10 Types of Piercings You Need to Know About
10 Types of Piercings You Need to Know About
Thinking about getting a new piercing? Before you head to the tattoo parlor, check out these 10 types of piercings you need to know about.
Are you trying to experiment with the canvas that is your body, but you’re not quite ready to make the ’til-death-do-us-part commitment?
Then you’re in luck, because a tattoo’s closest ally is the piercing.
Body Piercings
Piercings are a great way to express yourself creatively: they’re not permanent (unless you want them to be), you can put them almost anywhere, and you can change out the jewelry to fit your mood. That’s just a few reasons why they’re worth considering.
We’ve compiled a list of the types of piercings that you’ll see most commonly – and then some not-so-commons. Ranging from the subtle to the extreme, you’re sure to find something you like here.
Let’s celebrate your unique aesthetic and get pierced!
10 Types of Piercings to Consider
As long as you’re 18 years and older (or younger, with a guardian’s permission), what you get pierced and when is up to you. Go into your session armed with knowledge about your future piercing, and don’t forget to breathe.
We’ve separated the very broad range of piercings into a few key categories. This list of piercings touches the surface.
Ears
You already know about the standard lobe piercings. Those grace the ears of many a six-year-old. Let’s step up our earring game with one of these.
1. Rook
Located right above the ear canal, this piercing sits on the inner part of your ear, hugging the little fold that dips into the canal. A tiny hoop wraps snugly around this area.
2. Tragus
You know that little flap that everybody has right inside their ear? Why not stick a pretty silver bar through it?
Tragus piercings look great with either a hoop or a bar. We recommend piercing with a bar and then changing to a hoop after it’s healed. The bar will allow the piercing more room to breathe and move naturally when cleaning.
Don’t worry. There’s over a dozen other ear piercings to choose from if these two don’t suit your tastes.
Perks of earrings: these are likely to be allowed everywhere, whereas some careers may disapprove of the following types of body piercings.
Facial
For those that can rock any type of piercing (heck yeah!), read on.
3. Eyebrow
If you’re ready to take the piercing plunge, go all out with an eyebrow piercing.
Typically pierced at an angle perpendicular to your brow, earring will bookend the brow hair. In some cases, people choose to get the anti-eyebrow, which is a vertical piercing and located above the cheekbone, acting as an eyebrow itself.
4. Nose
Since the 16th century, nose rings have been celebrated and worn by Indian cultures. Women would pierce one or both sides of their noses and commonly connect their nose rings to an earring by a long chain.
You don’t have to do that – but you can!
Nose piercings will occur on the nostril itself (sometimes two or three on each side, depending on the surface area); in the septum between the nostrils; or on the bridge of your nose, aptly called a bridge piercing.
Mouth
Oral piercings can be on both the inside and outside of the mouth, occurring on the lips, on the tongue, sometimes even the webbing underneath the tongue or underneath the upper lip.
5. Lip
There’s no shortage of body piercings for your lips.
Don’t get bogged down by all the names. Snake bites. Angel bites. Labret. Just know that the possibilities are there.
6. Tongue
A typical tongue piercing involves one barbell down the middle, careful to not sever any sensitive veins.
Like every other body mod on this list, it’s not limited to just the one. Tongue piercings can occur vertically as well, or can be in multiples. It all depends on you, your body, and the piercer.
Surface
Just like it sounds, a surface piercing is anything that is on the top of your skin, and not hugging a fold or piece of cartilage. Barbell will be shaped much like a staple so that it can reside deeper in the skin.
Because of this, these types of piercings might be at a greater risk for rejecting from the body. If you choose to take that risk, here are some things you could try.
7. Nape of Neck
The back of the neck, a few inches below the hairline, is a common surface piercing area.
The barbell will usually lie horizontally at a convenient spot just before the bones of the spine begin to protrude.
8. Above the Hips
Commonly done on each side, the symmetrical aesthetic of hip piercings can look really nice and dainty. A barbell will typically be pierced at an angle, following the natural V shape of your body.
If you like the idea of these, but want something less invasive, dermals would be your best bet. Having just one point of entry on the skin, they are at less risk of pushing themselves out, also.
Genital
Feeling ballsy? Pun intended.
Then these body piercings will be right up your. . . alley! (What did you think we were gonna say?)
9. Christina
A dainty name for a dainty spot.
A Christina is a vertical piercing located right above the clitoral region, so it will get tucked in with the natural folds of the body. This is also a surface piercing on the top of the skin; piercing the actual clitoris is a lot less common.
10. Frenum
This is a horizontal surface piercing that lies on the underside of the male shaft.
Some people are reading this and thinking: “Ouch!”
Others are thinking: “Bring it on!”
Whatever you decide, proper care and cleaning must be done after each and every piercing.
A Timeless Expression of Self
Piercings have been utilized as a means of self-expression since ancient civilization. Then, it was used to tell stories: who you were, what you did, your social class, and your hierarchy.
Tell your story in any way you’d like. Try out a dainty nose ring. Or get a secret nipple piercing that only you know about.
Piercing culture is thrilling, ever-changing and growing, and if time has told us anything, it’s that these body mods aren’t going anywhere.
With all the types of piercings out there, you’re at no loss for ideas and inspiration. If you’d like to join the ranks of the pierced, contact us for a professional consultation.