Friday, January 2, 2009

Practical Pointers for Perfect Permanent Piercings

By Susie Maxwell

You want to wear your body jewelry. You've invested the money, undergone the piercing, and now you're ready to show it off. Follow the practical tips below to enjoy your chosen pieces Body jewelry can last as long as you want it to.

* Consider the effect your body piercings taking into account on how others will look at you and whether or not that concerns you. You might want to make sure your new jewelry can be easily removed in the mornings and re-worn in the evenings,if, for example, you have chosen to wear visible pierced body jewelry and you know that your employer will view you in an unfavorable light because of it.

* Get any body piercings performed by an expert. Make sure that your health is not compromised. Unsterilized needles and instruments can spread HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Make sure your Tetanus and Hepatitis immunizations are up to date, and do not hesitate to ask questions.

It is important to keep your piercing clean, treat it as though it were a puncture wound, which it essentially is. Pierced hole infections are very common in fresh piercings, and mean that you won't be able to wear and enjoy your new body jewelry for long. If you have facial piercings it is recommended that you do not wear makeup during the first several days to a week.

* Body piercings should not be done with certain medals. If the body jewelry contains more nickel, it also increases the risk of allergen. Nickel-plated pierced jewelry can lead to healing difficulty and sensitivity issues. It's important to avoid these following metals when purchasing your first piece of body jewelry.

- Bronze and Brass; varied alloys were employed in use and more often than not caused skin irritations which were painful, and also potentially serious infections.

- Chromium and Cadmium are each toxic in nature and even absorbable by your skin.

- Copper too may produce an adverse skin reaction.

- It is a bad decision to have body jewelry which is gold plated because you will pay more for it and eventually the plating would fade off exposing the underlying metal.

- Pewter; lots of pewter alloys include lead ingredients that might result in exposure to toxic lead.

- Tin also contains traces of lead.

- Nickel causes allergic reactions and you should never use pierced body jewelry that contains this metal. In many European countries, it is illegal to sell pierced jewelry that contains more than 0.5% nickel.

- With a 0 rating for Sterling silverThis body jewelry is 925% real silver, so be cautioned that some contents may be other possible skin irritant metals. All silver oxidizes when it contacts body tissues, fluids and air. Silver is also a soft metal that can easily be nicked or scratched, and bacteria could grow in these nicks. Silver body jewelry is perfectly safe to wear in healed piercings.

- Gold; surprisingly, gold is not recommended for initial pierced body jewelry. Even though it is correct that higher, more desirable grades of gold, 24 and 18 karat, the hardness of the metal depends on gold's karat and nickel count. Because higher concentrations of gold are softer, it is subject to denting and bacteria are able to flourish within these malformations. Please note that many 14-karat gold based alloys do contain traces of silver, copper, brass, and zinc and sometimes nickel. For your first piercing, it isn't a good idea to use gold body jewelry.

* It is recommended that your body jewelry is made out of a more expensive metal. These metals are suggested for use:

- Surgical Stainless Steel; this refers to surgical implant grades 316L or 316LVM and in addition it is most likely the metal used most often for pierced body jewelry. Still, a number of individuals are allergic to SSS, and there are nations in Europe that have forbidden using it for new piercings.

- More powerful than SSS, Niobium is also the pricier metal. For your first body piercing jewelry it is excellent especially for people who have allergies. You can expect to see it in gray or other anodized finishes.

- Titanium is considered a high-grade type of metal containing under05% of nickel content in it. It is strong and cannot be scratched or dented. Titanium is the most expensive metal used for body jewelry. Because it is anodized, it is available in a broad range of hues. If you are hypersensitive to SSS and Niobium and if your pocketbook permits it, then you should choose titanium for your first piece of body jewelry.

Keeping the above pointers in mind when you buy your first body jewelry will help you select the perfect piece. - 16651

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