>As local body piercer John Kid describes his work, he flips through a thick binder showcasing hundreds of pictures of nearly every type of body piercing and tattoo imaginable. While pointing to an interesting assortment of body art ranging from nape and nipple piercings to jewelry implants, he said people are starting to go to greater extremes to have a unique piercing or tattoo.

“People are definitely looking to do something their friend doesn’t already have,” Kid said. “And that’s good for us, because we jump at the chance to do something we haven’t done before.”

Kid, the chief piercer at Blue Lotus Tattoo and the Piercing Lounge in downtown Madison, also said piercings and tattoos have become more accepted in mainstream society. He said this has brought in a variety of clients who might not have considered piercings or tattoos before.

“It’s starting to reach mainstream a little more. We’re getting 30-year-old mothers of two who want nape piercings,” Kid said.

Kid said people used to largely only pierce the “basic eight” areas of the body: earlobe, outer cartilage, eyebrow, nose, tongue, lip or labret (the area directly under the lip), nipples and navel. Now, however, he said people are open to trying different body locations and types of piercings.

Kid said he has seen an increase in surface piercings. In surface piercings, such as a nape piercing, the piece of jewelry is inserted just under the skin. In addition, Kid said people are trying deeper piercings, custom piercings and spiral piercings.

“I definitely do see a change in what’s popular,” Kid said, adding that while he does not really see “new” piercings, he does see a rotation of what is popular and accepted in mainstream society. “For a lot of people, it’s a trendy thing to do.”

University of Wisconsin sophomore Kara Leibin got a tongue piercing her freshman year at UW. She said she had always wanted her tongue pierced but waited until she went to college because she knew her parents would not approve.

“I had a friend who had it done and I thought it looked really cool,” Leibin said.

Leibin said she wore her tongue ring for approximately six months before taking it out.

“I liked it, but I got really tired of it. When I got it, I knew I wouldn’t have it for that long,” Leibin said.

While Leibin never had any problems with infections or felt any pain after the first few weeks, she said for a while the piercing felt strange and gave her a slight lisp.

“It was an experience,” Leibin said. “I would never take it back.”

While Leibin was satisfied with a short foray into the world of body piercing, for some local residents one piece of body art simply isn’t enough. Madison resident Bri Deyo has three tattoos, nine piercings in her ears (four in one ear, five in the other) and a nasal septum piercing (where the tissue in the middle of the nose is pierced).

Deyo said she has all of her piercings gauged, meaning she has a bigger-sized piece of jewelry in each piercing in order to expand the size of the hole.

Deyo also said once she started getting tattoos and piercings, she found that she wanted to get more.

“I think it’s true what they say: once you start piercing and tattooing, it’s hard to stop because you’re always thinking about other things you want to have done,” Deyo said.

John Bauer, a junior at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn., agrees. Bauer has his eyebrow and both of his nipples pierced, as well as two piercings in his penis. He also has a tattoo on his chest. He said he would get more body art, but the cost prevents him from doing so.

While many people assume Bauer’s penis piercings were the most painful to get, he said it is actually a toss-up between his penis and nipple piercings. He got his nipples pierced first, and he said the piercing was extremely painful.

“I’d rather have my whole body tattooed than have my nipples pierced again,” Bauer said.

But Bauer said the moments right before having his penis pierced were also nerve-wracking.

“I was pretty scared,” Bauer said. “I knew I wanted to do it, so there was never any thought that crossed my mind about not doing it. But when I was sitting there right before they were going to pierce it, I was thinking ‘What am I doing?'”

Bauer said he has enjoyed all of his piercings and his tattoo so far, although he did have to remove his eyebrow piercing because it was growing out.

“If I could, I’d do it all over again. Plus I can take all of my piercings out if I want and it’ll be just like I never had them,” Bauer said.

But Leibin warns that everyone should research their piercing before they get it done so that they are aware of the possible dangers. She said she learned only after she took out her tongue ring how much damage they can do to tooth enamel and how dangerous tongue infections can be.

Deyo also said it is important to remember that all body art, especially tattoos, take a lot of work to care for and can be a long-term commitment.

“You really have to take care of them and be committed to them. It’s a lifetime thing,” Deyo said.