The Price of Being Trendy
Hole in your nose can turn into a big hole in your wallet.
So you’re thinking about getting a tattoo. Cool. Or maybe even a few holes pierced in unusual places. If you’re into it, then the pain would be worth earning your friends’ admiration, And your mom is sure to hate either one – which makes it even better, of course. The upshot is your doctor could end up smiling all the way to the bank too, when that ring gets ripped out of your eyebrow or your tattooed wrist clashes with your banker’s suit,
Now, now, I’m not saying don’t do it – but don’t do it on a whim. Whether you choose a tattoo or a pierced tongue or both, you’re making a statement, Just make sure it doesn’t affect your bank statement later on. Take a moment to consider the potential price you’ll be paying down the road for a cool look today.
Is it art?
A ring through your eyebrow or a dragon tattoo on your calf may be hip. But, believe it or don’t, not everyone you meet is going to be thinking about that.
Some folks may be looking at you as a potential employee. Your nose ring or wild tattoo may be telling a potential employer exactly what you hoped for – that you’re a rebel, that you color outside the lines, that you do things differently (just like all the other people who do it). Unless you’re getting a job in the music biz or as a tattoo artist apprentice, body art won’t be the most useful investment for your career,
“People start to make impressions before you open your mouth. Whether or not you like it, you’re going to have to hide it,” explains Los Angeles psychologist Robert Butterworth. “If you’re selling mutual funds or talking to people about undergoing chemotherapy, (tattoos or body piercing) may not be the thing to do. They certainly wouldn’t let me on Nightline with a ring in my nose.”
What a scar!
Even after you balance the potential negative impact on your future career, the part that creeps me out is the potential damage to your body, Dr. Joshua Fox has seen not only torn earlobes, but also damage to other pierced body parts – such as belly buttons and tongues – in his role as director of Advanced Dermatology P.C. and The Center for Laser and Cosmetic Surgery and Center for Laser and Cosmetic Surgery in Fresh Meadows N.Y. “It gets damaged when someone pulls on it, or people pull on it themselves or it gets caught on something. Or people are allergic to the posts. There are a thousand and one complications,” says Dr. Fox. I asked Dr. Fox about the tear that scares me the most: the tongue. He says, “I haven’t seen that many complications with the tongue. I see more cases of belly button.”
Belly button damage may be the most common to Dr. Fox’s patients but it is one of the easiest to heal, he says. ‘Belly buttons heal themselves nicely. But a torn earlobe can cause $300 to $600 to repair. It’s a bit more delicate surgery.”
Judy Cook, practice administrator at Dermatology Consultants in Dallas, says that board-certified dermatologists can charge as high as $800 to repair both earlobes. But don’t fret too much about the cost if you have insurance. Depending on your insurance coverage, Cook says sometimes you can be reimbursed for repairing rips