How to Select a Type of Body Piercing
If you have decided to get a body piercing, you'll want to spend plenty of time thinking about the type you eventually select to have done. There are a variety of personal, health and financial reasons you should consider seriously before deciding where to get a new body piercing. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Find out what type of body piercing is considered appropriate or allowed at your place of work or school. While earrings are generally acceptable to most employers and school officials, some may limit the number of piercings per ear or may prefer that they are only worn on the earlobes. Less-traditional piercings such as nasal and oral piercings may be considered completely unacceptable under any circumstances, so it's very important to check before having the procedure.
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Think about the health of your mouth and teeth before you select an oral piercing. In general, tongues that are pierced tend to experience swelling and may have trouble healing depending on the type of jewelry that is inserted. Metal jewelry in particular may chip away at the enamel on your teeth or cause damage to your gums, which is why most dentists advise against oral piercings as a rule.
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Consider the type of body piercings that are recommended as safest for your gender by medical professionals before you select one. For example, medical research has shown that nipple piercings in women may damage or cause infections in the glands that produce milk during child bearing. If you plan to have a baby and want to breastfeed, you should avoid this type of piercing to be sure that it will not cause any complications during or after your pregnancy.
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Learn about the healing times for individual types of piercings, which tend to vary depending on the part of the body that is pierced. In general, healing of ear piercings performed on the earlobes usually only take about 6 to 8 weeks, while ear cartilage piercings may take up to 4 months to heal. Piercings to the mouth or genitals may take several months or even a year to heal.
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Research the approximate cost of different types of body piercings, as well as the jewelry you will need to purchase to adorn the piercing, by contacting local piercing parlors. Usually, the actual piercing and the jewelry itself are two different charges, though some piercing parlors will include a starter piece of jewelry as part of the fee for the piercing. Nipple or genital piercings are generally significantly more expensive than less-intensive piercing procedures such as ear and nose piercings.
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Tips & Warnings
Talk to your friends and family members who have piercings about their experiences with the type of body piercing you are interested in getting. They will most likely be able to share their opinions about which type of piercing is easiest to take care of and which caused them difficulty or pain.
