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| July 19, 2007 |
Hi girls and boys again! It’s been quite a long since the last time we met and having overcome my eternal laziness I’ve written some pretty useful things about belly button rings and other interesting things! First of all – enormous thanks to the girls having contributed to the website with their belly piercing stories! Erin, Jean, Claudia and Chelsea are the last month’s piercing story authors and I think in their stories you’ll certainly find inspiration, advice and some fun as well! And once again – I really would like to see more and more stories coming in – if you have something to tell or some of your friends – take some 10 minutes of your time and drop in your unique piercing story for everyone to see! So – in this e-zine you’ll read the following things: 1) Belly Button Piercing Facts 2) Diamond or Cubic Zirconia: Knowing the Difference Can Save you Money! 3) Site updates 4) The latest belly ring styles
Belly Button Piercing FactsAuthor: S Bern
Body piercing is when a needle is put through part of the body and then a foreign object is inserted as jewellery. Eventually, the skin around the jewellery heals and a hole is left. The hole is the piercing. It is perfectly safe when done by professionals who are careful. DO NOT pierce your own belly button. The piercing needs to be done with a sterilized needle, gloves and other sterilized pieces of equipment. Belly button piercings may migrate within about five to ten years, and then they will fall out. Belly piercings take time to heal – approx 4 months to 1 year Belly piercing is a big decision. The following information will help you make a decision that’s best for you. Make sure you go to a reputable piercer and see your doctor if you have symptoms of an infection! Which piercing salon to use? You should ask friends and relatives with piercings where they went and if they liked the place. Is the salon clean and safe as this can help you keep healthy after getting your piercing, and prevent you from contracting diseases? Is it well lit so the piercer can see well while working? You should feel safe there. Do they wash their hands and use sterile gloves and instruments? All the instruments should either be brand new and disposable (meant to be thrown away after one use) or be sterilized in pouches. If disposable needles are used, you should see him/her open sealed packages of the needles! The piercer should throw away the needles in a bio-hazard container after using them. If disposable needles are not used the salon should have sterilization equipment on site, which you should ask to see. If they refuse to show you, go somewhere else. A piercing gun should not be used (except on ears) because it cannot be sterilized properly. If the salon uses a piercing “gun” to do body piercings…LEAVE!! Look for a salon that has a large choice of jewellery. The salon should not tell you what kind of jewellery to have. What kind of jewellery should you buy? Only jewellery made of a non-corrosive metal, such as: surgical stainless steel is safe when you first have your piercing done. It is least likely to produce a foreign body reaction or infection in the skin. Other choices for when you first have your piercing done are metals like solid gold (at least 18k), titanium, or niobium. All of these cost more than surgical steel. For people who are extremely sensitive to metal, Teflon or nylon piercings may be used. Gold plated jewellery should NOT be used. Regulations Since the law is different in each country, you will need to find out what the law in your country says about: • Minimum age for belly piercing • Whether or not you need parental permission to have a piercing • What qualifications and regulations the salon should have and should be displayed How is it done and does it hurt? Immediately before piercing, the piercer should wash and dry his or her hands and put on latex gloves. The gloves should be worn at all times during the procedure. If the piercer leaves the procedure and touches something or returns later and you haven’t seen everything he or she has done, ask them to put on new gloves. An experienced piercer uses a hollow needle to create a hole by passing the needle through the body part you want pierced. The body jewellery is then inserted through the hole. Sometimes there can be a small amount of bleeding. You should not take aspirin or any pain medication that contains aspirin the week before any piercing is done, since these medicines may cause you to bleed a little bit more than usual. As for the ‘pain’ issue. It’s going to vary from person to person as different people perceive pain in different ways. Everyone has a different tolerance level, so really you just have to experience it for yourself. The piercer should give you instructions about cleaning, maintenance, etc., if they don’t, ask questions (it’s your body, you deserve to know how to take care of it). What are the risks? The most common piercing problem is infection. Infection is quite common and is easily cured with the proper care and attention. Another risk with a piercing is that your body might reject it. If it does, this may cause swelling and pain. If your piercing is causing you a lot of pain or continually gets infected, you may want to remove your piercing and get it re-pierced once it has healed. Infections may be caused by hepatitis, HIV, tetanus, bacteria, and yeast. If the piercer washes their hands and uses gloves and sterile equipment and you take good care of your piercing, the risk of infection is lowered (but still exists). As with other piercings, the belly button piercing is going to be swollen, red, and have pus. It could be painful. If the piercing does not improve in the next couple of days pull out the piercing. Some bodies do not like piercing. It will not heal properly and it has nothing to do with the piercing itself or the piercer. It has to do with that particular person’s body. The belly button piercing can be rejected by the body. There is no real danger by the piercing itself, but it is important to take care of it. The dangers are once it is in. The reason is that it is on the front of the body with clothing constantly rubbing against the piercing. People have a tendency to touch the piercing and transfer germs from their fingers to the ring. Once it rotates into the piercing a few bellybuttons can get infected. Infections caused by bacteria getting into the puncture of the piercing may also happen later, even after the piercing has healed. Another cause of problems from piercings is the wrong kind of jewellery for the area pierced. If the jewellery is too small, it can actually cut off the blood supply to the tissue, causing swelling and pain. If the jewellery is either too thin or too heavy or if you are allergic to the metal, your body can sometimes reject the jewellery (your body reacts against the jewellery because it is a “foreign object”). How to take care of the piercing Clean the piercing at least twice a day until it has healed. This is done by; • Always washing your hands with soap and water (or antibacterial soap) before cleaning • Removing and crusty skin from the piercing and from the jewellery with warm water • Gently washing the piercing with a saline solution (sea salt mixed with water) or antibacterial soap • Gently rinsing the area to remove the solution or soap • Gently drying the area with a paper towel (do not use cloth towels as these may contain bacteria) • Do not over wash or scrub as this can irritate the piercing Check your jewellery while cleaning it to see if any parts have come loose Do not use alcohol or peroxide or any other strong solution as this will cause irritation and/or discolour the jewellery Do not let anyone tough the piercing until it is healed If you are not cleaning the piercing then do not touch it!! Avoid taking baths, take showers instead to avoid sitting in bacteria Do not use hot tubs, swimming pools, lakes, seas as these are breeding grounds for bacteria Always clean the piercing after exercise or playing sport as bacteria love damp moist spots Do not use antibacterial cream as these trap bacteria Always wear clean loose clothing while the piercing is healing to allow the air to circulate around the piercing. Clothing should be made of soft fabric and should not cling or rub the piercing. Avoid jeans, leotards, belts, body suits and tights until the piercing is healed Change your bed sheets once a week to help avoid infection Do NOT attempt to change the piercing during the healing process. When you get it pierced ask the piercer how long you need to wait before you can. Always look out for signs of infection; bad smell, discharge, redness, soreness, swelling, rash around the piercing. If you think you have an infection always go and see your doctor. Be careful with your piercing – it will take time to heal and for you to get used to it.
Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com About the Author: Visit Lady2b.com for a wide range of hair, fashion and jewellery accessories.
You know what is the most popular gemstone used in making belly button rings and not only? Yes – it’s cubic zirconia. It looks just like diamond and will cost you by far less. And doesn’t look worse than real diamonds! To find out a bit more about this gemstone read the next article:
Diamond or Cubic Zirconia: Knowing the Difference Can Save you Money!Author: Penny Best
Learn why cubic zirconia has been recognized as a beautiful synthetic gemstone that has quickly become a desirable substitute for diamond. Knowing the difference between diamond and cubic zirconia can help you make better purchasing decisions and in turn, save you time and money.
So what is the difference between diamond and cubic zirconia? Why is cubic zirconia (CZ) quickly becoming more popular as a desirable substitute for diamond? Gemologists can agree that CZ comes closer than any other gem material to matching the characteristics of a diamond.
Most people, even trained gemologists, cannot tell the difference between diamond and CZ, with the naked eye. Moreover, to the untrained eye, CZ looks identical to a good quality diamond. However, under closer inspection, CZ appears to have slightly less brilliance (or sparkle) than a diamond, and more fire, or flashes of color.
CZs were originally developed by the Russians, for their space program. They were developed as an alternative to diamonds that were used in the optics of their lasers. CZs have a refractive index, dispersion and hardness so close to a diamond it’s uncanny.
So what are some key features that can guide you in telling the difference between diamond and CZ? Do keep in mind, though, in order to accurately distinguish the two gems, gemological equipment such as microscope, or loupe, must be used for testing and verification.
To start, let’s take a look at the hardness factor: Did you know CZ ranges between 8.5 to 9.0 on the Mohs’ hardness scale, whereas diamond, one of the hardest materials known to man, is rated 10, lying at the top of the hardness scale?
Furthermore, glass (or sand) is rated approximately 5 to 6 on the hardness scale, therefore, dust and dirt will not scratch CZ. Indeed, CZ can scratch glass just like regular diamonds, making it more resistant to chipping. One great difference between diamond and CZ is weight. CZs are heavyweights in comparison to diamonds; a CZ will weigh approximately 1.75 times more than a diamond of equivalent size. So basically, a piece of CZ the same size as a one-carat diamond weighs about 1.75 carats. Well…isn’t that interesting?
Contemporary production of CZ is virtually flawless, whereas diamond usually contains impurities and inclusions, or have some sort of defect, be it a feather, included crystal, or perhaps a remnant of an original crystal face (e.g. trigons).
In regards to color—more precisely, the lack of color—only the rarest of diamonds are truly colorless, as most have a tinge of yellow or brown to some extent. By comparison, CZ in most cases can be made entirely colorless, equivalent to a perfect “D” on diamond’s color grading scale.
Also, under close inspection with a loupe, the facet shapes of some CZs appear different from diamonds. Both gems disperse light a little differently. Dispersion is just a scientific term for the breaking up of light into its spectral colors. With a dispersive power greater than diamond (0.060 vs. 0.044), the more prismatic fire of CZ can be seen by even an untrained eye.
Dispersion occurs based on the gem’s refractive index. In this case, refractive index simply indicates how much a beam of light will bend, based on the direction in which it is traveling when it passes between two materials of different optical densities (such as between diamond and air; or between CZ and air). Being that CZ has a refractive index of 2.176, compared to a diamond’s 2.417, diamonds are therefore said to be brighter than CZ.
Another difference between the two gems is that CZs are thermal insulators—meaning, they reduce the rate of heat transfer—whilst diamonds are among the most efficient thermal conductors—meaning, they allow heat to easily pass through them. Without testing the gems’ heat conductivity, it can be difficult to tell them apart.
Remember, it is a 50/50 guess to identify a gem by visual inspection; it is not a scientific method of authentication. That is why even certified and degreed gemologists use gemological equipment for testing and verification.
You will also be glad to know that CZs are not only durable and inexpensive, but just like diamonds, they come in any color of the rainbow, making them even more desirable.
There have been many instances to see if jewelers can tell the difference between diamond and cubic zirconia, just by examining the gems with the naked eye. Over and over again, it was inconclusive; jewelers could not tell the difference just by looking at the gems. So you can now understand why the difference between diamond and cubic zirconia rests in the price, and in the mind…
© 2007 PennyBest.com. All rights reserved. Reprinting or republishing of this article is permitted, provided the author’s information including copyright and live link is retained to accompany the article.
Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com About the Author: Penny Best Jewelry provides you with fine cubic zirconia jewelry and timeless designs, at an affordable price. The online store at http://www.pennybest.com offers you top quality cz jewelry including beautiful rings, earrings, stunning necklaces, dazzling bracelets, bridal sets, free shipping, free jewelry box and a 30-day money back guarantee.
Site updatesThis month I’ve worked hard and added quite a few pages to the Belly Button Rings Guide. This one is about hoop belly rings – they are similar to captive bead rings. However – they’re much better! Want to find a perfect gift? Read the following webpage and find out why belly button rings are the best gift you can give! 7 reasons why Belly Rings are great gift idea Not only you can buy belly rings – separate body jewelry replacement parts are at your disposal as well: Body jewelry replacement parts and belly ring replacement balls among them: Are you familiar with happy bunny? He’s one nasty fella! Your insight into the world of belly button rings will never be complete without seeing these: And now – get ready to see some of the new stuff you can buy for your navel!;-) The latest belly ring styles
So I must say you good buy this time – hope you found out something new and usefull and saw some belly ring that really caught your eye!:-)
Until next month, Roberts Kukurs 2006 – 2007 Belly Button Rings Guide |
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