Silicone jewelry?
«« Piercing through scar Importance of black outlines on tattoos? »»
Tuesday July 22nd, 2008 @ 7:49 PM
Filed under: Ear
So I recently discovered the wonderfullness that is silicone jewlery(kaos ear skins) and they’ve made my ears super happy and I swear some scar tissue even subsided.
So yay me for that.
But my question(s) is/are:
Are there any negative effects to long term wearing of silicone?
Does parybln(sp) coating matter?
And why exactly is silicone bad for stretching when its generally a body friendly material?
Because silicone is a very biocompatible material, there shouldn’t be any long-term effects of wearing silicone. However, keep in mind that silicone has caused some people problems even when worn in healed piercings. My personal theory is that it has little/nothing to do with a reaction to the material and is mostly a result of a physical problem…the “tackiness” of the material. (see below).
The parylene coating on the silicone can make a difference. I don’t know much about it from a biocompatibility point of view, but as I understand it, it reduces the “tackiness” of the material. From what I have seen, problems with silicone seem to occur where the skin sticks to the material, resulting in tears and/or ulcers of the tissue. So, if the parylene coating reduces the chance of the skin sticking to the jewelry, it could make a very important difference. Having said that, I’ve never had a problem with the non-parylene eyelets myself.
The problem with silicone and stretching really doesn’t have anything to do with the biocompatibility of the material. It has to do with, as I said, the potential for sticking. When stretching, the silicone is forced against the skin even more than when not used for stretching, increasing the likelihood of tearing or ulceration of the tissue. Add to this the fact that the material is soft, and can therefore “seal off” those tears or ulcers, and you have a recipe for very unhappy earlobes. Once sealed off, the lymph and blood that want to come out of the tears/ulcers can’t, making a bad situation even worse. If the length of the eyelet is very close to the width of the lobe, the eyelet doesn’t move side-to-side either, adding another complicating factor.
I personally really like the silicone eyelets. However, I think using them for stretching is asking for a world of trouble. Also, even when not stretching, you have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. If wearing them starts to make your ears sore, remove the jewelry. While silicone should work great for just about everyone, not everyone can where everything…it’s no different than other materials body jewelry is made from in that regard.
Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Leave a comment | Trackback
Rate This Post
5 Responses to “Silicone jewelry?”
I personally watched my friend stretch with them, have a major blow out and infection, and was forced to take them out. He had to literally peel and rip them out of his ears. There were bits of skin attached to it, and it made possibly the most horrendous sound I have ever heard. BME has made me fairly impartial to such things but that… that was just disgusting.
Silicone seems to be great for normal wear, but I would stay far far away from stretching with them.
sixums on July 22nd, 2008 at 10:32 pmAlso, remember that Kaos Softwear (the company who makes them) says specifically that they should not be used for stretching. It’s true that wasn’t their original suggestion, it’s what they have said for quite a while now. If you anyone chooses to stretch with them at this point…they really have only themselves to blame when bad things happen as a result.
Derek Lowe on July 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 amThanks for the response!
scenester_gates on July 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 pmI don’t plan on stretching with silicone since it just doesn’t have enough weight to them. But since every other material out there has its +/- I thought I’d ask. Again, thanks!
For what it’s worth I absolutely love my silicone plugs. I wear them daily and they are definitely more comfortable to sleep in than anything else.
PsychoPenguin on July 24th, 2008 at 1:28 amNever ever ever ever use silicone to strech. I learn that the hard way. Used to go to 1 inch and completely ruined my left ear.
kaynoh on October 19th, 2009 at 1:26 amLeave a Comment