The Achilles Piercing and Extreme Body Modification
The Achilles Piercing and Extreme Body Modification
Piercings have entered mainstream acceptability, and we love it! As piercings become more normalised, the piercing community grows, and more people can express themselves in this way. It’s fantastic to see!
Piercings that used to be considered more rebellious, like lip or septum piercings, are increasingly popular. This means that piercees who like to push the boundaries of the body piercing world are finding it more difficult to find piercings that are truly unique.
Some people seek out new and potentially dangerous piercing areas, like the Achilles piercing. Let’s examine the Achilles heel piercing, the modern world of piercings, and how piercings like this should be addressed in the piercing world.
What is the Achilles piercing?
The Achilles piercing, also referred to as the Achilles heel piercing and the Achilles tendon piercing, is a piercing that goes behind the Achilles tendon. Although it’s called a piercing, it’s classified as a type of serious body modification, and as such, most piercers will not do this type of piercing.
Healing can take years if it ever heals at all. And, the extensive healing period combined with the long piercing tunnel makes the wearer susceptible to a plethora of issues. On top of this, it’s such a rare piercing that we can’t fully know the potential side effects. We can only imagine that conducting such a deep piercing in an important area of the body could have huge repercussions. In fact, in our research on Achilles piercings, we only found one account of a man with a stretched Achilles piercing, and he noted numerous issues during the healing process.
All in all, the Achilles piercing is a form of body modification that should be avoided. A procedure such as this should only be conducted in an exceedingly sterile environment by someone with a strong knowledge of the human body, i.e. a doctor.
If we’re being realistic, no one with the proper qualifications to perform such a body modification would complete it. So, we should collectively cross the Achilles tendon piercing off the list of fashion choices.
Body modification and the future of the piercing world
Even though the Achilles piercing should go by the wayside, the sudden interest in such a piercing brings up questions about the future of the piercing world. Now that many piercing types are normalised, what new piercings and body modifications will people try to the detriment of their bodies?
There was a time when getting a nose piercing or multiple tattoos pushed the boundaries. Today, you have to do a lot more to be edgy. This has led to a rise in trends like tongue splitting, stretched lips, and other potentially dangerous modifications.
Extreme body mods aren’t the only new piercing trends that are potentially dangerous. Piercings like the snake eyes tongue piercing, smiley and frownie piercings, and the tongue web piercing are growing in popularity in spite of their potential dangers.
As a piercer, you need to ask yourself where your line is when it comes to individual expression and your client’s health.
The effects of social media
Social media has a role to play when it comes to piercing safety and the rise in potentially dangerous piercings. The Achilles piercing offers a great example. There are likely only a handful of people in the world who have one, yet it’s still a trending search. Piercings like this might not have entered most people’s minds, but because of social media, it’s garnered curiosity.
Social media goes beyond spreading the word about potentially dangerous piercings and body modifications. It’s also responsible for a lot of misinformation in the piercing world. Many influencers will take to social media and claim that their cartilage piercings healed in only a few weeks, that tea tree oil is suitable to use on piercings, and that keloids are the same as piercing bumps. All of this information can be harmful to new piercees who may believe these claims over the advice of their piercers.
As a piercing professional, you must be aware of new trends and misinformation so that you can be prepared to field any requests or questions. This will help keep the piercing world safe and dangerous side effects to a minimum.
How to address piercings and acupuncture
Piercers are responsible for ensuring their clients’ safety. To do so, they must not only conduct their piercings properly and teach good aftercare practices, but they must also decide their boundaries and which types of piercings they won’t do, even if they’re qualified to do so.
Not many piercers have the qualifications for extreme body modifications, like the Achilles piercing or tongue splitting. However, there are many other more standard piercing types that qualified piercers will not do. These include piercings like the snake eye tongue piercing, which is considered dangerous because it goes through two distinct muscle groups in the tongue.
Piercers who have decided to perform potentially dangerous piercings do so only when they believe that the client may seek out risky ways to get the piercing, such as by going to a non-reputable piercer or doing it themselves at home. In this case, the piercers feel a responsibility to ensure that the piercing is done as safely as possible. This is a perfectly fine approach for piercings like the cheek piercing, snake eyes tongue piercing, or smiley piercing that carry relatively minor risks.
But there’s always a line. In the case of extreme body modifications or piercings that are clearly dangerous, piercers have a responsibility to say no. Certain procedures cannot be done safely in a piercing studio and require plastic surgeons and other more qualified professionals to perform correctly.
Take some time to determine where your line is and which piercings you are comfortable performing. Once you’ve drawn your line, come up with some suitable piercing variations that you can offer to your clients instead. For example, if you have a customer who is dead set on getting a snake eyes tongue piercing, suggest that they try a double tongue piercing instead, which offers a similar aesthetic with far fewer risks.
The modern piercing world is filled with questionable piercings and body modifications. Although we are all about individual expression, piercers must have a line to ensure their client’s safety. The Achilles piercing and other such modifications, therefore, are a big no.
Publication date and/or Last Updated: June 21, 2024
Author: cesar@suprank.com
Views: 622
Copyright Holder: Acha Co., Ltd.
Company info: WholesaleBodyJewellery is owned and operated by Acha, a leading manufacturer and online supplier of piercing jewellery with more than 20 years in the industry.
