The Beauty of Facial Piercings

In todays generation, facial piercings are becoming a lot more acceptable, almost commonplace. 


Facial piercings began with ancient tribes as a rite of passage into the community. Women had their lips pierced before marriage to symbolize their status.  


Tribe members also pierced their cheeks and wore bars to connect the piercings! Nose piercings began about 4,000 years ago in the Middle East for pregnant women because it was thought to make childbirth easier. Crazy right?

A very common piercing now is the nose piercing. It is actually the most common piercing after the ear! 


A study was held by a group of sociology majors at Columbia University in 2001 that surveyed 100 New Yorkers looking for a job, 50 people with nostril/cartilage piercings and 50 people with eyebrow/tongue piercings. It was found that the 50 with nostril and cartilage piercings received jobs that those with eyebrow and tongue did not. 


"Many people with facial piercings are seen as 'rougher' or 'less educated' and these stereotypes are hurting many people looking for work," says professor F. Holloway from Columbia University. Hopefully this stereotype will fade with time.

Another interesting facial piercing is the eyebrow piercing. This is a surface piercing where the needle is inserted through the bottom of the eyebrow and exits through the top of the eyebrow. When piercing the eyebrow, the professional must be careful not to come to close to the supra-orbital nerve (directly above the eye). 

For lip piercings, there are many different areas that can be pierced and it normally takes about 1 to 3 months to heal. The Monroe piercings is a labret stud worn on the upper lip that got its name from Marilyn Monroe's famous mole. Medusa piercings go through the middle of the upper lip perpendicular to the tissue. Labret piercings are pierced with a labret and can pierced in the center of the lip or can be placed off-center. 




It is important to take good care of all piercings with the proper cleaning tools to avoid infections and make sure to get all piercings done by a professional and keep it classy! xox