depth and nature of what is being done. Packing is traditionally from Africa, and is when a diagonal cut is made and then a substance such as clay or ash is packed into it, when healing the wound pushes out what had been put into it. Abrasion, is when skin is removed by friction using material such as an ink less tattoo device, or very strong sandpaper. Skinning is where many single lines are cut, creating thin scars, the cuts should be in a large group, the out line of the skin that needs to be removed will be cut and peel away. So, vanity or insanity? What do you think?  

    
Picture from:  Zimbio.com

"Bites" Lip Piercings

                    I love all of these piercings! "Bites" are two piercings on the lip, there are five types of "bites": Angel bites, Snake bites,Spider bites, Cyber bites, and Vampire bites . Angel bites are two piercings on each side of your upper lip, if you have only one, on the left is called a Monroe, and on the right is called a Madonna. Snake bites are just like Angel bites but they are on the bottom lip to each side. Spider bites are two piercings beside each other on one side of your bottom lip, it does not matter what side. Cyber bites have a piercing on the top and bottom lip, they are placed directly in the middle of your lips. Vampire bites are probably the most uncommon of the "Bites", the piercings are placed on one side of the mouth, but farther apart than Spider bites. All five piercings are done with basically the same procedure, they are not known to be very painful but lip piercings tend to bleed a bit more than others. I love all of these piercings!!

   

        

     

1: Angel Bites

2: Cyber Bites

3: Spider Bites

4: Snake Bites

5: Vampire Bites 

Picture From: wikipedia.org/wiki/Lip_piercing 

Top 5 Tattoos

                      Tattoos are extremely popular among most civilisations, but have you ever wondered what the most popular ones are? Here are the top 5 most popular tattoos. Number one: Tribal tattoos, these are seen on both males and females, they can be traditional or self designed and are found all over the body. Two: Stars, this has become an increasingly popular fad among more of the mainstream public, there is not specific type of star but nautical stars are most common, this is also a unisex tattoo choice. Three: a cross, People have been getting crosses tattooed on themselves forever, religion is very important to a lot of people, also found on all genders. Four: Angels, there are a lot of different kinds of angel tattoos, most common are linked with religion, for a loved one, or a fallen. Five: flowers, both female and male also, the most popular flower tattoo is a rose, the most common placement can not be told because of the endless possibilities. Those were the top 5 most popular tattoos.

Lower Back Tattoos

             This is the most popular female tattoo placement ever! The lower back tattoo is the most popular tattoo place among women, probably because of the fact that it is easy to hide, but also easy to show off when you want to. There are so many different things you can put there, from a floral pattern, to tribal, to a short quote, women have been coming up with original and quirky ideas to tattoo on there lower back. This placement has no boundaries to who will get it, there are no stereotypes attached to  getting a lower back tattoo. Lower back tattoos are most commonly nicknamed "Tramp stamps". These are obviously placed on your lower back, just above your tail bone, or where most jeans cover to. Some downsides to a lower back tattoo are, pain, the rule is: the closer to the bone, the more it hurts, and price, it of course depends on your design, but the more detail and colour the more it costs, the price is also affected by the artist or shop you go to, whether they are high quality and extremely professional or not so much. That is it for the most popular female tattoo ever!!   
  
Picture from: http://www.womengirlstattoos.com/

Basic Ear Stretching

                      Ear stretching is a very easy thing to do, but its also very easy to mess up. I suggest that if you want to stretch your ears, you already have an existing ear piercing that is completely healed. The first thing you want to do is get your piercing to at least a 12 gauge (2mm)  hole before you really big, with this size you can see through the ear lobe, but the hole is quite small. Some people will go from 12 gauge to a much bigger size like 00 gauge (10mm) or a 5/8" (16mm), some problems with this is you can "blow out" your ear lobe, this means the lobe will rip open causing obvious problems, or your ear could swell from the new pressure caused from the large increase in size. Others choose to increase slowly, going up every next or second size, this is how I prefer to stretch. Once you put a new size earring in, you should let it be for a while, let your ear completely adjust to the change. You should also keep tour ears clean, I suggest cleaning every night with a good disinfectant soap, a intense facial wash works good. If your piercing gets badly infected seek professional help, do not take this lightly, infections can grow into bigger and more serious problems.

        *** This blog is in MY opinion, I am not a professional and am not claiming any of my opinions in this blogs are facts or mandatory when stretching your ears***

Picture from: http://www.derbymodified.co.uk/ 

Vampire Fang Implants

                       In today's media vampires are made out to be something teenage fan girls drool over, but what about the real vampire lovers, the ones who dedicate there life to looking and living like real Gothic vampires. Not only do some dress like them but get vampire fang implants. Fang implants are not very common as of now, but are on the rise. These are not those plastic vampire teeth you pop in for Halloween but actual fangs put in or personally designed by a dentist. There are different types of fangs you can get, the most popular being the "slip on" , they are made by taking an imprint of your canine tooth and making a fang that can slip on and off of it when ever. For a more permanent fang you need to get them done by a cosmetic dentist, your canine teeth are filed down so the new cap can fit on, they can not be taken off unless they are fitted to piece that slips into your mouth, this is painful and costly. Commitment is a huge factor in getting fangs, you have to train yourself to talk with them in, you have to know that you are going to have them for the rest of your life (unless they fall or rot out), and you have to not care about the criticism from modern society. It is not recommended that you get implants if your oral state is not close to perfect, if you have unhealthy teeth or gum disease you are more likely to have major problems with your implants. Modern media has a long way to go before they catch up with these kind of vampire lovers. 
        
Picture from: www .vampires.com

Bridge Piercing

                        This ones fun but risky. The Bridge piercing also known as an Erl is a surface piercing that goes horizontally across the bridge of  nose. Best jewelry for this is a small curved barbell, a strait barbell would rise the risk of rejection, which is high anyway due to people not having a lot of flesh there for the piercing to grab onto. Contrary to the rumour this piercing has never been reported in making anyone go cross eyed, the piercing should not be more noticeable to you as your nose, if it is the barbell is probably to long. Bridge piercing is not considered to be a very painful piercing, it is very quick, but remember everyone's pain tolerance is different. Very fun, but risky, that's is the bridge piercing.

Picture From: sodahead.com

Corset Piercing

         This is vanity at its best. Corset pierceings, some times called ladder piercing are series of hoop surface piercings, in two equal vertical lines. The piercings are placed where the eyelets would be if you were wearing a corset, there is really no limit to how many or how little you have or where you have them. Ribbon, most commonly,is then laced through the hoops and tied in a bow, though sometimes people will put rope or chain in. This is only a temporary use, if you keep the ribbon in for too long the piercings will not heal properly, they will move about the skin and reject from the body, most times leaving awful scars. Most common places for these are on your back, on your side, just under the ribcage, or from the base of your neck to near the end of your shoulder blades. Usually this is seen on women but has lately been seen on the men, on the front of there necks. There is vanity at is best!

 

Picture from: xitefuns.com

Neck Tattoos

                    This is one for those who like to stand out. Most people really want or have a tattoo, the most common regions for tattoos are the shoulders, lower back, sleeves, or ankles, but this is a way to be noticed. Neck tattoos are mostly placed on the back of the neck but are also seen on the side or sides of your neck but sometimes put on the very front coming around both sides, or even connecting to a existing chest tattoo. These tattoos are not for the weak they are known for pain, the skin on say the back of the neck is thinner than than skin on your arm or back, there is also little padding or fat between the skin and the bone which makes the process that more painful. The healing time for these tattoos is longer than others, the reason being that the continuous motion of the head delays healing and causes the tattoo to scab quicker. Most tattoos have a meaning like a spider tattoo means creativity or a leaf tattoo meaning joy and rebirth, in society today people have come to the conclusion that a neck tattoo means the same thing on everyone, "I am not getting a job"! This is a great way to stand out!

   
Picture from: tattooinspiration.com

Tongue Splitting

          This is a very bizarre but cool modification. Tongue splitting is when your tongue is cut down the middle to give it a "forked" or "snake" affect. There are multiple methods to split tongues; cutting with scalpel,tying off, and cauterising. When the scalpel method is used, your tongue is cut down the middle with a scalpel and both sides are stitched on the cut edges, this prevents the two sides from healing back together and also helps to create a more natural rounded look. Tying of the tongue is usually done when someone is doing the procedure themselves, it is done by putting fishing line tied threw a existing tongue piercing to the tip of the tongue and tightened, when the line has cut threw the tongue and become loose it is replaced with a tighter piece of fishing line and the cut is continued. This slow process is allows the tongue to heal as its being cut , which helps with blood control. Cauterising is when the tongue is burned in half using a very powerful laser or another type of professional unit, this process closes off blood vessels which ceases most bleeding. Primary healing of this takes about 1-2 weeks with complete healing in about a month, it may be awkward to talk and eat at first, but it does not take long to get used to. This is a very bizarre but cool  modification.


Picture from: alternativelook.net

Hip Piercing

           This is not the most popular piercing but I love it! Hip piercing is fairly new, they are a surface piercing placed in the pelvic area near the hip bone. Most people get matching piercings on each side to look more symmetrical. These are performed using a newer method called Trans Dermal Implants, using a surface piercing. When you get this done you can either get a surface bar or microdermals. It takes about a year for the piercing to heal completely if there was no infection or troubles, you should wait at least eight months before changing any of your jewelry from the holes. You do not want to wear any tight clothes  that will be rubbing on your fresh piercing or it is very probable that it will get irritated and more sore, so you get those oh-my-god-I-just-want -to-rip-these-things-out thoughts. Hopfully these piercings will get more popular in the near future beacuse I love them!


Surface Piercing- noun; any body piercing where the canal of the piercing is under and across a piece of skin rather than through a body part.
Trans Dermal Implants- noun; a method of piercing where the piercer punches a hole straight intro the skin and then lifts the skin surrounding it with a taper, and he commences on inserting the anchoring

Tongue Piercing

                     This is one of my favourite facial piercings. The tongue piercing is a strait bar vertically through the tongue, it is originally located in the centre of the tongue but has lately become popular in random spots with multiple piercings. When you get a tongue piercing the first thing the piercer does is check the under side of your tongue for large blood vessels, looking a safe placement for the piercing , your tongue is then pulled out to its limit and clamped and held with forceps, a piercing needle or cannula needle is used to quickly penetrate and go through the tongue, used properly the needle should pierce the tongue as quick as a flash. Barbells are the jewelry put in the tongue but before you get some fancy piercing  you need a considerably longer bar so the tongue can swell while healing, this is very important, you need to keep the longer bar in until the piercing is partly (6 weeks or so)healed or you can get a really bad infection or ruin the piercing, its takes 6 months for the piercing to heal completely. That was some basic information on one of my favourite facial piercings, The tongue piercing.

Facial Piercing-  Noun; a piercing located on or around the face area
Piercing Needle- Noun; A strait needle made out of stainless or surgical steel used for piercing
Cannula Needle- Noun; a thin needle usually used for injecting liquids in to veins, or some body piercings
Barbell- Noun; a strait metal bar with unscrewable beads on each end, put in piercings