The smaller the gauge of a needle, the larger the needle diameter, i.e.: a 26 gauge needle is smaller in diameter than an 18 gauge needle. Common needle gauges for play piercing are 26 through 18. Different gauges of needles have different color hubs, but these colors are not consistent across brands. On the needle package, the needles are commonly identified first by gauge, and second by needle length (in inches). So a package labeled "25 X 1 1/2" would contain 25 gauge needles with a length of 1 1/2 inches.

The plastic disposable protection around the needle is called the sheath. The plastic portion permanently attached to the needle is called the hub. I re-sheath a needle as soon as I remove it from a submissive. Some Doms do not do this, They would prefer to use a sharpes container as it is possible to accidentally poke Oneself when re-sheathing. Never just throw the needle into the garbage without either resheathing or putting it into a sharpes container.

One can practice piercing on a fresh orange, or on a chicken breast. I learned how to play with needles by using them on Myself. The basic method is that the needle will go just underneath the surface of the skin, and will emerge through the skin a short distance from where it was inserted. Some people believe that Shallower = More Pain, I have not found this to be the case always. I find that each insertion is different. It would only be common sense to see that larger diameter needles will give more pain. Stay with just using the needles to do shallow piercings of the skin.

Play piercing involving the genitals is a special topic, with special precautions that must be followed to avoid causing permanent damage; don't try any sort of genital piercing without further training from someone who is familiar with and competent at genital piercing. In general piercing where there is a good amount of skin and fat tissue are good areas to play. Surface arteries, capillaries, veins or underlying unevenness of the skin should be avoided. Areas like the feet and hands are usually not played with because of the number of bones, the lack of fat tissue and the number of veins etc that are present. The armpit is usually not an area of play because of the extensive sweat glands present. The sternum is not usually played with either as there is once again no fat tissue there and the bones should never be touched by a needle.

The surface to be pierced should be disinfected first. I use disposable swabs that can be purchased at any drug store. These swabs are used by diabetics to clean their skin prior to injection with insulin. The swabs are cheap so use a lot of them. The swab should never be used long enough to dry out, and should not be used over again to do the skin. Only let the swab touch the skin once to clean an area then throw it away. If you use i again you are just putting oils etc back onto the skin that you took off with the first swipe. Ideally the Dominant should wear surgical gloves when He does piercing. The gloves can protect your hands against any blood cross contamination. The primary danger in play piercing is infection and this is why the Dominant must take precautions of cleanliness, sterility and yes common sense.