Hello, lovelies.

Today I'm going to talk to you about piercings.

Body modifictions are quite common these days, and certainly a way to express yourself.

I'd categorize piercings in 3 groups:

1. Ear piercings

2. Facial piercings

3. Body piercings

I'm particularly pointing out ear piercings beacuse there's a lot of them, so let's start of with those:

- Lobes

  They are the most common ear piercing, situated in the fleshy lower part of your outer ear. Many people opt to get the lobes piercied up to three times, as that is roughly the amount of piercings a lobe has space for. (I myself have two on each lobe, going for the third as soon as my most recent piercings heal.)

  Recently, gauging has become popular. It is basically stretching the lobe piercing with jewlery step by step, until you reach your desired gauge. The gauge is the width of your piercing, and lobes are usually pierced with a 20- or 18- gauge (or an earring of the same size if it's with a gun)

  Healing time: 4 - 6 weeks

- Cartilage

  They are the second most common piercing, and the only piercing, next to lobe, you can legally get done with a piercing gun. Cartilage is the transparent tissue that forms the upper part of your ear, and all piercings there take longer to heal beacuse of lower blood flow in those areas.

  Healing time: 8-12 weeks

- Industrial

  Otherwise known as scaffold, is a double cartilage piercing usually connected by barbell jewlery. 2 or more of these on one ear many be refered to as an ear cage.

  Healing time: 3-12 months

- Tragus

  It's a piercing of the oval piece of cartilage that juts out of the ear canal.

  Healing time: 8-16 weeks initially, full healing takes up to a year

- Anti-tragus

  As the name implies, the anti tragus in a piercing opposite the tragus, and the tissue is usually too small to get pierced.

  Healing time: 8-16 weeks initially, full healing takes up to a year

- Conch

  A piercing of the big area of cartilage above the anti-tragus.

  Healing time: 8-16 weeks

- Rook

  The rook is the thick fold of cartilage located on the upper inside of the ear just above the tragus. As this piece of cartilage is quite thick, this piercing can be painful.

  Healing time: anywhere from 2 moths to a year 

- Snug

  The snug is located halfway down the outer rim on the inner cartilage of the ear, just above the anti-tragus.  It's shallower and smaller than the rook, therefore easier to pierce.

  Healing time: 8-16 weeks initially, full healing takes up to a year

- Daith

  A piercing of cartilage between the rook and the ear canal. Similar to the snug in terms of depth.

  Healing time: 8-16 weeks initially, full healing takes up to a year

- Helix

  The helix is any piercing that goes through the cartilage on the rim of the ear. If located on the section of rim closest to the head, it is sometimes called a forward helix or ear head piercing.

  Healing time: 2-12 months

Facial piercings:

- Eyebrow piercings:

  - Horizontal - A piercing going along the upper side of the eyebrow

  -Vertical - A piercing through the ridge of the eyebrow, most common

  - Anti - On the upper cheek bone

  Healing time: 6-8 weeks

- Nose piercings:

  - Nostril - Most common

  - High nostril - Situated a bit higher than the nostril piercing

  - Septum - Less common, it is the piercing the 'sweet spot', two thin layers of skin that seperate the nostrils below the septum. You can get the actual septum cartilage pierced as well, but that would be more painful.

  - Bridge - Piercings on both sides of the bridge of the nose.

  - Nasallang - A three part piercing of both nostrils and the septum cartilage inbetween them, connected by a single long barbell.

  - Vertical nose tip piercing - Also known as the rhino piercing, it goes through the inside of the nostrils and the tip of the nose.

- Lip piercings:

  - Monroe - On the left side of the upper lip area, slightly off-center.

  - Medusa - Philtrum piercing, right above the cupids bow.

  - Madonna - Similar to the Monroe, but on the right side.

  - Labret - Opposite of the Medusa.

  - Vertical labret - Done directly through the lip,  so both ends are visible.

  - Jestrum - A bit higher than the Medusa, with a curved barbell so the other end is seen under the upper lip.

- Bites:

  - Angel bites - Couple piercings on the left and right side of the upper lip area.

  - Canine bites - Couple piercings on both sides of bothe the lower and upper lip area.

  - Dahlia - Couple piercings on the corners of the mouth.

  - Dolphin bites - Horizontal couple piercings on the center lower lip area.

  - Snake bites - Couple piercings on the left and right side of the lower lip area.

  - Spider bites - Couple piercings on one side of the lower lip area (left or right).

  - Shark bites - Double Spider bites.

  - Cyber bites - A combination of the Medusa and the Labret.

Others include the dimple and chin piercings, mouth piercings like the tounge piercing, as well as the smiley and frowney piercings which are piercings in the connective webbing of the upper and lower inner lip respectively.

Under body piercings people usually assume naval piercings, but surface piercings, which are temporary, are getting more common, like the hip piercings. You can also get all sorts of webbed tissue pierced inbetween your fingers and toes, and there is the topic of piercings as well which I might cover as well, if you want me to.

Continuing on this note, I have 4 lobe piercings (2 on each side) and am planning on the 3rd set, as well as a few helix piercings. I hope to get a septum in a few years!

And as always, I am not a professional, I just sum up some research I've been doing for my own interest here, as I hope it might help you. 

If you want me to cover a certain topic, please tell me so in the comments!

Yours sincerely,

Baozi