Pierced for Beauty

Traditionally, jewelry was worn in the ancient times to express the bearer's power and social standing. It traditionally was a symbol of exclusivity and no common person could wear them. For instance, in ancient Egypt, only religious figures and political leaders were allowed to wear jewelry. During this time, jewelry were more than special symbols of wealth and power. They were used also as talismans and important pieces for rituals.

Perhaps as a way of rebelling against this age-old tradition of the symbol of jewelry, certain alternative groups in society have decided to make a statement in the way they wear jewelry by allowing themselves to undergo non traditional body piercings to be able to adorn body jewelry.

In the not so distant past, these individuals with many alternative body piercings were called punk. These individuals were often societal outcasts and would traditionally be in tattered, non-traditional outfits there were usually in the color black or in other austere and subdued colors. These individuals had body piercings and jewelry in areas of the body that were once considered to be absurd. It all perhaps began with multiple ear piercing to be able to accommodate multiple earrings in one ear.

But then, we started to see nose rings, tongue and even eyebrow rings as these individuals pushed expectations further. Those particular body piercing and jewelry are only the ones found on the face. However, body piercing encompasses the whole body and body jewelry has been known to adorn other body parts like the nipples via nipple rings and other piercing in sensitive areas of the human body.

While these types of body piercing and jewelry were once considered taboo, present society has been more forthcoming of these types of adornment. While it is still considered daring and different to sport body piercing and matching jewelry, it cannot be denied that it has gained more acceptance and popularity as more and more singers, rappers and artists display their alternative body piercing and jewelry. Because of this phenomenon, body piercing and jewelry have become part of pop culture and enjoys better acceptance in society.

Because of the popularity of body piercing and jewelry for these, much more variety in jewelry designs are available in the market. Other than the old "punk" look, body piercing jewelry now comes in different shapes, sizes and designs that allows the most popular pop icon to adorn a fashionable belly ring on her flat belly and look very attractive because of this.

While it may still be impossible for traditional jewelry stores to carry jewelry for body piercing, it is quite easy to find the body piercing jewelry that will fit your sense of style and preferences. If the process of body piercing scares you, just remember that if you do it in a hygienic way with qualified individuals then there shouldn't be a problem with infections or those sorts of concerns.

It is also important to maintain proper hygiene after a piercing to make sure that the piercing heals properly. You can also opt to take vitamin C regularly while the wound is healing so that it mends faster and properly.

If it happens to be the pain factor that's stopping you from getting a body piercing, just remember that some body parts are more susceptible to pain than the rest. For instance, more fatty areas of the body are less painful when pierced as opposed to more bony or cartilage based areas.