While society is more accepting of piercings, in some situations, they are deemed “inappropriate” or “unprofessional.” A few good examples are at your workplace, school, religious gatherings, or even at home with your parents.
It might be easier to hide or take off your piercing to avoid unwanted attention in such scenarios. If you’re wondering how to hide piercings in those situations, we’ve gathered nine great tips you can try.
Which Piercings are Easier to Hide?
Some piercings are easier to hide, and others are almost impossible to keep out of view. Piercings like the nipple, belly button, and genital piercings are easily concealed underneath your clothes since they’re not on exposed body parts.
Tongue piercings are only noticeable when you open your mouth so you can work your way around them.
But facial piercings, like ear, nose, and lip piercings, require extra measures as they are more conspicuous on your face.
How to Hide Piercings for Work
Some companies have strict dress code guidelines. So even if you see piercings as a form of self-expression or fashion, your company might not condone it.
In some companies, your jewelry might pose a safety risk. A dangling earring could get caught on machinery, for instance. In that case, taking your piercing out or switching to a stud works fine.
Here are some helpful tips on how to hide your piercings.
Remove the piercing
The easiest way to hide your piercings is simply by removing them for situations where you feel they are not accepted and wearing them afterward.
💡 Take Note: You can use this method for older piercings. With newer piercings, the hole might close up some hours after taking out the jewelry. It’s also inadvisable to take your jewelry out of a fresh piercing because you risk getting an infection.
Cover with Makeup
You can use a concealer or foundation that matches your skin tone to fill in the piercing holes. You can use makeup for most facial piercings like lip piercings, ear piercings, nose piercings, and eyebrow piercings.
💡 Caution: Do not use makeup on fresh piercings to avoid getting your piercing infected.
Wear Thicker Clothing
Body piercings — like those on the belly button and nipples — are very easy to hide.
You may need to wear clothes with thicker material, but you don’t have to go through any extra measures to keep them hidden unless your work requires you to wear more exposing clothing (which is unlikely).
Nipple piercings can be visible through clothes, especially if you don’t wear any undergarments. Even if you’re not exposing it deliberately, people can tell you’ve been pierced.
To prevent this, wear a padded bra. If you don’t have a padded bra, you can opt for pasties. Take care while taking your pasties off to avoid pulling hard on the piercing.
Try Clear or Nude-Colored Jewelry
While clear or nude-colored jewelry pieces are not entirely invisible, they can blend with your skin tone, keeping attention away from the piercings. These types of jewelry are great used for most facial piercings.
For new piercings, consider using clear or flesh-colored jewelry as you might not be taking them off in a long time. Clear Glass is an excellent example of such jewelry. It’s recommended by the Association of Professional Piercers because it’s biocompatible and you can sterilize it in an autoclave.
The only problem is that glass is fragile, especially when it’s thin enough for a piercing. We recommend instead that you get your piercing at a time when you won’t need to hide it and switch out the jewelry when the piercing heals.
Wear Your Hair Long
You can wear your hair long and not tucked behind the ears to hide your ear piercings. Consider growing your hair longer before you get the ear piercings. In situations where you need to tie your hair back, put your hair in a low ponytail and allow it to drop down over your ears.
Use Scarves and Head Coverings
This method also works well for ear piercings. The only problem is that it can look unnatural in certain situations. Imagine a scarf wrapped around your neck on a hot day.
But these head coverings fit in great on colder days. Pull your headwear low over your ears. Or wrap your scarf in a way that covers your ears.
Wear Only the Stem of the Jewelry
You can use a stud for most types of piercings. But if you want it to be less visible, cutting off the decorative part of the stud and using only the stem works well.
Use a wire cutter to cut off the top part of the stud. This way, your jewelry will stay hidden inside the ear, and the piercing can remain intact, preventing the holes from closing up.
Flip Your Septum Piercing Inwards
Flipping your septum piercing inwards is an excellent way to hide it. You can opt for septum retainers or horseshoe barbells because they flip easily, and you won’t need to take them off.
The best part of this technique is you can use it even with fresh piercings. Ensure you wash your hands and flip the jewelry carefully to prevent irritating the site.
Hide Your Tongue Piercing By Talking Less
The most effective way of hiding your tongue piercing is talking less around people you want to hide it from. Avoid opening your mouth widely when talking.
You can also use clear retainers or pink-colored balls. Since the piercing is inside the mouth, visibility is minimized, and it won’t draw much attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the questions many people ask about hiding piercings.
How do you cover a piercing for work?
It’s possible to hide ear piercings by letting your hair cover them at work. You can also replace your jewelry with clear retainers. A retainer is almost invisible unless someone looks intently at you.
💡 Remember: You can’t replace jewelry until the piercing is healed, so consider getting pierced with clear glass jewelry.
Is a smiley piercing easy to hide?
A smiley piercing can be easy to hide, depending on a few factors.
People with fuller lips have an advantage in hiding smiley piercings. But your choice of jewelry also matters.
Opt for smaller ones or ones with less flashy colors if you want them to be less visible.
Can you cover a piercing with a bandaid?
Yes, you can use a bandaid to hide a piercing. A small bandaid is helpful in covering up nostril piercings and lip piercings, like the labret, Monroe, and Madonna.
But if your piercing is fresh, it needs to breathe. Try not to keep the bandaid on for more than a few hours, or you risk delaying the healing.
Can my employer make me take out my nose ring?
Yes, your employer can make you take out your nose ring. While an employee is on duty and working, an employer has the authority to impose standards for appearance and clothing inside the profession.
Employers can enforce these rules by prohibiting employees from wearing nose rings or ordering them to remove them while on the job.
How can I hide my new piercings?
New piercings are difficult to hide because you can’t take out the piercing. Consider clear glass jewelry for your fresh piercing to make it difficult to see.
You can also place a small, flesh-colored bandaid on the piercing to hide it. But remember to take it off after a few hours because prolonged covering can slow down the healing process.
If none of these methods appeal to you, then postpone getting pierced. You can pick a time when you don’t have to hide the piercing until it heals and switch out the jewelry for clear retainers.
Can a doctor have nose rings?
No rule exists barring doctors from wearing nose rings. Nevertheless, many people believe that a non-traditional piercing on a physician reduces their competence.
If you’re in the medical field, try to understand the people in your workplace and area. It’s best to take off your piercings or hide them if it might cause a backlash.
Do What You Want
Whatever you do with your body is nobody’s business. You can choose to wear your piercings confidently or conceal them. Don’t let whatever anyone says about your piercings affect your choices.
But if you choose to hide your piercing, you can cover it with clothes or your hair, take out the jewelry, or replace the jewelry with a clear retainer.
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