Cheek piercing is facial body piercing through the cheek. The most common variation of the cheek piercing penetrates the facial tissue into the oral cavity. The usual placement is symmetrical on either side of the face, either penetrating or imitating dimples. The piercing can cause the wearer slight nerve damage resulting in "man-made dimples". Another way to go is getting Microdermals placed where you want the dimple to be placed. Some people prefer this method because full on cheek piercings have the tendency to leak or secrete lymph fluid, which has a saliva-like texture and can create an unpleasant odor. Though microdermals do have a slightly larger chance to leave a scar than a piercing, they will heal eventually and be almost unnoticeable. The rate of infection is also lower in the long run, and since it does not penetrate the cheek completely, there is little to no chance of tooth or gum damage. Microdermals are like a 'one hole' piercing, where the 'foot' of the jewelry sits below the skin and the decorative jewel or flat disc is above the skin.
Jewelry
(non-surface)Cheek piercings are normally pierced with 1.6mm flat backed labret studs, a type of barbell jewelry. The flat back provides comfort and lessens the chance of the jewelry damaging the teeth and gums of the bearer. During healing, the piercing is fitted with longer jewelry to accommodate for swelling. After the piercing is healed, shortened jewelry further reduces the chance of damage to the teeth from unintentional biting.
A bridge piercing is a body piercing through the skin on the bridge of the nose, usually directly between the eyes of the wearer. The bridge piercing is also known as an "Erl" or "Earl" piercing, after its first recipient, Erl van Aken. A variation on this piercing, the vertical bridge piercing is a surface piercing, with all of the risks or potential complications related to surface piercings.
The risk of rejection is quite high for this piercing, as it is a surface piercing. There is also a high risk of scarring when the jewellery is removed.
Jewelry
Bridge piercings are most commonly pierced with straight barbells, although curved barbells and surface bars are also possible initial jewelry. Once the piercing is healed, it is possible to wear a captive bead ring in it, although depending on the placement of the piercing, a D-ring styled ring may be necessary to prevent migration caused by the pressure exerted by the shape of a ring.
Like many other facial piercings, there are many misconceptions about bridge piercings. Some involve eye problems, such as involuntary eye crossing. Other beliefs have to do with infections from piercings spreading to the brain, via the sinuses. Bridge piercings are a minor piercing and carry very few risks or complications and no impact to the eyes.
A Monroe piercing is placed off-centre, above the upper lip and is meant to resemble a beauty spot; it is also known as a 'Madonna' or 'Crawford'. The three name variations of the piercing bear their names from famous female icons: Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Cindy Crawford. The name varies depending on which side of the mouth is pierced: if the piercing is on the left side of the face it is a 'Monroe', if it is on the right it is a 'Madonna' and if it is placed very near to the top lip it is a 'Crawford'.
The Monroe piercing has a recent history, unlike others that were popularized in the late 70s and 80s. Seen in the mid/late 90s on the bassist of the band Coal Chamber, Rayna, the Monroe piercing can also be seen on celebrities such Amy Winehouse, Ashley Massaro, Nikki Mariam,Christine Dolce aka ForBiddeN and Mutya Buena of Sugababes fame. Although more favoured by women, this piercing is seen increasingly on men; male celebrities who wear this piercing include Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes And Trace Cyrus of Metro Station.
This piercing is typically fitted with a 12, 16 or 18 gauge labret , the bars of which are usually shortened after healing. A variation on this piercing is the Crayfish piercing - a double version of a Monroe piercing with piercings worn on both sides of the upper lip. When long barbells are worn in this piercing, they look similar to the antennae on a crayfish, hence the name. Most people with a monroe piercing favor a metal ball or a jewel on the outer-end.
The lip can often swell considerably after the piercing and will need both facial and oral aftercare to keep both sides of the jewelery clean at all times. Monroes, like all piercings, are prone to infection and it is vital that the piercing is cleaned regularly. Scaring is minimal to none if properly taken care of.
An advantage of a Monroe piercing is that the lip area generally heals faster than other piercings. The estimated healing time given by professional piercers for this type of lip piercing is between 8-12 weeks but many find it heals in 3-6 weeks.
The monroe is said to be a relatively painless piercing process, compared to others, as this area of the body is soft and contains few nerves. There is a small risk of piercing the inferior labial artery, which lies just above the upper lip.
The amount of pain experienced during the piercing process differs from person to person and depends on the specific location of the piercing. Those with thicker lips or well-exercised facial muscles will have more flesh or muscle to pierce and may suffer more discomfort. Men may experience slightly more pain than women, as repeated shaving can make the skin of the upper lip tougher and harder to pierce. The orbicularis oris (the sphincter muscle around the mouth) is used in the playing of brass and woodwind instruments; as a result, players of these instruments tend to have a larger muscle around the mouth and may experience more discomfort during the piercing process.
Monroe piercings can cause long-term damage to the gums and teeth. The back-disk of metal jewellery worn in this piercing rubs against them, potentially resulting in gum recession or damage to tooth enamel. Plastic labret-studs are available to minimize this problem.
Body piercing places are very fashionable these days. it was uncommon to meet someone with a piercing fifteen or twenty years ago, especially a facial piercing. Today it is not unlikely to have friends with a tongue stud, nose ring and eyebrow pierced. Facial piercing is just the beginning, people today are getting ever more creative where their getting pierced, and the type of body jewelry their wearing.
The first thing anyone ever asks's me is. How much do body piercing's cost, this is a tough question to answer because of the many variables involved? For instance, where you live can affect the price you pay, as well where you want your piercing can be a big factor. Obviously getting your ears pierced is going to be cheaper than a lip piercing.
The second thing I always get asked is. How much does it hurt? Well everybody is different and yeah it's gonna hurt, but the pain fades quickly, Most piercing pain will last only a few seconds, with the exception of some delicate genital piercing's, trust me, you want your piercer to take some extra time to ensure the safety and accuracy of these piercing's!
The piercer you have chosen should be using a fresh sterile packed cannula needle at the time of your piercing. A piercer might also engage the use of a pair of forceps to help pull the skin out and maintain the accuracy of the piercing. This is also helpful in ensuring that an adequate amount of skin is grasped before a piercing is placed in the skin.
The truth is for a few days after your body piercing you will have some drainage, this is normal. If the discharge begins to change color yellow or green or thicken you should be concerned. Other things to be on the lookout for are redness and inflammation. Then they want to know why they should pay so much money at a piercing boutique when their friend know's a guy that can do it for half the price. My answer is your odd's of getting an infection are remarkably lower at the boutique, backroom piercing is an infection waiting to happen and the cause of all the horror stories about piercing infections.
Next they want to know how to pick the right piercing studio? Of all the things you want to look for in a quality piercing boutique, and if you forget everything else I have tried to explain to you then you need to make sure they are professional, their station is spotlessly clean and their body piercing instruments are sterile.
For your comfort and ease body jewelry is designed to be worn in specific parts of the body, you should try to wear quality jewelry appropriate to the location of your piercing. When choosing your jewelry pay attention to the material it is made of especially for new piercing's. Speaking of new piercing's, pay attention to the post piercing instructions and keep your piercing clean. New piercing's require extra care in order to heal properly so if you're on a budget look for Implant grade stainless steel in your jewelry which is least likely to trigger some kind of reaction or infection. Remember you wanted your new piercing to show off to the world, not to hide it behind a bandage because of an infection.
Try searching the Internet to find out if they have a good reputation with many happy customers. Forums are a good way to find out if a place is a little sketchy or not and ask questions. Go into the shop your thinking of using and talk to them face to face and get a sense of whether you think you can trust them, and if you want to.
A new piercing will be sore, tender or red for several days up to three weeks. Complete healing normally takes several weeks or more. Below are more specific healing time estimates. During this period, care must be taken to avoid infection. Touching—or, for genital and oral piercings, sexual activity—is usually discouraged.
Primary healing usually takes about as long as is listed below; the jewelry should not be removed during this period. The healing time should not be rushed. Very often a piercing that seemed to be healed will start to have problems when it is handled roughly, exposed to mouth contact or unwashed hands before it has truly healed.
Full healing starts after primary healing is complete and usually takes about as long as primary healing, during this period the skin thickens and starts to gain elasticity. An additional "toughening up" period takes place after full healing is complete, this "toughening up" period also takes about as long as the primary healing time. During "toughening up" the skin remodels itself developing an internal texture in the fistula tube that replaces the shiny scar-like internal surface.
Permanent body piercings (as opposed to play piercings) are performed by creating an opening in the body using a sharp object through the area to be pierced. This can either be done by cutting an opening using a needle (usually a hollow medical needle) or scalpel or by removing tissue, either with a scalpel or a dermal punch.
Contemporary body piercing studios generally take numerous precautions to protect the health of the person being pierced and the piercer. Tools and jewelry are sterilized in autoclaves and non-autoclavable surfaces are cleaned with disinfectant agents on a regular basis and between clients. Sterile, single use gloves are worn by the piercer to protect both the piercer and the client. Commonly, a piercer will use multiple pairs of gloves per client, often one pair for each step of setup to avoid cross contamination. For example, after a piercer has cleaned the area to be pierced on a client, the piercer may change gloves to avoid recontaminating the area with the gloves he/she used to clean it.Surgical stainless steel and titanium are ideal materials for initial jewelry in a fresh piercing.
There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding appropriate material for an initial piercing. For example, there is a widespread belief that "solid 14 karat or higher white or yellow gold containing no nickel is safe as initial jewelry (in a fresh piercing) ”. However, the common alternatives for nickel (copper, silver) in the alloy pose equal or greater risk compared to nickel. Also, gold is a soft metal, making it prone to dents and scratches which can irritate piercings and harbor bacteria.
Standard needle method
The standard method in the United States involves making an opening using a hollow medical needle. The needle is inserted into the body part being pierced. While the needle is still in the body, the initial jewelry to be worn in the piercing is pushed through the opening, following the back of the needle. Piercing using hollow medical needles does not actually remove any flesh—the method cuts a "C" shaped slit and holds it open in the shape of the cross section of the needle: in this case, a circle. In this method, the needle is the same gauge (or sometimes larger as with cartilage piercings) than the initial jewelry to be worn. Piercings that penetrate cartilage are often pierced one or two gauges larger than the jewelry, to reduce pressure on the healing piercing, allowing for a fistula (internal "skin tube" that connects the two ends of the piercing) to properly form.
Indwelling cannula method
Many European (and other) piercers use a needle containing a cannula (hollow plastic tube placed at the end of the needle, also see catheter). Procedure is identical to the standard method, only that the initial jewelry is inserted into the back of the cannula and the cannula and the jewelry are then pulled through the piercing. This method reduces the chance of the jewelry slipping during the insertion procedure, and also protects the fresh piercing from possible irritation from external threading (if used) during initial insertion.
Dermal punching
In this method, a dermal punch is used to remove a circular area of tissue, into which jewelry is placed. This method is usually used to remove both skin and cartilage in upper ear piercings, where cartilage must be removed to relieve pressure on the piercing to ensure proper healing and long-term viability of the piercing. Healed fistulas created or enlarged using dermal punches will shrink over time, but at a much slower rate than 'dead stretched' fistulas.
Piercing guns
Piercing guns are commonly used in retail settings to perform ear piercings. They work by blunt force trauma due to the fact that the needle used is normally dull and are designed for piercing the ear only. In many states it is against the law to pierce the cartilage with the piercing gun because of the damage the device can do to the tissue. The sheer blunt force of the piercing gun shatters the surrounding cartilage from the entry point of the jewellery and over time can cause the whole ear to deform, commonly known as 'cauliflowering'. Piercing guns have also been found to be a less sterile way of piercing due to the limited cleaning quality of the plastic the gun is usually made of. Piercing with a piercing gun causes microsprays of plasma and blood, which are then unable to be cleaned in an autoclave system.
Many professional body piercers discourage the use of these instruments. The autoclaving of piercing guns is usually impossible, because certain materials used in their construction would be destroyed if autoclaved. Even though they are occasionally used for other purposes, ear piercing instruments are designed and advertised for ear piercing only.
Internally threaded jewelry
A number of piercing shops exclusively use jewelry that is internally threaded. That is, the ball-ends of the jewelry screw into the bar, rather than the bar screwing into the ball. Though more expensive and difficult to produce than externally threaded jewelry, piercers who use internally threaded jewelry advise that since the bar that is being inserted into the skin has no sharp threads on the end, it will not cut or irritate skin; this allows for safer healing.
However, in today's world of body piercing, most manufacturers of quality body jewelry agree that if externally threaded jewelry is going to be used, it must have a tapered end on it so that at the very least, the threads can slip into the back end of the needle, thus protecting the piercee's tissue from being threaded during the initial piercing. Arguments have arisen that using internally threaded jewelry can be just as, if not more, dangerous for the body on occasion. For example, if one gets one's tongue pierced with an internally threaded barbell and the threading is not properly screwed down by the piercer or becomes loose because of playing with the jewelry, one runs the risk of swallowing a ball. Whereas an externally threaded ball would simply pass through the body (because it has nothing protruding from it), an internally threaded ball would scrape the throat, stomach, and intestines with its threads as it passes through. However, this risk is only evident with oral and, rarely, nasal piercings.
Evidence suggests that body piercing (including ear piercing) has been practiced by people all over the world from ancient times. Mummified bodies with piercings have been discovered, including the oldest mummified body discovered to date, that of Ötzi the Iceman, which was found in a Valentina Trujillon glacier. This mummy had an ear piercing 7–11 mm (1 to 000 gauge in AWG) diameter.[1]
In Book of Genesis of the Bible 24:22, Abraham's servant gave a golden earring of half a shekel weight and ten bracelets to Rebekah, wife of his son Isaac. In Exodus 32, Aaron makes the golden calf from melted earrings. Deuteronomy 15:12–17 dictates ear piercing as a mark of slavery. Nose piercing has been common in India since the sixteenth century.Worldwide
Ear piercing, of either one or both ears, has long been practiced by men in many non-Western cultures. Other forms of body piercing have also existed continuously for as long as ear piercing. For example, women in India and Pakistan routinely practice ear and nostril piercing, and have done so for centuries.
In western cultures
Nipple piercings, lip piercing and a stretched ear.
Nipple piercings, lip piercing and a stretched ear.
Ears
Ear piercing has existed continuously since ancient times, including throughout the twentieth century in the Western world. However, in North America, Europe, and Australasia, ear piercing was relatively rare from the 1920s until the 1960s. At that time, it regained popularity among westernized women. It was gradually adopted by men in the gay, hippie, and the punk subcultures, until ever-widening appropriation attenuated its subcultural associations altogether. Today, single and multiple piercing of either or both ears is common among Western women and somewhat common among men.
Body piercing
The modern body piercing culture emerged from the gay leather and BDSM subcultures. In 1967, New York jewelry maker Jim Ward joined the New York Motorbike Club, a gay S&M group, and experimented with nipple piercing. Ward then moved to Colorado, where he and other members of the Rocky Mountaineer Motorcycle Club experimented more broadly, with genital piercing in particular. In 1973, Ward moved to West Hollywood (a gay village of Los Angeles) where he met Doug Malloy and Fakir Musafar. Together these men developed the basic techniques and equipment of modern body piercing. Malloy introduced the use of the autoclave and hypodermic needle; Ward developed the fixed bead ring and internally threaded barbells. With funding from Malloy (derived from his work with the Muzak corporation), Ward began using his home as a private piercing studio in 1975. Dubbing his studio the Gauntlet, he drew an initial clientèle by running classified ads in local gay and fetish publications. After three years of continued refinement with techniques and equipment, Ward opened the Gauntlet as a commercial storefront operation in West Hollywood on November 17, 1978. [2]
In the mid to late 1980s, a wave of body piercing studios modeled after the Gauntlet opened throughout the US, Europe, and cosmopolitan centers. The display of body piercing by celebrities like Madonna and Axl Rose helped to grow the market for these studios' products and services. The decisive migration of body piercing from sexual fetishism to commodity fetishism came with the Lollapalooza traveling festival of music performances, which began in 1991. These events greatly popularized body piercing by enlisting piercing studios as on-site vendors. At this point body piercing became a rite of passage for college-age, middle-class Westerners.[3] By 1997 body piercing had become mainstream as the Miss America Pageant, as one of the contestants displayed a pierced navel during the contest.
In a study among Israeli young-adults, 4.3% had present or past body piercing (not included earlobe, lip or intra-oral piercing), and 5.7%, 6.2% and 15.7% had present or past lip piercing, body tattooing and intra-oral piercing, respectively.
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