The first Friday the 13th of the decade is coming soon, which means many piercing and tattoo studios will be offering discounts for the occasion! If you’ve been wanting to participate, but are unsure about what piercing to get, or where, allow me to put you on to one of the most underrated of body modifications: the eyebrow.
I always see articles talking about ‘What to Expect When You Get Your Nipples Pierced’ or ‘So You’re Thinking About Getting Your Nose Pierced’— I even saw an article recently talking about caring for clit piercings — but I never see any love for eyebrow piercings in this day and age, which is a shame because I think eyebrow piercings are one of the coolest piercings to have!
Eyebrow piercings are surface piercings, which means that they are piercings found on flat parts of the body. Unlike standard piercings, like your everyday ear piercings that have an exit hole behind the entrance hole, surface piercings’ entrance and exit holes lie next to each other, which give it a double-pierced look against the skin. Other surface piercings include belly button piercings, Christina piercings, and the increasingly popular hip piercings, to name a few. Eyebrow piercings are typically vertical, but horizontal eyebrow piercings aren’t uncommon to see either (See Keke Palmer). Curved barbells and captive bead rings are the usual jewelry types to be worn in the eyebrow.
Eyebrow piercings were introduced as a fashion statement by the punk subculture and they were briefly popular in the 1990s amongst male heartthrobs with the insurgence of boybands. They’re used to identify somebody as courageous, strong, or worthy, as well as edgy, punk rock, or rebellious. It is considered a unisex piercing, which means that it’s popular with both men and women. Some notable celebrities who have or have had eyebrow piercings include Sisqo (singer of the “Thong Song”), actress Keke Palmer, Kirstin Maldonado of Pentatonix, and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.
I don’t know what prompted me to get an eyebrow piercing, myself — I’ve always considered myself a good girl and never the edgy-type to rock any sort of facial piercings; my Catholic parents would kill me — but I just saw myself in my face camera one day and thought I would look super cute with one and that it’d frame my face nicely. And boy, was I right! I got a vertical eyebrow piercing in my right eyebrow done on Friday the 13th, last September at Holy Grail Tattoos in Lakeland, Florida (Shoutout!). If you’re ever in Polk County itching for a new tattoo or piercing, I highly recommend them. Their place was as sterile as a hospital wing and they charge $13 for most basic piercings, including eyebrow, ears, nose, nipples, etc, every Friday the 13th, as long as you’re willing to wait in line.
But just because their piercings are cheap, don’t assume their work is shoddy and careless. I had only ever gotten my ears pierced with mall kiosk piercing guns (A HUGE no-no if you’re thinking about venturing into the piercing world, by the way!), so the thought of having my eyebrow pierced with a clamp and a needle was a whole different world to me, but my piercer, Tassili assured me that it would be a breeze and he stressed heavily the importance of aftercare. (If you can do it after sex, there’s no reason why it’s any less important after getting a piercing.)
Tassili was right about eyebrow piercings being a breeze — on a pain scale, eyebrow piercings fall a lot lower than other piercings. In my experience, getting my eyebrow pierced hurt way less than even getting my ears pierced; I honestly did not even notice that he had put the needle through! The healing process is only six to eight weeks and then you can switch out your jewelry. It’s common for bruises or even a black eye to form after getting an eyebrow piercing because of all the capillaries around the eyebrow area. Swelling, redness, warmth, and discharge around the piercing area and eyelid are all signs of infection but can be prevented by following aftercare instructions given to you by your piercer.
Employers probably won’t be a huge fan of the eyebrow piercing, but I love them because they are subtle. It doesn’t get in my way, as I assume tongue and lip piercings do, and hardly anybody even notices I have one in the first place because of my bangs. If chokers and Dunkaroos and Animaniacs and all of these other things from the ‘90s can make a comeback in the 2020s, I think eyebrow piercings deserve a second chance at life as well. Consider rocking the eyebrow piercing next time you’re sitting in a piercing chair! Don’t forget to check local tattoo shops on Friday, March 13th to see if they’re doing any special Friday the 13th discounts, but if you can’t wait until then, Holy Grail in Lakeland always offers 50% off piercings for students!