Piercing gauge sizes: what your piercer chooses and why

Gauge is one of those things nobody thinks about until their jewellery doesn't fit. You find a delicate gold hoop for your helix, the listing says "18g", your piercing is "16g", and suddenly you need to understand a numbering system that runs backwards, in a unit nobody uses for anything else.

This guide explains what gauge means, which sizes are usual for different placements, why your first post is longer than the final one, and what the downsize involves. It is written by Tom at Platinum Point in Parnell, Auckland.

What gauge means, and why the numbers run backwards

Gauge is the thickness (diameter) of the bar or post that sits inside the piercing. Not the decorative end, not the total length, not the size of the stone. It is the thickness of the bit that goes through.

Piercing uses the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system. Confusingly, a higher number means a thinner bar. A 20g bar is thinner than a 16g bar, and a 16g bar is thinner than a 14g bar. It is counterintuitive, but it is the standard piercers use everywhere.

Common gauge sizes and their metric equivalents:

When you buy jewellery online or in a shop, always check the gauge matches your piercing. A 16g piece will not go into an 18g piercing without stretching it, and forcing it through is how piercings get hurt. An 18g piece in a 16g piercing sits loose, moves around, and can irritate a piercing that is still healing.

Usual gauges by placement

These are the gauges most good piercers use for each placement. If you were pierced somewhere else at a different gauge, work with what you have: the gauge your piercing healed around is the gauge your jewellery needs to be.

Why your first post is longer than the final one

Every new piercing here is fitted with a post that is deliberately a little longer than the healed piece will be. If you have just been pierced and the bar sticks out more than you expected, that is on purpose.

Pierced tissue swells. That swelling is normal, and it makes the piercing deeper for a while. If the first post were cut to the healed length, the swelling could push the ends into the skin, and jewellery sinking into the skin is painful and hard to get out.

The longer post gives the swelling somewhere to go. The ends stay above the skin however much it swells.

We measure before choosing the starting length. The aim is the shortest post that safely allows for swelling, not a long one for the sake of it, because extra length means extra movement, and movement slows healing.

At about four weeks, once the early swelling has settled, the longer post is swapped for a shorter one that sits flush. That is the checkup, also called the downsize.

What the downsize is, and why it matters

The downsize is part of healing, not an optional extra, and it is not something to do yourself at home in the early weeks.

Once the swelling goes down, the longer post has a few millimetres of spare length. Every time you sleep on it, bump it or catch it, the bar rocks inside the piercing and disturbs the tissue that is trying to heal. That is a common reason cartilage piercings get irritated and take longer to settle.

The shorter post sits flush against the skin, moves very little, and lets the piercing get on with healing.

When to come in:

• Every placement: about four weeks after the piercing. Later is fine.
• Daith or septum ring: usually no downsize needed.

The checkup is free for everyone pierced here. If you were pierced somewhere else and need a downsize, it is a $30 look, plus the new post if you need one. Book your checkup or call 09 949 0940. Don't wait until something feels wrong.

Jewellery length: the other measurement that matters

Gauge is thickness. Length is how long the bar or post is, the part that runs through the piercing from one side to the other.

Lengths are measured in millimetres and vary from ear to ear. Flat-back labret posts (tragus, forward helix, conch and lobe) commonly run from 4mm to 10mm, with 6mm and 8mm the most common starting lengths. After the downsize, many lobes and forward helix piercings settle at 4mm or 5mm. Tragus and conch tend to need 5mm or 6mm.

For curved barbells and rings (daith, rook), the diameter of the curve matters as much as the length. The curve should follow the shape of the piercing rather than forcing the tissue into a different arc.

This is why buying piercing jewellery online is harder than it looks. A piece can be the right gauge and the wrong length: a post even 1mm too short can press into the skin, and one 2mm too long moves more than it should. If in doubt, bring the piece in before you put it in.

Threadless, internally threaded and externally threaded

Once you know the gauge, the next question is how the end attaches. Most fine piercing jewellery uses one of three systems:

• Threadless push-fit: a decorative end with a small bent pin that presses into a hollow post. Secure, with nothing to scrape on the way in. It is the system used for most BVLA ends, and what we use.
• Internally threaded: the post has a threaded socket inside and the end screws in. Fine for healing piercings because the thread is inside the post, not dragged through the piercing.
• Externally threaded: the thread is on the outside of the post. It passes through the piercing on the way in and can catch and scrape. Not recommended for healing piercings. Common in cheap fashion jewellery.

We use threadless implant-grade titanium or solid gold. If you have jewellery from elsewhere and want to know whether it suits your piercing, bring it in and ask.

Material matters as much as gauge

The right gauge is not enough on its own. For a healing or newly healed piercing, the material needs to be implant grade. The materials professional piercers work with:

• Implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136): light, doesn't react with the body, and can be anodised to colours without any coating. What we use for titanium piercings.
• Solid 14k or 18k gold: the benchmark for fine piercing jewellery. BVLA pieces are solid gold with hand-set genuine stones. We pierce straight into solid gold: you choose the piece first, we find the spot, and it goes in fresh.
• Implant-grade steel (ASTM F138): a little heavier than titanium. It contains some nickel, so not a good choice if you know you react to nickel.
• Implant-grade niobium: less common, but another option for people who react to other metals.

Avoid these in a healing piercing: "surgical steel" with no ASTM F138 certification (much of what is sold under that name is not implant grade), gold-filled, gold-plated, acrylic, unknown alloys from fashion shops, and anything without a clear material specification.

Buying jewellery in Auckland: what to know

For a fully healed piercing you have more choice, because a healed piercing is much less reactive. Even so, poor materials can cause trouble over time: discolouration, sensitivity, and metal breaking down where it touches skin.

Most jewellery sold in general retailers and accessory shops in Auckland is not implant grade and isn't made to go in a piercing.

BVLA (Body Vision Los Angeles) is solid 14k and 18k gold, handmade in Los Angeles, in a range of gauges and lengths. We also carry implant-grade titanium. Everything is fitted by Tom or Kat, not handed across a counter. To see the gold in person, book the Gold Viewing: free, 30 minutes at the tray, no needle.

Questions about gauge or fit?

If you are not sure what gauge your piercing is, or whether a piece you own suits it, come and see us at 389 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland. We can measure your jewellery, look at the piercing and tell you what will work. If we pierced you, that costs nothing. If you were pierced elsewhere, it is a $30 look, and it comes off if you then book a piercing.

Call 09 949 0940 or book a look.