at the start of my journey through the world of body modification i was pretty irresponsible... getting pierced and tattooed too young and by anyone who didnt check id....
i strongly discourage anyone interested from doing the same... you will be much happier if you wait and go to a skilled professional...
not only will the quality of the work will be much better, which is very important considering that it is a
permanent change, but it will also be much safer...

if you are under the legal age, and your parents wont let you get what you want done, just wait a couple more years...
use the extra time to perfect/fine tune your ideas... ask around for people who already have the kind of work you want done... find out where to go and where not to go...
for tattoos, try drawing them on everyday in the place where you want it, (even if youre not the best artist...) this will help you decide on the overall shape and placement...

im not trying to be preachy here or anything... and im certainly not trying to discourage anyone from modifying their body... nothing could be further from the truth...
if you wait the extra time and get work done that you are absolutely sure you want...
if you get it done by someone who knows what they are doing, and who is clean and safe...
if the work you have done is truly meaningful to you...
then a tattoo or piercing can change your life... it can teach you more about yourself and affect you in ways you cant imagine...

if, on the other hand, you go to someone who is under skilled/unclean/unprofessional (this describes everyone who
tattoos/pierces illegally) you are significantly more likely to have a bad experience...
whether it be an infected or poorly placed piercing or a crooked tattoo, you may be convinced to never repeat the experience...
this is truly a shame... you get to thinking that all the stereotypes are true...
the last thing the body modification community neads is a worse reputation due to some scratcher or hack piercer punching dirty holes in the youth of america ..

all right, im rambling and i know it... but this is something i feel very strongly about...
wait til its legal, find an artist who is talented, clean, safe, and professional, make sure youre sure about the work you want, and be responsible with the aftercare...
itll pay off in the end...
i guess the last thing is for me to say is that all of these experiences are mine...

the whole pain scale thing at the bottom is based on my experiences alone... from the people i know in the scene, these types of things vary a great deal from person to person... it can depend on body type, pain tolerance, individual sensitivity , etc.
the only reason i include this list is that it tends to be the most commonly asked question... people want to know what hurts and what doesnt...
while there is no definite answer, i have tried to relate my experiences as i remember them... hope this is
helpful...

if you have any additional questions about my modifications which i dont address in this page, just email me and ill see what i can do...

enjoy, dorkula

holier than thou (my list o piercings)

    septum... pierced with a 14g... currently a 00g...

    left earlobe... pierced with a 14g... currently a 3/4''

    nipple... pierced with a 14g... taken out...

    nipples... pierced with a 14g, then a 12g... stretched to a 10g... taken out...

    tongue... pierced with a 10g... taken out...

    navel... pierced with a 12g... currently an 6g...

    frenum... pierced with a 10g... stretched to an 8g... taken out...

    tongue... pierced with a 14g... taken out...

    (note: after this point i turned 18 and was able to go to legal piercers... notice the number of piercing lost
    before and after this point if you are thinking of going to someone who will pierce you young...)

    tongue... pierced with a 12g... currently at an 8g (tho it was larger for a while...)

    apadravya... pierced with a 12g... currently an 8g barbell with an additional 2g ring through the prince albert...(tho it was larger for a while)

    labret... pierced with and currently at a 14g...

    bridge... pierced with and currently at a 14g.

    right earlobe... pierced with an 18g.... currently a 00g...

    lower lip (twice...) pierced with and currently at 14g

nipples... pierced with and currently at a 14g

flesh gone canvas... my tattoos

    small dots on right ankle vaguely resembling an anarchy symbol... due to being very young with a needle and
    some india ink... luckily this has mostly faded and only a few dots remain which are scarcely noticeable...

    barbed wire tattoo around my waist...

    retired thunderbird tattoo around right ankle with band of cacti encircling my ankle behind it...

    stylized dragon tattoo on my left bicep... looks a little like a wood stamp...

    xxx straight edge tattoo on my left knee...

    custom stylized sacred heart design in the middle of my chest... first color tattoo...

piercings and ranked from least to most painful

    frenum (felt kinda neat)

    bridge (also felt kinda neat)

    ear lobe (not really noticeable)

    navel (wasnt as neat as above, but i liked the faint popping feeling)

    tongue (didnt hurt to get pierced, tho healing kinda sucks)

    labret (not bad at all... prolly what i would call an average experience pain-wise)

    lip (hurt slightly more than my labret, but definitely bearable)

    nipples, the most recent time... im not gonna lie, it hurt, but it was far more tolerable than the first two times... it was faster and with any luck will heal far better (meaning that they will heal, as opposed to staying unhealed and unhapy for 2-3 years)

    septum (a very pinching stinging sensation... not awful, but it made my eyes water a little)

    nipples, the first two times were pretty awful (tho take into consideration that i had them done by crappy piercers ...)

    apadravya (by far the worst... were talking about me doing my best to not jerk my knees up when the needle
    went through... definitely not for the faint of heart)