Archive for Multi Functional Body Jewelry
Body Jewelry and Sports: Gearing Up for the Olympics
Posted by: | CommentsThe Olympics is an international sporting event held every four years, and this year, the opening date for the Olympic Games is set for July 27th! The best athletes from over 200 nations will come together and participate in various events and competitions. Luckily, the Olympics are aired on television, so the rest of us can watch in amazement. Who’s excited? I know I am!
The Olympic Games are held every four years, but there are both winter and summer Olympics which alternate. Different sports are played at each one and they are held in a different city each time! In 2008 the Summer Games took place in Beijing, and the 2010 Winter Games were held in Vancouver. This year the Summer Games will be in the city of London, England!
Some of the sports that occur during the Summer Games are gymnastics, aquatics, archery, basketball, cycling, football, golf, rowing, rugby, sailing, tennis, volleyball, triathlons, weightlifting and more. Winter Games feature the bobsleigh, ski jumping, ice hockey, skiing, figure and speed skating, luge, snowboarding, etcetera. Even with all that though, the games generally only last about two weeks!
The Olympic tradition comes from the city of Olympia in ancient Greece, where every four years they held an event to honor the Greek gods. These events not only held sports competitions, but also supported poets, artists, and playwrights. They were held for many years, but then vanished for almost 2,000 years. However, in 1894 they made a comeback when the International Olympic Committee was formed and the official games began again 2 years later!
The five rings in the Olympic symbol are said to represent the 5 sets of continents that participate; Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, (representing the islands in the Pacific Ocean, Australia, and New Zealand) and the Americas (North and South America). The colors; blue, black, yellow, red and green on a white background, were chosen because at least one of these colors appear in each of the flags of the participating nations in the Olympics. During the opening ceremony, the symbolism continues. Eight people carry in the flag where five of the flag bearers represent the continents and the other three people stand for the Olympic ideals: sport, environment and culture.
For most sports, you’re not aloud to wear jewelry… what a bummer, I know! However… it is a safety precaution. If you’re involved in sports but have body piercings, a good option might be to wear bioplast jewelry or a retainer. These options will help in the safety and hiding of the piercing. This would probably not be acceptable for the Olympics, but for a small-town softball game or a friendly soccer match, bioplast jewelry or retainers are great.
Bioplast is a medical material that is commonly used for body piercings because it is bio-compatible (which means it is non-toxic and hypo-allergenic). Bioplast doesn’t contain any metals, so it won’t cause any allergic reactions like other jewelry that contains nickel might. The material can also withstand high temperatures, so it can be autoclaved or sterilized, which reduces the chances of piercing-related infection. Bioplast is also good for piercings because it’s a flexible material that can move with your body. Another feature is that it can be cut easily to any length, so it can be adapted to fit many different piercings. Bioplast is also self-threading, meaning that it can be attached to any screw-on balls of the proper size once the material is cut to the desired length. Bioplast jewelry is used for nose studs, tragus piercings, labrets and Monroes, and many others. It’s the perfect companion to sun and sportsmanship!
Brainstorm: April Fools and the Perfect Piercing Prank
Posted by: | CommentsFor centuries, people have enjoyed playing practical jokes on each other on April Fools Day. Whether it’s putting saran wrap over the toilet bowl and waiting for your roommate’s panicked screams to echo from the bathroom, or some sort of elaborate lie about the death of your friend’s favorite celebrity, the day is perfect for messing with someone you love (or hate). So, here’s an idea:
Elaine Davidson, most pierced woman in the world
Wouldn’t your youth pastor freak out if he saw you looking like that? Wouldn’t your children? That’s the beauty of temporary body art; Its fun, painless and, of course, temporary. Good for giving a little more edge to your look, adding a splash of color to your pallor, or giving your dentist something to look at during a teeth cleaning. Not to mention, of course, the many different practical jokes you can play on your grandparents, parents, little sisters, or just plain gullible friends by slapping on some tattoos and a couple fake nose rings, or rocking a cheater plug or two.
a woman wearing fake facial piercings
Keeping the Holidays Calm: Body Jewelry Preparedness 101
Posted by: | CommentsThe Holiday season is fast approaching, and to prevent piercing and jewelry mishaps, it’s time to start thinking about how to make our Holiday worry free.
It may be easy to slack on cleaning, soaking, or protecting one or more of our piercings during the busy Holiday rush. With all of the shopping, traffic, errands, and extra work, there’s barely time to squeeze in a two minute shower, let alone all the time and ceremony of a ten minute sea salt rinse and a five minute cleanse with antibacterial soap. That’s where some handy little helpers step in. With the variety of on-the-go aftercare products readily available, you can choose from ready swabs, sea salt sprays, mouth rinses for oral piercings, and even handy polishing cloths to do a quick shine-up before that important dinner. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to keep a set of your favorites in the house and the car at all times for those “just in case” situations.
This is also the perfect time of year to build your backstock of jewelry items so that you won’t be caught without a piece of jewelry to wear if anything should accidentally break, strip its threads, or have a vital piece get lost. Simple but cute versions of most body jewelry items can be found at great prices this time of year, so snatching up a few to have as back-ups is a breeze. Just check out the cute pieces below, all just 99 cents.
Finally, for the pierced people in your life, it’s extremely cost effective (and more heartfelt) to put together your own matching sets of jewelry as gifts. Giving someone with multiple piercings a set of matching body jewelry featuring their favorite colors or motifs is a cute way to show you care, and with online shopping you can do it all from home. Take the set we’ve made below. Starting with a staple piece (we chose a multi-functional plain stainless steel captive on clearance for just $0.39) a cute Holiday set with matching nose bones, belly rings, labret studs, and even changeable replacement balls can come together for just a few dollars.
The Holidays may be hectic, hair raising, and downright exhausting sometimes, but if we arm ourselves with the right tools to get the job done, we can all have some sweet seasonal fun.
What’s That Called?: Facial Piercing Names and Locations
Posted by: | CommentsAs piercing of the face, ears, and just about anywhere becomes more popular, shopping for jewelry for ourselves or as gifts for others may be more confusing. One surefire way to be certain you’re shopping for the right kind of jewelry for a piercing? By knowing the name and location of popular body piercings and what jewelry can be worn there. And like always, we’re here to help with a quick reference guide and study session. Today we’ll cover facial piercings!
Piercings of the face
There are few basic facial piercings that everyone should know before doing holiday shopping for pierced family members. They are the eyebrow piercing, anti-eyebrow piercing, labret, monroe, medusa, dimples, nostril (commonly referred to as just nose piercing), septum, and bridge.
As shown here, eyebrow piercings are generally worn with an eyebrow ring, which is a small curved barbell, while anti-eyebrow or “cheek piercings” tend to be worn with a surface bar. Similarly with nose piercings, septum jewelry is usually a circular barbell like a horseshoe or BCR, while piercings of the nostril will always be referred to as a “nose ring” and come in five basic styles.
The monroe and medusa are above the upper lip, and are almost always decorated with stud style jewelry, while the labret is below or on the bottom lip, and has a wider selection of jewelry styles due to location. Hoop or “ring” type jewelry is generally the most popular amongst youth culture for piercings of the bottom lip. Other styles of multiple lip piercing are shown below, and are pictured with the type of jewelry most often worn in each piercing.
For surface piercings of the face like the bridge, anti-eyebrow, and piercings of the eyelids, preference is key to picking the right piece. While some have been pierced with a surface bar and continue to wear only this style jewelry, others will prefer to use flexible bioplast barbells or even regular straight or curved barbell items. Or, in the case of rarer piercings like the “third eye” piercing, dermal jewelry may be needed.
Dermal piercings are done with a large gauge needle or what’s called a dermal punch, and go through the skin with a single hole instead of having both an entry point and an exit point. The jewelry consists of two parts: one underneath the skin called an anchor, and some type of decoration that is visible and screws into the anchor. This allows for the look of a single jewel or spike embedded in or “growing out of” the skin. For types of microdermal or transdermal piercing in which jewelry can be changed, only the visible portion may be switched out or removed, and is usually referred to as a “dermal top.”
Stay tuned for our next reference guide, and happy holiday shopping!
Coming Attractions: Sweet Movie Influenced Fashion and Jewelry
Posted by: | CommentsStaying ahead of the fashion curve into the 2012 year promises to be a difficult task, but thankfully (unlike most portions of pop culture) the cinematic influences poised to bolster the piercing and jewelry world give us something both exciting and helpful: previews! Some of the most anticipated new releases that are sure to filter into new body jewelry fashion crazes are already showing us peaks of what’s to come. Just take a look.
When I first heard that there was an English language remake of one of my favorite foreign film series headed for the theatres, I was a little bit annoyed to see new actors playing the characters I’d come to love.
Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig who play Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist (source:WGSN)
The one thing that’s undeniably amazing about MGM’s rehash of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo though, is that the original image of it’s pierced, tattooed, and sometimes mohawked heroin is left intact. The fashion impact? Plain silver hoops like those worn by Rooney Mara (who got piercings in her ears, eyebrow, nose, septum, lip, and nipple for the film) are already on their way to a comeback, but once the remake drops just before the new year, they’re likely to become an even hotter commodity.
2012 will be another lucrative year for fairytale film with Universal Pictures’ Snow White and the Huntsman, slated for its U.S. release in June.
Kristen Stewart as Snow White (source: WGSN)
Adding a new darker and more empowered spin to the traditional tale isn’t even a risk with actors like Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth (the huntsman) and Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart (Snow White), and neither is the choice of accessories. Wide band rings reminiscent of armor have already begun a slow fashion climb, but leading up to the premiere their aesthetic value might just skyrocket.
Another genre that’s still going strong is that of the super hero, as Marvel’s new undertaking, The Avengers (set for a May release) promises action, suspense, and a slew of A-list character reprisals.
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in the Avengers (source: WGSN)
Among those lending their faces and/or vocal skills to the film: Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow as Iron Man and Pepper Potts, Chris Evans as Captain America, and Paul Bettany as the voice of Jarvis, just to name a few. For it’s fashion say so, we’ll be seeing more of the same, as black leather, bullet caps, and plugs bearing super insignia are certain to stay strong well into 2012.
Other upcoming blockbusters that may lend piercing and jewelry fashion a hint of magic in the coming year include the Amazing Spiderman, the Hobbit, reimaginings of Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack the Giant Killer) and Hansel and Gretel, and the latest installments to the Dark Knight, Ghost Rider, and Men in Black franchises. Only time (and box office ratings) will tell.
Labret and Lip Piercing Styles, Standards, and Modern History
Posted by: | CommentsThe words “lip piercing” can mean a number of different things to different people. Most commonly when we hear this phrase it refers to one of three things: labret piercing, monroe piercing, or any combination of multiples. The labret is a piercing done below the lower lip which can be done exactly in the center, or off to the side. When pierced any lower than the indent of the chin, this is commonly referred to as a “lowbret.” Monroe piercings are piercings done off center above the upper lip, which again change name (this time when pierced in the center), to Medusa, referencing the famous mythological character.
Labret piercings in particular have a long and diverse historical context, having been practiced by tribal cultures across the globe for over a thousand years. The Aztecs, Mayans, Inuit, Dogon, Nuba, Makololo, and several other world tribes are known for practicing this technique, citing every size and adornment from thin shards of bone or ivory, to chips of natural semi-precious stone, and even large wooden plates. From ancient history through to the modern era, piercing of the lip has taken place on every continent and has grown in popularity to become one of the most prevalent body modifications. In Asia, parts of Europe, and the United Sates, the lips are second only to the tongue in commonality of oral piercing.
Most piercings of the lips will be performed at either a 14 gauge or a 16 gauge, with women often choosing the 16 due it’s slightly smaller, more feminine appearance. Length of jewelry will vary depending on the thickness of the individual lip, but is generally 5/16″ (8mm) to 3/8″ (10mm), and is measured as the distance from the base of the item to the underside of any visible decoration. Labret piercings can be stretched with a fair degree of ease for most who are pierced, but this usually requires the use of special jewelry, and once stretched the lip may never return to it’s former shape.
The modern evolution of lip piercings includes several combinations of multiple piercings with different names. Amongst these are snake bites, shark bites, dolphin bites, cyber bites, angel bites, spider bites, canine bites, and dahlia bites, each named for their placements and appearance. Due partly to the rising popularity of these sets of piercings (particularly those of the lower lip), the use of BCRs, horseshoe rings, and segment rings rather than studs has regained momentum. Lip hoops like these were initially the jewelry of choice during the punk and anarchist movements of the 1970′s, but with the sudden mainstreaming of facial piercing beginning in the 90′s, a flux in fashion culture caused the turn toward gem tipped stud jewelry.
The mass popularity of piercings of the lip and around the mouth only continues to grow, with new styles and types being innovated all the time. The only thing that’s for certain is that we will continue to see lip piercings for a long time to come.
Going Faux: How to Fake a Piercing or Stretching Just About Anywhere
Posted by: | CommentsWhether you’re already pierced or not, you may be wanting a piercing in a specific spot for your Halloween costume. That’s where fake piercings come in. Faux piercing jewelry has gotten a lot better and more realistic since the days of stick-ons and spring clips, and with a set of illusion rings or cheater plugs, it’s never been easier to get the look you’re aiming for painlessly and temporarily. Just take a look.
These are standard illusion rings:
They come in two styles, one with a moveable ball to look like a ball captive ring, and one without that fakes the style of a continuous hoop or “segment ring.” The end with the flat bar goes on the inside area of your faux piercing (like inside your bottom lip, nostril, or ear cartilage), so that it’s hidden and doesn’t give anything away. The free end is what’s seen from the outside, and often appears so realistic that even up close nobody can tell.
To fake a row of multiple piercings in the same spot, like a line of helix piercings at the upper ear cartilage or a set of spider bites on the lower lip, a double or triple illusion ring of either style works like a charm.
Depending on where you’re planning to wear illusion jewelry, the hoop may need to be pried open gently to fit. Common places that faux piercing jewelry works well include the belly button, lips, nostrils, septum, ear lobes, and various places on the ear cartilage.
To simulate the look of a stretched lobe piercing, cheater plugs are a great fix. A cheater plug has wide removable ends that mimic the look of a 0 gauge plug, but with a small, 16 gauge center that fits through most regular piercings.
These handy little items come in almost as many styles as real plugs and tapers do, and when used correctly they fake the look of a gauged piercing so well that people may ask you where you got those awesome plugs.
Cheaters are most often worn in the ears, but standard straight faux plug styles can be worn in other piercings as well, like labrets, monroes, and some cartilage piercings.
So if you’re in need of quick and painless fix to make a Halloween costume accurate or more appealing, faux piercing jewelry is definitely the way to go. And when people compliment your awesome piercing, just smile and say, “thank you.”
Body Jewelry Video: In the Know – Faux Body Piercing Jewelry
Posted by: | CommentsFollow our BodyCandy video correspondent, Kelsey, as she shows you the ins, outs, and valuable info on one of our favorite, cool Body Candy products: faux body piercing jewelry. Lets watch!
“Hi guys. I’m Kelsey from Body Candy dot com. Today I’m here to tell you about cheater plugs, and illusion rings. Now these are great, because if you don’t want to make the commitment to go through the process of actually gauging your ears or getting the piercing that you want, you don’t have to anymore. We have the solution. Cheater plugs and illusion rings give you the desired look you want without making a permanent decision.”
“Now let’s talk about cheater plugs,” she lifts one up so we can see. “Cheater plugs are essentially a regular earring, with imitation plug pieces on either side. To put them in, you simply put it through the back, and screw on the front.”
She effortlessly inserts the back portion of the earring through her piercing, screws on the front, and turns her head to show the camera.
“And there you go. You have an earring that looks like a plug. This is a taper style,” she points out each in turn, “and we also have regular plug styles too. It’s a simple way to get the look of a stretched lobe piercing without actually stretching your lobes.
“Next, we have illusion rings, of which we have three styles: we have the single style, the double style, and the triple style.” She holds each up while going through the different types.
“These are made to replicate BCRs, standard hoops, and standard rings. To simply put one on,” she raises a single ring to show us how it’s done, “you take the ring, stretch it to where you want, and slip it right on.”
The ring now sits comfortably on the side of her lip, looking just like a real lip piercing.
“You can slip this on your nose, your eyebrow, your ears, your belly,” she gestures, “and you have an instant, realistic piercing.”
“Also if your sports activities or job doesn’t allow you to have these types of piercings or gauges, you can just take it out, and go back to normal. You can have an instant piercing for the day or for the night. So come check out cheater plugs and illusion rings,” she smiles and points to her new faux lip piercing, “and fake it, with Body Candy.”
Once Bitten: the New Aesthetics and Standards of Lip Piercing
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One of the biggest trends in piercing in recent years has been the advent of new and interesting forms of lip piercing. From the rise of the use of circular lip jewelry, to the growing popularity of multiple lip piercings, it’s certainly no secret that the “bite” is taking a big bite out of alternative fashion. The first of the bite piercings to make a splash is undoubtedly the “snake bite” (pictured above); simple, sweet, and straight to the point matching labret piercings on each side of the lip. The opposite of this piercing, which has also slipped into the mainstream in the past few years, is the angel bite. This is another set of matching piercings on each side, but instead of the bottom lip they’re pierced over the top.
Next in the line-up, we have the “cyber bite piercing,” which has gained momentum (particularly in the indie music culture) along with the components that create it. The piercing that composes the bottom portion of a cyber set is of course the standard labret, but the top portion of this cute and interesting piercing is the lesser well known “medusa,” a piercing of the dent between the upper lip’s bow and the septum. Though generally applicable as seen here, the cyber bite piercing can also be created with any combination of vertical versions of these piercings, i.e. a vertical labret and a jestrum, the vertical version of a medusa piercing.
Other popular lip piercings that are becoming a youth fashion force are those that involve double piercings stacked closer together than seen in previous decades, like the “spider bite” piercing shown below. When the spider bite is located in the center of the lower lip a-la David Draiman from the rock band Disturbed, it then becomes a “dolphin bite” piercing, and when there are two sets it’s termed a “shark bite.”
And last but not least, we have the more recent developments in lip piercing like the “dahlia bite.” Shown below, the dahlia bite is an interesting and still fairly obscure set of lip piercings with an awkwardly macabre history. This little beauty (which is not without it charms, particularly when pierced on a lovely woman), takes it’s name from the infamous and gripping story of the Black Dahlia murder, an old Hollywood tragedy reimagined on the silver screen just a few short years ago. The piercing itself is a nod to the darker side of retro fashion, a trend which has recently exploded. Other less mainstream “bites” include the canine bite (a set of angel bites plus a set of snake bites), and the “T-rex bite.”
With so many new piercings coming about in the line of the mouth, almost every type of body jewelry is now being worn in the lips. Amongst the more widely seen and accepted pieces are circulars (horseshoes, ball captives, segment rings), ball studs, and lippy loops, which loop over the lip to give a standard piercing the look of a vertical.
Talk about lip service.
Ball Captive Rings: Amazing Multi-Tasking Body Jewelry
Posted by: | CommentsFor anyone who doesn’t know, this is a ball captive ring (also called a BCR or captive bead ring.)
These items consist of two parts: the ring with a small opening, and the ball, bead, or decoration that fits into that opening. The opening allows the ring to be easily placed through a variety of piercings, and then the ball (which is held in by small divots in its sides) closes off the opening to keep the item secure.
Ball Captive Rings are most commonly composed of a ring made of metal (surgical grade stainless steel, sterling silver, 14 kt gold, titanium), and a ball made of either similar materials, Austrian crystal, acrylic, or natural stone. They can have standard spherical shape, other shapes like hearts, stars, and triangles, or include dangling pieces.
The captive ring is a maverick piece of jewelry, wearable in nearly any piercing. Some piercings they are commonly worn in include lip piercings, like snake bites, angel bites, and spider bites), labret piercings, septum piercings, nostril piercings, eyebrow piercings, many piercings of the ear incuding lobe piercings, orbitals, rooks, daiths, tragus, anti-tragus, helix, and conch, belly piercings, nipple piercings, and surface piercings such as Madisons and corset piercings.
Captive bead rings are easy to match and coordinate in multiple piercings, and make the perfect addition to any jewelry wardrobe.
