Tattoo and Piercing Update for 2019

Hiiiii, it’s ya girl, addicted to piercings and tattoos girl, how are we all?

So, I’ve been reflecting on all the posts I make on body modifications (it really is the only interesting thing about me, I’m sorry), and yes, there sure have been a lot posted in 2018. Whilst these posts do well and often the subject is of interest to people, both fans of tattoos and piercings and people that have none at all, I don’t think that a dedicated post for every single thing I get done, or change, or whatever, is necessary every time anymore. I don’t doubt that I’ll get more things done, but I have other passions and other things I’d like to write about. In short, I just don’t want this to become the ‘tattoo and piercing blog’, yanno?

That being said, I think updates every few months will just be more efficient and I can talk about a range of stuff, rather than trying to squeeze a decent sized post out of one thing and go on about stuff I’ve already covered before - there’s only so many times I can poorly explain in a very unhelpful way what tattooing feels like lol. Of course though, it wouldn’t be much like me not to gush about the new stabbing pains I’ve put myself through lately so I’m just gonna keep it short and sweet from now on.

Let’s cover the piercings first. In terms of new additions, the only one I have is my third hole on my lobes. I actually got it done in Claire’s and even though that is where so many people get their first ever lobe piercings done when they’re kids, I had never had one there before. The service was pretty good and straightforward - no appointment required and only a few minutes to wait after the form was filled out before it was done. It cost £25 for both ears which is fairly priced compared to what I’ve experienced before I think, and that included healing ointment which I have never been given after a piercing before - forever reliant on the sometimes unreliable salt and warm water solution. One criticism I’d maybe have is that Claire’s piercings take place on the shop floor. This isn’t a huge problem but I felt kind of in the way waiting by the section in the shop, filling a form in whilst other customers were trying to shop. I’ve always been pierced in designated rooms alone with the piercer so even hygiene-wise it felt a littleeee dodgy. However - the piercer was lovely and I have had no major problems with healing as of yet.

AND I have to give a huge honourable mention to the healing ointment they gave me. Not only is it helping massively with the healing of my new piercings, the other piercings on my right ears, especially my pesky snug and surface tragus, have been playing up so much lately, so I used the ointment on those a little too, and my my it is working wonders. I looked it up for you guys and the ointment is purchasable on their online shop for £15, and it boasts a rapid 3 week healing time for any piercing (https://www.claires.com/ear-piercing-rapid-3-week-after-care-lotion-230719.html?lang=en_GB). I would highly recommend it for any piercings you are struggling to heal - I feel like anyone with lots has one or two that never feel quite right and fully healed, so do look into this product if you are having problems, it’s sick.

Now to the main event - I FINALLY GOT THE BLOODY LED ZEPPELIN TATTOO. Yes, I’m sure you’re all relieved that I’ll finally stop talking about this idea. Every time I’ve written contemplating my next, even my first tattoo, I had toyed with getting the Led Zeppelin symbols, each of the four symbols representative of the four members, because they have been my favourite band for years. Admittedly, this was not at all a venture I had planned to get done anytime soon. Unfortuantely, though I adore having Jessica Brown on Instagram, the tattooist that did my Radiohead piece, it is also the biggest tease of all time. Not only does she post all of her amazing work that other people are getting done by her, often posting multiple times daily, it is also the platform she uses to advertise free days she has for bookings etc. Whilst in Liverpool for Christmas, Jess advertised that she had a cancellation - it was Monday when I saw it and the free space was for Thursday, far too tempting for my impulsive (stupid) self. In my defence, being in London most of the year means I never really get the opportunity to book in, and there’s no other artist at the moment that I am that interested in being tattooed by. SO I dropped her an email literally sat in a Wetherspoons with my idea and within minutes I was booked in. Mental of me I know, and Adam and my best mate Rachel were particularly mortified by my impulsivity sat in the pub lol, but of course, 3 days later I arrived, and Jess smashed it once again.

Fresh off the table - my Led Zeppelin symbol tattoo (excuse my gross leg)

Getting tattooed by Jess is always straightforward - she always sticks exactly to what you ask for, but I also trust her talent so much that anything she suggests I get on board with. I knew I wanted the symbols to be almost completely dotwork, as that is her signature style, but some of the smaller details inside the symbols, Jess suggested would be harsh lines, and it ended up looking even better than I imagined. The placement is at the top of my thigh, on my hip bone, and even though it was a new place to experience the tattoo pain, it was completely fine and was done in about 40 minutes, costing £60. The next few days afterwards, it was definitely painful as it healed and was constantly very hot and tender, but I’ve had it now for over a week and it’s absolutely fine and fully healed. It was a very impulsive decision but with the idea cemented in my head for so long, it feels good that I finally got the opportunity to go through with it and have a permanent homage to a band that above any other have always meant the world to me.

Remember young and naive Hannah in first year who started this blog with hardly any piercings and no tattoos? What a distant memory that is now. I actually worked out, and this isn’t an odd flex, more of an oh god I need help, that I have in total spent over £500 on letting strangers stab me with metal and ink, not even including aftercare, piercing jewellery changes, etc. That is wild right? I feel like all these modifications are truly a part of me and my ‘image’ now, and I would dare say it is money well spent. But even so, it is crazy how much these things add up and who knows how much more I will have spent on other stuff in the future - I guess that is what these updates will be for lol.

Well, not as short and sweet as I originally thought (I really cannot right in a condensed way no wonder all my uni essays go over word count), but nevertheless I hope this has been another helpful/interesting insight into all my ink and metal friends. Like I said, updates are gonna be a little more few-and-far-between as I ease back into blog writing for the new year, but you and I both know this is far from the last post on this matter.

I hope you all have a great week and if my plan to get back to weekly uploads comes to fruition, I’ll see you next week.

Big love,

H x