As for the history of piercing, body piercing is an art that is not a new one. It has been going on for some 2000 years now, and has always been a very popular one among all types of body art.
Jewelry is a broad term that includes fashion jewelry, symbolic jewelry, and piercing jewelry. To get a fast overview of the types of jewelry, here is a little information on them. Fashion jewelry is the type that we wear for the sole purpose of looking good, like bracelets, pendants, and anklets and such. Symbolic jewelry such as the 'mangalsutra' which is a long necklace made of black beads or 'nowa' which is a bangle made from the mixture of any three metals - preferably gold, silver and copper, or mangtika' which is an ornament for the forehead, worn by Indian women throughout the country which especially symbolize their marital status. These jewelry pieces either are worn for the fun of it, or for the deeper reason which they stand for.
Geography means the locations of piercing on the body and wear body piercing jewelry. The most common piercing done is on the ears. In some countries, where wearing jewelry is almost compulsory for especially girls, infant or toddlers of the feminine gender have to get their ears pierced. This is especially done so that it pains less, for when they grow up the cartilage of the ears get thicker and thus it becomes tougher to get the ears pierced. In Muslim countries, the nose stud is the symbol of femininity and marriage, so girls are most commonly got their noses pierced within the first few years of their life.
Jewelry is a broad term that includes fashion jewelry, symbolic jewelry, and piercing jewelry. To get a fast overview of the types of jewelry, here is a little information on them. Fashion jewelry is the type that we wear for the sole purpose of looking good, like bracelets, pendants, and anklets and such. Symbolic jewelry such as the 'mangalsutra' which is a long necklace made of black beads or 'nowa' which is a bangle made from the mixture of any three metals - preferably gold, silver and copper, or mangtika' which is an ornament for the forehead, worn by Indian women throughout the country which especially symbolize their marital status. These jewelry pieces either are worn for the fun of it, or for the deeper reason which they stand for.
Geography means the locations of piercing on the body and wear body piercing jewelry. The most common piercing done is on the ears. In some countries, where wearing jewelry is almost compulsory for especially girls, infant or toddlers of the feminine gender have to get their ears pierced. This is especially done so that it pains less, for when they grow up the cartilage of the ears get thicker and thus it becomes tougher to get the ears pierced. In Muslim countries, the nose stud is the symbol of femininity and marriage, so girls are most commonly got their noses pierced within the first few years of their life.
In the Western countries, piercing the body is more of a fashion than a religious or social part of the life. The very common type of piercing - ear piercing - has more than five types in itself. The normal lobe piercing is what most of us have - boys and girls both. But other than that, various parts of the ear are pierced, like the inner cartilage at various points, the outer cartilage and also more than one piercing on the lobe.
There are at least eight types of piercing for in and around the lips. Some are on the lips, some above or below the lips, some on the chin, while one - known as the Medusa piercing - is right in the middle of the upper lip. There are other piercings like the corset piercing which is done on the back using steel rings. Nape piercing, Achilles piercing - done on the heels, witch's piercing - for those who have joined toes, nipple piercing, eye brow piercing, fore head piercing, belly button piercing, genital piercing, bicep piercing - these are some of the piercings that I have come across while studying about body piercing and piercing jewelry.Then come the types of jewelry that are usually available in the market, especially in wholesale body jewelry shops over internet. Piercing jewelry is not really exclusive, which means there some basic types which you can use for more than one piercing. A nose stud can be worn on the ears or as a lip or labret jewelry.
Similarly, the endless hoops, banana jewelry, horse shoe balls or cones, industrial barbells, or internally threaded rings - you can use them for more than one piercing. With the ear plugs, however, there is one use, and that is to adorn your ear lobes.
Getting a part of the body pierced is not really painful or risky, as long as you get it done from a professional who knows the job. So, in case you want to get a nice piercing done on your body, keep in mind to go to a good professional and also to take care of the piercing afterwards.