Witch's Piercing

This is a very rare, unique piercing. The Witch's piercing is a piercing that is done between the toes of people with webbed does (incomplete simple toe syndactyly). The first Witch's piercing to be documented was done by Zak at Tattoos Unlimited in Morehead, KY in 2005.

Jewelry: There isn't really much information on this piercing, but what I have found is that it has been pierced around 14G, with a 10mm-12mm bar, depending on how thick the tissue is.

Aftercare: What I found on the aftercare is to just do sea salt soaks like most piercings. It also has been reported that (to help ease the swelling), they have done sea salt & chamomile soaks.

Frowny Piercing.

A frowny is a piercing that goes through the lower lip frenulum. It was named by an Israeli piercer Sarai Bismuth, who also named the Smiley (upper lip frenulum piercing).

Jewelery: Most common jewelery is captive rings of some sort or curved barbells. Usually pierced around 18-16G.

Aftercare: Aftercare is just like any other oral piercing. Alcohol free mouthwash would be your best bet.

*This piercing can cause problems such as gum recession & tooth abrasion. Be careful.*

Eyelid Piercing.

This is a very rare piercing. It is not done often, but has been done successfully. There isn't much information on this piercing on the internet.

Jewelry: The only jewelry I have seen are captive bead rings. I'd imagine that it's pierced around 16G-14G.

Aftercare: I'm not completely sure about the aftercare, but I'd imagine as with any other flap of skin you'd use a saline solution. You'd just have to be careful to not get it directly in your eye, maybe dip a q-tip/cottonswab in the saline solution and cleaning the piercing with that.

Eyebrow Piercing.

This is a very common piercing. It is a surface piercing through the ridge of the eyebrow. It started to become more popular during the punk movement in the 1970's.

Jewelry: Eyebrow piercings are pierced anywhere from 18G-12G, and the most common jewelery is a curved barbell. Although some used circular barbells & captive rings.

Aftercare: Just as most piercings, you can use either anti-bacterial foam soap or sea salt soaks!

JewelEye aka Eyeball Implant

I stumbled across something very cool the other day. It is now possible to get implants in the white area of your eye. It is a legal procedure in the Netherlands, and is offered at eye clinics under the name JewelEye.

Shapes that are available:

-Music Note

-Euro Sign
-Star
-Heart
-Four Leaf Clover

Facts about JewelEye:

-The procedure takes about 15 minutes.
-As of right now only seven people have had this done.
-The jewelery is a platinum alloy about 1/8" across.
-It is only available in the Netherlands.

Two clinics that provide the service:

-Cornea Clinic, Rotterdam, Laan op Zuid, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, phone +31 10 485 4882
-Oogzorgcentrum Driebergen, Traaij 42, 3971 GP Driebergen, The Netherlands, phone +31 343 522 193 or +31 343 516 718

I found this to be very neat! If it was available in the USA, I would be quite interested. Very different, and cool!





Gerrit Melles, director of Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery who developed this procedure said:

"In my view, it is a little more subtle than (body) piercing. It is a bit of a fun thing and a very personal thing for people. Without doing any harm to the eye, we can implant a jewel in the conjunctiva. So far, we have not seen any side effects or complications, and we don't expect any in the future."

Chin Piercing

A chin piercing is a piercing is a piercing that goes through the skin on your chin, and not passing through the mouth at all. It is most of the time done vertically, but can be done horizontally.

Jewelry: Most chin piercings use barbells.

Aftercare: Sea salt soaks or washing it with anti-bacterial soap.


Since this is a surface piercing in a very touchy area, it comes with risks such as: Surface piercing rejection, Impact Damage, Migration, and Short Surface Bar.

Cheek Piercings

Cheek piercings. Also known as Dimple piercings.

Cheek piercings are usually done through the "sweet spot" which can be found by put your finger in your mouth like a hook, and wherever it rests on your cheek, is the sweet spot!

Jewelry: Cheek piercings are usually done with long labret studs.

Aftercare: Sea Salts soaks for the outside of the piercing, and for the inside of the piercing, use alcohol-free mouthwash.

Must be careful with Cheek piercings! Be sure that it is not placed behind the first molar, to avoid interferences with the parotid gland. Other than that these can be fun, awesome piercings!

Bridge Piercing

A Bridge Piercing passes through the fleshy part between the eyes, and above the nose. You should be careful when choosing to get this piercing. If there isn't enough skin there, migration, extended healing, and scarring may occur. It also may heal crooked.

Also known as:

-Erl Piercing
-Niebuhr Piercing

Jewelry: Best done with straight, curved, or staple barbell. Some choose to use a ring, but do so only after it is fully healed.

Aftercare: Sea Salt Soaks are most recommended for the after care of this piercing.

Bridge piercing are fun, unique, and pretty!

Austin Bar Piercing

The Austin Bar piercing is a very rare piercing. It was named after the first person to get the piercing. It does not go through the septum or the nostrils, but through the tip of the nose.

Jewelry: A barbell is usually used for the jewelry.

Aftercare: Salt Soaks or Anti-Bacterial foam soap should be used to clean the piercing. Healing time is usually 2 to 3 months.

Ashley Piercing

The Ashley Piercing is a very unique, and uncommon piercing.

Info:

The Ashley Piercing is like an inverse vertical labret. One bead sits on the lip, and the other end of the jewelry is inside of the mouth.

Jewelry:

Curved barbells or custom bent labrets are typically used for Ashley Piercings.

Aftercare:

Sea salt soaks for the outside part of the piercing, and alcohol free mouthwash for the inside of the piercing!

Ashley Piercings are very uncommon, and cool!

Anti-Eyebrow Piercing

Anti-Eyebrow Piercings are also known as:

-Teardrop Piercing
-High Cheek Piercing
-Tears

 Info:

The Anti-Eyebrow piercing is a surface facial piercing, located below the lower orbit of the eye, on the edge of the cheekbone region of the cheek. It's usually angled with the lower bead further out than the top bead, but can be either way.



Jewelry:

Custom bent surface bars are ideal for this piercing. Although, some people have been able to use curved barbells and L shaped bars. Surface bars are recommended, though.




Aftercare:

The Anti-Eyebrow is best healed with salt soaks, and hot compresses. The piercing should heal within a few months, if you keep it free of irritation. 

Personally, I think these are very cute piercings, and that almost anyone can pull one off!

Proper Way To Stretch Your Ears!

Today, ear stretching is becoming increasingly popular. Ear stretching is a form of body modification in which a HEALED piercing is expanded or stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. Many people who practice this do practice good stretching habits, but then you have the others who don't really know what they're doing. I'm writing this article to explain the proper way to stretch.

First of determine the size you are at. There are many different sizes, but if you're at a standard ear piercing size, you're most likely anywhere between 20G-16G. You may ask your piercer who performed the piercing what size he/she used, or determine it various ways. It should be safe to start stretching at 16G, though. If you are certain of your gauge size, start stretching one size up from that. Two major rules of stretching are to NEVER skip sizes, and to always make sure your ears are healed before stretching them. If you just had them pierced, wait 4-6 months before beginning the stretching process.



Now that you have determined what size you are at, you may purchase the jewelry and tools necessary to stretch your ears one size up! When purchasing the jewelry, you're going to want to stick with smooth, non-porous materials such as steel, titanium, glass, etc. for your freshly stretched piercing. Also, you should only you single or non-flared jewelry.



A set of tapers, tools used to stretch a piercing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are a few ways you can stretch up a size. If you've been at your current size for a while, it may be safe to just pop in the jewelry without any worry. This is called dead stretching, and is only recommended when you're piercing is beyond healed at its current size. Otherwise, you can use the tapering method. Steel tapers are recommended, but any taper will do, really. Buy a taper the same size as your new jewelry,  and know that tapers should NEVER be worn as jewelry. Something that will also help this process is a water based lubricant.

Now that you have all your supplies, you may begin the process! The best time to stretch is after a hot shower.  Wash your hands and jewelry, and apply some of the lubricant to your ears. Begin to put the taper through your ear (small end first) and push through. If you feel any extreme pain or if the piercing begins to bleed, stop immediately! This should not happen during a stretch. If this does, down size, and wait until the piercing is fully healed.



English: Stretching a lobe piercing Deutsch: Dehnen eines Lobe-Piercings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Align your jewelry with the end of the taper as you're almost finished pushing it through, like the jewelry is an extension of the taper. Push the taper the rest of the way through, slide in the jewelry and done! You may feel a little discomfort, but nothing too extreme.
At larger sizes, some people prefer to use a method call taping. It's where you use, Teflon, bondage, or PTFE, and rap it around your jewelry to slowly increase the size of your ear. It's recommend at sizes 6G and larger, because it can be difficult with smaller sizes. It can be done, though!



Through Rose Colored Glasses (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After care is minimal. If done correctly, there should be no damage done to your ears. It should be treated as a fresh, new piercing. Salt soaks and oil massages are always good for stretched ears trying to heal! For a salt soak use 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt for every cup of water, and soak your ears in it for a few minutes. For oil massages, you may use oil such as emu oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E oil. Gently apply the oil to your ears, and massage them.
The fresh stretch should be left alone for a few days, and then you should continue oil massages as they increase the blood flow to the ear, helping them heal. You may resume these as soon as you can safely remove jewelry, without if feeling overly tight.



Stretched Ear Piercing No Jewelry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You may stretch 1-3 months after you piercing has fully healed, and you never want to rush this! Serious damage could happen. Stretching is awesome, but it does require patience. So be safe while stretching!