Glass
Glass is a common piercing material which has been used for thousands of years. For example, earplugs made of glass have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.
If correctly shaped and manufactured, glass can be an functional material: comfortable to wear, tough, and safe for the body. However, cheaper glass beads that are not covered in a metal shell can easily break into shards. If you drop glass jewelry on the floor, you probably won't be able to use it again. Also if you have a cheap bead in a tongue piercing and accidentally chew on it, it can break into tiny shards and cause lacerations.
It is possible to sterilize glass in a steam-autoclave but the heat may cause cracking in cheaper products.
Read more about this topic: Body Piercing Materials
Famous quotes containing the word glass:
“The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
Th’observed of all observers.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said He, “pour on him all we can:
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.””
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
“Our ideal ... must be a language as clear as glass—the person looking out of the window knows there is glass there, but he is not concerned with it; what concerns him is what comes through from the other side.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)