Want to stand out in the crowd? Want to look different? It’s simple – Get a funky, odd piercing. By odd I don’t mean weird, instead opt for something crazy, something out of the ordinary. The bridge piercing or the ‘Erl’ piercing is the piercing done on the bridge of the nose. Erl van Aken was the first man to ever get one of these piercings. Ergo, the name – Erl. Piercings are a fashion statement for most people. Today, there isn’t a single part of the human body that is unexplored by people for funky, weird piercing spots.
What is a Bridge Piercing
Bridge Piercing
The traditional nose piercing has a new alternate – the bridge piercing. The area between the eyes, on the nose, is pierced with a barbell (a straight bar with two bells on either sides). A piercing on the bridge of your nose is generally very painful.
Things to keep in mind while getting a bridge piercing
Can you carry it off?
A lot of people do a lot of things due to peer pressure. Unsure of whether they actually want it or not. If you are not comfortable with something you wear (this is the case with everything) it looks out of place and you are constantly conscious of it. Think and re-think before getting a piercing that might change the way you look.
Will it look good?
Try out one of those stick on ‘bindis’ before actually getting your skin pierced. Play with Photoshop – see if you look good with the bridge piercing. Only once you are absolutely sure you want it, should you actually get it. The Erl piercing is ever so often not compatible with people’s faces. So must give it a last thought before actually going through the process of piercing.
Does your work place allow such thing?
Many of us are working professionals, whose work place demands a certain kind of dressing up. In such cases, if you are absolutely sure of the piercing you may remove the piercing every time you go for work and wear it back when you’re back. Thought his sometimes tends to become troublesome. Many businesses do not hire people who have visible piercings.
Is your body apt for the particular piercing?
In case of a bridge piercing or a belly button piercing it is very important to determine whether there is enough free, loose skin available to pierce or not. If there isn’t enough skin the piercing will shift, with time, and eventually the skin will break leaving a nasty scar. That is something you definitely do not want.
Healing
It is very important to keep in mind whether you have the time to let the bridge piercing heal or not. You cannot get the piercing done one day and decide to take it off for office the next day. You need to be able to give it ample time to heal and not fidget with it. If the piercing does not heal properly there are chances of it getting an infection which could be dangerous or could leave a scar on the face.
Facial scarring
Any piercing done on the face will have a scar when the jewellery is removed. The facial skin is very soft and moves with the piercing. This allows the piercing to take the shape of the thickness of the jewellery. This, when removed, will present itself as a tiny hole on the face, which may be hidden by a layer of makeup foundation or makeup primer.
Health issues and Myths about the Bridge Piercing
Bridge Piercing – Thing to Know
Surface piercing
The bridge piercing is a surface piercing. It means, it is done on the surface of the skin, unlike the ear, nose and lip piercings, where the piercing comes through the other side of the skin. In the case of surface piercing skin has to be pulled to pierce it. There are always more chances of rejection followed by migration in this type of piercing. There is the obvious fear of the skin getting an infection or rejection followed by migration. Some of the common surface piercings are belly button and eyebrow piercings. Even when the piercing is done by a very experienced piercer who knows how to pierce well and secure enough skin to hold the piercing, the body can still reject it.
In simple words the rejection happens due to the piercing. The body senses a foreign object and starts to reject it for some reason. There are many reasons for this – the body could be very sensitive, the piercing wasn’t done properly and infection. They could all be reasons for the rejection. The body starts fighting the foreign object and starts to push it away from the body, for its own safety, and starts to heal the skin behind it. It does it till the jewelry is out of the body completely.
Migration is the process of the pierced piece of jewelery being pushed. It slowly starts to move towards the surface of the skin. The process could take weeks or months. Eventually it pushes it enough to break through the skin leaving the skin behind torn with a big scar.
The rejection and migration can happen years after the piercing is done. There is nothing you can do about it once it actually starts to happen. It your piercing starts to migrate due to rejection the best thing to do is to take it off and let the pierced hole heal.
There are symptom that can tell when your bridge piercing is migrating:
- There is soreness and constant sensitivity
- The skin becomes so thin that the jewelery can be seen through the skin
- The jewelery hangs loosely on the skin due to the nearness to the surface
- The pierced hole becomes bugger
Re-Piercing
Once your piercing has migrated you need to give it time to heal. Once the piercing is healed there is always the option of re-piercing.
- If the piercing is done on the same area, try a different material like nylon, titanium, surgical steel or niobium.
- Instead of the small gauge opt for a bigger one (Gauge is the piercing needle).
- Instead of getting pierced in the same spot try another non-surface piercing spot.
- Make sure you get all your piercings done by a professional.
Bridge Piercing Jewelry
- Bridge piercings are most done with straight or curved barbells as these are surface piercings.
- Until the piercing is healed, the initial jewellery cannot be changed. Once the piercing is healed then any jewellery can be tried.
- Though, in a bridge piercing, due to the location a captive head ring cannot be worn. Instead a D shaped ring can be worn.
- There are variety of jewelries for bridge piercings. There is UV florescent, nylon, PTEE and others. Also a screw on heads come a variety of color and shapes.
Bridge Piercing Procedure
- You need to decide the part of your body that you want pierced. Be sure about it.
- Choose a piercing artist who you are sure about.
- Make an appointment. You should not rush it. Check up on him. Check out his precious work.
- Choose the piece of jewellery you would like to wear.
- Be prepared for the procedure. When you are not mentally prepared sometimes panic may make you nauseas.
- Determine the exact spot of the piercing. Make dots with makers.
- Brace yourself for some real action!!
Things to remember after Bridge Piercing
- It is very important to keep the pierced area clean.
- Do not use harsh products or makeup on the jewelery as there may be chances of an infection.
- Do not change the jewelery in the piercing before it has healed completely.
- DO NOT play or fiddle constantly with the piercing. This raises chances of rejection
- Keep these things in mind and you will have a distinct feature added to your profile – a facial piercing.
Bridge Piercing Positions and Sites:
Besides the area between the eyes, on the nose, Bridge piercing can also be done behind the neck, cheek bone, fingers and toes.
Bridge Piercing done on the Cheekbones
Bridge Piercing done on the Neck
Piercings have been in our society since ages. It is a part of many cultures and religions. Though, in the modern society it has taken the form of a fashion statement. If all the rules and guidelines are followed you can make your own fashion statement with your funky, beyond ordinary piercing.
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