Body piercing has seen a rapid rise in popularity in recent times. The increasing demand has contributed to the art of body piercing being taken more seriously by both its users and practitioners. They try to be innovative both in terms of the location of the piercing, as well as in the selection of jewelry that would go along with it. This has created a considerable demand for different types of body jewelry items.

While some people go for body piercing for cultural or religious reasons, there are a number of who get it done to make a fashion statement. However, along with the style quotient, one must take care while selecting the metal that is to be used in the jewelry piece, as a bad decision in this case could lead to medical problems that may turn out to be serious.

In the case of new body piercings, only specific kinds of metals are recommended because other metals might react with body tissues and cause problems. These are metals which are used for surgical implants and a few precious metals.

Right metal choices for old or new body piercings:.

• Surgical titanium
• Niobium
• Surgical stainless steel
• Tygon, a special plastic material for people whose skins are sensitive to metals
• 14k or 18k gold, white or yellow

Metals to be avoided in new body piercings:

• Plated gold - After the plating rubs off, the exposed metal may react with body tissues resulting in infection or irritation.
• Sterling silver - It undergoes oxidation after coming in contact with body fluids and tissues.
• Fake gold or jewelry pieces made from base metals - They are likely to get corroded after being exposed to body fluids.

It is recommended that one should always seek advice from a body piercing professional in selecting the metal for body piercing jewelry.

Posted by: Jennifer    Source

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