Piercing refers to the art of puncturing the body with a needle in order to wear jewelry in the holes. The most popular sites for body piercing are the ears, the nose, tongue, eyebrows, nipples, navel, labia and penis. Piercing is usually carried out without anesthesia in beauty or tattoo parlors. The actual act of piercing does not take more than a few minutes and is done with a needle or a piercing gun. The actual piercing is done after the skin has been cleaned and disinfected.

Though piercing is gaining popularity, it carries with it its own sets of hazards, if not carried out in sterile conditions. Sometimes piercing also could also result in a badly formed earlobe as a result of weakening and tearing of the tissue, contact dermatitis, rupture of the urethra and an infection of the foreskin of the penis to name a few. To avoid falling prey to these infections is not to get pierced in the first place, and if one does, then to make sure that the person performing the piercing is doing it in sterile conditions and is trained professionally. Also make sure that the jewelry being used is of 14 or 18 carat gold, titanium, surgical steel or niobium as jewelry made of brass plate and nickel alloys can trigger a skin allergy.

Piercing is an age old custom -- the Egyptians and the Romans did it. In Rome, slaves who were gladiators very often had to have their genitals pierced so they would always have to get their masters consent before indulging in sex.The Aztec and the Maya tribes as well as some of the American Indian tribes also pierced their lips as a ritual. Mayans, being a warrior tribe, pierced their septum as well to intimidate their enemies.

During the dark ages the interest in piercing faded away to come back into full swing in England during the Elizabethan age where it was a great way for nobility to display their wealth and status by wearing an earring (a pearl drop or a stud).Women of that age too became more adventurous and the conservative form of dress gave way to dipping necklines as well as nipple piercing, which proved to be a great visual stimulus in the bedroom!

In the 1960s hippies who traveled back from India brought the custom of nose piercing to the west. This has diversified into many different types of body piercings in todays world.