Piercing is a minimally invasive medical procedure associated with damage to the integrity of soft tissue and cartilage. When conducting a piercing session, many factors are taken into account, since the risk of developing negative reactions from the body is high. In addition to health status, it is necessary to take into account the client’s age. At what age can you get a piercing? This is a pressing issue that worries modern teenagers and their parents. We invite you to consider in detail and find out the nuances.
Features of punctures in different parts of the body
Body modification through piercing is carried out through punctures of the skin and external organs. What is it for? Everyone chooses their own explanation for an action, but more often it is a way to emphasize individuality and uniqueness.
People who have jewelry on different parts of the body claim that it is aesthetically beautiful, helps them feel relaxed and understand their body better. 
Popular places for piercing:
- Lips. In demand among boys and girls. In many cases, “informals” decide to get a puncture. The lip can be pierced anywhere, the main thing is that the earring does not touch the teeth, otherwise regular friction will cause damage to the enamel and, as a result, caries. It looks beautiful, but during healing the owner has to endure serious pain, problems with diction, and restrictions on food intake.
- Navel. A popular place for underage girls who prefer to wear revealing clothes. The process of forming a hole is painful and the wound causes serious inconvenience and pain for the first week. During the recovery period, sports are not recommended, any physical activity, even a banal tilt of the body causes pain. During pregnancy, the earring is replaced with a suitable flexible product.
- Ears. The most popular place to decorate with earrings. Unlike other places, the procedure here is painless. The damage heals within a month. Today you can make punctures not only in the lobe, but also in the hard cartilage of the auricle.
- Eyebrow. A ring or barbell in the brow ridge causes mixed emotions among others. This area of the face contains a large number of nerve endings and blood vessels, which threatens serious bleeding and prolonged healing.
- Language. Fashionable, but dangerous trend for health. After visiting the master, severe swelling of the organ, disruption of taste buds, and inflammation are observed. Manipulations should be carried out by a professional piercer. If the arteries are damaged, severe bleeding and serious health problems can occur.
- Nose. More often the earring is inserted into the wing of the nose, less often the septum is pierced. When deciding on piercing, you should remember that this is a painful procedure that entails a number of unpleasant and uncomfortable sensations for 2-3 weeks or months.
- Nipples. A painful extreme method of body modification. Puncture of female nipples entails such an unpleasant complication as blockage, scarring of the milk duct and the impossibility of breastfeeding. How long does it take to heal? You will have to wait 2-3 months, during which you will regularly feel pain. The discomfort is noticeable even during sleep.
If the puncture is not treated in time and hygiene rules are violated, inflammation, blood poisoning and earring rejection may occur.
Piercing is a serious procedure. No matter where the hole is made, there will be pain and healing, and the wounds will need care. 
What age is it legal to get a piercing?
According to the law, body piercings are prohibited for people under 14 years of age. At this age, the master does piercing, but only with the written permission of the parents. After 18 years of age, a person has the right to make such decisions independently, and the salon will carry out the procedure if they have the appropriate documents - passport, international passport or driver's license.
Getting a piercing in adolescence can have a number of negative consequences. Girls who want to insert an earring into their navel must clearly understand that they are in an active growth phase, their skin is stretching and there is a high risk of deformation of the hole, displacement of the jewelry, and the appearance of scar tissue.
If parents give consent to piercing, they must accompany the child, be nearby at all times or write permission, in accordance with current legislation.
No salon with a good reputation will perform a piercing if it doubts that the child has reached the age of 18. To confirm their right to the procedure, a person is required to provide identification documents.
When you don't need permission from your parents
Parental consent or their personal presence is required for any type of piercing, including manipulation of the earlobe.
How long can you get a piercing without notifying your parents? As already mentioned, from the age of 18. No other cases are described in the law.
Many piercers working at home or in unsanitary conditions perform the procedure on young clients, guided by the law on the protection of public health, which states that from the age of 15 a person has the right to independently consent to medical interventions. This is a direct violation of the laws, since medicine and cosmetology are separate concepts according to the all-Russian classifier of types of economic activities. 
What responsibility does the master have?
If a specialist performs a procedure on a minor child without the written consent of parents or guardians, he or she will face a fine. The management of the salon is also financially liable for violation of the law.
If a child has been pierced, parents have the right to sue and seek punishment, especially when the piercing has caused serious damage to the health and appearance of the minor.
If you dream of getting a piercing, but your dad and mom won’t give permission, don’t go to unknown piercers who work at home or in small offices. This threatens blood poisoning, hepatitis, HIV, AIDS. Under no circumstances do the procedure yourself, as the body may give an ambiguous reaction, and the intervention will result in serious health problems. It is better to wait until the body reaches adulthood and maturity.
Piercing is no longer exotic. And if you decide that you need to subject yourself to this “test”, then it’s not a bad idea to learn as much as possible about this procedure. We present an interview with one Australian piercer (piercing specialist), whose work experience exceeds 15 years.
– Is piercing done only with disposable needles?
– Absolutely right, needles are no longer used after piercing.
– How many punctures can I get at one time?
– Sometimes they do 4 punctures at a time. More is possible, but this will be too much of a shock for the client’s body, which is why the healing of the punctures can occur much more slowly.
– Can skin sensitivity disappear at the puncture site?
– In most cases, on the contrary, people experience increased sensitivity of the skin at the puncture site. This is why piercing is done - to increase the sensitivity of certain parts of the body. Loss of skin sensitivity also occurs, but is extremely rare.
– Will the piercing ruin my skin?
– Piercings should be performed by a professional piercer who performs the procedure in a sterile room according to appropriate instructions. The piercer will give detailed recommendations for caring for the puncture site in the first days after the procedure. You can get the piercer's phone number and, if you have questions, call and find out what to do.
– The most common jewelry for piercings are titanium, niobium and surgical steel. You can also use gold, but not less than 585. Silver, brass, bronze, copper and gold-plated jewelry should be avoided. Saving in this case can lead to infections and unwanted reactions of the body in the form of skin irritation at the puncture site.
– What size should the decorations be?
– Different types of piercings require corresponding sizes of jewelry. The visible part of the decoration is not everything. Most of the decoration is under the skin. If the weight of the jewelry is chosen incorrectly, healing problems may occur.
– The use of modern materials for piercing reduces pain and healing time to a minimum.
– How long will it take to heal a puncture?
– Treatment time depends on the type of piercing, the individual characteristics of the person and the treatment performed. It is not recommended to touch the puncture site with dirty hands or expose it to water. It is necessary to protect the site of a fresh puncture from possible damage by clothing or other objects. Do not wash it with soap or other detergents. All this can significantly prolong the wound healing time.
– If you had a piercing done in a professional salon, then there is practically no chance of infection. In this case, all procedures are carried out under sterile conditions with sterile instruments. Then everything depends on you. There may be a reaction of the body to metal or detergents. If you have any problems, you should definitely contact your piercer.
– When will it be possible to change jewelry without fear of losing the puncture site?
– In the first days after the piercing, you should not touch the jewelry. This will help prevent infection and allow the skin to recover. After a certain time, decorations can be removed or changed. It should be remembered that if you do not wear jewelry for a long time, the puncture begins to decrease. If the piercing has decreased to such an extent that you cannot insert the jewelry yourself, contact a piercer for help.
– A professional piercer would never use a gun. The fact is that the design of jewelry is often not suitable for piercing in this way. In this case, the puncture made by the gun may cause swelling and difficulty in cleaning it. Some people find that being pierced with a gun is less painful than with a ring or needle. This is wrong. Puncture with a pistol is too rough. A professional piercer will do just fine without it.
– Will it be possible to swim in the pool and take a bath with a piercing?
– Can jewelry grow into the skin?
– Most often, jewelry grows in on the eyebrows and navel. To avoid this, you need to get your piercing done by a professional piercer. Be sure to follow all of his tips for caring for your piercing site and treating your skin. Try not to damage fresh punctures with clothing, belts or belts.
– Sometimes what you want to hang on yourself won’t actually look nice. The size of the jewelry should match the type of piercing and your body structure. Only in this case, the healing process of the puncture site will be quick and painless.
- Hurt. But just a couple of seconds. Piercing techniques are constantly being improved.
– Is it possible to numb the part of the body where the piercing will be performed?
- No. Firstly, only medical professionals can perform pain relief. And secondly, performing a puncture with a piercer is no more painful than administering anesthesia. Moreover, injections can deform the skin, as a result of which the piercing may not be performed accurately.
– Why should piercing be done by a professional piercer? Can't this be entrusted to any surgeon?
– The fact is that doctors have no idea about jewelry sizes. The success of piercing depends not only on the ability to make a puncture, but also on the selection of jewelry. It's not that simple.
Translation by Natalia Semenova
You can pierce any part of the body, the only question is desire and courage. What to pierce and in what quantity is a matter of taste, we will not touch on it. But let's talk about sterility, consequences, care and convenience.
It must be remembered that piercing is not a cosmetic procedure, but a surgical one. Therefore, it must be performed in a sterile office; the technician must have disposable gloves, needles and other consumables. In front of you, he should put the piercing jewelry in a disinfectant solution and ask about your reaction to anesthesia, blood clotting, etc. The technician will definitely tell you about the possible dangers of the puncture and how to properly care for it. Festering (abscess)- the process is natural, but usually it lasts several days. If you regularly wash the puncture site and do not disturb the jewelry, then there should be no problems with healing and the decay will soon pass. Allergy appears quite often on metals. Redness, rash, peeling, itching indicate that you should change your jewelry. Infection and blood poisoning (sepsis) occur when sterility is not maintained. Characterized by swelling, pain, and purulent discharge. If the condition does not improve 3 days after the piercing, you should contact your piercer or doctor. Keloids- tumors at the puncture site (see). Deterioration of vision. During the first few days, pus and lymph will be released from the puncture. You can’t pick out these cool dried things, no matter how much you want to. They should be removed with a cotton swab dipped in a disinfectant solution or make a cotton compress from the same. Under no circumstances should you touch the puncture with dirty hands. For the first couple of weeks after the piercing, you should avoid going to the sauna, swimming pool, or even just a hot bath. You should not swim in the sea, because salt water interferes with healing, and there is a high risk of getting an infection. You cannot remove or even just touch the jewelry until the puncture is completely healed. Forget about the fact that you need to “pull” it in the hole so that it does not overgrow - this was invented by little-informed women in hairdressing salons who make holes in their ears with a pistol. It is worth limiting (ideally eliminating) alcohol consumption in the first two weeks after the puncture. If you did drink the night before, wait for the puncture to fester in the morning. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), multivitamins and zinc-containing foods speed up the healing process in the first weeks. An important question is how to wash the puncture site. Many people use hydrogen peroxide and this is a big mistake. The fact is that peroxide is a drug for stopping blood, but not for sterilization. Alcohol, furatsilin, potassium permanganate, chamomile tincture and cologne are also not suitable. Therefore, to wash the puncture you should use chlorhexidine and miramistin. In addition, there are special piercing care products - H2Ocean, Dr. Piercer. The frequency of washing is every 3-4 hours. The duration of healing depends on the puncture site and the individual characteristics of the body. Usually, a navel piercing heals from 2 to 6 months, a tongue piercing - no more than two weeks; eyebrow, nose, ear piercing - about 10 days. Intimate piercings heal the fastest - from a week to ten days. But there are problems with planar piercings. Depending on the location of the puncture, it can take a very long time to heal and, as a result, not take root at all. Tunnels usually take 1 to several months to heal. A common but very stupid question. The painfulness of the procedure depends on the individual pain threshold of the person and the professionalism of the piercer. There have been many attempts to rate the pain of a piercing, and if you average these data, you get the following piercing pain ratings: Gold and silver, oddly enough, cannot be inserted into a fresh puncture. These materials oxidize and may cause an allergic reaction. The same goes for nickel, cobalt alloy and even surgical steel. The best jewelry for the healing period are earrings made of titanium and ceramics. Many mothers make a big mistake when they pierce their daughters' ears when they are babies or children. The fact is that the child grows and, oddly enough, the ears also grow, so the location of the hole may change. Sometimes girls as adults have to “redo” their childhood piercings because they are asymmetrical. Therefore, it is better to do punctures after 16 years of age, and it is even more reasonable to allow the child to decide this issue on his own. Despite the fact that it is widely said that piercing can only be done in specialized salons and studios, there are many brave souls who pierce themselves with a rusty needle in a dirty bathtub. After all, it’s cheap and not at all scary, and the friend who volunteered to do the puncture “has already done it a hundred times.” Getting a piercing done in a clinic or beauty salon is also not worth it. A nurse or hairdresser who has already pierced five hundred ears with the same gun, by definition, cannot do it efficiently. Contact only certified tattoo artists in tattoo and piercing studios.The most common problems that arise after a puncture are:
Piercing Care
How long does a puncture take to heal?
Does it hurt?
Piercing jewelry
When to pierce
Where to pierce
Contraindications
It is very important to immediately identify possible contraindications for piercing, as well as treat this procedure with a high degree of responsibility. In some cases, due to failure to comply with basic hygiene rules, people experience not only allergic reactions, but also serious illnesses.
The main restrictions on piercing
One of the most common restrictions for piercings is the presence of allergic reactions to metal. To quickly heal the puncture, you need to wear gold or silver jewelry for some time. Jewelry, as a rule, is contraindicated in this case. Ordinary metal jewelry can only be worn when the piercing is fully formed.
For diseases associated with blood clotting, piercing is contraindicated. The puncture can cause severe bleeding, which can be life-threatening.
If you have almost any skin disease, you should also avoid piercing. In this case we mean eczema, cystic acne, dermatitis and furunculosis. Punctures can cause painful ulcers and completely unsightly scars. Moreover, the irritations that appear on the affected areas of the skin do not heal for a long time.
Mental disorders, including epilepsy, as well as traumatic brain injuries are among the most serious contraindications to piercing. The fact is that in the presence of such disorders, the body reacts in a special way to pain, and a nervous breakdown may occur due to the perception of the puncture as a wound or injury.
When not to pierce
Women should be especially attentive to the piercing procedure. Punctures are not recommended during menstruation, premenstrual syndrome and in the presence of gynecological diseases. Otherwise, hormonal imbalance or exacerbation of existing diseases may occur.
Pregnancy and lactation are also “female contraindications” for piercing. The piercings have no effect on the milk or the fetus, but can cause stress that can cause serious complications.
Piercings should not be done if you have diabetes. Failure to comply with this restriction may even result in death.
Internal diseases as a limitation to piercing
Piercing cannot be done in the presence of almost any internal disease - renal failure, disruption of the digestive organs and cardiovascular system, ulcerative and oncological complications. If you do a piercing with a heart defect, then only in rare cases such an experiment will not lead to hospitalization.
When self-diagnosing your body to identify contraindications for piercing, first of all pay attention to the most serious restrictions, and then objectively assess the general state of your health. If you decide to pierce your tongue, then you should not even have caries or periodontal disease. If the piercing is on the genitals, there should be no internal or external diseases. It is not recommended to pierce any part even during a cold.
Keira Knightley got into the movie Love Actually not because of her looks or acting skills, but because of her pierced belly button. At the casting, the director of the film admitted to her that he needed a beauty with piercings, because the earring on her stomach looked very advantageous in combination with the wedding dress that the main character should wear. Therefore, if you have long dreamed of decorating your body with something like this, go for it. Look, the earring will bring good luck to you too.
You are deeply mistaken if you think that the tradition of piercing their bodies and faces was invented by representatives of modern informal movements - hippies, punks, goths and other strange personalities. In fact, from time immemorial, humanity has been fascinated by piercings. For many peoples, this was a way to emphasize a character trait, talk about an event, and appease the spirits. So in India, a girl getting ready to get married had her nose pierced on the eve of the grand event. The Mayans pierced the same part of the face with feathers, symbolizing health. Roman legionnaires, to emphasize their masculinity, inserted rings into their nipples. And in Ancient Egypt, earrings in the ears told others that in front of them was a person from high society.
The master's work is afraid
It doesn’t matter what place you decide to decorate with an earring - your ears, navel or nose, this should be done not in a beauty center or hairdresser, but in a specialized piercing or tattoo parlor. And not just any one, but one that opened at least two years ago. In this case, the chance of becoming a guinea pig for an insecure beginner is zero.
At gunpoint
If, in response to your question about what the master is going to do the puncture with, he points a special gun at you, run away from this salon. The fact is that this device was made for stores selling costume jewelry. Having such a “weapon” in his hands, every seller who has absolutely no understanding of anatomy can first sell and then quickly insert jewelry. At the same time, an incorrect puncture, for example in the tongue, can cause severe bleeding, which only doctors can stop. In addition, a needle carefully cuts through skin and flesh, whereas a gun roughly tears it apart. In addition, the “weapon” is completely uncontrollable: it makes a puncture, obeying not the human hand, but under the influence of a sharply firing spring. Therefore, even an experienced master will not be able to check whether the gun is pointing in the right direction. But the main disadvantage of this unit is that it cannot be cleaned 100%. The “gun” will break in the sterilization machine, and any other method does not guarantee that there are no microscopic drops of blood left on the gun from the previous client. As for piercing needles, they are disposable.
Steel is better than gold
Having sorted out the piercing parlor, choose the right earrings. You can immediately forget about the silver rings. This metal, coming into contact with physiological fluids - blood and lymph, turns black. And dark plaque is an excellent environment for bacteria to live and reproduce. Therefore, it is better to prefer gold to silver. But it has disadvantages: it is a heterogeneous material, containing simpler additives - zinc, copper, nickel, etc. Unfortunately, they negatively affect the wound healing process: they significantly prolong it. In order for a freshly pierced hole to stop bothering you as quickly as possible, you should insert jewelry with the highest possible standard into it - 750, 958, or better yet, 996 or 999.9. Although, if you decide to consult a professional, he will probably recommend jewelry made of medical steel or titanium - absolutely inert materials, wearing which will not cause any discomfort and will speed up the healing of the wound. By the way, if you have low immunity or poor blood clotting, it makes sense to give up beauty in favor of safety. For the first few weeks after the piercing, wear bioplastic earrings. They look unattractive - they resemble translucent plastic, but with such jewelry the piercing will definitely take root and will not cause complications.
Dangerous green stuff
After the master makes a puncture and inserts an earring into it, go to the pharmacy for chlorhexidine, miramistine or another antiseptic that does not contain alcohol. The latter, of course, protects the wound from germs and infections, but at the same time it rewards it with a chemical burn. This also applies to brilliant greens with iodine. By the way, in addition to injuring the skin, they also change the color of jewelry and cause oxidative processes. Hydrogen peroxide can only be used if the wound is bleeding. This is a serious chemical that can also cause microtrauma to the skin. For the first two weeks, do not forget to treat the puncture with an antiseptic and healing ointment 4 times a day.
It won't hurt
If fear of pain is holding you back from taking the last decisive step towards the piercing salon, feel free to sign up for the procedure: anesthesia is always at your service. Just keep in mind: freezing ointments and sprays will not help you in this case, because they only work on the top layer of skin. If you don't want to feel pain, you'll have to get an injection.
Inactive ears
There is an opinion that piercing ears is very dangerous. They say that there are more than two hundred active points on the sink, and if you hit one of them, things can end in disaster: your vision, hearing will suffer, and problems with some organs will begin. This is absolute nonsense. Indeed, in the ear area there are several important areas - nerve endings, which are not recommended to be pierced. However, they are not located on the earlobes, so it is quite difficult to hit them.
Usually the ears “come to their senses” two to three weeks after the piercing. The period largely depends on the form of decoration. Small, light rings that will not cling to clothes and pull off the earlobe are considered ideal.
The center of the world
When you decide to decorate your navel with a flirty earring, keep in mind that piercings in this area take a very long time to heal. Therefore, you need to take care of it for at least a month, even if you are not bothered by unpleasant sensations, the swelling and redness will subside. Otherwise, you risk complications in the form of inflammation and subsequent removal of the earring. And in general, the navel is a capricious place. If you fall into the hands of an incompetent master, all hell breaks loose. The fact is that for piercing in this area, the distance between the “entrance” and “exit” holes is extremely important: on average it should be 1.2 cm. If you make a larger gap, the earring will “sink” in the stomach and a specialist will have to get it out from there . A shorter period between punctures may result in the skin not being able to withstand the load, breaking, and the jewelry falling off.
An earring can also pierce the skin on your eyebrows: therefore, if you are going to get a piercing in this area, choose the lightest possible jewelry. Also, be prepared for the fact that if you injure the puncture while washing your face or when you begin to pull your T-shirt over your head, a bruise will appear on your eyebrow, similar to a bruise.
Nose ring
If the fame of Tutta Larsen and Christina Aguilera haunts you and you have long dreamed of a nose ring, there is no reason not to decorate yourself with one. Firstly, this area is no more difficult to pierce than the ear. Secondly, the mucous membranes heal quickly - in about a week. Nose piercing has one contraindication - a developing runny nose: constant blowing of the nose will irritate the wound, and a viral infection can cause inflammation. Lips and tongue, by the way, are also mucous, which means that the puncture will stop bothering you after 7 days. True, if you don’t forget to rinse your mouth with antiseptics after every meal. Otherwise, food particles will get into the wound and start the process of rotting. It will all smell terrible and look no better. By the way, after having your tongue pierced, in the first three days you will have to give up hot and solid foods: you can only eat liquid and cold foods.
The intimate area is also mucous. Therefore, intimate piercing is one of the simplest punctures. If you don't wear tight synthetic underwear and have rough sex, you'll forget about the earring in a week.
Chest forward!
When the paparazzi photographed Rihanna in a translucent dress, the whole world learned that the singer had pierced nipples. But piercing in the chest area is the most painful and takes the longest to heal. Full recovery takes at least three weeks, provided that the piercing lover does not wear tight clothes and walks around naked at home to provide oxygen access to the wound and protect it from friction.
Expert opinion
Dmitry Karpova, tattoo and piercing artist at Dragon Tattoo salon:
Piercing has few contraindications - problems with blood clotting and skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis) in moments of exacerbation. Also, you should not pierce anything when the body is recovering from surgery or illness. In the first few weeks after visiting the piercing salon, it is not recommended to visit the bathhouse or lie in a bath of hot water for a long time. If you steam the puncture site, the healing process will be delayed. For the same reason, you should postpone going to the pool. And, of course, if you don’t want to get an infection into the wound, forget about swimming in fresh water. But sea water, on the contrary, is useful, but only if it is clean.
