How to Design Body Jewelry Plugs

Body modification is a growing art form across the United States and abroad. With stretched ear piercings becoming less taboo, finding designer plugs is more pertinent than ever. When unable to find just the right plug design, turning to at-home production is a viable option, provided you take the appropriate precautions. Designing your own plugs can be dangerous to the health of your piercing if you do not use appropriate materials or underestimate the size of your piercing jewelry.

Things You'll Need

• Gauge wheel or a caliper
• Blank plug
• Rubber O-rings
• Exacto knife
• Stencil paper
• Acrylic paint
• Fine-tipped paintbrush
• Bacitracin ointment

Instructions

1. Make sure you are able to change the jewelry. Depending on the location and how well you take care of the piercing, healing times can vary. Consult a professional body piercer to make sure your current jewelry can be removed.

2. Take out your current jewelry and measure it. There are two ways to measure body jewelry. Measure using a gauge wheel first. Gauge wheels are designed to measure wire, and they can be found at most hardware stores. If the jewelry is too large to fit into a gauge wheel, then you have to measure via inch fractals instead of gauges. To measure inches, use a caliper. Once you know how many inches or how large a gauge the jewelry is, make a note of it. If you use a larger gauge by accident, you risk tearing the piercing. After measuring, replace your jewelry.

3. Purchase a blank plug of the appropriate size as determined above. You can also make a plug out of plastic dowels or rods of the right size. Just make sure to avoid organic materials, porous materials or anything with rough edges. Try to use synthetic, clean and smooth plugs. If you don't, you risk irritating the piercing or trapping bacteria in the rough surfaces. Purchasing a simple acrylic plug is cheap and is usually the best way to go.

4. Purchase rubber O-rings from a hardware store. These will hold the plug in place when you're ready to insert it into the piercing.

5. Put the O-rings onto the blank plugs or newly cut dowel. This will allow you to see how the plug will look with the O-rings attached.

6. Use an Exacto Knife to etch the desired design on the face of the plug. Make a stencil first and practice on scrap pieces of plastic. Use a fine-tipped paintbrush to apply acrylic paint to grooves in your design so they stand out. Do not use oil-based paints. Another option is printing design stickers on a home PC then cutting them to fit over the ends of the plug.

7. Remove your old jewelry and put in your new jewelry after the paint has dried for a full 24 hours. If the jewelry does not go in easily, use some Bacitracin ointment as a lubricant.