Kaos Softwear

Kaos Softwear's silicone body jewellery is made from implant grade silicone. It's entirely safe to wear in a healed piercing and is great for people with metal allergies or sensitivities. Anyone can have a reaction to any material such as steel, wood, bone,acrylic etc. but most often the issue with our product is external debris on the surface. It's also a good substitute for acrylic, since it comes in a wide range of colors and won't react badly with your body. It is great for use during sports or in extreme temperatures.

The material Kaos currently use is approved for 29-day human implantation, and should be more than sufficient to heal a piercing with. But we let the user (or their piercer) decide, as all piercers have their own idea of what is and is not okay to use in a new/healing piercing. We have been experimenting with healing piercings, on various individuals, with Kaos silicone eyelets for some time now and have not come up against any problems. If anything, the inherent flexibility allows the piercing to heal much faster, as it is stressed by outside forces much less, and can easily shed irritating plasma.

Silicone is one of the lightest and most comfortable forms of body jewellery available. The pliable nature of the material makes it conform to your body. Any external pressure, or accidental impact, causes the jewellery to flex and greatly reduces risk of damage. Our product is very comfortable to wear while sleeping or during any physical activity (like sports) where there's risk of impact.

Not really. If you were autoclaving the same jewellery over and over again, it might start to degrade the material a little faster because of the heat, and it might alter the pigment, but one shouldn't need to be autoclaving the same jewellery over and over like that. Most likely after years of bending them into your ears over and over and over they may not be quite the same, but it will take YEARS. And since they're so inexpensive it shouldn't be a big deal to replace them when they do finally wear out.

There shouldn't be any problems wearing your silicone eyelets while showering, but swimming pool's contain an array of chemicals that could possibly discolor the eyelets. If you don't like not having jewellery in, it's a good idea to have a pair just for the pool! It's up to you to decide whether you want to subject them to your pool.

It varies from person to person), but they can definitely be worn longer than steel without residue and smell. Most residue is from perspiration, soaps or dried oils applied to the jewellery.

Yes, it's true. Several of our original testing crew, and numerous Kaos customers, went from 00ga to 1/2" in just a few hours, simply by putting in a pair of our 1/2" silicone eyelets. These stretches are notable, but generally not a good idea because of the enormous amount of stress they put on the piercing. Stretching too fast will often leave a less desirable and less stable piercing, sometimes permanently.

A few people have had problems with irritation from our silicone, and this has largely occurred when using the silicone jewellery to stretch or installing silicone just after stretching by another method. Additionally, those with seasonal and pet allergies who have attempted to stretch have not had success. We are pretty certain this is due to the tacky surface of the soft material. This tackiness can cause small tears in the weak tissue on the inside of the stretched lobe, and may also pick up particulate contaminants (ie: allergens) on its tacky surface. These tears and/or debris then cause irritation.

In general, when you stretch a piercing (by any method) you tend to tear or damage the tissue, either due to pressure or friction caused by the stretch. Normally, this goes away within a few hours or days. But, if the jewellery is too tight or tacky, it can effectively seal off the piercing, and it can't drain. The plasma builds up, and the bacteria (usually there is a certain amount of bacteria already residing in the piercing) run amuck. We recommend you remove the jewellery immediately (carefully and with lubricant) if you think this is happening or the piercing may be further damaged. The tearing problem is most pronounced when trying to stretch cartilage, which often ends up a painful failure.

For these reasons Kaos does not recommend stretching piercings (especially cartilage) with their current product

We have seen success with a few people who went from 00ga to 1/2 inch. However, while our jewellery is superior for stretching for a lot of people, it doesn't negate all problems associated with stretching, and in some individuals it can create others. Your ears are still being stressed, and it probably wouldn't hurt to soak your ears or shower before you try to stretch them. The eyelets will generally stretch the tissue over a period of a couple hours, and it can, depending upon each individual, still hurt or cause irritation, although in many cases a great deal less than other methods currently in use. Please keep in mind that individual factors always come into play.

Silicone offers amazing benefits in comfort and impact resistance, but the same softness that makes it so comfortable can cause a real problem if you are not aware of the risks of sealing the piercing. HOWEVER, a good deal of the individuals who have experienced this have tried wearing our product *in the same piercing* with jewellery at their current *healed* size later on, and had no problems. We will be developing additional jewellery designs specifically for lobe and cartilage stretching, and other applications and locations, in the near future.

We are currently testing new, higher durometer ("less tacky") silicones, and special coatings, to alleviate this potential problem, along with experimental lubricants, and a couple of other means of ridding the silicone of its tacky surface. If you are experiencing unusual irritation we recommend you remove the jewellery and replace it with something rigid, highly polished and non-porous such as glass, stainless or titanium.

We recommend use of lubrication to reduce the chance of tearing the tissue in the piercing, whether or not you're stretching. We haven't come up with any particular lubricants that we stand by wholeheartedly, but olive oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E have worked well for our customers in the past. If you are having irritation issues with the silicone, or have sensitive skin, lubrication may be especially important. Also, we have found no evidence of any common lubricants breaking down the jewellery material.

FYI, most people have used various common lubricants both on their lobes and the silicone. Some lubricants (like olive oil) make the jewellery look matte, not shiny, for a short period of time, but it doesn't seem to permanently affect the jewellery.

The soft, flexible nature of our silicone eyelets makes it perfect for wearing in your cartilage piercings. However, it should not be used for stretching cartilage, as adverse reactions are quite possible. Only use them in healed cartilage.

In general, when you stretch a piercing you tend to tear or damage the tissue (either due to pressure or friction caused by the stretch). Normally, this goes away within a few hours or days. But, if the jewellery is too tight (lengthwise) the flanges of the eyelet can effectively seal off the piercing, and it can't drain. The plasma builds up, and the bacteria (usually there is a certain amount of bacteria already residing in the piercing) run amuck. We recommend you remove the jewellery immediately if you think this is happening.

Silicone offers amazing benefits in comfort and impact resistance, but the same softness that makes it so comfortable can cause a real problem if you are not aware of the risks of sealing the piercing. HOWEVER, a number of the individuals who have experienced this with their cartilage piercings have tried wearing our product *in the same piercing* with jewellery at their current *healed* size later on, and had no problems. We will be developing additional jewellery designs specifically for cartilage stretching, and other applications and locations, in the near future.

Due to the proximity of the cartilage to this piercing, regardless of whether or not it's through the cartilage, Kaos recommends you do not use silicone to stretch your septum. It is suitable for regular wear, but not stretching. Although people have done it, we don't recommend it.

Yes!

Kaos Softwear silicone eyelets come in the coolest colors, offer you more comfort than steel or acrylic, and they're squishy!

Currently Kaos are producing eyelets from 4ga - 2" and we plan to continue adding new sizes to our range in the future, as well as additional colors and entirely new products.

We have noted some cases of irritation, mostly due to using Kaos for stretching, and the rest seem to be caused by the somewhat tacky silicone surface. This is especially true for those with pet dander/pollen allergies, as the tacky nature of the silicone can cause these irritants to adhere to the eyelet surface, causing your real allergic reaction. Remember anyone can have a reaction to any material such as steel, wood, bone,acrylic etc. but most often the issue with our product is external debris on the surface. Washing the jewellery thoroughly generally eliminates this concern, but may not work for those with highly sensitive allergies. Be sure you have definitely rinsed off all the soap after washing. Soap WILL irritate your lobes as bad or worse than allergens.

Additionally, if you are having trouble with irritation, lubrication may solve the problem. People with normal or dry skin will have lobes that are dryer than expected, which encourages the silicone eyelet to adhere to the skin. When you twist or remove the jewellery you irritate the dry-adhered-to skin and can cause swelling and/or minor bleeding. The simple solution to this problem is to lubricate your lobe and/or the jewellery itself. Personally, I remove my jewellery each morning in the shower, clean my lobes and let them dry a bit (not entirely dry, but not dripping water, either), then use a lubricant (ie: jojoba oil, silicone-based sex lube, etc) on my lobes and throw my Kaos eyelets right back in. No problems.

With pre-pigmented silicone dispersions marketed specifically to be mixed with other silicones for medical applications. MSDS available upon request.

Although prototypes have been in use for over a year we did not start using pigments until late 2003. So, we do not know if the pre-pigmented silicone dispersions will fade over time.

Silicone is not considered microporous - at least, not nearly to the extent of other implant materials like gore-sam. It can retain minute amounts of pretty much any fluid it is exposed to for a long period. Now, this isn't an issue with brief exposures or with soap from washing, and the level at which it absorbs these things is far too small for it to be absorbing microorganisms or anything like that. It happens more at the molecular level (diffusion) from what we understand. You can observe it in larger pieces of transparent silicone after autoclaving - which, through the pressure it uses, forces the silicone to take on water, which can be observed as cloudiness in the silicone. This cloudiness gradually dissipates inward from the outer surface over a period of a couple hours. The main concern of this slight porosity (similar to organics such as wood, bone, stone, horn, etc) is for people to absolutely avoid putting this stuff in a chemiclave or soaking in chemicals, as you will simply be making yourself a piece of toxic jewellery (which is why you don't put organics in a chemiclave, either).

Original Eyelets - Have a smooth flared front, but a flat back flare. Available in a wide array of colors and sizes (4g through 2"), all with a shiny finish, and various wearing surfaces depending on the gauge/size.
2nd Edition Original Eyelets - Like the original eyelet, but with a matching front and flare, with a matte finish.
Standard Long Eyelets - Have matching smooth flares front AND back, a matte finish and all sizes have a 10.92mm wearing surface. Limited range of colors, from 4g through 5/8".

BME is carrying our new, mass produced eyelets, referred to as Standard Long on our site and are also carrying our 2nd Edition eyelet line as well.

Kaos are EXCELLENT for extremes of temperature. Unlike steel and glass, which will heat up and cool way down during hot summer days and windy cold winter nights, silicone does not suffer from temperature extremes. Your lobes will be as comfortable as you, but never worse.

Lots of people are using Kaos for use during contact sports and any time that requires helmets, especially those who ride motorcycles.

Kaos sells only to piercing and tattoo shops and a few body jewellery websites (including ExtremeMetal). However, they have recently started to sell to Hot Topic on a trial basis and all our products we sell there will have the Kaos label. So, anything you've seen elsewhere is a knock-off, and most likely a poor quality one at that.