Piercers Weigh in on Lil Uzi Vert’s $24 Million Diamond Forehead Piercing

Rappers these days are all about the drip. From diamond chains to grills, we’ve seen plenty of hip-hop stars trying to top each other with their over the top bling. But, we’ve never seen anything like Lil Uzi Vert’s $24 million diamond forehead piercing.

On January 30th, Vert announced via Twitter that he’d begun purchasing the diamond from jeweler Eliantte and Co back in 2017. The stone is a rare pink diamond that’s nearly 11-carots and worth an estimated $24 million. Vert revealed his diamond piercing to Twitter and Instagram on February 1st, quite literally breaking the internet.

Many have expressed their concern for Vert, particularly those in the piercing community. Although dermal piercings are quite common (even in this location) and can be done safely, nothing like this has ever been done before. We reached out to Starr Ellis and Johnny Pearce, two APP piercers of Nine Moons Piercing in New York City, to learn their professional opinion on the most talked about piercing in hip-hop.

“Before we start, just gotta say, ‘Holy shit.’ You know we’re all thinking it,” shares Johnny Pearce, a piercer of Nine Moons Piercing. “We often don’t talk about it, but the wild (and failed) piercing experiments of the past helped those of us today understand anatomical limits and set safe piercing boundaries.”

“We’ve been successfully performing surface piercings in western culture for decades now. It’s nothing new. And just the like the modern progression of an industry, along the way, new procedure techniques are invented and more suitable styles of jewelry are created to increase the success rate. What’s interesting about Lil Uzi’s piercing, is that he has invested so much money into a scenario that’s proven quite counterproductive when compared to what we know to be successful. It’s simple physics. It’s too big and too heavy to heal successfully. You don’t have to be a physicist or professional piercer to understand that gravity and the excessive movement would prevent this from ever healing.

Fortunately for Lil Uzi, the removal process is not complicated, nor is it dangerous or life-threatening. Honestly, to Lil Uzi, I just want to personally congratulate him on pursuing his dream of this wild modification, even if it was doomed to fail from the start. After all, a lesson in body autonomy is arguably more important than a lesson in why some piercing scenarios are unsuccessful. It’s always your given right to make your own educated decisions about what you do what to do with your body. (But it is also a professionals right to decline to offer any service that they know to be unsafe or unsuccessful).”

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“My professional opinion is that this piercing won’t last very long,” shares Starr Ellis, owner and piercer of Nine Moons Piercing. “I’m a firm believer in trying to assist clients in their visions, as safely as possible, and provide them with the most accurate information, unless that vision goes against my ethics as a piercer. It is very rare that I’ll take on a piercing project that I think is destined to fail or the jewelry/anatomy just do not work. I likely would have passed on this particular piercing and tried to educate the client on how temporary surface piercings and anchors can be, especially with such a large piece in thinner skin.”

“Over the last 16 years I’ve done quite a few forehead surface piercings and anchors. A few years ago, I actually stopped offering these piercings publicly at my studio to avoid any potential issues with clients not fully comprehending that the piercings don’t always last. They often reject or have to be removed, resulting in scar tissue. Nothing feels worse to me than a dissatisfied client.

We do still help safely remove them and they’re actually super easy to remove! Occasionally I offer to consult with clients who are very interested in them and sometimes I can be persuaded that the client understands the inherent risks and will pierce and repierce.”

“I’m concerned that the client may not have had the most accurate information. I’ve never used longer jewelry for surface piercings or anchors, as they sit in the skin differently. The removal of the piercings is typically very simple and safe when done by a professional. I’m curious on how this diamond was set, what exact jewelry was used or designed and the piercing method used. Bleeding and swelling can be very normal with any piercing. My personal opinion is damn dude, you’re wild! I hope that diamond defies gravity for as long as possible.”

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What do you think of Lil Uzi Vert’s new piercing? Let us know in the comments section on social media.