Trends in face and body piercings

With each new generation, more Long Island teens and young adults are embracing body piercing as a form of physical adornment and self-expression, professional piercers here say.

Many of their biggest customers are teens, who plead with their parents for an earlobe, nose or belly button piercing as a birthday present or reward for good grades - and then get them to cough up the $30 to $75, or more, to pay for it.

Some are getting other body parts pierced: the nape of the neck, bridge of the nose, sternum, hips and above and beneath the collarbone - even below the belt. A well-trained, licensed professional piercer can do it all - or refuse to, given certain health risks.

Learn all about body piercing at the Association of Professional Piercers' Web site. Here's some of what's popular from the shoulders up, according to a few local places:

MULTIPLE PIERCINGS

The top ear cartilage has become the hot spot among some people who come to him for piercing, says Nick "Holes" Formato at Tattoo Lou's in Selden (262 Middle Country Rd./Rte. 25, 631-732-9585, tattoolous.com). That includes the "tragus," that little nub before the ear canal ($40), and the "rook," the inner ridge near the top of the ear ($45).

They also ask for the "industrial" ($65), which involves inserting a single barbell through two separate outer ear cartilage piercings. The shape of the ear and amount of cartilage must be right for that one, he warns.

EXPANDED EARLOBES

Stretching the earlobes has become increasingly popular. It starts with a standard ear piercing, and then the lobe is filled with a plug (a cylinder-shaped piece of jewelry, for $30-$50 per piercing, depending on the style). Every two months or so, depending on the wearer's body, the plug is replaced with a slightly larger one ($10 per stretch) until the wearer reaches the desired size. "The largest I've seen is five inches," says Formato, who has been piercing for 41/2 years and sports multiple piercings himself. He advises wearers to proceed "gradually and with caution" to prevent tearing.

SURFACE PIERCINGS

If you've seen the nape of someone's neck with two studs poking out of the skin, it's likely a surface piercing.

Lauren Sebestyen, piercing manager at Cliff's Tattoo in Centereach (1446 Middle Country Rd., 631-732-1957, cliffstattoo.net), has photos of the few surface piercings she's done - one in front of the ear, and another to add sparkle to a butterfly tattoo on a female customer's back. A staple-shaped barbell is inserted underneath the skin, with the rest sitting on the skin's surface ($80).

Sebestyen's apprentice, Rich Galgano, 22, sports "snake bites" (a single hoop worn through each side of the lower lip, reminiscent of fangs, $65) and other facial and ear piercings, including one that's also gaining popularity - inserted horizontally through the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes ($65).

AROUND THE MOUTH

In addition to gem-studded plugs in both earlobes and piercings in her ear cartilage, nose, tongue and lower lip, Sebestyen also sports a "Monroe," a single tiny stud above her upper lip, named after the beauty mark Marilyn Monroe had in the same place. It's become a very popular piercing among many women and even some men ($55), she says.

ACCESSORIES

A piercing's only a hole in your body without a piece of jewelry to accentuate it. Vicki Pizzo, a piercer for 19 years and a tattoo artist who works at Body Designs in Bay Shore (1755 Sunrise Hwy., 631-968-0141, bodydesigns.com), says the store offers jewelry that comes in varying shapes, sizes and is made from assorted materials, including silicone, glass, acrylic, surgical steel, titanium, animal bone and horn ($5-$100). They even offer an array of "add-ons," colored beads, cones and other "retainers" wearers can use to anchor eyebrow, tongue and lip piercings ($5-$20).

THE RULES: WHO CAN GIVE (AND GET) PIERCED

Piercing should be done only by those with a permit from either Nassau or Suffolk county health departments.

Piercers should use an autoclave to sterilize their equipment, wear gloves (latex or nitrile) and take other precautions to reduce the chance of skin infection, rejection, scarring or other damage.

Those younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent with ID, and they must have a notarized letter giving parental permission for the piercing. The minor also must have proper photo identification.

OTHER LONG ISLAND PIERCING PLACES

Dark Child Tattoo: 1125 Route 112, Port Jefferson Station, 631-509-1122, darkchildtattoo.com

DaVinci Tattoo: 3247 Sunrise Hwy., Wantagh, 516-781-5030, davincitattoo.com

Lark Tattoo: 1610 Old Country Rd., Westbury, 516-794-5844, larktattoo.com

Utopia: 3 Newbridge Rd., Hicksville, 516-935-6680