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Body Piercing Jewelry Sizes
Body piercing jewelry is measured by gauge. Gauge measures the thickness of the metal, or it's diameter. The higher the number the thinner the metal or smaller the diameter of the body jewelry.
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Here is a chart for common gauges
used in body piercing jewelry:
20ga |
18ga |
16ga |
14ga |
12ga |
10ga |
8ga |
.032" |
.040" |
.051" |
.064" |
.081" |
.102" |
.128" |
0.81mm |
1.02mm |
1.29mm |
1.62mm |
2.05mm |
2.58mm |
3.26mm |
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Some people are surprised at the thickness of body jewelry suggested for some piercings. When body jewelry thinner than suggested is used, the body can mistake it for a foreign body (such as a sliver) and reject it, pushing the body jewelry to the surface of the skin and healing it out.
Also very thin gauges can be dangerous. If the body piercing jewelry gets tugged on, or accidentally caught on something, it can result in a nasty cut or even slice right through the skin.
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