Body Jewelry Guide – Page 14 – Body Piercing Stories and Dazzling Body Jewelry!

Navel Body Piercing

Navel body piercings are extremely popular these days. However, the piercing itself is not usually done through the actual navel.

To do this the person would need to have what is known as an “outie” navel where the belly button is actually sticking out. Not many people have this and so the piercing is often made through the upper rim of the navel instead.

Many celebrities such as Britney Spears and Janet Jackson have made the navel body piercing as popular as it is today.

It is particularly favoured amongst teenage girls who are looking to stand out. However, unfortunately many people rush into getting their navel pierced and they do not fully understand what the piercing involves. This is when infections can develop.

What You Should Know

The navel piercing might be the most common type of piercing available today, but there is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding it. One of the main things that you may not be aware of is the healing time that the piercing needs before you experiment with different belly rings.

Navel body piercings are well known for their likelihood of developing an infection. However, this is easily avoidable if you respect the healing time and if you help the piercing to heal. Using a mild antibacterial soap on the piercing each morning in the shower will help to cleanse the wound.

The piercing itself is done usually with a sterilised clamp. The clamp is situated either below or above the navel and then the sterilised needle is pushed through the skin to create the piercing. This is then followed by the navel jewellery that the client has chosen. Typically for their first navel jewellery, clients tend to opt for belly bars or a simple belly ring. Ideally you should avoid nickel based navel jewellery when you have just had your navel pierced as this does tend to cause an allergic reaction for many people.

Overall navel body piercings are popular and they do tend to boost confidence. However, they do need to be cared for properly if you are to benefit fully from the piercing. There are so many different belly rings to suit all tastes that you can choose from once the piercing has healed. So if you do look after the piercing properly you will soon be able to benefit from a wide range of belly rings!

Nipple Piercing

Nipple piercing is a very popular choice for both men and women. And it doesn’t really matter which nipple you have pierced, there is no hidden meaning behind a nipple piercing!

You could even choose to have both nipples pierced if you want to. Before you rush out and get a nipple piercing however, you first need to understand exactly what is involved.

What Does Nipple Piercing Involve?

Nipple piercings are done straight through the base of the erect part of the nipple. It is important to note that a nipple ring or bar should never be placed through the areola as that could cause problems such as mastitis.

Mastitis mainly occurs in women and it is basically a breast tissue infection. It is extremely nasty and you could end up with infected milk ducts.

So it is always worth noting that the areola should never be pierced!

When it comes to the actual piercing, it doesn’t matter which way the piercer decides to pierce the nipple. They can be done horizontally, vertically or basically any way that you or the piercer chooses.

The only real trouble the piercer could have is the placement of the piercing when you have completely flat nipples. If your nipples are flat when they are flaccid then that could be uncomfortable and it is vital that you make the piercer aware of this before you get the piercing done.

The piercing is done either just with a needle or it can be clamped first if the piercer chooses. It doesn’t really make much difference which way it is done. One thing to keep in mind is that if you choose to wear a nipple ring (which tends to be the most popular choice), then it should be quite big. A smaller ring can cause an infection when the piercing has just been done. So check with your piercer that you are choosing a good sized ring before having it pierced.

Overall nipple piercings can look really good and they are a popular choice. However you need to be aware of the things that can go wrong and you also need to give the piercing plenty of time to heal after it has been done. It would be a good idea to talk to a piercer before making a decision as they will be able to give you an expert opinion on whether a nipple piercing would be suitable for you!

Eyebrow Piercing

Let’s talk about eyebrow piercing, all right?

Eyebrow piercings are usually done vertically through the eyebrow.

It is up to each individual person where about on the eyebrow they would like the piercing to be. Generally a ring is the most common type of jewellery to go inside an eyebrow piercing.

This type of piercing is quite common and it is quite easy to care for too. You follow the same procedure as you would with ear piercings and they usually take only 6-8 weeks to heal properly.

What to Consider

Whilst an eyebrow piercing can look really good, there are some things that you need to think about before going ahead and having one done. Firstly you need to be aware of the fact that there is a chance that the piercing will grow out and leave a scar. This is not usually a big deal for most people but it is still something that you need to think about.

The piercing itself will usually be done at an angle. This ensures that the eyebrow ring hangs properly without getting in the way. If you want to avoid the piercing closing up then you should leave the jewellery in at all times. Once the piercing has healed and you remove the jewellery, it will not take long for it to close back up again.

It is uncommon but there are occasions where you could end up with an infection in the piercing. This mainly occurs when the piercer hasn’t used properly sterilised equipment. If you are unlucky enough to develop an infection then you will experience pain and swelling. However, as mentioned an infection is quite rare and it can usually be avoided if you choose a good piercer.

The only other problem you could experience from an eyebrow piercing is that they are not always accepted socially. For whatever reason, eyebrow piercings do sometimes cause offense and this is something that you may have to put up with. You know – your boss might be a bit old-fashioned and so on…

But overall an eyebrow piercing is quite a common type of piercing these days. They can look really good and they are excellent for those looking to make a statement!

Body Piercing Healing

Body Piercing Healing This is the eternal question I hear very often – when can I change my belly (nose, tongue, nipple, etc…) ring?

Yes, the majority of you who get body piercings just can’t await when it will be possible to change the initial piece of body jewelry and insert a new one!

That’s understandable; however, you have to know at least the approximate body piercing healing times to assess the condition of your fresh body piercing.

This is very important due to two main reasons.

First – if you ignore body piercing healing time of the particular piercing site, you may damage the half-healed piercing by inserting new body jewelry too early. This in turn will result in prolonged healing time.

Secondly – you increase the likelihood of getting a body piercing infection. You see – the longer the fresh piercing remains unhealed, the more likely the infection is to creep into the wound.

So as you can see, you really shouldn’t rush your body and ignore its natural healing speed. You can read this belly piercing story, for instance, to see what can happen if a girl is too willing to change the initial body jewelry!

Well, the next things to understand about body piercing healing are the three stages of the piercing healing process.

1st Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Growing New Skin

After the piercing has been performed, the first thing that you body needs to do is – stop the bleeding process and prevent bacteria from entering the wound. Although not every body piercing will result in a visible infection, it’s been actually reported that 10 to 20% of all body piercings result in mild infections!

But generally every piercing will be swollen right after the piercing has been performed and also some discharge will appear during the following days. It’s just the body’s natural defense system in action and it pushes the damaged tissue and bacteria out of the tiny wound.

Very soon after the piercing a temporary clot of scab is formed to prevent the bleeding and protect the wound. Then your body starts forming new skin cells and within a few weeks after the piercing a new skin layer has formed!

However, you have to understand that this new skin is very fragile and vulnerable to mechanical intervention, so it should be taken for granted that the initial body jewelry remains in the piercing during this stage!

And also bear in mind – no rough handling, no exposure to body fluids and dirt. The fresh piercing can still easily get infected, so you have to make sure it stays sound and clean!

In the table below you can find approximate haling times of the most popular body piercings. Just bear in mind – it shows the duration of the first stage of the healing, so it is actually wise to wait twice as much to make sure the skin thickens and it’s safe to insert a new piece of body jewelry!

Body Piercing Healing Times

2nd Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Full Healing

During this stage of body piercing healing the new skin gains thickness and becomes more like a real skin. The full healing takes about the same time as the first stage of body piercing healing (as seen in the table above).

But even though this stage is called full healing, the new skin still doesn’t reach its mature stage. However, you can safely change your initial body jewelry at this stage because the skin isn’t that vulnerable to damage and infections anymore!

3rd Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Maturing

This is when the body piercing gains all the features of a permanent skin. The scar-like tissue is formed into a tube called fistula, and this is when the piercing wound can’t close up anymore. But of course, it depends on the piercing type.

For example, tongue piercings can close up at any stage; some also say that due to the vascular nature of the face the facial piercings can also close up even though they’re fully healed.

But it’s all down to the particular person’s body type and features. So one may walk for years with an eyebrow ring taken out, while another may have it close up after a few months!

Bioplast Body Jewelry

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Getting a new body piercing? What’s the most important thing that will require your attention during the next few weeks? Yes, it’s piercing aftercare.

So allow me to introduce you to Bioplast body jewelry!

Have you ever heard of Bioplast? Let me tell you a few things about it.

The very word ‘Bioplast’ originates from two words – ‘biological’ and ‘plastic’. So as you can already guess, this is a biocompatible type of plastic. This essentially means that it isn’t going to interfere with your body’s cells and fluids when inserted into a fresh piercing wound!

So it’s no wonder Bioplast has been recognized as one of the best materials for initial body piercings. When you get a new piercing and insert Bioplast body jewelry, you can rest assured that the likelihood of developing some allergic reaction and swelling is minimized.

Another benefit of wearing Bioplast is its flexibility. Well, there’s another material that is even more flexible than Bioplast – it’s PTFE. However, unless you really need a massive range of movement in the healing piercing, like in a navel industrial piercing, you’ll do just fine with Bioplast body jewelry.

So why is the flexibility an advantage? Simply – the fresh piercing is going to be less traumatized because the flexible Bioplast jewelry will adjust to the body movements while it’s healing.

Bioplast body jewelry can also be sterilized up to 121° C and you shouldn’t have any problems taking it with you when you go to get pierced. As Bioplast comes in all imaginable color variations, you can pick your favourite barbell or ring even before going to the studio and get it inserted.

Otherwise you have to wait until the new piercing heals. And sometimes people are so tempted to remove the boring plain barbell and insert the new one…that they ignore the fact that their piercing hasn’t healed properly yet.

The result when inserting the new piece of jewelry? They damage the half-healed piercing hole and it can swell up again and start oozing.

So to avoid all this fuss – simply choose a nice looking Bioplast body jewelry in the very beginning and ask your piercer to insert it!

Navel Industrial Piercing

Have you ever thought about getting a navel industrial piercing? If not – then maybe it’s the right time to weigh all the pros and cons!

First of all – it’s going to be something different. Not many girls have a navel industrial project and you’ll definitely have all people’s eyes on you during the summertime!

Secondly – how many actually know what navel industrial is all about? Maybe even you don’t know what it is! Well, it’s simply two navel piercings joined together using an industrial barbell.

In body piercing industry the very term ‘industrial’ refers to any type of a body piercing that has been joined together using a single barbell. So it can actually be two, three or even more piercing holes – such piercing solutions aren’t uncommon when it comes to ear industrial piercings.

Well, when you get a navel industrial, you can’t physically join together more than two piercings. You get either the upper and the lower navel piercings or the right and the left side. Of even both – if you want to get a double navel industrial! In this case it’s going to look as if a cross has been inserted into your belly button.

So when the piercer pierces the navel in two places, he pushes through a long barbell and joins the navel piercings together. Here you can read an interesting navel industrial piercing story – and the girl who got it was very happy!

The only thing – I can’t understand why the piercer chose to bend a metallic barbell and insert it into the industrial project…

After all, belly button piercing is a surface piercing and it’s kind of harder to heal than others – let’s say, nose or ear piercings. So when you have a solid metallic bar inserted into both fresh piercings, it can hamper the piercing process.

Therefore I think the best way to get a navel industrial is either by using a flexible PTFE barbell, or insert two separate belly rings into the fresh piercings until they heal properly.

Lip Piercing – So Sensual…

Lip piercing is very popular these days – if we don’t look at some extreme lip piercing types involving lip stretching, other lip piercing types like labret piercing or Monroe (Madonna) piercing can be considered similar to a mainstream body piercing like ears, navel or nose.

Special type of lip body jewelry has also been created to support the ever-growing demand after this sort of piercings and they’re called labret rings.

Of course, they don’t look like rings at all because they’re actually straight barbells with a special flattened ending. But as we all know, it’s common for everyone to refer to a all types of body jewelry as ‘rings’ – belly button rings, tongue rings, nose rings…

You can wear these labret rings in both labret piercings and Monroe piercings simply because the Monroe piercing is just a version of labret piercing. You see, technically you could call just about any lip piercing right above and under the lip a labret piercing because the very word ‘labret’ comes from ‘labrum’ which means ‘a lip’.

However, various names have been given to different lip piercings depending on where exactly they are inserted.

Medusa piercing is a variation of labret and is positioned right above the curved part of the upper lip – under the nose.

Bites – a type of lip piercing when two symmetrically positioned labret rings or real rings are inserted into the lip bearing some resemblance to positioning of snake’s or vampire’s fangs. There are different bites lip piercings – snakebites, spiderbites, viperbites and others.

Talking of these, there is another oral piercing where a similarity to animal’s fangs is achieved – venom piercing in the tongue.

When you go for lip piercing you can pierce area just above or under the lip. However, some boys and girls pierce their very red parts of lips! So there is a type of lip piercing called horizontal lip piercing when a barbell goes through the lower lip horizontally and emerges on the either side. In this case some type of flexible body jewelry is needed – Bioplast, PTFE, Tygon or Teflon.

Talking about lip piercing healing times – these body piercings heal pretty fast. Starting from 3 weeks and taking up to a couple of months the lip piercings usually don’t present any complications if proper lip piercing aftercare recommendations are observed.

History Of Body Piercing

Much of what we can read about the history of body piercing has been exaggerated and told as nice fairytales. So eventually there’s no way of telling what truth is, and what is lies.

For example, there is no historical evidence that the Roman legionnaires had their nipples pierced. Many information sources on the Internet claim this to be a fact; however, this is a typical body piercing myth. You know – someone makes such a statement, and then the rest of the blogs and websites just pick up the news and spread tem around.

What is known for sure about history of body piercing is that practically all the tribes starting from American Indians and ending with Australian Aborigines knew body piercing as a common practice.

It’s been done as a ritual of initiation, for example, by New Guinea, Solomon Island and Australian Aborigines who would pierce septums of young boys when they reached manhood. Also Shawnee tribe in the Northern America were known to have their septums pierced and Kuna people in Panama wear septum body jewelry to these days.

But no doubt that the oldest type of body piercing is the earlobe piercing. The oldest evidence of humans piercing their bodies can be found in mummified bodies. One of the eldest of such kind – Ötzi – allegedly had earlobe piercing and it was even stretched to a size 7–11 mm making him the first plugged man in the known human history!

This mummy is dated back to around five and a half thousand years ago, and around this time the ancient Sumeria, Assyria, and Babylonia civilizations have also recorded their first body piercing appearances.
Ear piercing along with the nose piercing has also been mentioned in the Bible so this makes strong evidence that these types of piercing existed since very old days.

Actually all the ancient cultures all around the word have practiced ear piercing and this obviously independent origin of this type of body piercing makes us think that people began doing is somehow instinctively. Most often it was done to show off the respective person’s social status or during religious rituals.

Speaking of rituals, I have to mention tongue piercing. There is evidence that the ancient Aztecs pierced their tongues to spill the blood honoring their Gods. However, no body piercings were worn in the tongues; it was done purely as a ritual. Yet this is another body piercing myth and many info sources on the Net speculate on this claiming that the Aztecs wore tongue piercings!

Also despite many claiming the Egyptian royal families would have had privileges of piercing their navels and the common folks would deserve death sentence for it, there is no historical evidence for this either.
But now – only known facts about the history of body piercing.

Nose piercing has been practiced since 4000 BC and it’s been recorded in the Bible. Since the 16th century this tradition was spread from the Middle East to India by Moghul emperors and to these days Hindu and Pakistan women adorn their nostrils with nose studs and rings. This type of body piercing is also known at the Berber and Beja tribes of Africa, and the Bedouins of the Middle East.

Nipple body piercing has been practiced by Karankawa Native Americans who’d pierce one of the nipples and the lower lip using a cane. In the Western world historians have recorded nipple piercing in the time of Queen Isabella of Bavaria who ruled at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries. She was renown of introducing a fashion of exposed breasts and then the nipple jewelry was used to adorn the nipples.

Male and female body piercing has a very long history. The most common form of male piercing – foreskin piercing – and labia piercing in women goes back as far into history as the circumcision. Many Greek and Roman historians have mentioned this practice. The reasons behind it have been numerous – starting from feeling more comfortable when taking part in sports to preventing slaves having sex without their owners’ consent.

Many Polynesian cultures performed ampallang piercing – a male body piercing when the piercing shaft goes horizontally through the glans of the penis. They also performed apadravya piercings which differ only with a vertical placement.

Many other body piercing types have been devised and brought to our society thanks to piercing and body modification movements starting in the 60ies and 70ies of the 20th century. The pioneers of body piercing are such persons as Doug Malloy, Fakir Musafar and the owner of the first body piercing studio Gauntlet Jim Ward.

So what started as distinct gay and minority communities’ sexual fetishism has now become a part of mainstream fashion and I’d say that the history of body piercing is being made right now! 🙂

Body Piercing Gauge

The term ‘body piercing gauge’ refers to the diameter of the body jewelry shaft and also the piercing hole where the captive bead ring or a barbell is inserted.

In the body piercing industry everyone measures the thickness of body jewelry using the American Wire Gauge system and it was introduced back in the 19th century as the electrical wire measuring standard.

The bigger is the gauge number, the smaller is the piercing diameter. The smallest body piercings have the body piercing gauge of 20, for example, the smallest nose rings, but standard piercings like navel rings have 14 gauge. Most of eyebrow rings are 16 gauge, so the body piercing gauge really depends on the body piercing type.

Oh yes, I didn’t include ear piercing into the previous paragraph when I said the smallest gauges are around 20. Typical ladies hanging earrings are dangling at the end of a small metallic hook, and its gauge is definitely very small! But such piercings usually aren’t considered ‘real’ body jewelry, and I think I wasn’t completely wrong with my statement above.

Here’s a body piercing gauge chart and you can see the real life body jewelry shaft size and the corresponding gauge size:

Body Piercing Gauge

But if you need to find the exact sizing in the metric and US units as well, here’s a comprehensive chart starting from the smallest and ending with the largest body piercing gauges:

Body Piercing Gauge

Body Piercing Infection – What You Must Know

When you’re getting a body piercing, you must avoid certain actions to minimize the risk of getting a body piercing infection.
Actually there are three main types of body piercing infection you can get, not only one!

The first and the most common bugs you can get are some bacterial infections like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. If you get one of these and the fresh piercing is really infected – painful, swollen and oozing yellow pus, your doctor will most likely prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria.

Actually it’s been reported that around 10 – 20% of all body piercings result in a small body piercing infections, so if your fresh body piercing is just slightly reddish and a bit tender to touch – most likely it’s going to pass within a few days.

The second type of body piercing infection is viral infections like hepatitis B and hepatitis C. This piercing infection can be transmitted to your body if the piercing instruments haven’t been properly sterilized. Using a disposable piercing needle is a must, and the piece of body jewelry that is inserted into your fresh piercing needs to be sterilized.

This is why it’s very important to make sure that the piercing studio is of the highest standards and the possibility of getting hepatitis is reduced to a minimum. If you have any doubts when entering the studio and talking to the guy or girl who’s going to pierce you – better leave the place and look for another one.

It would be really silly to get a viral infection when such diseases can be easily avoided by making sure all the health standards are met! So don’t hesitate to ask your piercer if he’s going to use a disposable piercing needle prior to getting pierced.

Another type of a possible body piercing infection includes parasites and other microorganisms. This may happen if you go swimming during the healing period in outdoor waters like seas, lakes and rivers.
So you are advised to avoid going into waters where microorganisms are living. Indoor swimming pools don’t pose such a threat due to chlorine added to water, but I guess you should avoid getting into the pool at least the first week or so after the piercing.