Body Piercing Jewelry

Looking for a way to change your look? The art of body piercing has been around for a long time—at least since the Egyptians (archaeologists have found body piercing on mummies!). Almost every part of your body is piercable—consider the old adage "if you can pinch it, you can pierce it" if you are trying to figure out where you want to pierce. Remember that you do need to pick an area that will be able to heal (for example, if you were to pierce the bottom of your foot, it would be difficult to heal because you are constantly walking).

There are a few people who think that just a few kinds of pierces exist—in reality, there are quite a few. On the ear alone there is anti-tragus, auricle, conch, daith, industrial, orbital, lobe, pinna, forward pinna, rook, scaffold, snug, tragus, transverse lobe, vertical tragus, or weaving. Research types of piercings or ask someone at a jewelry shop if you are having a difficult time trying to decide what kind of piercing to get. Types of piercings are separated into three categories:

• Soft tissue piercing are the most common. They go from one side of your skin to the other—only piercing through skin. Some examples of these are earlobes (the most common piercing), the nipples, between you lip and chin, and basically anywhere that you can pinch the skin between your fingers (without feeling cartilage). Most soft tissue piercing start out with a ring, but you can change it to different types of jewelry after it has healed. Many soft tissue piercing can close up and heal over time if the jewelry is removed.
• Cartilage piercing is usually found on the upper ear or on the nose. If you try to close up cartilage piercing, the skin covering the hole will usually heal, but the cartilage will have a permanent hole.
• Surface-to-surface piercing are the least natural type of piercing, as they are found in areas where the body surface is flat, rather than going through one side of body tissue to another. Some examples of surface areas are the skin on the side of your face, the back of your neck, above the eyebrow, or on the webbing between your fingers. It is common for your body to reject a surface piercing, and even if it is successful, it usually only lasts for a few years before it is pushed out.

Once you have a piercing, then you can choose the type of jewelry that you want. Depending on the type of piercing, you have many options. Go to a jewelry shop to see your options.