Barbell style piercing jewelry is composed of a straight bar and with a bead on each end, one or both beads unscrewable for removal and/or changing of the beads. Often one of the beads is fixed, either via epoxy

Epoxy

Epoxy, also known as polyepoxide, is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives....

 or welding

Welding

Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...

, so that only one bead is used to install or remove the jewelry. Barbell threads

Screw thread

A screw thread, often shortened to thread, is a helical structure used to convert between rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a straight thread and the latter called a tapered thread...

 are usually right-handed.

They are named because they resemble the barbell

Barbell

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, weightlifting and powerlifting. Barbells range in length from to although bars above 7' in length are used primarily by powerlifters and aren't commonplace...

s that are used in weightlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

.

Types of barbells

Internally threaded barbells

Named because the bar has smooth ends with receiving threads taped into the end of the bar. In internally threaded jewelry, the bead has a receiving tube machined into it (this is referred to as "countersunk"), with a threaded post extending from the center, which mates with the threaded receiving tube on the bar. Being much less likely to cause damage and irritation, especially at the time of piercing, internally threaded jewelry is considered superior to externally threaded jewelry. It is usually slightly more expensive than externally threaded jewelry, due to the extra machining and labor involved.

Externally threaded barbells

So named because the shaft of the bar has threads at both ends to allow beads with receiving threads to be attached. Due to the potential damage or irritation to the piercing when the threads pass through when the jewelry is inserted or removed, this type of barbell has become less common, due to the popularity of the internally threaded barbell. This type of barbell is usually only used when the gauge

Stretching (body piercing)

Stretching, in the context of body piercing, is the deliberate expansion of a healed fistula for the purpose of wearing body piercing jewelry. Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings, tongue piercings and lip piercings/lip plates following close behind...

 of the bar is too small to allow it to be internally threaded, or in cheap, mass produced body jewelry. Some higher-end manufacturers make externally threaded barbells with "step-down threading", where the threaded section has a smaller diameter than the wearable section; these are fairly uncommon and usually internally threaded barbells are used in their place. Step-down threaded jewelry ends can be inserted into the blunt end of a hollow piercing needle, allowing for less irritation during initial placement than regular external barbells or even internally threaded barbells.

Curved barbells

Also known as a navel curve or curve, so named because of their curvature

Curvature

In mathematics, curvature refers to any of a number of loosely related concepts in different areas of geometry. Intuitively, curvature is the amount by which a geometric object deviates from being flat, or straight in the case of a line, but this is defined in different ways depending on the context...

. A curved barbell is mechanically identical to a straight barbell, except for being curved. Curvature on a curved barbell can range from almost straight to circular

Circular

Circular is a basic geometric shape such as a Circle.Circular may also refer to:-Documents:*Circular note, a document request by a bank to its foreign correspondents to pay a specified sum of money to a named person...

, with some barbells actually being spiral

Spiral

In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a central point, getting progressively farther away as it revolves around the point.-Spiral or helix:...

, with the ends overlapping but separated to allow the insertion of the jewelry. A variation on this design is a J-bar, a slightly curved barbell (sometimes referred to as a bananabell or banana barbell) with a 90 degree bend near one end, used in vertical navel piercing

Navel piercing

A navel piercing is a type of body piercing. It may heal very quickly and with no problems, like an ear piercing, or may heal more like a surface piercing with the associated extended healing time. Healing usually takes less than six months, and as long as it is cleaned, it will heal nicely...

s to position the decorative end of the jewelry more appropriately. They can be either internally threaded or externally threaded.

Circular barbells

Also known as horseshoe

Horseshoe

A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...

 barbells due to their shape, they are used in any number of piercing

Body piercing

Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...

s, including earrings, tragus

Tragus piercing

The tragus piercing is a perforation of the ear for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. The tragus projects immediately in front of the ear canal. The piercing itself is usually made with a small gauge hollow piercing needle, and typical jewelry would be a small diameter...

 rings, nasal septum

Septum

In anatomy, a septum is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones.-In human anatomy:...

 piercings, madisons

Madison piercing

A Madison piercing is a body piercing going through the skin at the front of the neck. They are surface piercings, and have a high rate of migration and rejection. They have a long healing period, if they heal at all...

, or even horizontal clitoral hood

Clitoral hood

In female human anatomy, the clitoral hood, , is a fold of skin that surrounds and protects the clitoral glans. It develops as part of the labia minora and is homologous with the foreskin in male genitals.-Variation:This is a protective hood of skin that covers the clitoral glans...

 piercings, although the latter is less common, as the clitoris is deprived of the stimulation gained from a properly positioned captive bead ring.

Surface bars

Used in surface piercing

Surface piercing

Surface piercings are any body piercings that take place on the surface sewn into the body through areas which are not particularly concave or convex, where the piercing canal transverses a surface flap of skin, rather than running completely through a piece of body tissue from one side to another...

s. A surface bar is a barbell where the bar has a pair of 90 degree bends, in the same direction (similar to a staple

Staple (fastener)

A staple is a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining or binding materials together. Large staples might be used with a hammer or staple gun for masonry, roofing, corrugated boxes and other heavy-duty uses...

), to allow the jewelry to be used for surface piercings. This design minimizes the pressure that would be caused by other jewelry designs that contribute to rejection

Piercing migration

Piercing migration is the process that occurs when a body piercing moves from its initial location. This process can be painful or go unnoticed, until it has progressed. Given enough time, a ring may migrate entirely outside of the skin, although it may only migrate a small amount and come to...

 in healing surface piercings. Most surface bars are custom made to fit the individual piercing.

Types of beads

Beads for barbells can vary widely in design and appearance, although the vast majority of beads are simply spherical in design. That being said, any shape that threads can be tapped into can be used as a bead. Cube

Cube

In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. The cube can also be called a regular hexahedron and is one of the five Platonic solids. It is a special kind of square prism, of rectangular parallelepiped and...

s, triangle

Triangle

A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....

s, cylinder

Cylinder (geometry)

A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...

s, cone

Cone (geometry)

A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...

s, disks

Disk (mathematics)

In geometry, a disk is the region in a plane bounded by a circle.A disk is said to be closed or open according to whether or not it contains the circle that constitutes its boundary...

, and other basic shapes are common alternative bead designs. Some large gauge barbells, especially those used in tongue piercing

Tongue piercing

A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue, and is the most popular piercing site in the western world after the ear and nostril.-History and culture:...

s, use "smartie beads", flattened circular beads, to prevent the jewelry from damaging the gums and teeth and allowing free movement of the tongue

Tongue

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...

. There also exist "bondage" beads, which are dimpled to accept a captive bead ring. Miniature vibrators

Vibrator (sex toy)

Vibrators are devices for the body and skin, to stimulate the nerves for a relaxing and pleasurable feeling. Some vibrators are designed to ergonomically stimulate erogenous zones for erotic stimulation.-History:...

 also exist.

Materials

Barbell style jewelry can and is made from any metal appropriate for making body jewellery. Flexible barbells made from Teflon or tygon tubing are often used in experimental surface or deep tissue piercings. Beads do not penetrate the body, so often materials not usually considered safe for piercing can be used in a decorative manner such as acrylic, glass

Glass

Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

, or organic materials.

History and culture

Although at first glance the manufacture of threaded jewelry might appear to be of contemporary origin, there are examples of externally threaded, straight barbells being used by tribal

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 people, most notably the Dayak

Dayak people

The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

 of Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. In contemporary society, barbell style jewelry was popularized by Jim Ward, founder of Gauntlet

Gauntlet (body piercing studio)

The Gauntlet, also known as Gauntlet Enterprises, was a business founded in November 1975 by Jim Ward that pioneered the field of body piercing in North America. It was inspired by Ward's friend and mentor, Doug Malloy...

 (the first body piercing

Body piercing

Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...

 studio in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

), in the 1970s. He was introduced to barbell style jewelry by Horst Heinrich Streckenbach

Horst Heinrich Streckenbach

Horst Heinrich Streckenbach "Tattoo Samy“ was a well-known German tattoo artist and historian of the medium, who had been tattooing since 1946. Streckenbach is considered important in the development of tattooing in Germany...

 "Tattoo Samy" (1926-2001), a tattooist and piercer from Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and his student Manfred "Piker" Kohrs

Manfred Kohrs

Manfred Kohrs is a German tattooist and conceptual artist, who has been tattooing since 1974. He was a student of Horst Heinrich Streckenbach . Together they developed a rotary tattoo machine from 1974 - 1978 and the barbell piercing in 1975...

 from Hanover, Germany.

"The first barbells I recall came from Germany. Doug had made contact with Tattoo Samy, a tattooist and piercer from Frankfurt. Over the years Samy came to the States a number of times and frequently showed up in LA to visit Doug. On one of his first visits he showed us the barbell studs that he used in some piercings. They were internally threaded, a feature that made so much sense that I immediately set out to recreate them for my own customers." Jim Ward's name is synonymous with the origins of western body piercing. His magazine PFIQ

PFIQ

PFIQ is the acronym and common name for a publication known as Piercing Fans International Quarterly, which was published by Jim Ward from 1977 to 1997...

was also important in the development of body piercing.