To pierce or not to pierce... that is the question.

[BabylonSister]

[...]
I worked with an African-American woman who had her daughter's ears pierced when the girl was a baby.  She said she had it done because it was a way of making sure people knew her baby was a girl.

[...]

I've had people tell me I should get my daughters' ears pierced for that reason.  Daughter #2 had nothing but light red colored fuzz on her head until she was 18 months, so yes, she looked a little like a boy, but I didn't care. I consider ear-piercing to be a personal decision that should be made by the piercee.  If my daughters (ages ranging from 8 to almost 12) want it done now, I'll have no objection, but I wouldn't have chosen to have it done on a baby.  It's a cultural thing, though.  In some cultures (Latin America, I believe), little girls get their ears pierced shortly after birth.

[ilrag]

I have
Ear 1: Foward helix, daith, tragus, 2 studs in the lobe
Ear 2: 5 tiny studs and a hoop at the top
Nose: Stud
Navel: Curved Barbell

Tattoo: Covered by a bathing suit.

[TXJess]

I have 2 holes in each ear. The first holes I got when I turned 5, the second set I got when I was 11. When I was 18 I got my cartilage pierced on my left ear, but only kept in about a year or so and took it out. I had the same issue a pp mentioned; I have fine hair and it kept getting caught on the earring and it was always sore and bothering me when I slept, so I just took it out one night and it's closed up since. I don't really wear earrings that much anymore, and if I do, it's only my first holes. I can't tell you the last time I wore earrings in my second holes. I don't have any tattoos. I am not against tattoos, but I haven't found a design, symbol, phrase, etc.  that I want to permanently put on my body.

[Soprych]

I have two piercings in my left ear and one in my right.  Mine were done in 1976  Almost no-one had double piercings then.

Oddly enough I do not have a tattoo.  No-one in my family believes that I don't.  I have always enjoyed cultural anthropology and druid tattoos would be totally in keeping with my character.  To he dying day my mother insisted that I had a full back tattoo.

[stitchygreyanonymouse]

I have two piercings in each ear, plus a cartilage (traditional at age 5, second in one ear at age 12, other second and cartilage at age 19).

I want to get my nose pierced—will do it in the next few months, as soon as I have the spare cash. I’ve been considering it for about 3 years now, so I figure it is time.

I like the idea of tattoos, but have never figured out what I want or where I want it (my biggest fear is the sagging tattoo). Someday.

[SiotehCat]

I have my husbands name tattooed on my ankle. I wish I had thought about that just a little bit more.

It is a shortened version of his full name. Its a nickname that he has gone by all his life, but I really like his full name. Now that he is older, he is going by his full name more and more. I wish I had gotten that instead.

Also, I don't particularly care for the font.

Sometime this year, I am going to have it "jazzed up". I wanted to tattoo his full name somewhere else, but I am wondering if two is too many.

[Julian]

Piercing - just earlobes, twice.  The second set of piercing has healed over, I think, but they still look pierced.  I developed a nickel allergy after the second piercing, and that set of holes has never been comfortable to wear earrings in.

Tattoos - yeah, got a few.  Mostly covered by clothes!  There's a teeny-tiny dragon on my left (high) upper chest, a small tree frog clinging on my back, an orchid on my right calf, and a large black and white 'yin and yang cats' in a celtic trinity knot on my left upper arm.  The most recent addition was a name and date of one of the kitties, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last January, next to her pic on my arm. 

I'll probably get more, I have a yearning for a colourful phoenix, and a larger dragon.  But I'm very, very fussy as to the design.  All but one of the tattoos I have has been a 'custom one-off' rather than from the flash books.  And I may get the trinity knot coloured eventually too.  I'll keep the cats as they are, as the colours are right. 

[BB-VA]

I have never seen a piece of jewelry I liked enough to puncture my personal hide for. 

That's just me - I hate puncture wounds.

My daughter does have a couple of piercings in her ears.  We made an agreement that when she was 12, that would be her birthday present.  I wanted her to be old enough to take care of them properly before she had it done.  She had a bad time with the first set - turns out she was allergic to the gold alloy.  She took them out, waited till the lobes healed, and tried again.  She can wear stainless steel just fine.

[Kendo_Bunny]

I've had the traditional ear piercing twice, but it healed up very quickly both times. Like, despite having the piercings for a few years (8-13 and 17-20), I took the earrings out for about three days and the holes sealed up. So I figured if I have freaky fast healing ears, I'm not meant to have pierced ears.

I wanted an ear cuff, but I have the wrong type of ears for one, with  an extremely narrow helix, plus ears that are almost flat against my head. I had a piercer take a look at them, and she told me I was right for that kind of piercing - she didn't think they even made cuffs narrow enough to fit my ears. My sister thought I should get an eyebrow stud, but I wax my eyebrows and that seems painful.

[WolfWay]

I have traditional pierced ears, that's all.  I guess I missed the boat on piercings and tattoos.  It didn't become trendy/mainstream until I was already an adult and felt too old for it. 

You're never too old for your first ink. I took my dad to get his first when he was 65. 

[Dindrane]

I have a single hole in each ear lobe, and a nose piercing.

I got my ears pierced as a child, and throughout my childhood/adolescence I went through phases where I'd be all about wearing earrings, and other phases where I couldn't be bothered. I don't think I ever stopped wearing earrings entirely, but there are stretches of time when I don't care as much and just wear the same pair of studs every day.

These days, earrings are an integral part of my outfit, even on weekends. I tend to go for "easy" earrings when I'm not dressed up (silver hoops, simple studs), but I always wear them and they are always a conscious choice. I like jewelry.

I got my nose pierced when I was a freshman in college, so I've had it for almost 10 years now. I originally decided upon it because a) I like my nose, b) I want to highlight my nose, and c) my nose isn't going to change shape or get saggy so it's a great place for a piercing. Given that that was my train of thought, and that I only really thought about getting the piercing for a few months before I sort of impulsively went and did it, I'm a little surprised that I love it as much as I do.

But in the end, I do like my nose, my piercing is exceedingly well-placed (I did at least take the time to search out a really good piercing studio), and it's subtle. I've been wearing the same stud (silver with a clear crystal) for a few years now. I used to change it out every so often, but I've gone back to the one I got with the piercing because it's a slightly thicker gauge than what I've seen for sale, it goes with everything, and changing out a nose screw is a colossal pain in the, well, nose. It takes me a lot of time and wiggling and a bit of discomfort to manage it, so I remove my nose stud as infrequently as possible.

I've sort of thought about getting a tattoo, but in the end, I don't handle pain especially well. And there's nothing I can think of that I'd want on me, and nowhere I'd want to put it. Plus, even though I do admire some tattoos on other people, I see far too many that just don't look attractive to me at all. Chances are good I'd end up disliking anything I got. And unlike a piercing, you can't just stop wearing a tattoo, nor can you change the design as easily as you can change out a nose stud or a pair of earrings.

[stitchygreyanonymouse]

I basically do the same thing with my piercings, Dindrane, re: going through phases.

Mostly I prefer to just leave the same pair of studs in all the time, and swap them out for dangly ones when I feel the urge. I always used to buy the cheap packs of earrings from the teen-focused mall stores, but they turn my lobes green and I have an allergic reaction in my cartilage one.

I finally bought real gold studs for all my holes (a full set in white and a full set in yellow), but have managed to lose all but about two of each, so for the past 8 months or so, I’ve only had one in my cartilage, and occasionally wear dangly earrings in my traditional holes.

Considering I once went about three years without wearing any (about two years after getting one hole pierced) and they didn’t close, I’m not very concerned about the holes closing up any time soon.

[Julia Mercer]

I have my ears and right cartilage pierced,  I did have a nose stud, but it kept getting pulled out when I blow my nose, (the kleenex would get caught on it), so I removed it, but I may get it redone.

[m2kbug]

I have three holes in each ear plus a cartilage piercing (that I plan to re-do, it closed).  I'm not big on facial piercings, big bolts in ears, and other body art.  No offense to those that have these things, it's just not my thing.  I do think some of the facial/body piercings and tattoos are attractive, but not for myself.     My jewelry is largely more conservative, but might be more flashy if I actually worked in an area where scrubs was not the norm, and presently I work at home.  Basic studs is about all I do most of the time.

[Clarissa]

I have three holes in each ear. I usually just wear one pair of earrings, but if I'm going out I'll wear three. I have my nose pierced, but haven't worn a ring there for years. I pierced my nose when I was 13, and thought my mum would go berserk! But she loved it so much she had her own done 3 days later! I also have my navel pierced. I always wanted it done, but was scared. I had it done when I was 30 and it didn't hurt half as much as I expected. I love it. I haven't got any tattoos, I really want one, but the thought petrifies me!