With so many different materials and styles to choose from, picking piercing jewellery can be as hard as picking a design for a new tattoo, even though Jewellery can be swapped and changed. Nonetheless, this article will help you express yourself regardless of where your piercing is or what type of style you express. The two criteria to use when picking new jewellery are whether it fits comfortably into your piercing and whether it expresses your sense of style. Fortunately, most piercings are interchangeable, meaning you can experiment with different pieces of jewellery until you find a look you are comfortable with. Where to Start When Picking Jewellery Where to start with picking jewellery for your piercing depends on whether it’s a new or existing piercing. You should never remove jewelry from a piercing before it’s healed completely. It’s best to follow piercing aftercare best practices and leave the first piece of jewellery in your piercing for the full healing period indicated by your piercer following the piercing procedure. If you aren’t comfortable removing your jewelry after the piercing has healed, don’t hesitate to consult your piercer for help or advice. We recommend you learn about health concerns involved in getting a piercing and strongly recommend following your piercer’s advice regarding aftercare and how long the piercing needs to heal. If your piercing is completely healed you can swap out jewellery at will. If you have a piercing which is still healing, leave it alone for as long as your piercer told you to. Once it’s healed you can begin experimenting with jewellery, but if you bother it sooner it may result in an adverse reaction. Decide On What Jewellery You Want Although you may need help replacing the jewellery, the kind & style of jewellery you wear is completely up to you. Do a bit of research about the different jewellery styles available for your piercing online. Browsing piercing Pinterest boards or Instagram feeds is a great place to look for visual inspiration before choosing jewellery for your piercing. Learn the Language Familiarize yourself with the terminology of piercing and piercing jewellery. Understanding the language will help you articulate your thoughts and help you find what you need. You’ll be more confident and comfortable making your buying decision. Spend some time learning to recognize the basic types of jewellery. Can you identify the difference between captive bead rings, plugs, and barbells? If not, review the most popular types of piercing jewellery for each type of piercing. Choose The Right Jewellery For You The majority of jewellery which is commercially available can be used with most piercings, however, it’s best to use a piece of jewelry for the piercing it is intended for. For dermal piercings, the base is permanently embedded inside the body, but the tops are interchangeable with any other 14 gauge, internally-threaded jewelry. You can choose any jewellery for your piercing, provided it’s compatible with the piercing. Some jewellery is only compatible with a respective piercing, usually due to its size or shape. That means knowing your jewellery size when you buy jewellery online or in person. It’s highly unlikely you will return home with the right-sized jewellery if you don’t know the exact size you are currently wearing. You wouldn’t go shopping for shoes without knowing your shoe size off hand, so don’t go jewellery shopping without your jewellery size. Double check your size before you make your purchase to be sure you buy the right size. For Complex Jewellery, Wait Till You’ve Healed If you are buying jewellery for a fresh piercing which you just got or are about to get, go with something simple. A stud or barbell will do to start, and you can always replaced it with something more intricate later. Limiting yourself to simple jewelry still leaves you with plenty of options which won’t negatively impact healing. You’ll likely be able to find the right adornment for you without sacrificing the quality of healing. You can always change the jewelry after it has healed. Determining Your Jewelry Size Jewelry sizes are generally broken down into two dimensions - gauge and diameter. Gauge measures the whole circumference of the piece of jewelry which is inserted through a piercing and the diameter refers to the distance between opposite points of the circumference. The simplest means of learning which jewellery size you need to find is to determine the size of the jewellery you already wear. Provided you’re piercing is healed, start by removing the piece of jewellery you want to replace and measure it. It’s best to use a precise measuring tool like a caliper but a regular ruler will suffice. Measure the length and width, and be sure to measure twice to ensure you have the right measurement. Write down your measurements and you’re ready to shop for jewellery. If you need a little help measuring, check out this guide. Picking A Material For Your Piercing Jewellery Material is a serious consideration when it comes to picking new piercing jewellery. Whether you’re deciding between a plain piece for routine daily wear or ornate jewellery for special occasions, the material your prospective piece of new jewellery is made of is an important. Many piercers recommend Titanium piercing jewellery because of its strength, aesthetic appearance, and hypoallergenic qualities. Titanium is preferred to other surgical steels because of its purity, quality, and resilience. The type of metal you choose for your piercing also depends on when you got the piercing. If you have a fresh-pierced piercing, you’re going to need Titanium so your body doesn’t react to the metal, reject it, and cause complications with the piercing. If you want a different material but it’s your first piece of piercing jewellery and you aren’t aware of any allergies, make sure to find out before buying any new jewelry. Nickel and cobalt are the most common metal allergies, so if it’s your first piercing make sure to steer clear of those materials. Silver, another popular jewelry metal, can cause argyria, a condition where the skin becomes discoloured. Sterilize Your Piercings Before Inserting Them Sterilize your new jewellery before inserting it. Sterilizing is especially important if you are picking jewellery for a freshly-done piercing. To sterilize, simply soak the new jewelry in rubbing alcohol to kill the bacteria. Sterilization is important because you don’t know where the jewellery has been and what kind of bacteria it has been exposed to before it gets to you. Remember, if you run into any complications with your new piercing jewellery or when changing the jewellery, contact your piercer. ]>>