Jewelry
What material to wear in a healing piercing, how threading affects healing, and how to get gauge, length and diameter right the first time.
More piercings are ruined by jewelry than by bacteria. The metal sits inside an open wound for months, so three things matter before anything decorative: what it is made of, how it is assembled, and whether it fits.
The three questions
1. What is the material? Ask for the standard, not the adjective. “ASTM F136 titanium” is a specification; “surgical grade” is a marketing phrase with no meaning. See materials.
2. How does it assemble? Threadless or internally threaded gives you a smooth post through the channel. Externally threaded drags a screw thread through it. See threading.
3. Does it fit? The right material in the wrong length still causes bumps, and a long post left in after the swelling drops is one of the leading causes of irritation. See gauge and sizes.
What to avoid in a healing piercing
- Anything plated, including gold, rose gold and black coatings
- Sterling silver, which tarnishes on contact with tissue and can stain permanently
- Unspecified “surgical steel” and mystery metals
- Externally threaded posts
- Acrylic and plastic, which are porous and cannot be autoclaved
- Hoops before a piercing is fully healed
- Anything heavy or dangling while healing
After healing
Once a piercing is genuinely healed you have far more freedom, and this is the point of the whole exercise. Even then, anything you wear daily and sleep in is worth buying properly: healed piercings still react to nickel, plating still wears, and weight still stretches a channel over years.
Buying guides for each piercing are in production.
Jewelry guides
Frequently asked questions
What jewelry should I get pierced with?
Implant-grade titanium, specified as ASTM F136 or F67, or solid 14k or higher nickel-free gold. Threadless or internally threaded, so the post passing through the piercing is smooth.
Why does jewelry quality matter so much?
It sits inside an open wound for months. Plating wears through to base metal, unspecified surgical steel can release nickel, and externally threaded posts drag a screw thread through the healing channel.
Can I buy piercing jewelry online?
Yes, from sellers who name the actual standard and can produce mill certificates. Be wary of very cheap multipacks and anything described only as surgical grade or titanium-look.
Sources
- Association of Professional Piercers - Jewelry for initial piercingshttps://safepiercing.org/jewelry-for-initial-piercings/
- Association of Professional Piercers - Body Jewelry Verification Programhttps://safepiercing.org/body-jewelry-verification-program-2/
- Association of Professional Piercers - Mill certificate criteriahttps://safepiercing.org/mill-certificate-criteria/