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Body Jewelry Buying Guide

You don't follow the crowd and your fashion doesn't either. Conventional jewelry designs won't show off your great abs or draw attention to your stunning smile. That's why every free spirit needs body jewelry for self expression. Body piercing jewelry truly lets you be creative with your fashion; people pierce, well, anything and everything. A sparkling piece of body piercing jewelry  on your nose, eyebrow, lip or belly button will completely personalize your look. To maintain good hygiene as well as great style, you'll want to take extra care when deciding how to buy piercing jewelry. This body jewelry buying guide is designed to help you make an informed decision and give you the tools to choose fashion body jewelry for your collection.

Buying Body Jewelry:

1. Navel: A belly button piercing is very sexy, cute and flirty. Navel piercing jewelry ranges from simple steel barbells to colorful belly rings with jewels and dangling charms. Getting a navel piercing is often the first choice for body-art novices. Belly button jewelry is available in many innovative styles, including rings that expand for pregnant women and fashion body jewelry that is subtle enough to hide under clothing.

2. Nose: Many cultures have a tradition of nose piercing, and contemporary American culture has also fully embraced the practice. When you are shopping for nose rings, comfort will likely be one of your top concerns. Nose studs come in many styles, including screws that twist into place, L-shaped studs and nose bones, which have a small ball on the end to secure the stud. Nose rings may clip or be secured with a small ball. Septum piercings may simply slide into place, though some will need to be secured with a small ball or silicone backing. Fashionable nose rings and studs are available in every color, shape and size; choose a nose ring that you will be comfortable wearing in many situations.

3. Eyebrows: Most place this piercing at the outer edge of the brow. Small, straight and curved barbells fit the eyebrow piercings, and some include dangling charms or crystals. Choose simple grey or black barbells for a grittier look.

4. Mouth: You can choose from many different mouth piercings. Tongue piercings were very fashionable in the 1990s and still offer an edgy and stylish look. Tongue rings are typically simple, with a stainless steel bar and ball, but tongue rings with designs, jewels and logos are also available. The middle section below the lower lip (called a labret piercing) and the right corner above the upper lip (called a Marilyn piercing) are also popular places for barbells. Lip rings are youthful and hip; choose from gold-tone, silver-tone and colorful lip rings.

5. Ears: If you haven't had new ear piercings since you were six, it might be time to put your hair up and add some more. In addition to the many earrings you can wear on the lobes, body jewelry offers designs for the outer rim and even on the inner cartilage. A setting of two holes on the outer cartilage is called the industrial piercing; a tragus piercing is on the triangle at the front.

6. Ankles: Ankle bracelets are just as pretty and varied as bracelets for your wrists, but they are unique enough to be part of the body jewelry category. Gold or silver anklets shine with cute charms and glittering gemstones.

7. Abs: After hours at the gym, you've earned the right to display your sleek tummy. Add some style with a belly chain slung around the hips. Body chains give your style an ancient vibe; try a body chain that glitters over your shoulders and around your stomach with a swim suit or jeans and a tank top.

8. Toes: Decorate perfect pedicures and flirty summer sandals with toe rings. Usually sold in matching sets, toe rings adjust to fit and feature many designs.

9. Materials: Piercings are sensitive, and it is important to protect them with the most hygienic materials. Don't settle for cheap body jewelry. Choose body jewelry made of surgical stainless steel, surgical titanium and 18-karat or 14-karat gold. Surgical stainless steel of 316 LVM implant grade is especially scratch-resistant and resists corrosion, even with vigorous cleaning. Both surgical stainless steel and surgical titanium are used for medical implant devices. If your body jewelry is made of these high-quality materials, it won't set off metal detectors, so you can relax in the airport security line. Try to avoid using barbells made of sterling silver and base metals, which can oxidize and cause irritation, until the wound is completely healed. This also applies to gold-plated jewelry as the gold layer may rub off over time.

10. Gauge: Piercings are not all the same size, and body jewelry must be available in sizes to accommodate the differences. The gauge is the thickness of a piece of body jewelry and relates particularly to the size of the bar that threads through a piercing. The thickness of the jewelry decreases as the gauge number increases; thus, 16 gauge is thinner than 10 gauge. The average barbell for a belly or tongue piercing has a 14 to 16 gauge, and the average size for a nose stud is 18, 20 or 22 gauge; 24-gauge body jewelry is also available. The size of a standard earlobe piercing is 22 gauge. Consider this guide when choosing a body jewelry gauge:

Gauge   Millimeters

22           0.5

20           0.8

18           1.0

16           1.2

14           1.6

12           2.0

10           2.5

8              3.2

6              4.1

4              5.1

2              6.5

1              7.0

0              8.2

00           9.2

Tips from Overstock.com:

1. Body jewelry features multiple designs constructed just for piercings and crafted of the best materials. Everyone wants to be stylish, but safety should always be a consideration. Follow the advice and care instructions of your professional piercing technician in regards to any new piercing, including types of body jewelry, materials and hygiene.

2. Most piercings are meant to stay the size they started as, but many people like to stretch their ear piercings to a larger size. If you want to do this, choose body jewelry in the next gauge up, insert it carefully and expect a little bit of soreness as you adjust to the new size. Wait until this new size has healed -- it's no longer sore and it stays the same size when you remove your body jewelry -- before attempting a larger gauge.

Article originally located here.

More Body Jewelry Articles

If you are planning to start your own tattoo parlor, or if you simply want to improve your skills as a tattoo artist and indulge in your love for tattoos, the first things that you need are great tattoo supplies. The quality of the tattoo supplies can make a huge difference to the tattoo art that you come up with.

Let us look into some of the basic tattoo supplies that you need, so that you can start creating beautiful and unique tattoo arts for your clients or friends immediately.

The Tattoo Machine

Of course the first thing that you need if you want to create tattoos is the tattoo machine, popularly known as the tattoo gun. A tattoo needle is inserted in this tattoo machine, which is then dipped into the tattoo ink. Once the tattoo machine is powered by the tattoo artist, it pierces the skin to deposit the ink and, voila! You have your tattoo!

The Needles

The needles that are going to pierce the skin should be of good quality and disposable. You should never use the same needle twice. You can use different needles that are used for shading and lining, thus creating various depths for the tattoo.

The Tattoo Ink

The tattoo ink is one of the most important elements of the tattoo supplies. The ink is an important component because it is going to be lodged under the skin for the rest of the person's life. Thus, it is important that the quality of the ink is up to the mark. Some of the reputed brands of tattoo ink include Intenze tattoo ink and moms tattoo ink.

Like most good tattoo brands, both Intenze tattoo ink and moms tattoo ink stock numerous colors of ink and in various sizes of bottles between 4 and 8 ounces, depending on what you need. You can also buy black light tattoo ink that is visible only under black light – a great style statement for raves. Look for quality ink when you shop for the tattoo supplies.

The stencil and the flash tattoo art collection

Flash art is a drawing that can be created into more intricate tattoos. As a tattoo artist, you and your clients can use these flash arts to come up with ideas for new tattoos. Or, you can simply tattoo one of these flash arts on your client. There are thousand of varieties of flash tattoo arts available and you are sure to find something that your client wants.

Once you have zeroed in on a design, the stencil will be used to create a copy of the design and will then be placed on the skin. The artist can use this stencil to draw the tattoo on the skin with his tattoo machine.

The Power Supply

Since the tattoo machine cannot be powered by a battery, you will need an external source of power that can be affixed with the help of a cable, to the machine. The machine can then be turned on and off with the help of a foot pedal, that is somewhat similar to a sewing machine in technique.

Other Miscellaneous Tattoo Supplies

There are a number of accessories that you may require, apart from these tattoo supplies. You can get gorilla grips for your tattoo machine that provides you with excellent grip, so that you can create the tattoo in a flawless manner.

The disposable tubes are yet another thing that you can get. They are made out of plastic and are much lighter than the steel tubes. The disposable tubes are much more hygienic. Other tattoo supplies that you may require include sanitary gloves, petroleum jelly, disinfectants and special tattoo furniture.

About the Author:

Writing is my life and I love it. I write a lot of Articles and Blogs to relay all of my experience about Tattoo. To know more about various Tattoo Supplies Click Here.

Like any concerned parent's worst nightmare, my teenage son wanted to get a tattoo for his birthday. I thought he lost his mind and nearly got into a huge argument with him. Why couldn't he be just like all the other kids and ask for a video gaming console instead?

After a heated exchange of words, followed by a cool-down period with lots of contemplation, I slowly saw the error of my ways. All my son wanted was a tiny tattoo for a birthday present. It does not equal to the end of the world just yet.

In Canada, there is no age regulation for getting a tattoo, although most parlours require parental consent for anybody under the age of eighteen. I was thankful that my son respected me enough to ask for permission first. I'd much rather argue with him over getting a tattoo, rather than him going to an untrustworthy tattoo parlour behind my back. If my son wanted to get a tattoo, then it is my responsibility as a parent to fully support him however I can.

My first concern is the quality of the tattoo supplies. I have heard many horror stories about skin infection through unsterilized needles and equipment. To avoid this, I did hours of research online until I came up with a very reputable tattoo parlour with great reviews and references.

Another concern is the design and visibility of the tattoo. My son is still young and a bit naive, so he wanted the tattoo to be placed on a body part with as much exposure as possible. He did not take into consideration that very few employers would appreciate hiring somebody with a bright vibrant tattoo on the side of his neck. I definitely vetoed that suggestion, although I did recommend that he place it on the back of his shoulder - a common place for tattoos.

Since the tattoo gun came into origin during the late 1800s, getting body art has been made a much easier process. Previously, the traditional method was to literally hammer the ink into the human skin, which is not only painful but also prone to sloppiness and errors. The new tattoo machines can avoid these problems. There will still be some pain to getting a tattoo, but the amount is definitely more tolerable.

The tattoo machine operates with two needles. The first one involves tracing the outline of the tattoo. This is typically drawn in black or any other colour as the user desires. The second needle is used for the actual colouring process, as in filling out the colours within the outlines. The needles are designed so that the bottom base is wider.

It took a lot of effort and hard work to give my son the tattoo that he wanted, but I also learned a lot from the tattooing experience. And believe it or not, I believe getting the tattoo was a great bonding experience between parent and child. I would definitely feel prepared now if my daughter wants a tattoo as well...