There are some brave souls who flit through life making bold choices—like getting pierced—on a whim. They wake up one morning, decide that they’re going to get a septum piercing, for example, and bam! they’re walking around with a circular barbell in their nose a few hours later.
If you felt your stomach turn reading the above paragraph, then this article is for you. You’re one who browses thousands of photos featuring the piercing you’re considering; researches healing times, long term effects, and piercing trends for hours on end; and asks everyone who will listen whether they think a certain piercing will suit your face.
While research and consideration are important, if you’re always afraid to pull the trigger on a new piercing, you’ll never get to enjoy one. To help save you from a pit of indecision, here are some ways you can know if a certain piercing is right for you.
Use non-toxic markers to mark where you want to get pierced
Getting pierced is a little like cutting bangs for the first time; you’ll never know exactly how it will look until you actually get it done. However—just like draping the front ends of your hair over your forehead to create pseudo bangs—you can still get an idea.
Mark the area where you want to get pierced and see how you like it. Try a few different spots. While you won’t have a choice in placement with some piercings, others are a little more flexible. Knowing the exact location that you want to get pierced will help both you and your piercer to precisely place the piercing when it comes time to get the piercing done.
Using a non-toxic marker or makeup to mark where you want to get pierced can help you visualize what the piercing might look like.
Some piercings, like the septum piercing, won’t benefit from this practice since it’s more difficult to mark. Instead, you can take an earring hoop or something else that resembles the type of jewelry that you will want to wear, and hold it up to the piercing location to see what it might look like.
This practice isn’t exact, but it allows you to visualize how the piercing will look, and it might help you if you’re trying to decide between a few different piercing choices.
Consider whether the body part getting pierced is something that you want to draw attention to
Remember that piercings draw attention to the areas where they appear, and they will change your style. Before you get a body part pierced, you need to decide whether or not it’s in an area you want to showcase.
This is a deeply personal decision, so take some time to think about it. The body piercing world is one that celebrates body positivity, and some people have found that decorating a hated body part with piercings has allowed them to grow to love that part of themselves. However, you also need to keep in mind that a piercing won’t change the way your body looks, only your perception of it. You need to do some soul searching to discover if a body piercing will help you to love that body part more or serve to make you more self-conscious since jewelry will draw more attention to that area.
Be honest with yourself about your aftercare commitment
Sometimes, the logistics of a piercing will make your decision for you. Some piercings can take up to a year to heal. During that time, you need to be cleaning your piercing every day and refraining from activities, such as swimming, that can harm your healing piercing. (Read more about piercing aftercare here.)
If there’s an activity, like swimming, that you can’t see yourself giving up for the next weeks or months while your piercing heals, then you shouldn’t get pierced.
If you can’t commit to the healing time frame, whether it’s because of your activities or because you know that you won’t be responsible enough to take care of your piercing for that long, then you shouldn’t get that piercing. Widdle down your piercing choices to those that have a healing period that you can commit to.
Talk to your piercer
You’ve tried to envision your piercing, you’ve decided that it’s in an area that you don’t mind drawing attention to, and you know that you can commit to the aftercare period. Still, you can’t fully decide on what piercing is right for you.
Talk to a piercer about it. They see many people every day, all of whom have unique anatomy. They’ll have a sense of how a piercing will look on you and whether it suits your body. Many piercers take pride in their ability to curate a look that complements your features.
Friends can be a good resource, but they might not always be honest with you because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. It’s a piercer’s job to ensure that you’re happy with your piercing, which can sometimes mean having real conversations about whether or not a certain piercing will look good on you.
For some, the decision to get a piercing is a no-brainer. For others, it’s a decision that could drive them crazy. Take some time to do the above, and you should hopefully be able to make a decision and have a great piercing in no time.
