Jewellery for body peircing

Body piercing is an incredibly popular practice. Though there are countless reasons people give for getting piercings done, most often people choose piercing to mark their individuality or proclaim their membership of a social group.

People get pierced in a number of places and each popular site has particular jewellery that’s best-suited for use there. For example, ear piercings can take studs or spirals, a labret is the leading choice for a piercing in the cheek, and barbells are a solid option for just about any piercing site.

Popular materials for body piercing jewellery include: surgical steel, used because of it’s strength and hypoallergenic nature; implantatium, which is basically surgical steel with a lower nickel contingent; titanium, popular for having the same properties as stainless steel but only two-thirds as heavy; blackline, which is titanium with a special titanium film coating for less friction; zircon gold (also known as zircontwo), which is titanium with a zirconium nitride coating, less reactive and more lightweight than real gold; bronze, which is a blend of copper and tin commonly used for larger piercings in Indonesia; silver, which is commonly alloyed with nickel and can lead to allergic reactions; and gold, which is generally not recommended for use unless it is a minimum of 18 carat (75% pure) gold. Non-metallic piercing materials include glass, amber, acrylics, bone, ivory, plastic and even wood.

Jewellery for body piercings is available from a wide range of shops – before you buy online, do a little research into the materials piercings are made from so that you can be sure to purchase something unlikely to cause an adverse reaction. Also, remember to consider the weight of the piece – particularly if it is likely to be worn through a delicate piercing – to avoid causing damage to the piercing or the person wearing the body jewellery.