The internet is a vast and wonderful place where people of all ages, races, beliefs, and styles can get together and compare notes – especially when it comes to body mods! Unfortunately, this is kind of a double-edged sword in that bad advice and dangerous practices can spread into the general community like a bad case of the flu. Things like “Oh, put some tea tree oil on that, it worked for my aunt’s friend’s cousin’s boss” get spread around and wind up taken as gospel. (Please don’t actually do this to your piercings. Please.) So today we are going to discuss some dangerous piercings and practices that wound up on the internet. We are doing this to protect you and NOT to inspire you. Please do not do this stuff!
Let’s talk about one of the most venomous piercings ever conceived – the snake eyes piercing. This is a horizontal piercing placed at the tip of the tongue, so that the ball ends sort of resemble the eyes of a snake. This is a dangerous piercing for a few reasons. Your tongue is made up of two separate sections of muscle. Putting a single barbell through both means they can’t work independently from one another. Secondly, its location at the tip of the tongue virtually insures dental damage. The ball ends are in a prime spot to constantly click against your teeth and gums. This can quickly lead to chipped teeth and gum damage. Finally, if you really think about it, your tongue is in motion for a fair amount of the day. This means a snake eyes piercing is also going to be in motion. Since it is essentially a surface piercing of the tongue, all that motion means high risk of rejection. Rejection, a process where the body pushes the jewelry out of the tissue, is unpleasant and uncomfortable enough when it happens on the outside of the body. Having it happen inside your mouth would be a misery.
The next piercing that should have stayed in the imagination is the back of the ankle. These piercings were possibly the inspiration for the expression “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” The reasons for this are pretty simple. First, the number of piercers who could perform this piercing safely and correctly is minute, at best. I don’t mean in your state, I don’t mean in your country, I mean all over the world we are talking about a very tiny number of artists. Secondly, your Achilles tendon is located right back in the same area. If you are putting yourself in the hands of someone who isn’t experienced with this sort of extreme mod – or this SPECIFIC mod – you are running the risk of damage to that tendon. And you need that to walk. As cool as this may look when done properly, it’s a piercing that is almost certainly best left to the imagination.
Here’s one of the worst of the lot: home piercing kits. Piercers have extensive training on subjects like anatomy, bloodborne pathogens, and proper technique. A kit you bought online and having been pierced yourself does not equate to their level of skill. Using a kit to perform a piercing on yourself is highly likely to leave you with a crooked piercing or worse. The risk of infection is always present and much higher if you don’t have the knowledge to properly sanitize the piercing site and equipment. Most people do not keep an autoclave in their home. Using a kit on another person is even more reckless as you are putting someone else at risk through your own actions. Leave piercing to the professionals. If you want to be a piercer, this is not the way to start.
