Hand piercings, finger piercings and hand web piercings

Hand piercings, finger piercings, and hand web piercings are very rare and quite extreme. In fact, if you’re thinking about getting one of these piercings, you really are one of the brave ones. Pain varies, and in fact, there is usually minimal pain associated with the piercing, but aftercare for these particular piercings is only for the strict of heart.

Your hands are two of the most active places on your body. They’re constantly on the go, full of germs, and highly sensitive (all those nerves that run through our hands help the brain process pain, pleasure, and temperature). A contemporary phenomenon is piercing the surfaces of the hands. I am not against these piercings at all, but more than most piercings, it is important that you understand the risks before committing to the piercing.

Hand piercings are superficial piercings, so they are susceptible to the usual suspects: migration and rejection. Your hands are packed with muscles, tendons, and nerves, so constantly moving your hands doesn’t exactly work in your favor. In general, the less disturbed the area of ​​the piercing is, the faster and more successful the healing will be. With hand piercings you won’t have the luxury of keeping a “protected” hand. You’ll be exposed to the elements, germs, daily stress, and abuse right away. For this reason, only get a hand piercing if you are willing to do the following.

First of all, you have to clean it religiously. Your piercer will recommend cleaning it somewhere around three times a day with a warm saline solution. Don’t skip this step! The saline solution helps keep the piercing site clean and free of buildup. You’ll have special instructions on what soap you can use, what moisturizer you can use, what liquids or gels you can’t get on your hands (Neosporin is always a no-no), ad infinitum. Smoking with a piercing in your hand is definitely discouraged, as the cigarette smoke that will inevitably travel will irritate the new piercing and prolong healing. You should also make sure that you keep the piercing site clean, not only from germs, but also from dirt, garbage, food, etc. Remember, you have a very delicate piercing that is being assaulted from all sides, so be careful!

Your lifestyle may also need to change during the healing period. In addition to not smoking, you should not wear gloves (they can rip your piercings off) or do any activity that could put your hands at risk. If your career relies heavily on the use of your hands, you may want to think about getting one of these piercings very carefully. Your daily life will be affected by this piercing for at least a year, which is the general healing time. If you’ve never gotten a body piercing before, this is probably not a good place to start!

Now that the risks are known and you still want to go ahead, here’s what to expect! For starters, don’t pierce yourself with a ring or earring. You’re begging to be taken away! Your hands touch too many everyday objects and a protruding ring will snag something and be gone before you know it. You and your piercer will decide whether Surface Bars or Curved Bars are best for your piercing location (which is largely determined by the shape of your hands, exact location, and lifestyle). It’s not uncommon to have to reattach it a couple of months after the piercing, as the swelling should have gone down enough to require new jewelry to be placed closer to the skin.

For hand piercings, the location can be almost anywhere. Surface bars will almost always be used, and the pain can be a bit intense. The risk of rejection is high as there is not much skin or tissue to penetrate, but with care, it can be a relatively long piercing.

Finger piercings usually don’t hurt as much as they seem, but they also carry a high risk of migration. Usually pierced at the base of the finger to look like a ring, surface bars or weights are used. The finger will swell after the piercing and is very prone to infection, but by following proper aftercare and being very careful, you may be able to make this piercing last a long time.

Hand piercings may be the most popular of the hand piercings: the web between each finger (especially between thumb and forefinger) is very thin and not difficult to pierce with a barbell. It is also prone to rejection and migration, and infection is a very real possibility. This piercing shouldn’t affect your mobility (none of these piercings should affect any of your body functions), but the webs of the hands are important points in acupuncture therapy, so if you talk to an acupuncturist, chances are they will don’t be interested in receiving one by drilling this area. There is no Western scientific evidence that piercing the membranes of your hands will harm you, but if you follow Eastern medicine and science, you may want to refrain from piercing your membranes.

All in all, hand piercings are pretty extreme. They require constant care, zealous protection, regular cleaning, and even then it is not a guarantee that these piercings will last. However, if you want to push the boundaries and your lifestyle allows it, you can try getting a hand piercing. For many people who have them successfully, it’s their favorite piercing!