Red Region Inferno

I have been doing body piercings for 25 years now.
Yep… I said 25 years.
At this point I am not sure anybody who still actively does piercings (On regular clients) has been piercing as long as I have.
I Think I am the last of the original piercers still actually piercing.
The rest have all slowly become teachers, managers, paper pushers, retired, quit…

Why do I do it?
No frigg’n idea, lol.

One thing that still entertains me after seeing it happen literally thousands of times is the mascara – raccoon – make-up run that happens sometimes when a girl gets a nostril pierce.

Whatever side the piercing is done on causes some watery eye issues and for some (who have a lot of mascara on) it looks like just one side of their face had a terrible day and they needed to cry, cry, cry an ocean.

What a funny look for a happy girl.

It always brightens my day to make jokes about it, and it always makes the client feel better to know that it happens regularly and is no big deal.

It is funny to see somebody smiling so big (because they love their new piercing) while having mascara tears a flowing.

I had just done a nostril and was thinking about it when this girl came in and asked for a nostril too… so I decided to get out a camera and share.

Please note: Nostril piercings are not a very painful procedure when done correctly by a competent and experienced body piercer.
People do not actually cry. (Or at least I have never had anybody cry)
The sensation on the inner part of the nostril (when the skin is broken) causes the eye to water.

The end of the night is coming up and I am finishing my last little bit on a pretty cool tattoo of the Seattle Space needle when in walks my son.

I ask him what is up and he tells me a couple guys are coming in for navel piercings.

Back in the late 80′s and early 90′s navel piercing was a unisex thing. As many guys as gals got them… but it has changed over the years and now we do maybe one male navel a month. It is mostly girls who pierce the navel.

My son is texting back and forth with the guys and tells me they are on the way down.

Ahhh… spur of the moment piercings.

Getting ready for the navel piercing

Needle in place - it is time to pierce

Fitting the navel jewelry

Piercing is done, ring is in place. Note the lower corner of this guys beer monster tattoo... it covers a scar below his liver. The monster is coming out of the can to get his liver. Yep, he is loving on his liver at a very young age. Lotsa beer and hard A to fuel this body.

Another happy client ready to party up the weekend with a new navel piercing to show off to his drinking buddies.

If you are wondering why I have pictures of just one of the guys it was because I thought this guys pictures showed more humor with the “Beer Monster” tattoo and his T-shirt.
Totally cracks me up.

The body piercer shown is my son O’Rion. He has been piercing professionally since 2005.

The beer moster tattoo was drawn by the client himself and applied by me a couple years ago.

The reason for this post… Simply a matter of my thinking the whole situation to be funny and the pictures kinda captured the humor.

Will the client eventually put one of those dangle charm jewelry pieces in his navel? I am doubting it. More than likely he will stretch it out to about a 2 gauge hole and keep a simple ring in it.