A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Salt water is all you need

If I’m understanding Ashy’s email, she made the mistake of putting some sort of aggressive antiseptic onto her fresh eyebrow piercing (done by Sean at Creative Tattoos and Piercings in Byron Bay) causing it to get irritated and ultimately seriously infected and in need of antibiotics to clear it up… Not that it can’t get worse, but this is definitely one of the more unhappy eyebrow piercings I’ve seen!

See more in Eyebrow Barbells (Eyebrow Piercing)

Comments

150 responses to “Salt water is all you need”

  1. Rhiannon Avatar

    It’s unfortunate that I photoshopped all my pics from when I was younger, deleted the originals, because when I was 16 I had an eyebrow piercing that rivaled this one in the “gross out” department.

    It wasn’t infected, but it looked horrendous.

  2. Rhiannon Avatar

    It’s unfortunate that I photoshopped all my pics from when I was younger, deleted the originals, because when I was 16 I had an eyebrow piercing that rivaled this one in the “gross out” department.

    It wasn’t infected, but it looked horrendous.

  3. ooElaineoo Avatar

    Ehhww Im suprised the balls didnt sink into her skin.

  4. ooElaineoo Avatar

    Ehhww Im suprised the balls didnt sink into her skin.

  5. Snap Dragon Avatar

    Leave it alone! Don’t change it to a ring that would make it so much worse.

    Sea Salt soaks! Sea salt soaks!!!!!

  6. Snap Dragon Avatar

    Leave it alone! Don’t change it to a ring that would make it so much worse.

    Sea Salt soaks! Sea salt soaks!!!!!

  7. Jess Avatar
    Jess

    Aside from the general “holy shit swelling batman”, she has gorgeous coloured eyes.

  8. Jess Avatar
    Jess

    Aside from the general “holy shit swelling batman”, she has gorgeous coloured eyes.

  9. Tom For Real Avatar
    Tom For Real

    she looks 100% disappointed!

  10. Tom For Real Avatar
    Tom For Real

    she looks 100% disappointed!

  11. Minigoth1 Avatar
    Minigoth1

    I’ll never understand why people don’t take out piercings after any real sign of infection.

    so stupid.

  12. Minigoth1 Avatar
    Minigoth1

    I’ll never understand why people don’t take out piercings after any real sign of infection.

    so stupid.

  13. Angie Avatar
    Angie

    oh wow. I had a surface piercing in my wrist that ended up looking similar to that. It ended up getting cellulitis (sp?) and i had to remove it. =\

  14. Angie Avatar
    Angie

    oh wow. I had a surface piercing in my wrist that ended up looking similar to that. It ended up getting cellulitis (sp?) and i had to remove it. =\

  15. Lix Avatar
    Lix

    #31, I’ll never understand people who don’t do their research before commenting. So stupid.

  16. Lix Avatar
    Lix

    #31, I’ll never understand people who don’t do their research before commenting. So stupid.

  17. TripleHelix Avatar
    TripleHelix

    #17, yeah, I understand that part, but I still am skeptical that the antiseptic somehow *caused* the infection. I can see how antiseptic might slow the healing process, but something else had to get in there for it to get infected.

  18. TripleHelix Avatar
    TripleHelix

    #17, yeah, I understand that part, but I still am skeptical that the antiseptic somehow *caused* the infection. I can see how antiseptic might slow the healing process, but something else had to get in there for it to get infected.

  19. rich Avatar
    rich

    thats what you get for getting an eyebrow piercing

  20. rich Avatar
    rich

    thats what you get for getting an eyebrow piercing

  21. HereKittyKitty Avatar
    HereKittyKitty

    Maybe the antiseptic killed specific bacteria/cells and created an imbalance so that others took hold? I know antibiotics can cause an overgrowth of nonsuseptible (?) bacteria. I wonder of an antiseptic could do something similar?

  22. HereKittyKitty Avatar
    HereKittyKitty

    Maybe the antiseptic killed specific bacteria/cells and created an imbalance so that others took hold? I know antibiotics can cause an overgrowth of nonsuseptible (?) bacteria. I wonder of an antiseptic could do something similar?

  23. TripleHelix Avatar
    TripleHelix

    #36, antibiotics and antiseptics work differently–there’s no such thing as bacterial resistance to an antiseptic. Carbolic acid is as good today as it was 100 years ago–unlike penicillin. I still can’t see any way that the antiseptic caused the poor girl’s infection.

    I do feel for her, though. She looks miserable.

  24. TripleHelix Avatar
    TripleHelix

    #36, antibiotics and antiseptics work differently–there’s no such thing as bacterial resistance to an antiseptic. Carbolic acid is as good today as it was 100 years ago–unlike penicillin. I still can’t see any way that the antiseptic caused the poor girl’s infection.

    I do feel for her, though. She looks miserable.

  25. adam Avatar
    adam

    people, just because your piercing gets irritated and a bit swollen or angry after you have had it for awhile DOES NOT MEAN it is infected. im not referring to the girl in this photo, because hers is obviously infected, but all these other kids who say “oh, my piercings get infected sometimes so i put toothpaste on it.” that is not an infection. if as many peoples piercings got infected they claim, then.. uhhhh, i dunno, we would have a lot of dead morons.

  26. adam Avatar
    adam

    people, just because your piercing gets irritated and a bit swollen or angry after you have had it for awhile DOES NOT MEAN it is infected. im not referring to the girl in this photo, because hers is obviously infected, but all these other kids who say “oh, my piercings get infected sometimes so i put toothpaste on it.” that is not an infection. if as many peoples piercings got infected they claim, then.. uhhhh, i dunno, we would have a lot of dead morons.

  27. kell Avatar
    kell

    Owie. I would be in tears if any one of my piercings got that fucked up!

    As for takin it out? You think people would know enough after all the refrences and info on this site NOT TO TAKE IT OUT. I just see some person taking a piercing out and having a huge puss ball keep forming and getting bigger and bigger until the person sees a piercer about it (finally) and it pops and squirts into the piercers eye. Ick.

  28. kell Avatar
    kell

    Owie. I would be in tears if any one of my piercings got that fucked up!

    As for takin it out? You think people would know enough after all the refrences and info on this site NOT TO TAKE IT OUT. I just see some person taking a piercing out and having a huge puss ball keep forming and getting bigger and bigger until the person sees a piercer about it (finally) and it pops and squirts into the piercers eye. Ick.

  29. Hank Avatar
    Hank

    This looks exactly like something I had around a surface bar on my arm, with the red and swelling and yellowish fluid filled bubbles, after I snagged it on a towel. I tried to treat is with sea salt but it made it much worse. I finally had it checked out and it turned out to be a form of shingles that starts around an irritated patch of skin. The antiseptic she used may have started a shingles outbreak not an infection and sss may make it much worse.

  30. Hank Avatar
    Hank

    This looks exactly like something I had around a surface bar on my arm, with the red and swelling and yellowish fluid filled bubbles, after I snagged it on a towel. I tried to treat is with sea salt but it made it much worse. I finally had it checked out and it turned out to be a form of shingles that starts around an irritated patch of skin. The antiseptic she used may have started a shingles outbreak not an infection and sss may make it much worse.

  31. Matthew Avatar

    this is disgusting.

  32. Matthew Avatar

    this is disgusting.

  33. Z Avatar
    Z

    Yikes. That’s quite nasty looking. Poor thing.

  34. Z Avatar
    Z

    Yikes. That’s quite nasty looking. Poor thing.

  35. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    YYYYYIOUCH!

  36. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    YYYYYIOUCH!

  37. maria Avatar
    maria

    so was I wrong in putting gentalyn on mine? my piercer told me to do so, and they perfectly healed. I’m puzzled now…

  38. maria Avatar
    maria

    so was I wrong in putting gentalyn on mine? my piercer told me to do so, and they perfectly healed. I’m puzzled now…

  39. AeChei Avatar

    oh, man, that must hurt like crazy. i’ve only ever had one piercing get infected (my first non-lobe one, a helix, when i was dumb and didn’t keep my hands off it) and it made my entire head hurt from the pressure of the swelling on my ear.

    and my GAWD are there a lot of ignorant fucks on this thread! change it to a ring? seriously? are there ANY circumstances when a ring in an eyebrow is a good plan? (though i might be able to see some sense in putting in a longer piece until the swelling goes down…but odds are it would just irritate it more and not be worth it unless the balls on this one are sinking in).

  40. AeChei Avatar

    oh, man, that must hurt like crazy. i’ve only ever had one piercing get infected (my first non-lobe one, a helix, when i was dumb and didn’t keep my hands off it) and it made my entire head hurt from the pressure of the swelling on my ear.

    and my GAWD are there a lot of ignorant fucks on this thread! change it to a ring? seriously? are there ANY circumstances when a ring in an eyebrow is a good plan? (though i might be able to see some sense in putting in a longer piece until the swelling goes down…but odds are it would just irritate it more and not be worth it unless the balls on this one are sinking in).

  41. christina Avatar

    Wow, and i thought mine was bad when it got infected…this is super swollen and infected to boot! ouch.

  42. christina Avatar

    Wow, and i thought mine was bad when it got infected…this is super swollen and infected to boot! ouch.

  43. Minigoth1 Avatar
    Minigoth1

    I’m the kind of person that when something gets that bad I’d use any possible thing of cleaning it and if that doesn’t work, cut it.

    how does this happen? something nasty must have gotten in there. maybe the piercers fault???

  44. Minigoth1 Avatar
    Minigoth1

    I’m the kind of person that when something gets that bad I’d use any possible thing of cleaning it and if that doesn’t work, cut it.

    how does this happen? something nasty must have gotten in there. maybe the piercers fault???

  45. Brisvegas_Steph Avatar
    Brisvegas_Steph

    Ive been tattooed and pierced at this studio many times in the past. My first ink was when I was underage and the never even asked for ID.

    I had my first non-ear piercing done there too, and they put in a circular barbell which just ripped on everything and was NOT a nice experience!

    The last ink I got there was some lettering in a cursive script around my wrist and it is SHITE! I fucking hate it, the lettering has bled into eachother and it is uneven as fuck. The portfolio however looked pretty good…spose thems the breaks!

    As far as I can remember, I was advised SSS for the piercing I had done there, but it too became infected and I had to have penecillin and eventually remove it.

    Not saying that these guys are bad news, but I wont be going back.

    One reason I can think that an antiseptic could cause an infection is if it were in a cream or ointment base, were it gets into the piercing and junk ends up sticking in there and nothing can drain. Yicky!

  46. Brisvegas_Steph Avatar
    Brisvegas_Steph

    Ive been tattooed and pierced at this studio many times in the past. My first ink was when I was underage and the never even asked for ID.

    I had my first non-ear piercing done there too, and they put in a circular barbell which just ripped on everything and was NOT a nice experience!

    The last ink I got there was some lettering in a cursive script around my wrist and it is SHITE! I fucking hate it, the lettering has bled into eachother and it is uneven as fuck. The portfolio however looked pretty good…spose thems the breaks!

    As far as I can remember, I was advised SSS for the piercing I had done there, but it too became infected and I had to have penecillin and eventually remove it.

    Not saying that these guys are bad news, but I wont be going back.

    One reason I can think that an antiseptic could cause an infection is if it were in a cream or ointment base, were it gets into the piercing and junk ends up sticking in there and nothing can drain. Yicky!

  47. Steph Avatar

    It worries me that people don’t seem to understand that removing it could potientally make it worse.

    I’ve only ever heard of stronger items than sss such as tea tree oil being used for the bump.

    Its like putting tea tree oil or stronger on say a cut. Youch! I do hope she is able to keep it, I would cry if I lost mine after nearly 2 years!

  48. Steph Avatar

    It worries me that people don’t seem to understand that removing it could potientally make it worse.

    I’ve only ever heard of stronger items than sss such as tea tree oil being used for the bump.

    Its like putting tea tree oil or stronger on say a cut. Youch! I do hope she is able to keep it, I would cry if I lost mine after nearly 2 years!

  49. fakirbodyplay Avatar

    This is NOT an eyebrow piercing. It’s a surface-to-surface in a bad place. Obviously a “pissed off” piercing probably caused by bad placement and too strong a salinity in a home mix salt solution. Best aftercare is sterile, isotonic saline (not H2Ocean) easily available in drug stores as wound wash or contact lens wash.

  50. fakirbodyplay Avatar

    This is NOT an eyebrow piercing. It’s a surface-to-surface in a bad place. Obviously a “pissed off” piercing probably caused by bad placement and too strong a salinity in a home mix salt solution. Best aftercare is sterile, isotonic saline (not H2Ocean) easily available in drug stores as wound wash or contact lens wash.

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