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Straight barbell
Many people call this a "tongue ring". The proper way to refer to it is simply "barbell". The reason they should not be called tongue rings is because they look nothing like a ring (and you don't wear rings in your tongue). Also, they can be worn in other body parts such as nipples, cartilage (for industrials), and even tiny ones for lobes.
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Now, there are straight barbells with unique ends that are made specifically for tongue piercings, but it would still be called a barbell and not a tongue ring.

Circular barbell
Many people call this a "horseshoe". The proper way to refer to it is "circular barbell". Horseshoe is just a made up term to refer to the way that it looks. But that is not the correct name for it.
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Curved barbell
Many people call this an "eyebrow ring" or even a "belly ring". This should be called a "curved barbell". Yes, it can be worn in the eyebrow or navel, BUT, it can be worn in more places such as genital piercings. It also looks nothing like a ring.
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Bananabell
This is a big culprit of being called a "navel ring", "belly ring", "belly hoop", or whatever clever name that shops come up with. It's called a "bananabell". There is absolutely no difference between this and a curve except that one ball on one end is larger than the other. Bananabells are made specifically for navels. The reason "ring" or "hoop" should not even be part of a reference to this item is because it looks nothing like a ring. It's a curved barbell with one larger ball on the end.
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Rings of all kinds
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Many people call this a "hoop". But this item actually has many different styles and names. Here are the correct terms below:

	Captive bead rings are where the bead is dimpled and basically the ends of the ring snap into the dimples on the bead. It's best to have ring opening tools for these. [ see product ]
	Ball closure rings are where the bead is NOT dimpled and the ends of the shaft are curved just a bit so that they clasp around the bead. It's best to have ring opening tools for these.
	Seamless rings (continuous ring) are where there is no bead at all. Instead there is just a small slice in the ring and you bend it to open and close it. [ see product ]
	Fixed bead rings look almost identical to a captive bead ring except the bead is welded on one end of the shaft. To get it open you just pull the non-attached shaft end out from the bead and then bend it back or forth to open/close. [ see product ]
	Segment rings look like a seamless ring, but there is actually an entire piece that can be removed from the ring. It's best to have ring opening tools for these. [ see product ]

Labret
Pronounced exactly how it's spelled; not "labray".
Many people call this a "lip ring". It's called a labret. It has a disk on one end and a ball (spike or different end) on the other. It does not look like a ring and that is why it is not called a lip ring.
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Plugs, eyelets, tunnels, and more
Many people call plugs an "earring". In the body jewelry industry and earring usually referrs to the standard tiny earrings you would see in the mall at places like Claires. In body jewelry there is no earrings that have tiny little posts with claps on the back. Plugs start at 16g and come in many styles and are basically used in stretched lobes (and sometimes other stretched piercings).
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There are different types of plugs. Here is a list below:

	Solid plugs are cylinders (sometimes grooved to hold orings in place) that are not hollow and have one o-ring on each end to hold them in your piercing. Some times (especially with pyrex glass) they are single domed or double domed.
	Single domed means that one side is flared and the other end uses an oring.
	With double domed, both ends are flared to where you don't have to use any o-rings. These should not be used to stretch with.
	Tubes are like a solid plug except they are just hollow. They still use an o-ring on each end to hold them in place.
	Eyelets are hollow like tubes, except they have flares.
	They can be a single flared eyelet where one end is flared and the other end is where the o-ring sits to hold the plug in your piercing.
	They can also be a double flared eyelet where both ends are flared and you don't use o-rings at all. On double flared eyelets the center area is the gauge you are currently at and the flares are usually one size larger. These should also not be used to stretch unless you are using them with an eyelet taper (see below).
	Threaded tunnels are hollow and are flared on one end and the other end is threaded to where a piece can thread onto the back to hold the plug in place.

Tapers
Tapers are used to stretch piercings. Quality tapers are typically 3" long with about 1/2" of the end of the taper being the actual gauge you are stretching to. This makes it easy to slide the jewelry through. Tapers should have an extremely smooth finish to make stretching as easy as possible (it's painful enough as it is!).
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	Concave taper is where the back of the taper is "indented" or concave so that jewelry can fit nicely into the back for smooth stretching.
	Threaded taper is where the end has threads sticking out of it. This is so that you can thread it into an internal barbell and have an extremely smooth stretch with virually no gaps.
	Eyelet taper is where the end has a piece sticking out of it where you can slip a double flared eyelet over it to stretch with. These are only used to stretch with double flared eyelets.
	Basic flat end taper is where the end is totally flat. Concave tapers are usually the best to stretch with plugs. Flat end tapers can leave gaps and stretching can be more difficult. But they are basic and will work in a pinch.
	Pin coupling taper taper ... This is similiar to a threaded taper, but instead of threads it has a pin that sticks out that goes down into the jewelry.

Ticklers
There are many styles of ticklers (atoms, pleasure domes, spikeys, sperms, etc). Although you can use them for ball decoration, these were invented to be worn on the ends of tongue barbells to give your partner "pleasure". That's about as nice as we can say it LOL :)

O-rings
These are not washers or rubber bands. You can get these online, or at hardware shops. They are really nothing special and were not invented for body jewelry. It just so happens they come in handy to hold non flared plugs in place. Clear sillicone o-rings are excellent as they are made out of better material than the standard black nitrile o-ring.

"Gauged" should be "STRETCHED"
Instead of "I want to gauge my ears"
It should be "I want to stretch my ears"

Jewelry sterilization
The only way to truly sterilize jewelry is by having it autoclaved. Any piercer should be able to do this for a nominal fee. We also offer it at this site for $5. Soaking jewelry in alcohol or boiling it does not sterilize it. It may get it cleaner, but it's not sterilized.

Jewelry threading

Externally threaded jewelry is where the threads are actually on the outside of the metal shaft. The balls have the threaded hole that is screwed onto the shaft.

Internally threaded jewelry is where the shaft has threads inside the metal. So basically the ball has threads sticking out of it that screw down into the metal shaft.

Which is better?
Internally threaded is top of the line body jewelry, but it is also more expensive. We recommend buying internally threaded jewelry. It's better for your piercing and is only made out of certified top quality materials. Professional externally threaded jewelry comes lathed down on the end which helps to reduce tearing when jewelry is inserted.