Piercings 101

If you’ve ever wondered, here’s everything there is to know about (ear) piercings.

I know most of you probably already know what a piercing is by now, but just to be sure, let’s start from the beginning.

What are they?

Of course, the word is derived from the verb to pierce and, technically speaking, the term piercing refers to the action of puncturing, perforating, punching a hole into something. Obviously, the word can be used as an adjective in a completely different context, but we’re here to talk about jewelry, aren’t we?

And therefore, in my world, we are talking about piercing, the noun, meaning either a piece of jewelry that is attached to a piece of flesh, usually other than the earlobe, or the literal hole in the body where the piece of jewelry goes. Now, this is the part where you go “ew”, or express your reluctance for what I just described.

Generally speaking, it does seem weird, indeed, to just poke a hole in your body and stick a piece of jewelry in it, just because you feel like it. And I think, to a certain extent, I did feel like this in the past too. It is strange to alter your body in such a “barbaric” way just cause you think it looks good, but in my opinion, I think there is more to it. There is a reason, apart from the looks of it, why people get piercings.

(Engine Akyurt, pixabay.com)

But why?

Just in the same way that you wear certain clothes and have a certain personal style, the piercing is a statement of who you are, or at least, who you want to be. It is a way of expressing yourself, of showing your (hopefully) true self, of letting your personality show.

In the past, the piercing was a sign of rebellion or defiance, being mostly worn by rockers and goths in the ‘90s, but the true origin goes way back. Piercings were a way of embellishing the body since the ancient era, when people wore all kinds of jewelry that were a sign of wealth, family membership, or even tribe allegiance. This is also something that still happens in some African countries.

Even though the rebellious punk-rocker of the ‘90s is closer to us, in terms of time and space, I feel like the piercing today is closer to the true origin, then what it used to represent just 20 to 30 years ago. Nowadays, piercings are a part of fashion and have lost a lot of the social stigma, and to a certain level, they do give the people that wear them, a sense of belonging to a certain category of people. People with a particular style, maybe a particular mindset and certainly some level of edginess or a splash of bad-assery, if you will. Because after all, you do have to pierce a hole in your body that wasn’t there before, and that is at least a tiny bit bad-ass.

The many faces of piercings

Just how we have a lot of types of earrings, there are also plenty of varieties when it comes to other ear piercing places. First of all, the upper lobe. The number of lobe piercings one can have is only limited by the size of their ear. Then, if we go up the ear, along comes the anti-tragus, the snug and the conch. Then we work our way up the cartilage where we find the helix, flat and industrial. And then, to come back full circle, we go down on the inside of the ear and we see the forward helix, the rook and the daith. And then we end the tour on the teeny piece of cartilage that is the tragus, right in the middle of the ear, partially covering the ear entrance.

For all of these places there are a few types of piercings (as in the jewelry per se), that are very different than a normal earring. Firstly, there is the labret, which is a bar with a flat end, and a bejeweled end; the barbell, which has a ball or some kind of jewel at both ends and can be straight, curved or circular; and then there’s the ring or helix, which can be a continuous ring, or a ball closure ring. Also, all of these can be embellished with all kinds of little stones or metallic elements and they can all differ in diameter/lenght and thickness (gauge).

(Ear Piercing Diagram, byrdie.co.uk)

And that’s…just the ear. As you can imagine, it would take all day to list every existing type of piercing, and here, on this blog, we tend to focus on the earrings, if you haven’t noticed. However, other very popular places for piercings are the lip, nose, brow, cheeks, tongue, belly button, nipples and even the down stairs area. As expected, new places to be pierced are always being conceived, one such example being the smiley piercing, usually a circular barbell, pierced through the little piece of flesh right where the gum and the inside of the upper lip meet. Also, another fresh trend is the dermal anchor, which can literally go anywhere, since it is a stud-like jewel with one end implanted anywhere under the skin.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of choices out there, if you ever decide to get one. But before you do, there are some things you need to know, some aspects you have to go through, just to make sure you take the best decision for yourself. But have no fear, I am going to walk you through that as well, just not today, because too much information at once can be overwhelming. So, keep an eye on this blog because, I promise you, I am coming back to get more personal on the subject :).