Stainless steel barbell piercing (tongue·nipple·genital)

A stainless steel straight barbell, a straight bar with a bead screwed onto each end. It is worn most often in the tongue, and the same form is used in the penis and the nipples. With a barbell worn in the tongue, the beads touch a partner's skin directly during oral sex.

The first bar and the healed bar are different

The tongue is usually pierced with a 14 gauge needle. Right after the piercing it swells, so a long bar goes in, and the original text gives 7/8 inch. Once the swelling goes down and it heals, most people change to 5/8 inch. Keeping the first bar in leaves it too long, so it knocks against the teeth and catches while you eat.

What to keep to while it heals

Healing takes 4 to 6 weeks. During that time, rinse with salt water two or three times a day; the concentration the original text gives is 1/4 teaspoon of non iodized salt in a cup of warm water. Food debris has to be rinsed away after every meal, and you should eat soft food. Alcohol and tobacco are off limits for the whole period, and oral sex and French kissing have to wait until it has healed.

The tongue is not a place to pierce yourself

Lift the tongue and you can see the veins. If a vein runs across the spot you want, the piercing is simply not possible, and if the tongue is short or the membrane underneath it is long, there is no room for it either. That judgement is made by the piercer looking at it in person, which is why you cannot do it yourself. In Vietnam a tongue piercing costs somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 dong, and the jewelry is usually charged separately.

Before you use it

A tongue piercing puts a load on the teeth. A bead touching a tooth wears the enamel and can chip it, and it can make the gums recede. If your teeth are weak or you have gum problems, another site is the better choice. The tongue heals quickly, but in return the hole can close within a few hours if the jewelry is taken out, so leave it in if you mean to keep it. This product is jewelry, not a piercing tool, and the piercing itself has to be done at a professional studio.