There was a time when especially a man having an ear pierced brought forward terms of derision. Thankfully, we seem to have become much more tolerant of this practise in recent years.
Face piercing is a wide-ranging term which includes nose piercings, lip piercing, tongue piercing and eyebrow piercing, Face piercings have been widespread through out worldwide cultures and it is common amongst quite a few African tribes to pierce the lips of the bride to be just prior to the marriage ceremony. Nose piercings are thought to have originated from the Middle East around four thousand years ago. Tongue piercings were very common among the Mayans. Modern day face piercings are more like to be works of original art rather than stemming from some ancient tradition.
There are a great number of people with teh odd face piercing, and a good number with quite a few; there are a very small minority who choose to have a very large number of face piercings. This is quite unusual and tends to indicate a certain fanaticism perhaps. Of course, many people who are heavily into piercings also enjoy tattoos too.
This is not for everyone and it should be remembered that if you have a few piercings on your face and wish to remove them later in life, you are likely to be left with a few scars although too many piercings may mark the face heavily. Despite this, at least they can be easily removed, unlike a tattoo.
Although many people have their face pierced in order to improve their appearance, there are health risks that should be acknowledged.
It is crucial to only use new, sterilised needles for any piercings as old or unsterilized needles could be be contaminated with infected blood or may perhaps have body fluids from the last individual who used the needle.
It is possible to transmit viral infections such as AIDS or Herpes through a face piercing if the needle isn't correctly sterilized and new from the package.
Bacterial infections such as Streptococcus and Staphylococcus are also significant concerns.
Therefore, if you decide to have a face piercing, it is important to check the cleanliness of the environment where it will be done and you also may wish to consider that when or if you decide to remove the piercing permanently, it may leave you with a scar on your face.