Body Piercing – What You Should Know

Body piercing has become a new trend in youth these days, but also is a trend among adults. There are many types of piercings you can get to decorate your body. There are areas to avoid and areas to focus. There is a good deal of issues that you need to know before getting that tongue pierced or that belly button pierced. Things to know before getting that decoration on your body are:

1. Check for sterile equipment – When you walk into the body piercing area, make sure that all the equipment they use is sterile and modern. It is usually best to have them show you the sealed packages. Most piercers do this, so it is common for them to do this.

2. Special care needed – When you have the piercing, you are to treat it with certain chemicals. Sterilizing the piercing with alcohol once or twice a day is needed to keep infection down. In some areas of your body piercing, you may be required to sterilize more.

3. Change of wardrobe – There are some clothes which you will not be able to wear because it will put pressure on your body piercing. Always remember this before getting your piercing and be comfortable of changing your wardrobe afterwards.

4. Ask questions and research – There is no stupid questions when you are interested in getting your body pierced. Asking about the piercer’s license and care is important. Having questions on whether or not a cold will infect your nose piercing. These questions and more are always never a bad thing. Do research and know what to expect before entering the piercing shop.

Body piercing offers a good deal of joy to the wearer of these pieces of jewelry. Having your body pierced is a step you should only take after getting to know all there is about it. This is the same with any additions you want with your life. There are many benefits to increase your self esteem. In many cases, body piercing has been said to do just that. Increasing your self esteem is important. There is always an important step you need to address before helping that push further. The most important thing to know when you are getting your body pierced is that cleanliness is important.

Dr. Barry Lycka is president of LesTout.com, the number one source of internet guidance.

Body Piercing & Tattoos Are Symbols of Beauty and Strength

Body piercing and tattoos are body modifications that involve puncturing, cutting, branding and coloring the skin among many others. Body piercing also entails cutting a part of the body to be able to create openings for jewelry while tattoos make permanent markings by inserting ink into the layers of the skin. Both of these practices have been around since ancient times for rituals, identification and displaying wealth and beauty among many others.

Body piercing can be traced back to ancient times when Egyptians used to pierce their ears with gauge plugs. This practice was actually practiced mainly by the royal family which included having the navels pierced and adorned. Most wealthy Egyptians display their wealth and accentuate their beauty by wearing earrings which were often designed as lotus blossoms. Body piercing was a sign of status and attractiveness even during Biblical times. Ancient Romans were also known to pierce different body parts which included the male nipples to show strength and virility. Gladiators who were considered slaves during the ancient times, had their genitals pierced with a ring to tie their organs back with a length of leather to prevent serious injury during combat as well as to prevent them from having sexual intercourse without their owner’s consent.

The Mayans, Aztecs and American Indians were also known to pierce their tongues as part of their religious rituals. Tribes in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands were also known to pierce their noses with bones, tusks and feathers while in Central and South America, women had their lips pierced and stretched to insert wooden plates. This was called lip labrets which was also popular with the Aztecs and Mayans who used gold and jade instead of wooden plates. These practices were used to enhance attractiveness and sexuality other than as parts of religious or tribal rituals.

Similar to body piercings, tattoos can also be traced back in ancient times with the first recorded incident happened in Egypt even before the pyramids were created. Tattoos were used as a type of decorative body modification as well as for identification and branding among many others. The word tattoo is said to have come from the Tahitian word “tatau” which means to mark something. This was practiced for different rituals and traditions which included identifying a woman’s skills. The symbol of a woman’s skills is tattooed on the forearm which will increase her status as prime marriageable material. Beliefs on warding away illness were also given as reasons for tattooing the wrists and fingers. Tattoos above all else were used to signify membership in a clan or society which is still being used until today.

Body piercing and tattoos are considered to be painful pleasures for individuals who consider both as forms of art to enhance beauty. These are also symbols of strength and belongingness for individuals who undergo these body modifications while for others these signify their individuality and uniqueness from the rest of the world.

Ashley Conner is a writer for Zipcodez.com, a widely-used local business listings search portal. Zipcodez.com also features an efficient job, movie, and restaurant search covering over 100 major cities nationwide. Ashley has covered useful topics and resources from “Arts & Entertainment” to “Wireless & Telecommunications” for Zipcodez.com. You can easily find out what convenient and useful resources are in your neighborhood by visiting www.zipcodez.com.

Lip Piercings

Many people express themselves through the type of clothing they wear, while others do so through the kind of haircut they wear. Another way to express your individuality is through body piercing. Getting certain parts of your body pierced entails more responsibility, especially right after you get the piercing. This is especially true for some of the most sensitive areas where piercing is done, including the lips.

Taking care of a piercing is like taking care of a little wound that need to be given adequate time to heal. For lip piercing, this is true because the lips are some of the most sensitive parts of the body and it takes 2 to 3 months for lip piercing to heal, when you get them, you should take the necessary steps to ensure that it heals properly. One of these includes not taking out the jewelry during the healing period, which can cause the piercing to close. You should also avoid applying ointments, makeup, and shaving cream on the piercing. This is because apart from keeping oxygen out of the piercing, which hastens the healing process, using these on lip piercing keeps the piercing moist, which also slows down the healing process.

There are several steps that you should take in caring for lip piercing. One of these includes washing your hands before touching the area of the piercing because the hands carry a lot of bacteria. It would also be a good idea to clean the piercing twice a day but not more than that, as overcleaning may also slow down the healing process because of over exposure to moisture. If you avoid doing the things that could cause more problems and doing things that could effectively hasten the healing of the lip piercing.

Lips [http://www.i-Lips.com] provides detailed information on Lips, Lip Gloss, Lip Piercings, Lip Balms and more. Lips is affiliated with Self Tan [http://www.Tan-source.com].

Male Genital Piercings

The Prince Albert is probably the best known and most popular of all the male genital piercings. It is performed by briefly inserting a small feeder tube a short way into the urethra and then piercing the penis from the outside of the frenulum into the tube. As the jewellery goes in, it pushes the needle out. A Reverse Prince Albert is done the other way and you can differentiate between the two by the positioning of the jewellery.

Whilst urination may sting a bit for the first couple of days, it is actually good for the piercing as it acts as a healing agent, similar to the salt water treatments recommended for other types of piercing. One of the newer male genital piercings is known as a Dolphin – a Prince Albert attached to another, deeper Prince Albert, usually fitted with a curved barbell as jewelry. Used for sexual enhancement, Foreskin piercings are, naturally, only possible in uncircumcised men but can involve single or multiple piercings.

The Ampallang and Apadravya both go through the thick fibrous tissue of the head of the penis itself. The first is horizontal, the latter vertical. Because it is thought to enhance sensitivity, the piercing of choice for circumcised men is the Dydoe, although it is possible for those with a foreskin. In both cases, the glans has to be large enough for the needle and jewellery to go through the ridge on either the top or sides of the head of the penis. With a Frenum, the needle pushes through the flexible skin of the underside of the penis, without actually going through the shaft itself. This type of piercing can be placed anywhere on the shaft where it is possible to pinch the tissue and usually appears in groups, otherwise known as a Frenum Ladder.

A variation of the Frenum, the Lorum is positioned at the base of the shaft at its junction with the scrotum. Placed at the base of the penis, in the natural juncture where the body and the shaft meet, is the Pubic male genital piercing. It is regarded as an attractive and extremely functional piece of jewellery, especially in the missionary position. The Guiche or Perineum is a horizontal piercing in the male perineum, between the scrotal sac and the anus. The Hafada or Scrotum is generally placed on the side of the sac, and is often done in pairs.

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Joanna Cake is a life blogger who writes about health, parenting, sexual relationships and intimacy.

For more information on male genital piercings and other male personal health issues, visit: http://sipep.org

Keloid Scar Treatments – What You Should Know

What are keloids, anyway?
First, let’s discuss what a keloid scar is. They are basically made up of fibrous material within the confines of a scar, such as a chicken pox scar or a body piercing gone awry. They can range in size, from tiny and barely noticeable except to the touch, or they can get so large as to be an annoyance and in the way. They are generally smooth to the touch, and range in color from pink to red.

The problem
The problem with keloid scars is that they don’t stop growing and migrating into flesh that hasn’t been injured. The keloid itself is made up of scar tissue that never stopped growing or stopped after there was a large and noticeable bulge present on the surface of the skin. Most regular scars tend to fade away over time, but keloids do not.

There is no known reason why keloids happen. Some studies say that darker skinned people tend to get them more often than lighter skinned, but there is no definitive proof of this. Nor is there any reason to think that women get them more often than men, even though studies seem to indicate this. It is true, however, that women tend to have more piercings, thus having more opportunities to develop keloids. This may or may not be the reason why studies indicate women get them more often than men.

Is it possible to prevent keloid scars?
Since medical science has no idea why keloid scars occur nor for whom they will present, it is impossible to suggest any sort of preventative measures. If you have had them before or if you have other family members who have had them, then there’s a good chance you will develop them with your next piercing. But there is no guarantee. The only way to avoid keloid scars is to not wound yourself, whether deliberately through body piercing or accidentally.

When Prevention Is Not Enough
Not injuring yourself is not always so easy. Accidents happen. Illnesses, like chicken pox, also happen and can cause keloid scars. There are measures one can take to get rid of keloids, but re-occurrance is very likely. Radiation, chemotherapy drugs, steroids, surgery and healing creams and gels all have their merits, but also have drawbacks. For example, A woman with whom I was speaking concerning her keloid problems told me that after 5 surgeries to remove the same scars, over and over, the only thing that worked, finally, for her was a combination of surgery, steroids and radiation.

For a more in-depth discussion about the different methods of keloid scar treatment, please refer to an article we recommend: Keloid Scar Treatment. Also, this and much more information can be found on our site, Body Piercing Plus.

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