Piece of art? Or purely horrendous?

NOTE: Some of you might find some of these images disturbing, if so, please feel free to either scroll down and read the text that follows, or to skip this post! :)












Body piercings have been a fashion trend for decades! From nose piercings to navel, eyebrow, lip, tongue, upper ear and upper lip piercings, body piercing is becoming increasingly fashionable!

As a person with nine piercings, three on one ear, two on the other, one on my upper ear, one on my nose, one on my eyebrow and one in my tongue, I don't know HOW some people find body piercings disgusting!

When I meet people for the first time, most of them eventually (if not immediately) comment on my facial piercings. Depending on where these people come from, the commonest remark i've heard so far is either "eeeeeeeeew, doesn't that hurt" or "wow, that looks really nice on you, maybe I should consider getting mine done!"

By now, I think you would've guessed that the first comment is mostly made by arabs, while the second is made by EVERYONE ELSE!

I understand why most Arabs find piercings unusual. Let's face it, how many of you have spotted ANYONE walking around with anything other than an ear piercing in Oman? I personally haven't seen more than FOUR!

Some people ask me why I got my piercings done in the first place . Some are convinced that i'm turning gothic, others are convinced that it's a matter of westernisation and t.v. influence. Some are even convinced that certain piercings have a sexual component accompanying them... hmm... I wonder which ones they're referring to :S

I have to admit that I'm obsessed with piercings. I think that they are beautiful. Maybe not all of them, but the commonest ones definitely grab my attention. I'm not denying their health risks or anything. In fact, I am fully aware of most if not all of them! For those of you who don't let me just summarize some of the main health risks accompanying body piercings:

~ Cartilage piercings (especially upper ear) tend to stretch with time. This is because the area surrounding the hole usually deteriorates! Some eyebrow piercings, if not handled with care, can actually cause the skin surrounding the hole to stretch so much, that eventually the whole bar falls through the huge gap created by the stretching! In this case, the person is left with a flap of skin dangling from their eyebrow or in less severe cases, a scar!

~ Needles used in piercings, if contaminated or re-used, can cause the transmission of a variety of diseases (such as HIV or Hepatitis C) and infection of the pierced region. Navel, or belly piercings, can actually cause the infection of major organs located in the stomach. Tongue infections can have devastating effects on the tongue. Along with the swelling and the severe pain, the tongue tends to look bruised.. not a pretty sight!

~ Piercing the WRONG area by damaging a nerve can also be risky.

~ Allergic reactions to the metal bars or studs used can also cause infection.

After mentioning all these health risks, I know what most of you are thinking; "If she knows all this how can she still find them appealing?" Well, the answer to that is with every step you take comes responsibility, and if you're not responsible enough to either take care of the area you've pierced or make sure that the needle used is new, sterilised and clean and that the person who's doing it for you isn't some freak that sits in little alleys and offers them for a fiver, then THIS IS WHAT YOU GET! If you KNOW that you're allergic to the metal bar/stud being used then ask for another one such as a titanium one! If you go to the right store and consult a qualified body-piercer, he will usually tell you wether or not you can get that area pierced by looking at it and checking for any complications such as nerves or veins or whatever that can be damaged!

People that have every single part of their body pierced can look intimidating and that's why I understand why most people find THAT ugly or unusual. I'm not saying that I would go that far and i'm not saying that I find THAT attractive (see picture one). In the same time, people can over do it sometimes! I mean, why would anyone want to pierce their own genitals for God's sake?The way I think of it is this, if you want to get something pierced, make sure you know what your doing and where you're doing it.

In conclusion, I would like to add that if you're still against body piercing or still think that they are ugly-looking then please feel free to elaborate :)