Piercings are becoming more and more popular these days but many of you are looking for alternatives to real piercings. You might be scared of the commitment and pain of a real piercing or maybe your workplace doesn’t allow visible piercings. You might be too young to get piercings without permission from your parents. Or maybe you just want to see what you would look like with a particular piercing. In any case, there are many different options of faux (fake) piercing jewelry that you can try!
One method of faking a piercing is simple–a flexible metal ring with an opening that you can slip onto many different body parts including your nostril, earlobe, cartilage, septum, lip, belly button, nipple and more! These rings come in many colors and styles, some including two or three rings attached together and some even have a bead or a ball that slides around the ring, making it appear to be a BCR (bead captive ring). These are an easy way to create the look of a real piercing without the pain.
There are also magnetic faux piercing jewelry pieces. These usually appear to be studs and can be worn on the nostrils, earlobes, cartilage, lip, labret, tongue, Monroe area, belly button, among others. You will want to be careful using magnetic jewelry in and around your mouth and nose as you may accidentally inhale or swallow parts of the jewelry if you play with them.
Another method used to make faux piercings appear realistic is using a glue to adhere a gem or a ball directly to your skin. The safest type of glue to use is the glue made for applying false eyelashes which can be found at any drugstore or beauty store. You can purchase faux gems in any color from art and craft supply stores and it would be best to use ones that are flat on one side. You can also convert old stud earrings into faux piercings by clipping off the metal post with a pair of pliers and then sanding the rough end until it is smooth. You will be left with the gem/ball/bead from the old stud. Apply a small amount of the glue to the back of the gem or ball/bead and let it sit for about 30 seconds until the glue becomes tacky and then press firmly to your skin. Use a makeup remover to remove the jewelry. You should always test the glue on a small area of your skin to see if you have any allergies before applying any jewelry. You should NOT use superglue or nail glue on your skin as it can cause burns, permanent bonding and other irritation.
For those of you who already have pierced earlobes but want to achieve a new look, try Cheater Plugs, which are another type of Faux piercing. Although they do require an initial ear piercing, Cheater Plugs give the look of stretched ear holes without any of the commitment and pain of actually stretching your ears. These plugs come in many different styles including faux tapers, “o-ring” styles and saddle plug styles.
There are many options for altering your look without a lot of consequences. Have fun on the weekend and be back to normal by Monday!
