Many people express their personality and individual sense of style through the way they dress or style their hair, or by choosing accessories that help them achieve a certain look. But while an outfit can easily be changed, and bags, scarves and shoes can be switched up each day, other types of accessories can be permanent — and they are appealing to more and more people today.
Getting a tattoo or a body piercing is something that anyone (of reasonable age) can experience today — people in much earlier times may have thought that only hard criminals or any man who wanted a tattoo could get one, but in these modern times, both men and women, young and old can have a tattoo or body piercing (or two, or more) hidden away beneath their clothes or displayed proudly in a visible part of their body for the world to see. If a person wants to get these modifications, they can do so freely — but it's best to keep in mind, however, that there are certain considerations that they ought to go through before they make their final decision.
Body piercing, in particular, is defined as the process of penetrating a person's skin or mucous membrane with a sharp instrument in order to be able to implant or attach a piece of jewellery or other foreign item onto or through the skin or membrane as a decorative accent.
Before you get a stud, ring, bar or other piece on your ears, tongue, eyebrows, face, navel or elsewhere in the body, it's best to run through these key considerations:
- In Australia, each state or territory will have different laws relating to body piercing. In some states, it is illegal to perform body piercing on someone under the age of 16 without written consent from a parent or guardian. In others, piercing any intimate body area is illegal with or without consent for people under 18 years of age.
- Body piercing is considered a high risk personal appearance service. Because the skin will be pierced and adorned with a piece of jewellery, poor sanitation practices (using contaminated equipment, performing the piercing in an unclean studio, following unsafe procedures, and failing to understand the infection risks) can put the recipient of the piercing at risk for blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and C and HIV, as well as bacterial infections, nerve damage and allergic reactions.
- If you decide to go ahead with the piercing, it's best to choose a piercing provider or shop that is registered with your local council. The shop operator must have a certificate of registration; the shop should be clean and hygienic; all needles, instruments and jewellery must be sterile at the time of use; the operator must not have any wounds or cuts that are exposed and his clothes must be clean; and the operator should be able to provide health information before the procedure begins.
- Think about how your lifestyle or routines will be affected by a new piercing. Are you all right with following a trend today that may no longer be fashionable several years down the line? Will you be able to stand the physical pain involved? Are you aware of how your family and friends may feel about the piercing? Will your choice of placement affect your employment opportunities? Have you checked with your dentist and doctor about how the piercing may affect your health down the line? It's best to be aware of the possible ramifications of your decision and to be prepared for your new life with a new piercing.