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The nose, the navel and the nipple are increasingly coming under the needle, but it's all in the name of fun (ouch!). And while body piercing seems to have been wholeheartedly embraced in London, it is now wooing an increasing number of wannabe piercees in Dublin. "It's fun, that's all, it's not like a religious statement or anything, it's just a bit of fun", according to Anne, a young professional woman who has just got her naval pierced. "It's not like a tattoo that's for ever. I think it looks kind of cute. You can move it around and maybe put a gem on top."

According to Paddy O'Donohoe, of Temple Bar's Body Shock studio in Dublin, piercing of tongues and lips is becoming increasingly popular, "and loads of older men get genital piercing". He has just returned from a trip to London, and he can't get over the number of people with piercings there.

"It hasn't hit the top in Dublin yet but it's definitely gaining. More and more people are getting stranger stuff done," he says.

Paddy, whose studio was one of the first to open here, has been practising in Dublin for six years.

Why do people want to get their body pierced? Paddy thinks that mostly it's just to look different.

Nigel, a 23-year-old who has just got a silver ring in his nipple says: "I did it because I wanted to do something slightly shocking.

"I got it done without any anaesthetic. The guy who was doing it said it would help the healing process which it did, because three weeks on it has healed up well. I'm seriously thinking about getting my tongue pierced but there's a pain factor involved in that and my girlfriend says she doesn't like the idea so I've got to think about that a little more," he says.

Rob Williams, who with Ann Malton, runs Snakebite in Middle Abbey Street, agrees that body piercing is on the increase in Dublin.

"People used to have to go to London, but now they can get it done here. We always had the more hard-core piercings but now other trade is on the increase," he says. Snakebite gives clients a full run-down on what they should do to avoid infection and offers a helpline service.

Rob served his apprenticeship in London with a tattoo artist. "He taught me from the ground up, theory, sterilisation techniques, the lot," he says.

Both Snakebite and Body Shock say they follow strict hygiene procedures and as long as they're adhered to, there shouldn't be any problem with infections.

A Dublin GP agrees. He notices an increasing amount of body piercing on his patients. "It's all over some of them," he says. "I have patients coming in to me with piercings on their lips, their navels, their genitals, everywhere. I don't see any problem with it as long as it's done properly and strict hygiene rules are followed."

The pain factor? Little or nothing according to Ann Malton. If you wish, they'll use anaesthetic gels and sprays and promise you won't feel a thing. Depending on the jewellery used, which is mostly surgical stainless steel, prices in Dublin range from about £15 to £25 for a navel piercing, up to £60 or £70 for a "King Alfred", which is said to enhance men's sexual performance. You have to be over 18 to get this piercing done.

It seems like every second person in London is now into body piercing. Metal Morphosis in Soho does up to 30 navels a day, plus other, more exotic piercings. David, who has been working there for eight years, says "navels are definitely the most popular but we're doing a lot of tongues as well". They get an equal mix of men and women aged from 17 to 77. "The most common reason for getting it done is fashion," says David.

Studios in London operate under licensing by city councils. But there is no such system in Dublin at present. "Basically there aren't any regulations in effect at the moment," according to a Department of Health spokesperson, "but the Department is currently drawing up best practice guidelines on tattooing and skin piercing for practitioners and information leaflets for the public."