Bridge Piercing 101

Bridge piercings!! These have soared in popularity again thanks in no small part to being one of the few facial piercings we can offer safely with make wearing and I am certainly not mad about it. Bridge piercings for a very long time have been a favorite of mine, and I am thrilled to be doing more recently then I have in years. These piercings have a wide selection of awesome jewelry choices, and flow well with many other facial piercings. They also have some limitations and concerns, so today let’s look closer at these awesome piercings!

Bridge Piercings are totally safe- with correct anatomy.

There is some misinformation spreading online about bridge piercings, largely driven by tiktok and social media. Bridge piercings are totally safe piercings- as long as someone has the anatomy to support them. Not everyone does, and I turn away probably between 20-40% of clients who come to me for these because their anatomy doesn’t allow for them to be done. As long as you have correct anatomy however, these piercings are entirely safe! Why is anatomy so important for bridge piercings? Well, that brings us to our next point-

A Bridge is a surface piercing- no, not like you may think.

Bridges, much like eyebrows, fall into the category of surface piercings. No, not like microdermals however. When we consider modern piercing a surface piercing is a broad term that categorizes any piercing through a flat or mostly flat area of the body. Surface piercings, due to the nature of the tissue pierced, are also often more prone to rejection and migration then other piercings. This covers a broad group of piercings, but each is approached according to the tissue in question. This often leads to people assuming curved barbells or surface bars should be used for bridges- and this is also misinformation.

We know piercings heal best when places perpendicularly to the tissue. This means in flat or near flat areas, like the nape of the neck or the forehead, surface bars or surface anchors are the perfect choice for that tissue. However- when it comes to eyebrows the curvature of the tissue there calls for a curved barbell- and traditionally the flatter and less defined the brow ridge, the harder it can be to heal. And when it comes to bridges, good anatomy will protrude even more, making a straight barbell the perfect choice. A straight barbell will be perpendicular to the tissue on both sides, where a curve will be pulled with gravity and curve downwards- putting pressure and irritation on the piercing and often leading to migration. (for those interested in more info about this Luis Garcia has some amazing YouTube videos on the subject). Correct jewelry for a bridge is a straight barbell, personally I do these at a 12g minimum for stability.