Body piercing retainers are an important part of the body piercing experience because they can be used to keep the piercing open when it is not appropriate or feasible to wear jewelry. Body piercing retainers are made out of acrylic, so they are clear and hardly noticeable. They are perfect for use during x-rays or operations, or when you are in settings where body piercing is not appropriate or accepted such as an office or church. You might be thinking, “Why should I have to hide some aspect of my self.” Certainly this is not ideal, but if it will save time and prevent embarrassment and humiliation, body-piercing retainers are worth the investment.
Unique to the human species, body modification – the practice of altering some part of the body for religious, cultural, spiritual, ornamental, or sexual reasons – has been practiced in some form or another for as long as 30,000 years. For instance, Aboriginal Australians put incisions in the penis and elongated the labia. The pre-Egyptian Nubians elongated their skulls and made tattoos.
One form of body modification, ear piercing, has existed constantly since ancient times. However, from the 1920s until the 1960s, it became unpopular within the United States. In the 1960s, women began to embrace the practice again as well as men in the hippie and gay communities. The punk subculture also adopted the practice. Today ear piercing (single and multiple) of either or both ears is very common among Western women, and fairly common among men. This popularity has made it more acceptable.
In the modern Western world, people pierce many parts of their bodies including:
• Ears – The kinds of piercing for the ear include: anti-tragus, auricle, conch, daith, industrial, industrial (via rook), orbital, lobe, pinna, forward pinna, rook, scaffold, snug, tragus, transverse lobe, vertical tragus, and weaving.
• Oral – The kinds of piercing involving the mouth include: the cheek, lower lip, lower fraenum, Madonna, Medusa, superior fraenum, tongue, and labret.
• Surface – These piercings include the ankle, brooch, earl, eyebrow, nape, neck, third eye, and webbing.
• Genital (female) – The clitoris, hood, inner labia, outer labia, and triangle, are the piercings that involve the female genital area.
• Genital (Male) – The apadravya, dydoe, fraenulum, kuno, lorum, palang, Prince Albert, pubic, reverse PA, hafada are the piercings that involve the male genital area.
• Nasal – The nostril and septum are the areas of the nose that are pierced.
• Abdominal – Both the female and male nipples can be pierced.
As the list above indicates, depending on where the piercing is located, the public will never see it. But, what happens when you have an eyebrow piercing or auricle piercing in the ear and you work in a conservative office environment or attend church? These are not exactly the traditional lobe piercing that is so widely accepted in American culture. What if you must have an x-ray in a place where you have a piercing? You may be forced to take your jewelry out of your piercing, yet you will not want the hole or holes to close, especially if your jewelry must be removed for an extended period of time. In this case you may have to consider using piercing retainers.
Piercing retainers are used in place of your jewelry, but are discreet enough that they are barely noticeable. Because piercing retainers are made out of acrylic, they can be worn during x-rays and operations. These piercing retainers are also excellent for school, work, or other environments where your piercing may not be accepted.
Body piercing is becoming a more accepted form of body modification in our culture; yet, some forms of piercing are not widely accepted or cannot be worn in certain situations. This is when piercing retainers can be very helpful. They are small and clear, so they are barely noticeable. They will keep your piercing open; and they can be worn during certain medical procedures.