Before you even think about changing your new piercing ask yourself these questions
1 - has it been long enough to heal correctly?
2 - does it hurt to move the current jewellery around?
You must wait the minimum of healing time before changing your bar to avoid infections and any nasty reactions that may cause you to have to remove your piercing all together.
If your piercing hurts to touch the jewellery this is a sign of an infection and you can’t not change the jewellery while your skin is infected.
If its been enough time and you're all clear of pain then its time to get some new jewellery in that hole..
First thing you always do before changing jewellery is WASH YOUR HANDS! Get those germs off your fingers so they don’t transfer onto your newly cleaned new piece of jewellery.
Second, sterilise your new jewellery… But wait what if you have no idea what size to buy? Lets go back a few steps and talk about this confusing gauge sizing system and what sizes are right for your piercing..
The Nose Piercing - I have never seen a nose piercing that was not 1st pierced with an 18g nose stud, either pig tail screw or L shape nose ring at piercing time.
What size can you wear now? You can stick with 18g or you can go to a slimmer 20g or 22g nose stud or ring.
But please note if you are like me and your piercings close fast then once you go down to a smaller size you may not be able to go back up to the 18g without stretching or painfully inserting the bar.. So if you want the thicker look and heal fast, do not wear 20g or 22g nose jewellery, stick with the 18g pieces.
DO NOT CHANGE TO A RING UNTIL YOU ARE HEALED
The Septum Piercing - Most Septum Piercing's are pierced with a 14g needle unless you need a thinner needle for your nose size.
When Septum Piercings became popular they came in mostly 14g sizes but now that it has grown so big 16g is now available so you have the choice in sticking with 14g or going down to 16g which is a thinner bar.
Picking a design is going to be the hardest part of changing your septum piercing, which is why when you buy 1, you get another piece 40% OFF.. Check out just 4 of the many designs we have..
The Lip Piercing - Your piercer should ask you if you want 16g or a thicker 14g bar at time of piercing. If they did not or you just can’t remember (who is listening just before a needle is going to be shoved into your face) then stick with 16g jewellery. If you have a 14g then it will fit as 16g is a thinner bar than 14g.
If you have a 14g bar then stick with 14g jewellery unless you want a smaller bar look.
The Eyebrow Piercing - is very similar to the lip piercing, you should be asked about 14g or 16g at time of piercing but if you are unsure, stick with 16g jewellery when picking new pieces. It is always best to measure from the inside of your balls on either side to make sure you buy the correct length of your eyebrow piercing, normal size is from 10mm to 8mm in length and 16g bars.
The Belly Piercing - The one and only most popular body piercing in Australia, 14g bars are the correct size to buy when wanting to change the piercing but due to popular demand we now stock different length
No more dangle basic belly bars anymore (YAY) you can pick from the average 10mm or now smaller sizes of 8mm and 6mm bars for shorter belly piercings. You should have a swell bar in that is approx 11-12mm in length and when its healed you can pick most jewellery to show off your new belly piercing.
Avoid gold plated in the healing time and dangles as they can get caught and cause rips.
The Tongue Piercing - My Fav! I've had mine pierced twice. Again another 14g bar for this type of piercing is perfect but picking a length once healed can be like…WHA???
The swell bar you have in now should be approx 19mm to allow for that good old swollen tongue and funny voice that comes with this awesome piercing but once its healed and you can eat solid food again you can start adding some awesome looking bars into that hole..
16mm length is a good place to start in changing to new jewellery for the tongue, if that has a lot of room and you're annoyed with it hitting the roof of your mouth than a 14mm tongue bar can be the perfect fit.
Tongue bars come in a lot of length to suit everyone, from super thin tongues at 12mm to the average 14mm-16mm to a thicker tongue of 18-20mm length.
No matter what length bar you need for your tongue piercing, just make sure you show it off with some sick looking tongue jewellery.
The Nipple Piercing - This will depend on your nipple size hehe.. If you have a thinner nipple you may be forced to pierce with a 16g but the average of nipple piercings are pierced with 14g needles.
After healing you will want to change those plain basic bars for something a little more sexier but what length is going to be right? Nipple jewellery on average are from 12mm to 14mm, measuring your piercing is going to be the best way without buying both lengths, if you wear a size too small it may rub and cause an infection and we don’t want that at all.
Start with a 14mm bar if you are still unsure and you can always go smaller if you need too after you change your nipple piercings for the first time.
Ear Piercings - The Tragus is generally pierced with a 16g needles but a new style of 18g (which is smaller) can be now worn in most ear piercing holes.
Most placed unless you or the piercer think 18g is a better fit for your ear will use a 16g and almost all jewellery comes in a 16g or 18g size.
But body jewellery is such a wonderful thing that you can always go smaller and thinner in size if you want.
Change it up, change the balls, add dangles or keep it simple. This is what I love most about body jewellery its always changing, new styles and fashions coming and going.. Standing out from the crowd or keeping it simple with little bling pieces.
I LOVE BODY JEWELLERY!
I am not going to go into Plugs and Tunnels as this subject needs it’s own blog..
Did I not cover a question you have?
Need some more advice?
Comment below now and I'll get back to you and try and help as much as possible.
Thank you for reading,
xox
Laura #piercednproud