The name comes from the “barbells” which is used by weightlifters. Jim Ward who is reputed to have designed a lot of early body jewelry made them famous back in the 1970s. These are very easy to wear and come in different materials, designs, shapes, sizes and colors. Barbells are usually made of a straight bar that has a bead at each end.

You will often find that you can interchange the beads in a barbell, letting you use the same bar for a huge variety of beads. The common type is the barbell that has one permanent bead with the other being removable. The removable bead is internally or externally threaded.

For most initial body piercings, barbells are the best choice. The bar goes through the piercing and beads hold it in place. Since the bar is available in different lengths, longer barbells are used for fresh piercings, and later, shorter barbells are used. As far as threading is concerned, internally threaded barbells are the best since they don’t graze against the piercing. In internally threaded barbells, it is the bead that screws into the bar of the barbell, causing less irritation. In the externally threaded one, it is the bar that screws into the bead.

Check out the different barbells below!

Barbells are worn in tongue, nipple, eyebrow, nose, septum, nasallang, ear, belly and genital piercings. You can expect to see all kinds of gauge sizes if you look at the gauge chart, but the most common is the 14-gauge barbell. Materials used are generally surgical grade steel, titanium, PTFE, Bioplast, niobium and gold.

Straight barbells are not the only type available. You also get curved barbells, banana barbells, and circular or horseshoe barbells. Surface bars are also considered to be a type of barbells used in surface piercing. Just like the bars, the beads also come in a variety of shapes like cubes, triangles, cones, disks etc. Barbells are made with lathe, taps and dies. If you opt for the handcrafted barbells you end up paying more as they use better quality material and you get jewelry items that are better finished!

There are a few things that you need to keep in mind when you are shopping for earrings and here you will find out everything that you need to know.

Choosing Good Body Jewelry Earrings

There are so many different earring designs available to choose from these days. Long gone are the days when studs were the only body jewelry that was worn. Now you have cartilage earrings, thread earrings, designer earrings and even clip on earrings. It all depends upon which type of piercing you have as to which earrings you should purchase.

The main thing to remember is that if you are just having your ears pierced for the first time then you need to avoid certain materials. Whilst they may look great, gold earrings can cause a reaction in some people and so they are best avoided until your piercing has healed. Instead it would be a better option to choose titanium or bioplast earrings. Once the piercing has healed then you can choose any material you wish, but generally it is better to start off with the materials mentioned to avoid any potential problems.

If you have a cartilage piercing then you may want to opt for a simple blue gem bioplast stud. You can purchase them in a number of shapes from a simple circular stud to a star shaped or even a dragon shaped earring. Or you could opt for body jewelry earrings that will help you to really stand out. Industrial barbells are a popular choice for cartilage piercings and they really do look unique.

The earrings that you end up with will also obviously depend upon your age. Younger people would likely prefer designer earrings. There is a wide selection available to young girls and so you should not have trouble finding something to suit them. If you are on the lookout for something a little more sophisticated then simple designs are generally better.

Overall there are so many different types of body jewelry earrings to choose from. Cubic zirconia earrings will be cheaper to purchase but if you do choose them make sure that you choose bioplast or surgical steel for best results!