The Rise of Body Piercing and Ear Gauges
( By Tom E Lee )
Body piercing as well as ear gauging has become more popular for over a decade. For others it is an art like tattooing where the body is a canvas. Others say it's therapeutic and is also a fashion statement. There are people who have over 20 - 30 piercing. It was not acceptable about a hundred years ago but it is a way of expressing one's individuality. The more piercing you have, the more noticeable you are.
The ears are the most popular and accepted areas for piercing for both young and old. But younger generations are taking ear piercing to a new dimension through ear gauging. For those who do not know about it, gauging is making the hole bigger so one can put thicker gauges or body jewelry. Gauge is actually a size. The standard ear gauge size is 16 - 18. The sizes get bigger when the number is lowered.The biggest that one will be able to gauge his ear is 10. There aren't a lot of shops that will do 10 at first. Ask a professional first about tapering before going for larger sizes. This is a way to lessen the harm of stretching the gauges of one's ears. You can wear sizes of ear gauges from 10 - 0000 after that. Malls usually gauge up to 00 only so you may have to visit piercing shops or look for websites online to find the right size.
Ear gauges are not the only ones you can expand. Areas such as labrets or eyebrows can be gauged as well. If you will gauge in unusual areas, do not go for higher than 10. Ear gauging is widely accepted nowadays. Before doing this, be sure to take the right precautions and consult an experienced gauging professional first.