Celebrities are a major influence in most people’s lives. Whether it is fashion choices, lifestyle, makeup inspiration and everything else. At least once in everyone’s lives, they’ve been influenced. It doesn’t even have to be directly, trends are normally set by the people of a higher society.
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It even happened in the world of piercing. Back in the 70s it was more seen as something for the underground cultures of punk and queer spaces. But it started to take off in the 90s. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, The Spice Girls and many others helped contribute to the rise of the piercings. It became a staple of growing up in the 90s getting some form of piercing to fit in or more of a sign of rebellion.
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While ‘The Parent Trap’ was a brilliant movie starring Lindsay Lohan, it did lead to a lot of young people deciding that piercing their lobes with a ‘sterilised’ needle, ice and a slice of apple was a good idea. Lobe piercing are great fun but so much can go wrong. There’s a lot of bacteria in that scene that would have caused quite the infection, thankfully most people these days have the sense to go see a professional. But it became a staple for everyone, having lobe piercing meant you were now a very sophisticated teenager.
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Destiny’s Child was to blame for the navel piercing’s rise to fame. Beyonce had her midriff bedazzled and showed it off with the crop tops that have also made a comeback. Trends act like a boomerang, they will always come back eventually.
Even if it takes 30 odd years. Back then it was a lot easier to get your navel pierced. Unfortunately for us, we did so much more research and made it safer so some people can’t get their navel pierced. A truth that many have to face but it’s okay, you can still get that piercing if you talk to the right people. Who isn’t your friend in a skate park armed with a needle or cheap piercing gun.
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Nose studs and rings were rising in popularity as well. Rings were for the more rebellious crowd after seeing Nancy in ‘The Craft’ and wanting to copy that cool gothic witch look. Not the best role model but it’s okay. Sporty Spice was the reason that studs were on the rise, the pop icon had the classic small stud and had the girls of the 90s begging for a bit of bedazzle on their nostril.
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And everyone’s mum’s favourite piercing: The Tongue. Mentioning that you wanted this piercing made everyone suddenly have a friend in the 90s where they almost died because they got their tongue pierced. We have Mel B to thank for that. Many people still talk about how they would love to get their tongue pierced but mum still says no.
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Moving into the more alternative scene, Jonathan Davis and Amy Lee were big contenders to the eyebrow piercing. While Lee has taken hers out she was still the inspiration for many young people getting a bit of bling and it’s forever immortalised on the album cover for Fallen.
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While Davis was the cause of the rise in the multiple eyebrow piercings. Attending a Nu-Metal concert really shows off how much he was a contributor to the look, every man there has 3 rings in his eyebrow and if they don’t; there’s most likely some scarring to show off that once upon a time there was some there.
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Another staple in the alt scene was the lip piercings. Know a ‘former’ emo or current emo who grew up in the 2000s? There’s a high chance they’ve got their old battle scars of their snake bites or single upper or lower lip piercing. Travis Baker of Blink-182 had his lip pierced back in the day, it’s gone now but he did inspire a few people to branch out and get that rebellious piercing because ‘it’s not a phase mom.’ They might still know all the words to a My Chemical Romance song but that lip piercing probably didn’t make it too far down the track.
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While the nipple piercing was more of a 90s piercing it was one of the most popular piercings for men in the early 2000s. With help of Tommy Lee from rock band Mötley Crüe, nipple piercings rose to popularity and once the century changed a lot more female celebrities started getting theirs done.
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Influencing the girls of the world to start branching out. Christina Aguilera, Pink, Janet Jackson, Rhianna and Cassie to name a few that have their nips pierced. While some have admitted that they have them loud and proud others have just had unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions that lead to the world finding out those blinged up bits.
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Another one of mum’s favourites includes the septum. The cow/bull ring piercing which looks amazing on everyone. Back in 2005 Scarlett Johansson got hers done, while the septum didn’t really go mainstream until the 2010’s it was still around. Another person who rocked the look was Hayley Williams of Paramore, rocking the piercing while everyone’s jeans were just a little bit too tight for it to be considered comfortable.
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Hitting the 2010’s piercing got a bit more wild. Bridge piercings, dermals/staples, anti-eyebrows and vampire kisses became everyone's next piercing. Some got them, others decided that they didn’t really want too much metal in their face. But cartilage piercings and nose piercings were all the rage with the celebrities which was influencing everyone to start going up their ears instead of sticking to just that lobe that everyone loved.
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While the cartilage piercings had been around for a little while, people had them in the 90s thanks to fictional character Jane Lane from ‘Daria’. They really blew up as time went on. It’s not uncommon for most people to have at least one helix or had one and they have a horror story about how it ended up closed up. (It’s usually because it was done with a gun, don’t do that).
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But we all know and love ‘The Hunger Games’ which made people everywhere obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence. And what does everyone do when they love a celebrity so much, copy their style, Lawrence’s signature braid as ‘Katniss’ and her ear piercings became a fashion statement around the world. The perfect attire to go with the three finger salute and the four note whistle.
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Kylie Jenner, Scarlett Johansson and Miley Cyrus were all contenders to the cartilage piercing craze as well. All of them have them crawling up their ears and influencing all kinds of people to get them. Jenner for the Kardashian lovers, Johansson for the Marvel nerds and Cyrus for the rebels.
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Piercings now are everywhere, celebrities don’t even have to really influence anyone these days, all ideas come from Tiktok or Instagram cause you’ve seen someone on the internet and they have a cool piercing. It doesn’t take long for you to book an appointment and come back out with a new piercing.
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But there’s still so many celebrities loving their piercings like us common folk do. Stars such as Bella Hadid, Bella Thorne, Justin Bieber, Zoe Kravitz and Keke Palmer all have their piercings that inspired some folks to get theirs done.
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Celebrities love showing off their nipple piercings when they can which brought back the love for them that they had in the 90s. Even if the thought of having them done is a daunting feeling for everyone. If you aren’t scared of getting your nipples done, you are the bravest person ever.
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Another hit is the industrial, Kylie Jenner, Willow Smith and Ashley Tisdale have all supported the look which broke a few hearts. Seeing someone with an industrial and deciding you want it happens all the time which does lead to having to get an anatomy check which can either make or break your day. It’s one of the most tricky piercings to get done because there are so many factors to be able to get it as well as the long and painful healing process. Those celebrities were lucky enough to have to correct anatomy to get it but always make sure you get it checked or you might be in a world of trouble.
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The world of piercing has definitely evolved with the help of major people in the spotlight, as much as we love them or hate them, celebrities are usually the pioneers for the newest trends. Tiktok famous ones are usually the cause these days which then spreads to young audiences who find their appreciation for piercings. But after the first piercing it can either turn into an obsession with the art or just stop at the second lobes and a helix. No matter what celebs will always be the first people we turn to find out our new style of life.
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- Eliza Catford
