All About Body Jewelry
Do You Know Your Body Jewelry?
There are many types of piercings out there, and for each piercing, it has a specific kind of jewelry that best suits it. Body jewelry can be made of anything from metal to bone to wood! But don’t get overwhelmed just yet, we’ll break down each type by material and style so you can find the jewelry that’s just right for you!
Body Jewelry Material
- Surgical Stainless Steel – Surgical implant grade metal also referred to as “surgical steel”. Most commonly used, and best metal for extreme sizes or sensitive positioning
- Lucite – Acrylic resin or plastic. Tends to be more expensive since the balls have to be tapped and threaded (don’t clean this with alcohol or it’ll shatter!)
- Titanium – Lightweight metal and is most commonly used for colored body jewelry. Color changes are achieved by submerging jewelry in an electrolyte bath and subjecting it to electrical charges
- Niobium – Soft metal and can be worn for extended periods of time
- Sterling silver – alloy of silver, copper, nickel, or other metals. All sterling silver jewelry should be stamped with the number 925, as it’s 92.5% silver
- Base metal – also known as “junk metal” is a mixture of leftover metals. THIS SHOULD NEVER BE USED FOR BODY JEWELRY
- Organic – Typically made of wood, stone, horn, or bone, and is all hand carved (should NEVER be used in new piercings or for stretching)
Picking the Right Jewelry
Do you have a nickel allergy? Are you sure the jewelry you’ve been using is implant grade steel? Most people don’t really have a nickel allergy, they’ve been using cheaper jewelry that’s not the proper grade. If you can wear a watch, a belt buckle, zippers, or something along those lines with no issues, then you most likely don’t have one! Nickel is a corrosive resistant metal, which is why it’s used in body jewelry. You don’t want something that can rust inside you, right?! If you truly do have an allergy to nickel, ask your piercer about other options such as titanium!
What Style?
So we talked about the materials that body jewelry can be made from, now let’s move on to what types of jewelry there are. There are many different types of jewelry, and not all of them fit in every piercing! Once your piercing is healed, you’ll most likely want to change it out to something fun, so you should know what type of jewelry to buy.
- Studs – simple pieces of jewelry that usually contain single stones or metal balls affixed to straight posts
- Straight barbells – A common type of body jewelry, it’s similar to the labret studs, except instead of a flat base on one end, they have a removable ball on each end
- Curved barbells – Called this due to it’s curved shape, it can come with the same size ball on each end or with one larger ball and one small ball
- Circular barbells – Bent to form a circular shape, but not connected at the ends. It contains balls or other adornments, such as gems or charms that screw off on the ends. Also called horseshoe barbells
- Captive bead rings – circular in construction, they often have a charm or ball, and pressure by both sides of the ring holds it in place
- Plugs – worn in piercings that are already stretched. Double-flared plugs have ends shaped in a way that holds them in the stretching. Single-flared and non-flared plugs require O-rings to hold them in place
- Nose screw – These are also similar to studs but ends with a small curve or a curved semicircular metal shape
- Tunnel jewelry- similar to plugs, but they have an opening in the middle and are often called eyelets
Jewelry Placement
- Stud - Ear – Nose – Lip/Face
- Straight Barbell - Tongue – Ear
- Curved Barbell - Navel – Eyebrow
- Circular Barbell - Ear – Nose
- Captive Bead Ring - Ear – Nose – Eyebrow – Lip
- Plug/Tunnel - Ear
- Nose Screw - Nose
Healing Times
Every piercing heals differently, and every person heals differently. There’s a general time line of how long it’ll take a piercing to heal, but remember that what may take one person 2 months to heal, might take the next 3 months to heal! Just be patient and let your body do it’s thing! Check out the chart below for an idea of how long it’ll take your new piercing to heal!
Knowledge is Power!!!
So there you have it, folks! All the types of body jewelry, from the make to the style. Once your piercing is healed up, you now have the knowledge to go out and pick the best piece of body jewelry for you! Piercings are a fun and awesome way to express yourself, and the jewelry you wear makes all the difference!
