Many women find that when visiting the doctor, she is advised to remove her belly piercing to prevent any problems or complications during pregnancy. The fact is that as long as your piercings remain comfortable and healthy, you can easily retain them during the childbearing year with flexible pregnancy belly bars. You can find more information about pregnancy belly rings on on our blog.

BioFlex Pregnancy Retainer

What belly jewellery can I wear during pregnancy?

Pregnancy belly bars are made from a biocompatible medical grade plastic that is already in use in the medical field for surgery and anatomy reconstruction. Medical grade plastic pregnancy belly jewellery is very flexible and adjusts with an expanding belly.

PTFE Flexible Pregnancy Belly Bar

When should I change my belly piercing during pregnancy?

You will reach a stage during pregnancy when your standard belly piercing jewellery becomes tight and uncomfortable to wear any longer. Most women will find this stage around about the 4th month of pregnancy, but this will vary from person to person. Belly button piercings during pregnancy can be taken out at this stage, but the great news is that you have a choice to keep your belly piercing in during pregnancy as your bump grows!

Pregnancy belly bars are the solution to all your worries, specifically designed to flex and bend with your pregnant belly and available in much longer lengths than the standard belly bar. (more…)

Pregnancy Belly Bars

A healing belly piercing, or even recently healed belly piercings can close up and heal over within several weeks if left without belly jewellery, so you may wish to consider a pregnancy belly ring to keep your belly piercing healthy.

Types of Pregnancy Belly Rings

Pregnancy belly jewellery can be just as stylish and dazzling as the rest of your belly jewellery, available with jewels, stars, hearts and even a range of hook belly bars that allow you to hang your own choice of charms.  (more…)

What is a Body Piercing Taper?

Body piercing tapers are also known as insertion pins, stretching tapers, piercing expanders, stretching nails and stretching needles. The reason for the name is the construction of the taper; usually a straight or slightly curved bar that tapers from one end to the other, allowing a body piercing to be enlarged smoothly and progressively. 

UV Body Piercing Taper

Advantages of a Piercing Taper 

The greatest advantage of a body piercing taper is the practical and functional use of the taper, both as a stretching tool and stretching jewellery! Once you have used the taper to stretch your body piercing, the taper can be left in your piercing for day-to-day wear. (more…)

Ring Opening Jewellery Pliers

Ring Opening Jewellery Pliers are used to gently disengage a captive (clip-in) ball or accessory from a ball closure ring, or similar piece of jewellery. Most people with piercings have experienced those tricky little segment rings, bar closure rings, ball closure rings… you name it, we’ve heard it! 

Ring Opening Pliers

To use ring opening jewellery piers, you simply squeeze gently on the handles of the pier, which in turn opens the ring slightly and enough to allow the captive ball to fall out. We highly recommend doing this over a towel or table where you won’t lose the removable accessory!  (more…)

Measuring Double Flared Flesh Plugs and Tunnels

‘Double flared’ flesh plugs and flesh tunnels (also known as saddle plugs) are always measured at the inner-section of the piece, in between the two flares. This corresponds to the section that sits inside the stretched piercing, with the flares on each end being slightly larger to keep the flesh plug or tunnel securely in place. The measurement is still referred to as the ‘outside diameter’ as it is corresponding to the outer diameter of the stem that sits inside your piercing.

Measuring Captive (Clip-In) Balls and Accessories

Clip-in balls and accessories have dimples on either end, which clip into the gap of ball closure rings.

Clip-in balls and accessories are measured in diameter, across the widest part of the piece, whether it is a spherical ball or a flat disc, or a star.

The size of the clip-in accessory will correspond to the gap in your ball closure ring. The size of your clip-in accessory must be the same as, or slightly larger than the gap in your ball closure ring, so that it ‘clips’ into the ring and is held securely by the tension of the ring.

Sometimes the use of ‘ring opening pliers’ will help to fit clip-in accessories if it is too fiddly!

Measuring Threaded Balls and Threaded Accessories

Threaded balls and accessories (charms) are measured in two places. The ‘gauge’ will be the size of the threaded hole in the ball, which fits the stem of your threaded body jewellery. For example, if you have a labret stud with a 1.6mm (14ga) gauge, you will need a threaded ball that also has a 1.6mm (14ga) gauge to be compatible with the stem of your labret stud.

The size of the threaded ball or accessory will be the measurement in diameter, across the widest part of the piece, whether it is a spherical ball or a flat disc, or a star.

Measuring Flesh Tunnels and Flesh Plugs

Stretching jewellery, stretching tools and other large-gauge accessories (including flesh tunnels, flesh plugs, top hats, flesh tubes, eyelets, crescents, claws, tapers, spirals and eardrops) are measured at the section which sits inside the stretched piercing. This is usually the widest part of the piece of jewellery, although ‘double flared’ jewellery is always measured at the inner-section of the piece, in between the two flares (explained below).

Flesh tunnels and other stretching jewellery is measured by the ‘outside diameter’ of the section that sits inside the piercing, often confused with the ‘internal diameter’. The ‘internal diameter’ is not the measurement taken for stretching jewellery because this would refer to the size of the inner ‘hole’ of a flesh tube or tunnel, which is not the correct measurement to take when fitting your piercing with the correct size.

Measuring Labret Studs

Labret Studs are measured in two places. The ‘gauge’ meaning the thickness of the bar, corresponds with the thickness of your piercing. The length of the labret stud is measured as the distance in between the ball and the flat plate.

Measuring Bananabells, Curved Barbells and Eyebrow Bars

The length of a bananabell is measured as the distance between the ball at either end. This relates to the distance between the holes in your piercing. The ‘gauge’ is the thickness of the bananabell, relating to the thickness of your piercing. Navel (belly) piercings are initially pierced at a standard 1.6mm (14ga) size but can also be stretched to larger gauges if you choose to do this.