Nose

The nose piercing is a traditional piercing which dates back over 4000 years.

Nose piercings have been used for cultural and symbolic reasons throughout history. Some tribes used it as a symbol of marriage or even a rite of passage into adulthood. There is some belief that nose piercings can reduce menstrual pain, but this is not medically proven.

The nose has always been a popular piercing. In the 1990s, it was normal to get a nose ring first and then a stud once the piercing healed. Studs were rarely used first. By the 2000s, we went to our supplier and got the studs redesigned to have just the right curve and length to make it sit into a piercing easily, and then the design took off and so did the nose stud. For years, it was very rare to do piercings with nose rings. The ring became the favourite of the rebel and the one who wanted to stand out, and of course this had the same effect. Now in 2019, not only are nose rings more popular as an initial piercing, but there are some really beautiful titanium nose rings with crystals and paving, and a huge range of hinged rings, making them easier to take in and out.

Nose Bridge

There is little history to this piercing, however in the early 1990s it was one of the more unusual piercings, and as the piercing industry developed more types of jewellery like the soft PTFE bars and surface bars, this piercing − along with other surface piercings − became popular with the enthusiast and those experimenting with different looks and searching for new ways to stand out. Nose piercings and lip piercings were becoming more common, and so the nose bridge came into vogue.

This piercing will probably never become one of the popular common place piercings for a number of reasons. It has a higher chance of rejection, it can interfere with wearing glasses, and placement is more difficult. If done even a millimetre off, it can look silly. Therefore, this piercing is not one to be done by an inexperienced piercer. It is important that it is placed well, as a crooked nose bridge looks awful, and one done at the incorrect depth or with methods that cause more tissue damage are more likely to reject and scar.

Some people will get headaches from this piercing, however at Body Pleasure Piercing we have found using softer PTFE bars has helped to prevent this.

Bindi

The Bindi piercing or Third Eye was often done in India with the insertion of a ruby or jewel into the skin of the forehead for religious reasons.

In the late 1990s, Bindi piercings were not common, but we did do some with surface bars. Being hard to heal as an actual piercing, these did not take off as a popular facial piercing in Melbourne.

However, when dermal anchors came on the scene, the Bindi piercing became more popular as a dermal implant which heals much more easily.

Septum

The Septum piercing has a long history and has been performed by many tribes in Africa, Borneo and even by the Native Americans. Many things have been used to adorn this piercing, from gold to dried pig’s skin.

In the late 1990s to early 2000s, this piercing became a popular piercing among rebels and individuals who liked to stand out in the crowd. I think that they stood out so well that the crowd caught on, and so now in 2019, the septum is a common piercing. There are so many beautiful, bold and discrete pieces of jewellery for the septum piercing, with the low septum piercing price also making it attractive.

Nasalang

This is an adaptation of the nostril and septum going straight through the nose side to side much like the penis piercing the Ampalang. It is a more extreme piercing and has never taken off due to the difficulty in doing it and healing it. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, this was experimented with by piercing enthusiasts. In 2019, it is not a common piercing. People are more likely to get double nostril nose piercings and a septum rather than the Nasalang.

Tongue

The tongue has been pierced, split and even cut off throughout history. Piercing the tongue took off in the 1970s with the Punks, but was more popular in the B&D and S&M scene and was often classified as an erotic piercing. In the early 1980s to the early 1990s, this piercing continued to have that stigma and was normally worn by the adventurous adult between 20 and 30 years of age. It was not until the later 1990s that the younger people were starting to experiment with this as a fashion accessory and not just for sexual reasons.

This piercing has been a controversial piercing with the medical fraternity, and many Doctors will say to remove it. I had one client tell me that upon going to the doctor with a flu or virus that had given her a sore throat, the doctor had looked in her mouth and then told her to remove her tongue bar and she will get better. She left and went “well, if I don’t remove it, I will get better too” as she had a virus totally unrelated to having her tongue pierce

An infected tongue piercing can be dangerous and can cause swelling into the throat that may inhibit breathing, but this is very rare. You probably have more chance of being hit by a car crossing the road than a tongue bar causing major breathing problems. In saying that, it is important to care for it and not be stupid. Please refer to our Healing advice page.

As late as about 2007, I heard of one quite crude doctor in Geelong telling the mother of a 16 year old that her daughter must have had her tongue done to please the boys, and practically insinuating that having a tongue piercing made her a slut. This had not been the case, and both mother and daughter were highly offended. As the aesthetics of the tongue piercing became more popular, jewels, glow in the dark and picture bars became popular fashion accessories. By the 2000s, with tongue piercings being a really popular facial piercing, dentists started to see gum and tooth damage, and so plastic balls and flexible bars were in demand.

It is always a good idea to shorten a healed tongue piercing once healed. Some people find that they bite the ball often, so it’s a good idea to put plastic balls on, as breaking a ball is cheaper and easier to fix than a broken tooth. It should be noted that a strong healthy tooth won’t generally break when biting down on something hard, but a tooth that is decayed or damaged may chip or break more easily.

In line with its history, some more amusing adornments are also available such as the penis shaped tongue bar and “the finger”. And of course, as this piercings is also a pleasurable piercing for those adults who wish to enjoy the benefits, items also became available to enhance its effectiveness like the tongue vibrator and silicon covers for tongue balls called tongue ticklers. At Body Pleasure Piercing, we have a huge variety of tongue bars and threaded attachments available.

Eyebrow

The eyebrow piercing has been done for many years.  The biggest question is “Will it paralyze my face?”

This was started because of the industry having limited medical knowledge back in the 80’s was trying to stop people doing their own really bad piercings and used the fact that there are nerves in that area to stop people doing their own.  And it is never safe to do your own piercing for many reasons it is unlikely that you would hit this nerve.  The motor nerve in this area is actually a deep nerve and it would have to be a very deep piercing to cause it damage.  Alternatively, a major untreated infection could also cause it damage.

A professional piercer would never hit this nerve and providing they maintain an A Septic technique and you follow strict aftercare instructions this is a fun and versatile piercing.

Normally placed in a thin amount of skin on the outer edge of the eyebrow a poorly placed piercing can reject quickly.  Another reason you should go to a professional who has had experience in placing these.

We normally place eyebrow piercings on a slight angle which distributes the pressure from the jewellery across the piercing instead of it being all on the top hole.   This helps to prevent rejection.  when done completely vertical, all of the pressure is on the top of the piercing.  This pressure causes the skin at the top to stretch and tear and then your piercing rejects.  When done on a slight angle it can stay in place for 30+ years.

Cheek

In ancient times and among various tribes, the cheeks were known to be pierced and a disk placed into them. In some festivals, such as the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand and Indonesia, large objects are often forced through the cheeks such a spikes, metal bars and even parts of pushbikes.

In the late 1980s, these were one of the less common and more extreme facial piercings. But like many other piercings, they have climbed the ranks of popularity, and while first done by hard core piercing enthusiasts and mainly among men, in 2019 we are seeing a mixture of people getting this piercing, often to enhance their natural dimples. Due to the dimple left by the scar tissue formed, some people will even get this piercing with the intent to take them out once healed in order to create cheek dimple scars.

Lip

The lips have been pierced, sewn together, stretched and modified for 1000s of years. Lip piercing was also adopted by the punk movement and became a piercing that was done as a rebel statement and by those who wanted to stand out from the crowd − and yes, the crowd noticed. By the late 1990s, this facial piercing was becoming increasingly popular, and it was around this time it was a common piercing for men and they began to stretch their labret piercings and experiment with both larger gauges and spikes. During the 2000s, people began to become creative with both combinations and placements, as well as names. Snake-bites, spider-bites etc. became the trend. These piercings were at first done mainly with rings, and then the labret stud took off and became the preferred choice for many. With the discreet ball at the front which could have a crystal on it, women caught on, and this piercing became popular with both men and women. As this piercing gained in popularity, so did poor placements and techniques, which lead to people having problems from the bar rubbing away the gums.

Now in 2019, this is an all-round popular piercing, with men more often to wear rings with the development of hinged rings that are easy to insert and remove for sports. There is a huge range of jewellery for this piercing, including plastic backs to help prevent damage to the gums from this piercing rubbing. This can also be prevented through careful placement and piercing techniques. At Body Pleasure Piercing, we can never guarantee that the gums will not be affected, but when considering how/where to place the piercing, it is always a consideration.

Smiley

This facial piercing goes through the small amount of skin (frenum) in the centre under the top lip. Prior to the early 2000s, this piercing was known as the “scrumper”. I am guessing this name was coined during the punk movement, but as it became more popular and was often only visible when someone smiled, it was renamed the smiley piercing. This piercing can cause damage to the tooth enamel and/or the gum, so careful choice of jewellery is essential. A curved bar is often good to wear for everyday wear, changing to a circular or bead ring with jewels for occasional wear and special occasions.

Medusa / Manson

This is the piercing of the upper lip in the centre below the septum. If placed well, it can look amazing. While this piercing may date back 1000s of years, its modern resurgence took place with the punk movement, with mainly men getting this in combination with other lip piercings. In the early 2000s when jewelled labrets became available, many women found this subtle touch of bling a great piercing to get. There is less variety of jewellery styles available for this facial piercing due to its placement, however in recent years with the development of internally threaded jewellery and more places specialising in fancy body jewellery, many more decorative items have come onto the market. In 2019, it is still popular among women and the piercing enthusiast male generally with multiple lip piercings. This piercing of course can also be stretched to larger gauges.

Medusa facial piercings are generally pierced with a 1.6mm (14ga) labret to begin with, as the thinner 1.2mm (16Ga) can tear the unhealed soft tissue which may cause the piercing to go crooked during the healing time. Once healed, a 1.2mm or (16ga) piece can be inserted safely.

Tongue Web / Frenum

The tongue web piercing did not really take off until the late 1990s to early 2000s in Australia. This piercing needs to be placed carefully, and while it seems to be an easy piercing to do, there are saliva ducts under the tongue that can be damaged if they’re hit. Damaged saliva ducts do not heal, and the entire duct needs to be removed with a surgical procedure. Care needs to be taken to avoid this, and so it should only be done by a professional who knows how to identify these ducts. Generally a curved bar or circular bar is put into this piercing, but a ball closure ring can be used.

Once healed, a hinged segment may also be worn.

Madonna / Beauty Spot

This piercing is one of the more modern piercings. Tribes may have done it as part of their adornments with bone, wood and gold jewellery. In Australia in 2001, this piercing became hugely popular and was known as the Sara-Marie after a popular contestant on the television show Big Brother had this piercing. Since then, it has fluctuated in popularity, and as the fast trained staff in body piercing franchises popped up performing piercings with incorrectly sized jewellery and not placed well, the problems of this piercing rubbing on the gums and teeth became more common.

This piercing, like all piercings in the soft tissue of the mouth, should be done with a 1.6mm (14ga) labret of at least 10mm length to start with. This will allow for swelling and prevent the piercing from tearing during healing. Of course, placement is not something that can be learned from a blog. At Body Pleasure Piercing, we have studied the correct placement for these piercings to minimise gum damage. Placement varies for each individual and care should be taken when placing this piercing.

In 2019, this is not a hugely popular piercing, however with the new fancy labrets that are now available, I can see this piercing making a comeback in the near future.

Chin

This is a piercing generally done vertically through the pad of tissue between the labret and the bottom of the chin. It’s best done with a flexible PTFE bar and titanium balls, however spikes can be attached to the bottom for effect.
At Body Pleasure Piercing, we did our first chin piercing in roughly 1998. This was an experimental piercing that also did not take off due to the difficulty in healing it and the risk of rejection and subsequent scarring. It did heal and the client got some time with his piercing when someone tore it out in a nightclub for no apparent reason. We have done several others over the years, but I am not aware of this piercing being performed anywhere else.