Alloy
A Mixture of various metals.

Bactine
After-care product used to heal piercings. Many piercers are choosing not to use this product for aftercare as it may cause adverse reactions.

Banana Bar
Another term for curved barbell.

Barbell
A type of Jewelry , usually metal, that is straight with a ball on each end.

Benzalkonium Chloride
Commonly used antiseptic with ear piercing.

Blowout
When a piercing is stretched before it is healed causing a build up of extra tissue around the back of the piercing.

Body Suspension
The act of hanging oneself in one of many positions by means of objects in the skin.

Brace Piercing
Piercing through a brace placed under the skin in order to reduce rejection.

Bridge
Horizontal piercing through the upper part of the nose between the eyes.

Caliper
A measurement tool used for the accurate measurement of jewelry.

Cannula
A narrow tube of plastic carried on a needle. When piercing, the cannula passes through the piercing with the needle and serves to keep the piercing open in order to insert the jewelry.

Captive Bead Rings("CBR")
A type of body jewelry ring where a bead is held in a section of the ring by the rings pressure. See side column, or our catalog for a picture.

Cartilage
Tough tissue which construct the nose and ears. Piercings here generally heal slower on account of the low blood supply.

Cheek
A piercing in your cheek.

Chloroxylenol
Popular antiseptic used in body piercing.

Christina
Female genital piercing of the mons pubis.

Chrome Crawford
A labret piercing at the side of the upper lip, much like Cindy Crawford's mole.

Chrondritis
The bacterial infection of cartilage.

Circular Barbells ("CRBB")
Basically, it is a barbell which is bent into the shape of a ring or circle.

Clamp
Surgical tool designer to 'clamp' or hold tissue during certain piercing procedures.

Clavical
A deep piercing that actually goes under the collar bone

Cleopatra
Another name for a reverse prince albert. A male piercing entering through the urethral meatus of the glans of the penis and exiting on the superior aspect of the penis at the coronal sulcus.

Clitoris
A piercing through the clitoris.

Clitorial Hood
A cover of skin overlying the clitoris on its superior aspect. Much less sensitive than the clitoris itself and commonly pierced without complications.

Conch
Piercing through the inner cartlidge of the ear.

Crusties
The term for the stuff that forms around a piercing during the healing process

Curved Barbells ("CVBB")
Not a straight barbell, but not extreme enough to be a circular barbell. A curved barbell is slightly curved. Also called a banana barbell.

Daith
Piercing through the piece of cartlidge that sticks out of your inner conch

Deep Chest
A deep, long piercing through the skin of the chest

Dental Acrylic
Very strong type of Acrylic used in dental applications. Here at Steel Skin we use dental acrylic for many of our products including plugs and logos.

Dermal Punch
Means of piercing by a tool that removes a round area of skin. Used in body piercing to instantly create larger piercings typically in the ear.

Earlobe
The soft lower part of the external ear containing no cartilage.

Externally Threaded Jewelry
Externally threaded jewelry is when the threading of the jewelry is located on the shaft as opposed to the ball or end piece. While external threading is common and generally cheaper, it is far less safe than internally threaded jewelry. External threading damages by cutting or scraping cells from the inside of a piercing when jewelry is passed through the piercing. This is particularly a problem in new or unhealed piercings.

Eyelet
A hollow cylinder that is used commonly in large gauge ear piercing.

Flesh Stapling
 

Flesh Tunnel
A large gauge jewelry that acts as a see through tunnel through the piercing

Foreskin
Male Genital piercing through the foreskin.

Fourchette
A fourchette is a labial piercing done at the rear rim of the vagina.

Frenum
Male genital piercing of the shaft. Frenum is the fold of skin supporting an organ.

Frowny
Opposite of the scrumper piercing. Through the lower lip webbing - the fold of skin in the midline between the inside of the lower lip and gum.

Gauge
Gauge refers to the thickness of the jewelry shaft. p>Glans Clitoris
The very sensitive small round visible part of the clitoris

Glans Penis
The round head at the end of the shaft of the penis

Glutaraldehyde
Disinfectant used in the cleaning of instruments prior to sterilization

Guich
Male genital piercing directly behind the scrotum on the perineum

Hafada
Piercings at the side of the scrotum

Hand Webbing
Piercing through the webbing in between your fingers

Helix
Piercing through the rim of cartlidge of your upper ear

Hood
Female genital piercing through the clitoral hood

Implants
The inserting of objects partially of fully under the skin for a more 3d effect

Industrial
The use of a long barbell to connect two or more piercings. Generally a set of piercings on the ear designed to hold a single piece of jewelry

Infibulation
Infibulation is the process of piercing of the male foreskin or female labia in order to prevent sexual intercourse. Jewelry connects the two sides of the piercing so that the glans penis cannot be exposed in males or the vagina penetrated in women.

Ink Rubbing
Scarrification with the addition of rubbing ink into the cuts to produce a pinch of color to the effect

Internally Threaded Jewelry
Internally threaded jewelry is when the threading of the Jewelry is on the ball or end piece as opposed to being on the shaft. Internally Threaded Jewelry is much safer because there are no threads on the shaft to scrape the flesh of the piercing.

Jungle
Piercing through a stretched septum that goes from the inside of the piercing and out the bottom of the septum

Kanji
The tattooing of Asian Letters and symbols

Karat
A measure of the proportion of gold in an alloy. Expressed as the number of parts of gold in 24 parts of the alloy. 18 Karat for example would be 18 parts of gold (of 24 totalparts) and 6 parts of other metals.

Keloid
A type of overgrown scar tissue occuring around piercing holes.

Labia
The plural of labium, meaning lip. The labia are often called the lips of the vagina. In the female genitalia there are the two round larger outer labia (labia majora) and two smaller inner labia (labia minora). The inner labia are most frequently pierced with rings.

Labrets ("LB")
A labret is a piercing below the lower lip. Labret studs, or 'Labrets' are like small barbells with a flat disc on one end.

Lidocaine
Powerful common anaesthetic

Madonna
A labret piercing at side of the upper lip. Also known as a chrome crawford.

Mastitis
INflammation of the breast usually caused by bacterial infection. Possible complication of nipple piercing.

Migration
The movement of piercing jewelry away from its original position, usually towards the surface of the skin.

Navel
The hole in the center of the abdomen.

Nickel
A silvery white metal used to strengthen steel and to prevent corrosion

Niobium
An elemental metal used to make colored body jewelry

Noble Metals
Metals which are non-reactive, inert or resistant to oxidation. Traditionally includes, gold, silver and copper.

Oral Piercing
Pertaining to the tongue, lip, labret, and cheek piercings.

Palang
Horizontal Male Genital Piercing through the glans penis. Also called ampallang .

Perineum
The area of the body between the genitalia and the anus

Peritonitis
Infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity.

Piercing Gun
A spring-loaded device that is used to fire jewelry through the skin, most often the ear lobe.

Piercing Needle
A hollow needle specifically designed to cut a round or oval hole through skin and flesh for the subsequent passage of jewelry.

Prepuce
The retractable skin folding over the glans penis or the clitoris. Also called the foreskin.

Prince Albert
A male piercing entering through the urethral meatus of the glans penis and exiting through the underneath of the penis at the coronal sulcus.

Queen Victoria
This is not a female piercing but an alternative name for the Reverse Prince Albert.

Retainer
An item of jewelry designed to keep a piercing open and/or to not attract attention.

Reverse Prince Albert
A male piercing entering through the urethral meatus of the glans of the penis and exiting on the superior aspect of the penis at the coronal sulcus.

Rook
A piercing of the anti-helix

Scrotal
The adjective applied to any piercing passing through the skin of the scrotum.

Scrotal Ladder
A series of aligned piercings forming a ladder like pattern on the scrotum.

Straight Barbells ("BB")
Quite simply a shaft with balls on each end.

Staphyloccus
The bacteria usually responsible for most infections of the skin including abscesses, boils and carbuncles.

Sterilizer
The technical term for autoclave. It is a a device for sterilizing surgical instruments at high temperature and high pressure.

Surgical Stainless Steel
The term "surgical stainless steel" refers to stainless steel that releases very little nickel into the body. ASTM 316LVM F138-97 Grade Implantation Steel is the only acceptable form to use in new piercings and is designed to comply with the European Nickel Directive.

Taper
An instrument used to enlarge the diameter of piercings. Usually consists of a stainless steel rod whose diameter gradually decreases along its length. Available in gauges, where the stated gauge represents the diameter of the thicker end.

Titanium
An elemental metal used for body jewelry much lighter than other metals used in body jewelry. with virtual nickle-free properties, titanium has less incidences of skin allergy than any other metal.

Tongue Rim
Piercings on the lateral assect of the tongue. Usually done with rings.

Tragus
The prominence of skin-covered cartilage forming the front wall of the ear canal.

Ultrasonic Cleaner
A device for cleaning surgical instruments and jewelry prior to sterilization.

Zircon
A mineral yielding brilliant clear gemstones called "cubic zircons" or "cubic zirconia". A cheap alternative to diamond.