2022 Piercing Trends

Eyebrow, Bridge, Flat and Helix

Omicron variant increased the Covid-19 risk once again. After a brief break following vaccination, America is seeing more patients again. In the mask hell that might never end, tattoos, henna, and piercing are increasingly popular. We will introduce the basics of piercing and recent trends in a series of two articles.

The most common type of ear jewelry as we know of is a pair of earrings that you wear on the pierced ear lobe. Although earrings are the most common type of piercing, the modern practice of piercing refers to making a whole in any body part including ear lobes, ear cartilage, lips, nose, tongue, and belly buttons, in order to insert a ring, stud, or other piece of jewelry.

Piercing can be divided into various subsets based on the size of a hole, the shape of a jewelry piece, and the position of the hole. In most earrings, the gauge (or circumference) of the hole is around 0.8mm, and when a hole is bigger than 1.2mm, it is called a piercing. Commonly, a 1.2mm or 1.6mm thick needles are used to make a hole, and if you want a thicker piercing, you will use ear stretchers or simply insert a slightly bigger piercing repeatedly. Ear stretchers are piercings you can use to enlarge the gauge of the holes in your ear lobes.

Barbells have thicker, blunted ends on both sides so that you may not lose the pieces easily. That is a great selling point for people who are trying piercing for the first time. Straight barbells are made of a straight bar and two threaded beads placed at both ends, and you can replace a single bead with a new and different style for a refreshed look. Curved barbells have a curved bar like a banana and have a small and a large bead. They can be used for body piercings. There are circular barbells, often called horseshoe barbells for the sake of their shape. It looks more like a typical ring earring, so it might be more comfortable to wear.

Straight barbells ©etyso.com-outfer Jewelry

Circular barbells © ouferbodyjewelry.com

Flat back labrets are at a sight indifferent to straight barbells but have a flat end on one side that is great for headphone wearers. If you regularly use an earset, it is not convenient to wear straight barbells with large beads. There are also types with S-shaped bars, called twisters, with internally threaded rods, and with a captive bead that has two dimples for the insertion of a single bar, making a completely circular piercing.

labret piercings ©monica vinader

What are the piercing trends of today? Hottest piercings of today are eyebrow piercing, vertically placed on the eyebrow area, and bridge piercing, across the bridge of a nose. It is guessed that the reason behind their popularity is same with the maximal eyelashes and bold color eyeshadows due to mask requirements. They create a chic mood without looking excessive using small point items on the eyebrow or between the eyes. For bridge piercings, straight barbells are often used, and for eyebrow piercings, curved barbells.

Eyebrow piercing ©instagram @undergroundtattoos_enfield

Cartilage piercings are the classic and have been steadily popular over many decades. Especially, they look great on short hairdos or up-dos that reveal ears. You can arrange piercings in a preferable way and add or remove a piece or two at a time for varying looks. Depending on the material and position of piercings, you can create a totally different mood. Flat piercings that are placed on the flat area of the ear cartilage, typically with flat shaped studs, are especially popular. In addition, double helix piercings that places two perforations along the helix or upper ear cartilage of an ear are going viral on Instagram. Helix piercings take place in an area you touch often, so they often incur bleeding and irritation, but still, the attractive look makes it worthwhile for many.

Material choices are largely of personal preference among gold, pearl, silver, and so on, but recently surgical steel that is in medicinal use is becoming popular for people with allergies.

Although it requires a great care including preventing infection, still a lot of people opt for piercing because of the attractive look. Some people reportedly enjoy even the pain caused by piercing the body parts, leading some people to piercing addiction. From an elegant look to funky, piercings can create various moods and looks based on the materials used. Also, once inserted, you can wear them for an extended time requiring little maintenance. Especially, if you pierce the ear lobes, you can wear both earrings and piercings for a wide range of looks.

It is said that the Romans wore piercings as a sign of virility. Over the long history of humankind, piercings have become a fashion item. For everlasting mask wearing, it would be a good idea to prepare for people who would look for sparkling piercings for their summer vacation.