- News>
Craze for body piercing catches on
New Delhi, June 26: It began as a fad, but has fast turned into a fashion statement. Piercing the nose, ear lobes, lips, navel, eyebrow, tongue, infact all the places where it is possible...
New Delhi, June 26: It began as a fad, but has fast turned into a fashion statement. Piercing the nose, ear lobes, lips, navel, eyebrow, tongue, infact all the places where it is possible...
From being a part of ritual and tradition all over the world for centuries, body piercing is now increasingly becoming popular among urban youth, though less for spiritual and more for fashion reasons.
"Body piercing is hot and happening now-a-days with more and more youth getting various parts of their body pierced. Often, it's a statement of individuality and style but some portray it as a sign of rebellion too. For some it's nothing more than a desire to adorn various body parts with jewellery", says Dr Jay Shah, who is running a body piercing parlour in Mumbai.
"It's more about expressing oneself, part rebellion, part fashion, it can never really go out of style", Shah adds. To reap the benefits of the growing trend, jewellers across the country have readily jumped on to the bandwagon. They are not just offering traditional jewellery but also custom-made jewellery for body piercing.
"Apart from readymade jewellery in silver, gold and platinum, one can now even go for custom-made stuff like jewelled flower belly ring, glow UV cone belly ring and many such products", says Shah.
Piercing was first recorded in West Asia about 4,000 years ago. Even today, in many Indian states piercing as a family tradition is practised. "Piercing has got its roots in Indian culture. One of the most common form of piercing in India is that of the left side of the nose", says Shah. "According to Ayurveda, the left side of a female's nose is connected with reproductive organs, so piercing of the spot is supposed to make child birth easier", Shah explains.
Though a fad, piercing does come for a price and it ranges anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 4,000 per piercing. "The price of each piercing is dependent on the part you want to get pierced and how complicated the process involved is", says Shah.
However, these days piercing is getting bizarre and is driving those who hate it up the wall. "Ears with two, three, even five piercings are history... Studs in tongues and navels are also no big deal. These days, in Western countries the attention-grabbing look is tongue-splitting - cutting the tongue to make it forked", says Dimple, a mass media student, who has got 10 rings pierced in her ears.
About the pain involved in piercing, Dimple says, "to stand out in crowd one has to pay certain price and in this case pain is the price for that since body piercing is at times very painful. But isn't pain too a part of the fun".
While more and more youth are going for it, what is not being highlighted is the medical aspect of this strange fashion statement. Lately doctors have raised concern about the dangers of a simple prick of piercing needle. "The growing popularity of body piercing brings with it an increased risk of transmission of blood-related diseases like Hepatitis and HIV", says Dr Kuldeep Singh, a cosmetic and plastic surgeon here.
"A large number of piercing cases are going bad and they require medical intervention", says Singh. "Although the craze for piercing is catching up fast, the number of piercing parlours which have specialised instruments and hygienic conditions has not increased in the same proportion. Large number of people are getting it done from self-proclaimed piercing experts", says Shah.
With piercing becoming more and more popular it is always advisable to be aware of the method being used for piercing.
From being a part of ritual and tradition all over the world for centuries, body piercing is now increasingly becoming popular among urban youth, though less for spiritual and more for fashion reasons.
"Body piercing is hot and happening now-a-days with more and more youth getting various parts of their body pierced. Often, it's a statement of individuality and style but some portray it as a sign of rebellion too. For some it's nothing more than a desire to adorn various body parts with jewellery", says Dr Jay Shah, who is running a body piercing parlour in Mumbai.
"It's more about expressing oneself, part rebellion, part fashion, it can never really go out of style", Shah adds. To reap the benefits of the growing trend, jewellers across the country have readily jumped on to the bandwagon. They are not just offering traditional jewellery but also custom-made jewellery for body piercing.
"Apart from readymade jewellery in silver, gold and platinum, one can now even go for custom-made stuff like jewelled flower belly ring, glow UV cone belly ring and many such products", says Shah.
Piercing was first recorded in West Asia about 4,000 years ago. Even today, in many Indian states piercing as a family tradition is practised. "Piercing has got its roots in Indian culture. One of the most common form of piercing in India is that of the left side of the nose", says Shah. "According to Ayurveda, the left side of a female's nose is connected with reproductive organs, so piercing of the spot is supposed to make child birth easier", Shah explains.
Though a fad, piercing does come for a price and it ranges anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 4,000 per piercing. "The price of each piercing is dependent on the part you want to get pierced and how complicated the process involved is", says Shah.
However, these days piercing is getting bizarre and is driving those who hate it up the wall. "Ears with two, three, even five piercings are history... Studs in tongues and navels are also no big deal. These days, in Western countries the attention-grabbing look is tongue-splitting - cutting the tongue to make it forked", says Dimple, a mass media student, who has got 10 rings pierced in her ears.
About the pain involved in piercing, Dimple says, "to stand out in crowd one has to pay certain price and in this case pain is the price for that since body piercing is at times very painful. But isn't pain too a part of the fun".
While more and more youth are going for it, what is not being highlighted is the medical aspect of this strange fashion statement. Lately doctors have raised concern about the dangers of a simple prick of piercing needle. "The growing popularity of body piercing brings with it an increased risk of transmission of blood-related diseases like Hepatitis and HIV", says Dr Kuldeep Singh, a cosmetic and plastic surgeon here.
"A large number of piercing cases are going bad and they require medical intervention", says Singh. "Although the craze for piercing is catching up fast, the number of piercing parlours which have specialised instruments and hygienic conditions has not increased in the same proportion. Large number of people are getting it done from self-proclaimed piercing experts", says Shah.
With piercing becoming more and more popular it is always advisable to be aware of the method being used for piercing.
"Piercing of body can be dangerous if not done properly. One needle contaminated with Hepaititis can infect thousands of people. Use of unhygienic technique and needles for piercing can even lead to infections, bleeding and nerve damage", says Singh.
Also while going in for piercing one should know about his body. If a particular disinfectant irritates you, or you are allergic to certain metals, don`t get pierced, Singh advises.
Bureau Report