Let’s Get Expressive!
Piercings made their way into Western pop culture in the 60s and 70s as a form of rebellion, especially among the hippie and LGBTQ+ movements. This idea was only furthered when punk and goth subcultures started using piercings as a symbol of bodily autonomy. Of course, many different piercings are now widely available to anyone who wants them, as they’re popular methods of self-expression, alongside the longstanding religious and cultural reasons.
1. An Ancient Practice
Humans have been piercing their bodies for more than 5,000 years, and there are many examples of nose, lip, ear, tongue, and torso piercings dating back to Africa, the Middle East, Ancient Rome, and Ancient India. The earliest evidence of facial piercings we have is from a 12,000-year-old skeleton in Africa.
2. Quicker Healing, Less Pain
Certain parts of your body can heal more easily. Earlobes, tongue and tongue webbing, and septum piercings are among the fastest. This is due to a rich blood supply and soft tissue, making the healing process quicker and easier than in other spots.
3. Acupuncture
Different types of ear piercings are said to have acupuncture benefits. For instance, the daith piercing is believed to help with migraines, a tragus can help with anxiety, and a rook is said to help with stress relief.
4. Which Nostril
In Hindu and other Middle Eastern cultures, it’s most common to get the left side of your nose pierced, due to a belief that the left nostril is associated with fertility, childbirth, and wealth. It’s also believed that piercing the left side of your nose can help with menstrual pain.
5. Elaine Davidson
Elaine Davidson is the most pierced person in the world. She has held the record of the world’s most pierced woman since 2000, where at the time she had 462 piercings in total. In 2022, she had a total of 14,879 piercings with the intention of getting more.
6. The Prince Albert
This regal name for male genitalia piercings stems from a rumour spread by piercer Doug Malloy back in the 1970s. It said that the prince consort invented the piercing for his personal…needs, but it's generally considered an urban legend more than a fact.
Lytton Strachey Artist John Partridge on Wikimedia
7. Pirates
The gold earring that usually comes with a pirate costume isn’t just a representation of wealth or stolen treasure. In fact, pirates wore gold earrings as payment for burial costs if and when they passed away. They could also use the earring to pay for something if they didn’t have cash available.
8. High Complication Rates
The most high-risk piercings you can get aren’t what you may think. Cartilage piercings tend to heal poorly due to the top of your ear’s limited blood supply, while the shape of your belly button can make navel piercings more prone to infection.
9. The Victorian Era
For a brief point in the 1890s, the strict moral standards of the Victorian era were temporarily pushed aside for “bosom rings” - you get the picture. Bosom rings were often gold and signified your affluence and wealth, as regular hygiene was needed for the piercing to heal properly.
10. Runner’s High
Aside from the acupuncture beliefs, it’s actually common to feel a rush of endorphins when you get a piercing. This can provide you with a natural mood boost, similar to a runner’s high.
1. Orbital Ear Lobe
An orbital ear lobe piercing is actually two piercings, where one piece of jewelry is looped through the ear lobe. If you have a couple of lobe piercings, you could probably pull off this look without specifically getting an orbital piercing.
2. Corset
A corset piercing is made up of several back piercings interlinked with ribbon or chains to resemble a corset. This is a highly problematic piercing, as the metal will migrate or reject from your back, but it is okay for temporary use, like performances or photoshoots.
Gaudencio Garcinuño on Wikimedia
3. Anti-Tragus
If the tragus piercing is that little flap of skin covering the ear hole, then the antitragus sits opposite it, just above your earlobe. This piercing requires a well-pronounced section of skin, called the auricle, and a good piercer will tell you if your anatomy is not well-suited for it.
4. Rhino
A rhino piercing is a rare piercing that goes through the tip of the nose, resembling a rhino's horn. It has an incredibly long healing period, thanks to the thick amount of cartilage the piercing goes through. Rhino piercings are very susceptible to migration, rejection, or infection, and should only be done by an experienced piercer.
5. Transverse Ear Lobe
This type of ear piercing goes through your lobe horizontally, so the two endpoints of the piercing appear on either side of the lobe. This piercing also requires an experienced piercer due to its precision, and can really only be done on those with thicker earlobes.
6. Frowny
Opposite to a smiley piercing, which goes through the upper lip frenulum, the frowny piercing goes through the frenulum of your bottom lip. While it heals quickly and can be hidden easily, both the smiley and the frowny are said to cause gum and teeth problems.
7. Anti-Eyebrow
Also known as the butterfly kiss or teardrop piercing, the anti-eyebrow goes through your skin at the high point of your cheekbone. This piercing is well known for rejecting and migrating, so it’s necessary to use proper jewelry and take care of cleaning the area.
8. Collarbone
This dermal piercing looks quite painful, but it’s not as bad as you may think. Usually pierced underneath the collarbones, this piercing is quite adorable, but it can carry a higher risk of infection.
9. Vertical Industrial
An industrial piercing is a bar that goes through two points of cartilage horizontally, so you can infer what a vertical piercing does. These piercings can go through your cartilage or rook and even hide the barbells behind the ear, giving the illusion that you have a metal bar just running through your ear.
10. Venom
Also known as the frog eye piercing, venoms involve getting two symmetrical points of your tongue pierced. This piercing is prone to increased swelling and oral health risks, more so than your standard solo tongue piercing.
