Is it possible to do any piercing on yourself? Technically yes. Putting a needle through your skin and adding some jewellery is not the hardest thing in the world, but doing it properly is not so easy.

Doing a couple of nostril piercings, say, means working with one or more mirrors. It’s all upside down and backwards. You can’t see what you are doing, only a reflection, and that makes it harder, though not impossible, to get good results.

This is one reason you go to a professional piercer. They can measure you up, but also cast a critical eye over the markings, to decide where it should be placed to look right, given the wonkiness of your anatomy.

However, it can be possible to pierce your own anatomy with real results, provided you can see it and have easy access.

Having your ears pierced, or even your nose, is pretty main stream.

There are plenty of people who push the boundaries, and good luck to them.

Here are some to enjoy…

There are discussion forums where you can talk about your piercings, get advice or share pictures, but so many of these seem abandoned.

We have created our own, here: http://www.mypiercings.online/

Anything goes, and we’d love you to contribute. You can advertise your business, show us your piercings, give recommendations, even have a private chat with your friends…

Tattoos and other body modifications are most welcome too!

It’s all free, and there’s no spam or other crap to deal with.

Do tell your friends.

If you talk to piercers, they will tell you that a lot of their trade is doing ‘normal’ piercings. I mean nostrils, ears and so forth. I would hesitate to use the word ‘boring’, or even acceptable.

You can look for more unusual things. You can do a quick search on the Web and find all sorts of extreme piercings, but you don’t have to go that far.

You can find that your piercer is extra enthusiastic about your choice. I had a rhino piercing and my piercer was so thrilled to do it and so pleased with the result, because it’s rare. But it will get you attention, and, if you don’t want that… well, of course you do, that’s why you are having the piercing in the first place.

One of my easiest piercings was the nape of my neck. It entertains people behind me on the bus.

How do you choose a piercer that you will like? Well, there are several ways:

geography – if you live in or near a big city, you will have very many piercers to choose from, but if you live in a small town, there may be one or perhaps none. You may have to travel, in which case, check in advance and make sure you make the journey worthwhile (eg get multiple piercings)

on-line – look on-line at websites. Any decent piercer will have some web presence, preferably a ‘proper’ website rather than just a FaceBook page. There should be examples of their work, prices, opening hours. If you like what you see, if they do something similar to what you want, go for it.

ask other people – if you see someone on the street with a piercing you like and would want, just ask them where they got it done. This has happened to me on multiple occasions. I sometimes carry my piercer’s business card as a spare, just in case.

choice – if the percing you want is unusual, not all piercers may do it. A simple e-mail stating your request will make it clear. If they don’t reply, avoid.

repeat business – if you have been somewhere before and had a good experience, go again. Tell others.

ask on-line – there are forums, social network groups etc for piercing. Ask there, but remember that the suggestion may not be genuine.