Piercing Information

Ear Piercing

• Antitragus Piercings - This is a piercing of cartilage directly across from the Tragus.
• Cartilage Piercings/Helix Piercings - Any piercing of the cartilage towards the top of your ear.
• Conch Piercings - This is a piercing of the lower cartilage just inside the ear, where it scoops inward.
• Daith Piercings - A Daith Piercing is done right above the Tragus, where the ear curves in from where it attaches to your head and towards the Conch area.
• Earlobe Piercings - 1 or more piercings that go through the earlobe, typically starting towards the bottom-center of the lobe.
• Industrial Piercings - An Industrial Piercing goes through 2 points of cartilage at the top of your ear, as shown in the diagram. Typically a straight barbell is inserted initially, but you may heal better with 2 captive bead rings. You can always insert a straight barbell in 7-12 months, once your piercing is well healed.
• Orbital Piercings - An orbital piercing is actually 2 earlobe piercings, done along the edge of the lobe, that are connected with a single piece of jewelry.
• Rook Piercings - This is a piercing of the cartilage that juts out between the upper half of the Conch and the top of the ear.
• Snug Piercings/Anti-helix Piercings - A Snug (A.K.A. Anti-helix Piercing) goes through the cartilage along the inner edge of the central outer ear, just above where the lobe ends.
• Tragus Piercings - This is a piercing of the lower flap of cartilage where your ear connects to your face.
• Triple Helix Piercings - A Triple Helix is 3 Helix Piercings in a row, often connected with a single piece of spiral jewelry.

Lip Piercing

•  Angel Bites - Angel Bite Piercings appear on either side of the philtrum (i.e. the groove between you upper lip and nose).
• Vertical Lip Piercings - These are single or multiple lip piercings that go through the lip from top-to-bottom instead of side-to-side.
• Canine Bites/Shark Bites - Snake Bites + Angel Bites = Canine Bites (A.K.A. Shark Bites).
• Cyber Bites - A Labret Piercing + a Medusa Piercing = Cyber Bites.
• Dahlia Piercings/Joker Bites - Dahlia Piercings (A.K.A. Joker Bites) are done at the corners of the mouth. The name comes from the way the victim in the Black Dahlia Murder was cut at the corners of her mouth. The alternate name originated with the Joker from the Batman comics, who has a painted clown-like mouth that's exaggerated at the corners.
• Dolphin Bites - These are 2 piercings, side-by-side centered on the lower lip, with just a little space in between them.
• Horizontal Lip Piercings - This is when the lip is pierced from side-to-side instead of top-to-bottom.
• Labret Piercings - Labret Piercings are typically centered below the lower lip, with the jewelry placed horizontal to the ground.
• Lowbret Piercings - This is a type of Labret Piercing that's placed as low as possible in the lower lip area.
• Medusa Piercings - A Medusa Piercing is centered between the middle of the upper lip and the bottom of the nose.
• Monroe Piercings/Madonna Piercings - Monroe/Madonna/Crawford Piercings are placed like these stars' upper lip moles.
• Snake Bites - Snake Bites appear on the left and right sides of the lower lip.
• Vertical Labret Piercings - With a Vertical Labret, the bottom lip is pierced from top-center to bottom-center, but inset slightly.

Eyebrow Piercing

Eyebrow piercings are an excellent way to accent your naturalfeatures. There are three different types of eyebrow piercings—vertical,horizontal, and anti-eyebrow. Vertical piercings go over and under the eyebrow,while the insertion points of horizontal piercings are both above the eyebrowand aligned with it. Anti-eyebrow piercings are located beneath the eye,normally above the cheekbone.

Thebest part about an eyebrow piercing is that your eyebrow will cover thepiercing whole if you ever decide you no longer want the piercing. With theright care you will only have the incision point left behind and that willeventually fade. Use a little shadow and it will all be forgotten.

Navel Piercing

NavelPiercing also known as belly button piercing is considered the sexiest piercingof all and looks very sensual on a well-toned stomach.  Navel piercing wassaid to be prevalent among Egyptian Pharaohs and aristocrats and was a symbolof courage among then.  In present times navel piercing is most commonamong women, especially among the younger lot. It came back in vogue after theinvention of the bikini in the 1950s. Pop singer Madonna further popularized itand model Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell immortalized it on the ramp.They are very popular among teenage girls not just for their appearance butalso for the fact that they can be easily concealed with clothes.

Theactual navel is not pierced during most kinds of navel piercing and it isactually the skin around the navel that is pierced. The types of bellypiercings are

1.UpperVertical Navel Piercing

Itis the most common form of Navel piercing. It is where the piercing is placedthrough the upper ridge or rim of the belly button through to the interior ofthe navel.

2.Reversenavel Piercing or Vertical Inverse Navel Piercing 

Itis the opposite of the vertical upper navel piercing. Itis a piercing placed onthe bottom ridge of the navel and goes through the bottom rim to the interiorof the navel.

Whenboth the above piercings are performed it is called a Double Navel Piercing.

3.TrueNavel Piercing

Thisis performed on people with outie belly buttons that is when the umbilical scartissue is protruding from the navel. This is the only type of belly buttonpiercing where the actual navel which is the small nub of scar tissue ispierced.

4.HorizontalNavel Piercing

Itis usually a form of surface piercing and does not involve passing through therim into the navel. It is instead a piercing that passes horizontally above orbelow the navel instead of going through its ridge.

Anotherform of horizontal piercing which is not surface piercing is when two separatepiercings are performed on either sides of the navel passing through its sideridges. These two piercings are usually joined with one long barbell.

5.MultiNavel Piercings

Thisinvolves piercing the rim several times. It can be a combination of two or moreof the above types of piercings.  One type of multiple navel piercing isthe navel industrial, in which a solid or flexible barbell passes through twopiercings. Try and give a reasonable gap between each piecing in case ofmultiple piercings.

Thesepiercings can take up to a year to heal. Standard care for new piercings mustbe taken during the entire healing process and proper and trusted aftercare products must be used on it

Nose Piercing

With the rising popularity of septum piercings, you may be wondering exactly how many different types of nose piercings there are out there. If you're in a research stage and contemplating whether to get your own nose  pierced, I commend you for daring to explore the multifaceted world of nose and facial piercings. In truth, piercing culture is vast, but there are some basic categories from which most popular nose piercings stem.

The history of nose piercing is rich and dates back centuries, to various civilizations. The size of jewelry worn in nostril piercings came with connotations of familial wealth for tribes both in Africa and the Middle East, and nose rings were allegedly gifted to new brides by their husbands as a form of security. Similarly, South and Central American civilizations utilized septum piercings and their adornments as status symbols.It was also popular for the women of the Apatanis tribe in India to gauge their nostrils to ward off the affections of men from neighboring tribes, as they were long considered the most beautiful women of the Aranuchal tribes.

In modern day Western society, many nose piercings have seemingly become associated with punk, alternative, and Bohemian culture. With their varying roots and intriguing aesthetics, not only do nose piercings require dedication and a tolerance for pain, but their significance can run deeper than what meets the eye. So to explore this arena a little bit further,I researched what's out there in the range of nose piercings and touched based with a talented local piercer and tattoo artist to check the facts. Here are seven current types of nose piercings, and some of the basic jewelry types that can be worn with them.

1.Nostril

Arguably the most traditional and common nose piercing is the nostril piercing. Generally situated just above the crease where your nostril curves gently away from your cheek (although position does vary by person, depending on nerve structure, nose structure, and aesthetic appeal),nostril piercings consist of a single hole and can be done on either side of the nose. However, in Ayurvedic medicine it is said that the position of the nostril piercing can coincide with female reproductive organs, allegedly easing birthing as well as menstrual cycles (this auspicious position is primarily believed to be the left nostril).

Nostril piercings are arguably the simplest nose piercing and have the widest range of jewelry potential. Due to their easily accessible location, they allow the insertion of studs, nostril screws, L-shaped pins,nose rings, circular barbells (commonly known as horseshoes), and captive ball rings. The gauge of your jewelry will vary depending on your end goal, but most nostril piercings begin at an 18 or 20 gauge.

2. High Nostril

A variation on the nostril piercing, the high nostril is pretty much what it sounds like. It's a bit more unique, and can be a good way to combine or layer nose piercings for a more striking effect. Due to the location of the piercing, the jewelry selection for this hole becomes some what limited. High nostril piercings are best suited to studs, nostril screws, and L-shaped pins, or variations on those types of jewelry, and are not well suited to rings and hoops. They are tricky to reach, and for that reason can be difficult to pierce, so you'll want a piercer who has specific experience with this type of nose piercing.

3. Septum

Septum piercings are kind of the superstars of the nose piercing family right now. Especially in the world of fashion, considering they could be seen all over during Fall 2015 New York Fashion Week's unofficial septum debut. They're versatile, can be flipped easily out of view (with the use of a horseshoe), and can even be gauged.

However, septum piercings are not always easy to achieve.Although they're fairly common and most piercers will have plenty of experience with them, they take some maneuvering to get to and a solid knowledge of where septal cartilage begins and ends.

Adorn your septum piercing with circular barbells, captive bead rings, and if you're dedicated, gauges.

4. Bridge

Bridge piercings are pretty cool. Technically classified as a surface piercing, they do not puncture cartilage or bone. That being said,since they are a surface piercing, they are more susceptible to migration,which is a process in which your body pushes a piercing closer to the skin's surface — essentially healing it away. If this occurs, you'll want your piercer to remove the jewelry and allow the hole to close.

Jewelry that can be worn with bridge piercings includes curved barbells and circular barbells (but curved barbells are ideal). Straight barbells can actually increase the chances of migration.

5. Vertical Nose Tip

Looking for the rhino? Here it is: The vertical tip piercing. This unique and fairly rare nose piercing runs vertically, as the name would suggest, from just above the tip of the nose to just under the tip of the nose. Due to the structure of your nose, a curved barbell is really the only acceptable jewelry for this type of piercing.

6. Septril

A combination between a gauged septum and half of a vertical tip, the septril appears to be a rather delicate piercing externally.Internally, though, the process takes years of dedication to achieve. The gauging of a septum is a time-intensive practice, and can be pretty painful,depending on the position and structure of your unique septal cartilage.

As far as jewelry goes, most people sporting a septril will choose a small, curved barbell or flat back stud for the septril hole, and an eyelet, plug or tunnel for the stretched septum.

7. Nasallang

The nasallang is clearly pretty intense, although outwardly,it may not appear to be. In fact, to most bystanders the nasallang looks pretty much the same as two evenly placed nostril piercings. The nasallang, however,is actually a tri-nasal piercing, penetrating low on both nostrils as well as the septum. In most cases, this piercing is done all at once with one needle and is meant to be worn with a straight barbell, similar to an industrial cartilage piercing in the ear.

Feeling inspired? Clearly the realm of nose piercing is an exciting one. Now, just imagine all of the combinations possible when you start layering, doubling, or tripling the piercings above. It's no wonder nose piercings are slowly seeping into mainstream Western culture.