B Piercing Glossary

Ball Closure Rings (BCRs) are also known as Captive Bead Rings.

Ball Closure Rings are used in body piercings and can be made of different materials, such as Surgical Steel, Blackline, Zircon Gold, Titanium, Gold, Silver and Acrylic.

The ball of a BCR is held in place by the tension of the ring; there is a dimple on either side of the ball for the ring to clip into.

To remove the ball you must push it out of the ring; it does not unscrew. To fit the ball back in, line one dimple on the ball up with one side of the ring. Hold the ring firmly and push so that the other dimple clips into place. If the ring is too tight to clip your ball into, Ring Opening Pliers can be used to make this process easier.

See our full BCR Ball Closure Ring range

Ball weights are part of the adult product range. Ball weights are designed to stretch the scrotum.

Ball weights are worn directly above the testicles and are manufactured in varying depths and internal diameters.

Ball weights have two main purposes; to stretch the scrotum and for pleasurable experience. Many people enjoy the feeling and the visual reward of ball weights, which is usually increased in weight over time.

See our full Ball Weight range

Jewellery balls are a type of accessory for all types of piercing jewellery, they come in all different shapes and can be used to replace missing balls or used to customise your body jewellery.

There are two types of jewellery balls; threaded and captive (or clip-in). Threaded balls are used on threaded stems, such as barbells, circular barbells and labret studs. Captive balls are used in Ball Closure Rings.

See our full Balls range

Bananabells are curved and in this form they are used mainly for navel and eyebrow piercings.

See our full Bannabells range

An extremely popular alternative to ball closure rings. A Bar Closure Ring is a solid steel insert which allows the jewellery to be turned fully, giving the illusion that the ring is plain.

Excellent for lip, nose piercings and also good for hanging charms.

See our full Bar Closure Rings range

Barb Wire Rings are a great addition to our range of surgical steel closure rings. In place of the standard clip-in ball is a steel barb, resembling that of a barbed wire fence.

They can be used for ear, eyebrow, lip, navel, nipple, nostril, penis and vagina piercings.

See our full Barb Wire Rings range

Barbells are straight pieces of jewellery with a threaded ball on either end. Along with Ball Closure Rings (BCRs), Barbells are the most versatile pieces of body jewellery in this industry.

See our full Barbells range

The belly button or navel is a piercing framing the rim of the navel. This can be done anywhere where there is a fold or lip, some placements however will be easier to heal than others.

This is the most common piercing after the ear piercing but it is surprisingly difficult to heal without good care.

The Belt Buckles are fashion accessories which are attached to your belt for aesthetic purposes.

See our full Belt Buckles range

Bioplast comes from bioplastics. Bioplastics are a form of plastics deriving from hemp oil, soy bean oil and corn starch rather than traditional plastics which are derived from petroleum.

According to the current state of knowledge Bioplast conforms to all world wide standards on use of body jewellery materials.

Bioplast jewellery is flexible, making it ideal for industrial and facial applications - allowing movement will minimise risk of injury to any piercing.

Bioplast jewellery is heat tolerant (suitable for autoclaving.) Bioplast jewellery can also be threaded by metal closures and cut to any length with a sharp blade.

Bioplast is independently judged to be biocompatible and benefits of use include minimised swelling, infections and faster healing times.

See our full Bioplast range

Since it's introduction to the medical device industry in the late 1980's, Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) has become widely used to deposit wear resistant, thin film coatings onto medical devices (including heart pacemakers, surgical instruments, and orthopaedic implants). The main value in PVD technology rests in the ability to modify the surface properties of a device without changing the underlying material's properties and biochemical functionality. We use this advanced technology as a surface enhancement on medical grade titanium jewellery.

The surface coating is tremendously adhesive to the substrate, is conformal and pinhole free, is an excellent permeation barrier, and is sterile on preparation.

The biocompatibility of a component is an absolute pre-requisite when applied in medical device situations. The base forumula for Blackline has been tested by an independent biological testing laboratory, and is certified biocompatible for external and internal medical devices that come into contact with bone, skin, tissue or blood.

The unique chemical formula and process methods for Blackline have been analysed by a series of noted technical institutions including the Technische Universitat in Braunschweig, the Bundesanstalt fur Materialforschung in Berlin, and the Fraunhoger Institut fur Schicht und Oberflachentechnik in Braunschweig, amongst others. Without exception, all noted scientific experts confirmed the appropriateness of the special formula and it's specific surface treatment for body piercing jewellery.

See our full Blackline range

Blackline Threaded and Clip-In Balls in all shapes, colours and sizes. Use Blackline Threaded Balls to replace missing threaded balls or to customise the appearance of your existing body jewellery. Clip-In (Captive) balls are designed to clip into your ball closure rings.

See our full Balls and Accessories range

Body Art is the aesthetic application of body modification

Most people use the term "body art" interchangeably with "body modification"... However, body art is generally considered to have a wider range including body painting and body decoration in general.

See more information on Body Art

This is the location on the body were the piercing is.

See more information on Body Piercing Location

Body Spiral jewellery is shaped in a spiral and is mainly used for navel and ear piercings.

The balls at the end can be removed, allowing you to add on many different accessories.

See our full BodySpirals range

This refers to a certain collection of steel adult products, which are worn on the body (such as collars, chains, bracelets and rings).

See our full Body wear (Steel) range

Boils are similar in appearance to abscesses, but are more likely to be found at the site of the entry or exit points of the piercing. They can occur anywhere and are highly unlikely to develop orally, but are commonly found on nostril and nipple piercings. They also tend to develop when a piercing has been snagged and torn the skin.

Bacteria, usually on the skin surface, get trapped inside the wound by skin tissue sealing it in. The trapped pus is often close to the surface of the skin and some people pop them as they would a spot. It is better, however, to treat them with a hot compress a couple of times a day. Allow the boil to bleed but make sure that you clean and dry the site so no further germs or bacteria can invade.

See more information on Boils

The Bra Strap is a fashion accessory which is attached to a bra and used instead of using the normal bra straps.

See our full Bra Straps range

Branding is a type of scarification done with a heated piece of metal, which is used to burn a symbol into the skin. The resulting scar will make the symbol permanent.

A brand is said to hurt less than expected, burning for a second until the nerves are burnt away. There is a long healing period, however, during which the brand can very sore, especially if its on a part of the body that flexes.

The Bridge piercing is the piercing through the bridge of the nose. This piercing goes through the fleshy part between the eye and above the nose. This piercing is best done with a straight, curved or staple barbell.

A Brooch piercing is a piercing through tissue above the nipple, usually on the upper chest; where brooches are traditionally worn by ladies (and men, to be fair) as an accessory.

See more information on Brooch

Buffalo (Horn) jewellery s carved from the buffalo's horn to make body jewellery in many different shapes and sizes.

Commonly used for flesh plugs, tunnels and spirals, many people with stretched piercings prefer this material as it is natural.

No animal life is taken to aquire this material and no suffering is involved in the acquisition of the by-product.

See our full Buffalo range

The bullet plugs are flesh plugs shaped like a bullet.

See our full Bullet Plugs range