Whatever you may want for a piercing, there is a place and a special ring to fit it. From piercing you belly button, up to you ears, and down to your private areas, anything now can have a piece of metal stuck in it to show it off for everyone to see.

Body Jewelry is the fashion statement of the future and not only applies to a piercing but also tattoos which will make you both beautiful and able to make a personal statement. From the physical attributes of a piercing to the sexual attributes of making your body more sensitive.

There is a problem however, businesses now are taking a harsh look at body jewelry so be careful. If applying for a new position at a company that wants a “professional look” you may have to try and hide your piercing or tattoo. Many do not understand why this is, so let me explain: the professional look is to promote uniformity in a company, not individuality, so someone with a nose ring or someone showing off a belly button ring that dangles may hurt a company’s image and therefore disqualify you for a job. So be very cautious if this is something you are considering, check the short term and long term of what this will do, these are permanent additions to your body.

Though they look good on you, not everyone will think the same.

SOURCE: American Family Physician; Center for Young Women's Health, Children's Hospital, Boston | GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - November 7, 2006

The usage of henna goes way back to the 1600 BC when the Egyptians dye the hands and hairs of their Pharaohs before they are mummified. In these days, menhdi is applied on a bride during a wedding, birthdays and during the celebration of the completion of 7th month pregnancy.

There are many traditional mehndi designs. For example: Arabic floral designs, geometrical floral designs, designs using fine lines, Arabic leaf designs. However, in these modern days, people use any type of designs that relate to their culture. Chinese will use their symbols, whereas new age Americans will use some spiritual designs.

During weddings, mehndi is applied on the bride’s palms with fine lines and figurines that depict a wedding ceremony. The mehndi sometimes extend till the forearm. It is applied on the feet as well and sometimes extends upwards to the knee.

In order to prepare to mehndi, the henna’s leaves are taken and dried. Next, you have to ground it so it turns into powder form. After that, the powder is turned into paste form. Then add half a lemon’s juice, a few drops of eucalyptus oil, cloves paste and 2 tablespoons of coffee. Mix the mixture evenly and transfer them into the mehndi cone. Make a hole at the end of the cone so that the henna mixture is able to come out.

Then, you can freely design on someone’s hand as if you were decorating a cake with cream. It is better that you keep the tattoo moist for as long as possible after applying mehndi. You can do that by applying a mixture of sugar and lemon juice on the mehndi. When it dries up, clean up the caked mehndi. Unless your mehndi comes into contact with water, its color will continue to darken.

If you would like to remove the tattoo, you can wash it under hot water if it has just been applied recently. For at least 10 minutes, soak the affected area in a hot, soapy water. Then scrub the henna away with a brush. This only brushes it off the surface as some of it may have penetrated into your skin. In order to completely remove it, continue soaking in a hot water with bleach and scrub it. Repeat till tattoo is gone.

The singer and the Mean Girls star both had the word “Shhh…” tattooed on their index fingers during an impromptu visit to Shamrock Tattoos in Hollywood.  But it was only after Allen showed off the design on her online Twitter page that she realized fellow pop star and tattoo fan Rihanna had the same body art inked in 2008. Lily Allen gave an interview where she admits to  regretting her “Shhh…” finger tattoo. Allen explains, “I’ve since found out Rihanna’s got the same thing, so it’s not really… I mean she’s very cool – but I thought I was being original!”

But here is an idea from BodyIllustrated to make it… let’s just say more special…

what if she had ‘…ittt’ on the other finger?

Body piercing Methods

* Needle Method (Standard)
The most common method used in the United States to make a piercing is with a medical hollow needle. The needle makes an opening in the skin you want to have pierced but doesn’t go all the way through. The jewelry then is inserted and follows the needle back. It’s necessary to insert the jewelry immediately to hold the slit the needle made open. The needle method doesn’t involve removing any flesh (some methods do). The opening is always made with a needle larger than the initial jewelry to be worn. This is done to reduce the pressure on the healing piercing, giving it more room to heal and allow a fistula to form.

* Piercing Guns
Piercing guns are gun-shaped devices that mechanically makes the piercing by forcing a stud through the body part. You can compare it with a stapler.
This method is often used by non-professional piercers and mostly to pierce holes in the earlobes. You should avoid this method because the piercing gun is hard to sterilize. The risk is infection and transmission of bulletproof pathogens.

* Cannula Method
The cannula method is similar to the standard method. The difference is that at the end of the needle there’s a cannula (a hollow plastic tube) where the piercer puts in the jewelry. So at the piercing process, the cannula and the jewelry is entirely pulled through the opening. This method is often used in Europe.

* Scalpel method
When you want an opening for a large gauge body piercing, a medical scalpel can be used to make a slit. This method is often used for large gauge ear piercings. It’s also used to correct an asymmetry for example if the ear piercing on one side is larger than the other because of an incorrect placement.
When you don’t want your piercing anymore and you remove the jewelry, the fistula will not shrink or close from itself. The only solution there is surgically.

* Pierce and Taper
This method is for larger gauge piercings and only works on body parts where the skin is very elastic. It’s similar to the standard method, but after the hole is pierced with the needle, the piercer inserts a tapered steel bar (one of larger gauge then the needle) in order to make the opening bigger. The jewelry is directly inserted, following the tapered bar.

* Dermal Punching
Piercings in the upper ear require removal of skin and cartilage to lift the pressure of the piercing and guarantee a longer viability of the piercing. Therefore, a dermal punch is used to remove a circular area of tissue, where the jewelry will be worn. Like scalpelled piercings, the healed fistulas will not shrink or close on their own.

The best way to determine the amount of pain associated with a specific type of body piercing is to ask someone who has experienced the pain firsthand. This is also an excellent way to determine if you really want to have that specific part of your body pierced, since a pierced individual will be able to inform you of any complications, infection, or problems he or she has experienced with the body piercing.

Another way to determine the amount of pain associated with a body piercing is to speak with a piercer. These individuals who pierce a variety of body parts for a living are usually able to walk you through the entire process from cleaning the needle to the healing process.

Generally, tongue piercings are generally thought to be the most painful, but in actuality, many believe the belly button to be the most painful area to be pierced. The tongue has a tremendous healing capacity, allowing it to quickly bounce back from any sort of trauma. Generally, tongue piercing is most associated with swelling, but little bleeding or pain. Belly buttons tend to have the greatest problems associated with piercing since the belly button takes an extremely long time to heal. Often, the belly button can take up to one year to heal completely, and is often prolonged due to the position on the body. Jewelry is likely to become snagged on clothing, therefore irritating the wound further.

Most piercers use a type of cooling spray or numbing lotion that will temporarily freeze the area and prevent pain. Ask the piercing parlor where you intend to have your piercing done to see if this is an option. Also, many piercers use well practiced techniques to lessen the pain as much as possible.

If you are concerned about the pain, bring a friend or companion to accompany you on your piercing adventure. Be sure to avoid taking any medications or alcohol before you visit a piercer, since piercers will not allow you into their salon if they believe you to be under the influence of any potential medications.

Nickel allergies can sometimes appear similar to a mild skin infection, though it is often readily noticeable that the signs disappear with time. The most common sign of the allergy taking effect would be the skin developing a deep red color in the area that had contact with nickel. Some of the surrounding area may also develop some redness. In some cases, the redness can also appear like a rash and may cause itchiness or mild discomfort. In extreme cases, blisters may form on the skin, usually with a lot of moisture or pus. The itchiness can become unbearable, depending on how much nickel was involved and how long the skin was in contact with it. On some instances, the itchiness can also lead to mild inflammation and may render the hands virtually unusable for a short period.

The allergy, sadly, has no known cure and can sometimes randomly occur. Like most allergies, an allergic reaction to nickel is completely random and may appear on someone who has never been allergic to it before. Prolonged exposure is not needed for someone to develop the problem, because even a short amount of contact with nickel can trigger an allergic episode. The allergy is actually fairly common, being considered among the most common causes for allergic attacks outside of seasonal factors. The exact cause of the sensitivity is still unknown, but nickel-based earrings and needles (used for piercings) often cause a reaction faster than anything else.

The skin does not normally react the first time contact is made. In most circumstances, symptoms such as redness may not even appear for two days after the initial contact. Inflammation, particularly rare for this allergy, is often only apparent after nearly a week. There are some instances when the symptoms manifest within a short period, but this is typically the result of prolonged or regular exposure to nickel. Most cases of this occur because the person has a lot of jewelry on their person, or wears a few pieces for prolonged periods. There are exceptions to this, but the previously mentioned situations are considered typical.

Statistically speaking, women are remarkably more likely to develop an allergic reaction to nickel than men are. This has traditionally been attributed to the piercing of the ears, which leaves those areas exposed to nickel for days at a time while the wound heals properly. However, going over the statistics over a period of time shows that the disparity between males with the allergy and females has been decreasing. Whether this is because of the increasing popularity of body piercings and earrings for males is still unknown, but it is considered the most likely cause. As it stands, there are no known biological or physiological factors behind the disparity.

The first sign of body piercing is the form of nose rings that were recorded approximately 4,000 years ago in the Middle East.  In fact, there is even mention of nose piercing in the Bible.  Nomadic tribes in Africa and the Middle East still practice nose piercing, and often the size and quality of the ring denote the wealth and social status of the wearer.  Nose piercing is also common in India, where the left nostril is pierced to prevent medical issues and ease childbirth.

Tongue rings date back to the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures of Central America and Mexico.

These cultures heavily believed in the power of shaman, who pierced the tongues of individuals in order to communicate with their deities.  The pain from the piercing forced the individual into an altered mental state, whereas the blood from the hole was shed in their honor.  In addition to these native cultures, certain tribes in the Pacific Northwest also practiced tongue piercing for similar reasons.

Ear piercing is by far the most popular type of body piercing and is believed to have been practiced longer than any other form of body piercing.  In fact, when scientists found what they believe to be the world’s oldest fully mummified body, tests showed holes punctured through the mummy’s ears.  Ear piercing ranged from a status symbol to a magical ward to a coming of age ritual.

The lip labret piercing is used in many African cultures, with graduated discs inserted in the hole to slowly stretch the skin.  The size of the disc is directly associated with power, virility, and status.  Similarly, tribes in Mali, Ethiopia, South America, and the Pacific Northwest pierce the lip labret.  Famous explorer Dr. Livingstone came upon the Makololo tribe in the African country of Malawi and inquired to why the men in the tribe wore lip labret.  The answer was a simple one: beauty.

Another piecing popular with ancient cultures and civilizations is the septum piercing.  Commonly associated with the “bull ring,” a septum piercing penetrates the space directly between the nostrils.  Most ancient tribes pierced their septum in order to promote a fierce or war-like face on their warriors.  Individuals in India, Tibet, and Nepal wear a septum piercing, as do many North American Indian tribes, including the Nez Perce.  Australian aboriginals also wear a piercing through the septum and have so for thousands of years.

Body piercing has been around for thousands of years, ranging back to primitive people to current individuals and tribes all over the world.  Although some body piercing may be controversial, they are certainly not original or new.   Many individuals choose to showcase their cultural or native heritage by choosing a body piercing that reflects their heritage.

Furthermore, many individuals seek a body piercing in a traditional manner or choose to be pierced while visiting an exotic destination.  If this is the case, ensure the piercing parlor is reputable and practices outstanding hygiene.  Others choose to pierce different parts of their bodies to elicit a shock to those around them.  Still, others choose a piercing for personal reasons, whether it is a remembrance of a beloved friend or family member or in honor of a personal milestone.