INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Like all piercings, cheek piercings carry a risk of infection if performed without regard for proper sanitation. Do not attempt to perform a cheek piercing at home. Only go to reputable, qualified professionals - ones that have the training and tools necessary to minimize your risk of infection or complication. Most professional body piercers will refuse to perform a dimple piercing on anyone under the age of 18, even with a guardian's permission. The precise age cutoff, however, differ based in the laws in your state or country. Note - many professional body piercers discourage dimple piercings at all ages. While ear and nose piercings only cut through skin and cartilage, dimple piercings cut through muscle. As a result, there is a greater risk of nerve damage than with other complications. Oral piercings of all types can also cause long-term damage to your teeth and gums. If your piercer is a qualified, reputable one, s/he will clean your cheeks carefully before proceeding with the piercing. The exterior of the skin must be cleaned with anti-bacterial soap, sterile alcohol wipes, or similar method of sterilization to eliminate harmful microorganisms that can cause complications with the piercing. The body piercer may also ask that you rinse your mouth out with bacteria-busting mouthwash to minimize the risk of harmful bacteria from the inside of your mouth infecting the piercing. Reputable body piercers will use a piercing gun that uses disposable one-use needles, one that's washed in a sterilizing autoclave, or a single-use disposable needle on its own (no gun). The needle used to pierce your cheek must be sterile beyond a shadow of a doubt. Never, ever receive a piercing using a dirty needle. In addition: The needle may also be heated before use to further sterilize it. The hands of the body piercer should also be washed thoroughly with anti-bacterial soap. The body piercer may or may not wear disposable gloves. The jewelry should also be cleansed in anti-bacterial solution. The body piercer will use the needle to quickly puncture the skin at the exact location where natural dimples would fall. Immediately after piercing the skin, the body piercer should place the jewelry into the holes and treat the punctured area with more anti-bacterial solution. New piercings require special care to reduce the risk of infection or complication. Ask your piercer for instructions - you will probably need to clean the pierced area with saline solution several times each day until the piercing heals. The body piercer may provide you with a solution, but if not, you can make one by adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of salt to 8 oz (250 ml) of pure distilled water. Apply the saline solution with a sterile cotton swab. Swab the area next to the jewelry rod and gently clean beneath the head of the jewelry. Avoid playing with the jewelry as it heals. Fiddling with your jewelry can transfer bacteria from your hand into the wound, and also causes the piercing to shift from its original location, irritating the wound. It will usually take at least this long for the piercing to heal. The piercing needs to heal with the jewelry in before it can be safely removed. Removing the jewelry prematurely may allow the piercings in your cheeks to close up. Waiting at least one month (and up to three) should provide your cheeks ample time to partially heal. As soon as you remove the piercings, your skin will begin the process of healing itself. Until the skin heals, you will have two small holes in your cheek. After the skin heals, however, you should be left with two dimple-like indentations in your cheek. Take care, during this time, to keep track of the types of jewelry you are wearing in your dimples. Some people can have allergic reactions to certain types of metal used in jewelry, especially cheaper varieties. Note - piercings are semi-permanent! Your new "dimples" will be in your cheeks at all times, regardless of the expression on your face.

SUMMARY: Go to a professional piercer. Clean the area thoroughly. Make sure that the tools are also clean. Get pierced. Maintain proper treatment after the piercing is done. Leave the piercings in for one to three months.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Place the items together in one area. A plastic mixing container Wooden chopstick Dry pigment Painting spatula An acrylic base Solution (water or an alcohol like rubbing alcohol) Acrylic retarder You can use the flat side of a painting spatula to apply pressure until you do not feel any "grittiness. Paint pigments sold in arts supply stores usually come in powdered form. Many artists also choose to find alternative pigments based on crushed dried plants or other substances. Grind the pigment until you do not feel any "grittiness" as you apply pressure. Most pigments will break down fairly easily, so just make sure that there are no irregular lumps remaining. If the pigment has come in powdered form, you may not need to grind it unless it is lumpy. Before you begin mixing the components together, you should measure and record the quantity of pigment and base used. You may need to make more of a color before you finish a painting or to retouch a painting. You can only do so with consistency if you know how much pigment and acrylic base you used. Acrylic base is essentially paint without pigment. It will usually come in a squeezable tube and the substance itself will appear white. There are several different sorts, such as glossy or matte, and you must determine which type you need for your painting. Use the wooden chopstick to mix them thoroughly together, until the pigment is evenly dispersed throughout the acrylic base. Read the instructions that came with your acrylic binder because the preferred ratio of base to solution varies from brand to brand. Some pigments (especially organic ones) have a tendency to float on water. In this case you would substitute alcohol. Make sure you are using a solution appropriate for the pigment. It's not ideal to mix alcohol into acrylic paints because alcohol dries quickly, causing the paint to also dry quickly. If you are using a pigment that mixes best with alcohol but want the paint to dry more slowly, you can add water after you have mixed the pigment with alcohol. Too much water or alcohol will dilute the acrylic binder, so be careful. Acrylic retarder helps to slow how quickly acrylic paint dries. It's important to follow the instructions that came with your acrylic retarder. However, a general rule of thumb is that more retarder used, the slower the acrylic paint will dry. You can figure out ratios of your own liking as you become accustomed to its use. Acrylic retarders are especially necessary if you are attempting to create photorealistic paintings or portraits of a human subject. Colors must be blended together on the canvas to create the contours of complex shapes, but fast-drying acrylics will set before a second color can be added.

SUMMARY:
Gather all of your supplies. Grind the dry pigment. Measure and record the amounts of pigment and acrylic base. Add the pigment to the acrylic base in the plastic container. Combine the solution with the pigmented acrylic base thoroughly. Blend in acrylic retarder.