An eyebrow piercing is among the most common of surface piercings available, and is certainly the most popular facial surface piercing today. However, over the years a great deal of controversy has surrounded the safety of an eyebrow piercing. Many urban legends exist about people becoming partially or fully paralyzed in their face from this body modification gone wrong.
Proper Placement of an Eyebrow Piercing
The traditional eyebrow piercing penetrates only the top layers of the skin, beneath the eyebrow on the outside edges of the eyebrow itself. These piercings are usually done in a vertical fashion at a 35 to 40 degree angle. However, some may request different angles or even to have the piercing done horizontally rather than vertically.
The wearer has a variety of jewelry choices for the eyebrow piercing including rings, captive bead rings, and curved or straight barbells. Most piercers will tell you that eyebrow piercings, like all surface piercings will eventually reject. While it may not reject in the first year, eventually over the course of a few to several years the piercing will reject.
A good piercer will inform you that the best way to prolong rejection is to use curved or straight barbells. This is because they put less pressure on the skin than ring shaped jewelry which is actually “pulling” the skin upward, causing rejection.
Urban Legends Surrounding Eyebrow Piercings
Urban legends are simply that: a legend. Generally, there is little-to-no truth behind these legends. They are a form of modern folklore; stories simply meant to entertain or scare, rather than for factual purposes.
One such legend states that it is possible for the face to become partially or fully paralyzed due to an eyebrow ring. Fortunately, there is very little truth to this. While it is true that there are plenty of facial nerves to potentially cause paralysis, a piercer would have to pierce the skin exceptionally deep to come close to the nerves. In addition to this, many of the nerves are extremely small and chances of hitting a nerve are fairly slim.
Research shows there are no recorded cases of anyone becoming paralyzed from an eyebrow piercing. In reality, if this was such a huge risk — less people would seek out eyebrow piercings. More importantly, less piercers would perform eyebrow piercings due to the heightened risk of possibly paralyzing someone.
It should also be noted that there are thousands of nerves all over the body. It is technically possible to become paralyzed due to infections or accidents. However, it should also be noted that an infection takes time. It is highly unlikely that the wearer wouldn’t notice a giant, puss-filled infection above their eye. Also, an infection shouldn’t occur if the piercing is properly cared for.
Chances are, this legend was made up by someone trying to deter others from getting facial piercings — specifically the eyebrow piercing. While it is true there is always a chance, it is extremely unlikely unless other issues happened before such as improper piercing techniques or improper cleaning, and so forth.
