Thursday, January 1, 2009

Tips and Advice for your Perfect Body Jewelry

By Susie Maxwell

You want to wear your body jewelry. You've invested the money, undergone the piercing, and now you're ready to show it off. Follow the practical tips below to enjoy your chosen pieces Body jewelry can last as long as you want it to.

* Consider the effect your body piercings taking into account on how others will look at you and whether or not that concerns you. It's your choice to wear body jewelry. But if it's visible and you think your employer may not approve, make sure your decoration can be easily removed when appropriate.

* Have your body piercings done by professionals. Ascertain that your physical and mental wellness are not endangered. Dirty instruments and needles can spread serious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. It is important to ensure that your immunizations for both Tetanus and Hepatitis are current, and also, remember its ok to ask questions.

* Remember that there is no difference between a new body piercing and a puncture wound , keep your piercing clean. Be aware that you must take special care of your piercing site, by preventing common infections, if you desire to display your new body jewelry. If you have facial piercings it is recommended that you do not wear makeup during the first several days to a week.

* When it comes to new body piercings, there are some types of metal that are not good and should not be used. The greater the amount of nickel body jewelry contains, the greater the allergen risk. Using nickel, which is not biocompatible, in pierced body jewelry may cause difficult healing and sensitivity issues. For your first piece of pierced body jewelry, do not buy jewelry made of the following metals.

- Brass and bronze metals; the alloys utilized differ and they frequently produce irritations to the skin and even possibly grave cases of infection.

- Cadmium and chromium are both toxic and may be absorbed by your body.

- Copper too may produce an adverse skin reaction.

- Gold Plated pierced body jewelry is a particularly bad choice because you pay a little extra for the gold plating, which will eventually rub off to expose the underlying metal.

- Pewter; lots of pewter alloys include lead ingredients that might result in exposure to toxic lead.

- Tin also contains traces of lead.

- Nickel causes allergic reactions and you should never use pierced body jewelry that contains this metal. In many European countries, it is illegal to sell pierced jewelry that contains more than 0.5% nickel.

- Sterling Silver is only 0.This body jewelry is 925% real silver, so be cautioned that some contents may be other possible skin irritant metals. Whether human skin, bodily fluids, or even air, silver oxidizes when it comes into contact with these things. Silver is also a soft metal that can easily be nicked or scratched, and bacteria could grow in these nicks. It is safe to wear silver pierced jewelry in healed piercings, however.

- Gold: You maybe amazed to know that gold is not used for body jewelry in the initial piercing. Even though it is correct that higher, more desirable grades of gold, 24 and 18 karat, contain less nickel, it is also a fact that the higher the karat count of gold, the softer the metal. The softness of high karat gold means that it is prone to bumps and dents and bacteria can breed in these imperfections. Please note that many 14-karat gold based alloys do contain traces of silver, copper, brass, and zinc and sometimes nickel the safer route would be to not buy gold jewelry for the first body piercing.

* It is recommended that your body jewelry is made out of a more expensive metal. These metals are suggested for use:

- Surgical-quality Stainless Steel; this relates to surgically implant grades 316L or 316LVM and it is probably the most widely used metal for pierced body jewelry. Nevertheless, many people do have allergic reactions to SSS, and some Europeans countries have actually prohibited its use for new piercings.

- Niobium is quite a bit costlier than SSS as well as more durable. It is perfect for people who are highly allergic to metals and for first body piercing jewelry. It comes in gray or colorful anodized finishes.

- Titanium is considered a high-grade type of metal containing under05% of nickel content in it. It is strong and cannot be scratched or dented. Titanium is the most expensive metal used for body jewelry. Because it is anodized, it is available in a broad range of hues. If you are hypersensitive to SSS and Niobium and if your pocketbook permits it, then you should choose titanium for your first piece of body jewelry.

Keeping the above pointers in mind when you buy your first body jewelry will help you select the perfect piece. - 16003

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