What Is Basic Body Jewelry?

As good as piercings look, they are often not so appealing immediately after they are done. Sometimes piercings have some inflammation, discoloration and are extremely tender to the touch.

Basic body jewelry is jewelry worn immediately after a piercing, and they are specifically designed to accommodate the unpleasant after-effects of a new piercing.

They keep the area clean, open, and moisture-free to promote faster healing.

Here is a crash course on the types of basic body jewelry.

1. Barbells

Straight barbells

Straight barbells are normally used in tongue, industrial and nipple piercings. They can also be used in ear cartilage piercings. Going by preference, people also use straight barbells in surface piercings like the septum or the nose bridge.

Curved barbells

These can accommodate a wider variety of piercings and are great for the navel, eyebrow, oral piercings, ear cartilage, septum, and Madison piercings.

When worn on the navel, they have a larger bottom ball compared to the top ball.

Spiral and wave barbells

Occasionally an industrial barbell can be waived or bent for a better fit or aesthetical value. There are also spiral barbells for the lip, ear, or belly button.

Studs

Straight posts or studs are typically preferred for Monroe/labret, tragus, and other ear cartilage piercings. These include medusas, lowbrets, forward helix, and bites piercings.

2. Circulars

Lippy loops

This is a staple-shaped rounded barbell with decorative ends. Lippy loops are worn on the lip with the barbell on the inside. Both ends of the lippy loop face outwards.

Captive rings

Bead or ball captive rings are extremely popular and can be worn almost anywhere. More commonly, they are worn on the septum, navel, nipples, ears, and corset piercings.

Basically, these are just a ring with a charm, ball, or segment portion that pops out during insertion then pops back in to fasten the jewelry in place.

Horseshoe rings

Hourseshoe rings

These are named this way because of their horseshoe shape. The ends of these are sealed with a charm or a ball, and these can be worn on numerous piercings.

Shields

These feature a large design with a barbell and an open center design and are worn on nipple and navel piercings. For navel rings, the shield portion is attached to the curve bar.

For other piercings, the shield can be built to slide over a straight barbell.

Large Gauge Jewelry

Plugs

This is solid jewelry that does not feature a hollow center like most. It comes in single, double, and straight flares. They also have different shapes like teardrops and hearts.

Tunnels

Tunnels, like plugs, come in different shapes and flares. However, they have a hollow center meaning you can see through one side of the ear when worn.

Tapers

You can find these in straight, hanger, curved, and spiral shapes. These are used to stretch piercings to the required size.

Whichever piercing you get, it's key to get good quality basic body jewelry for your own safety and comfort. If you are getting a new piercing, visit Shining Light Body Jewelry for some top-notch, exquisite jewelry.