Lip piercings seem like the coolest things in the world when you’re in your college years. Everyone wants to get one done. But, if you’re considering a lip piercing, you may want to think about a few things before you take the plunge. For instance, you might have to think about what lip piercing types might be suitable for you? What is a labret piercing? Where can you get your lip pierced? What are the best lip piercing ideas? Can lip piercings pose any threat to your oral health? How long does lip piercings take to heal? How to take care of a lip piercing? How important is lip piercing aftercare?
Pros And Cons Of a Lip Piercing
Thankfully for you, we are here to answer to all these questions. In this article, we will be covering all the pros and cons of a lip piercing along with everything else you need to know about lip piercing.
What are lip piercings?
A lip piercing is a type of body piercing which penetrates the lips or the skin surrounding the lips.
There are different names for different types of lip piercings. A side lip piercing placed towards the left or right side of the lip is called a labret piercing. Side lip piercing, usually refers to piercings on the lower lip, whereas lip piercings on the upper side are called Madonna or Monroe piercings.
LIP PIERCING TYPES:
When you think of lip piercings, you need to know that all lip piercings don’t necessarily pierce the lips themselves. Instead, they might also be placed horizontally through the skin immediately just above the upper lip or below the lower lip. There are two exceptions here, the vertical labret piercings and lowbret piercings.
i. Vertical labret piercings
These are placed vertically through your lower lip so that the top piercing ball sits centrally on top of the lower lip and the bottom piercing ball sits centrally below the lower lip.
ii. Lowbret piercings
These are placed horizontally through the skin just below the lower lip, but further down than other lower lip piercings.
Now, if you just want one lip piercing, you might want to consider these options:
1. Horizontal Lower Lip Piercing
A lip piercing that punctures the skin beneath your lower lip horizontally, so that one side of the jewelry is in the mouth and the other half is visible. Horizontal lip piercings are typically placed on the left or the right side of the lower lip. When centered, these are called labret piercings. Captive rings, circular-barbells, labret studs, and lip loops can all be worn in with horizontal lower lip piercings.
2.Labret Piercing
A horizontal lower lip piercing is placed centrally beneath the lower lip. Labret studs are the most popular type of jewelry worn in with labret piercings, but you also experiment with captive rings, circular-barbells, and lip loops. Those with stretched labret piercings can try some plugs, as well.
3.Medusa Piercing
A horizontal upper lip piercing that is placed through your central upper lip tissue, called the philtrum. You can wear Labret studs that are ideal jewelry when considering Medusa piercings.
4.Monroe Piercing
A horizontal upper lip piercing that is placed through the skin right above the right or left side of the upper lip. Alternatively called Madonna piercings or Crawford piercings, this type of piercings get their name from the way they look like upper lip moles of these stars. Labret studs are the ideal type of jewelry to wear in with Monroe piercings.
Now, if you want to consider lip bites piercings, your options include:
- Angel Bites
- Canine Bites/Shark Bites
- Cyber Bites
- Dolphin Bites
- Joker Bites/Dahlia Bites
- Snake Bites
- Viper Bites/Spider Bites
You can also consider some Gauge Lip Piercing Options if you like the idea of wearing gauge lip piercing jewelry, like a labret plugs, etc.
How to take care of a lip piercing?
Most lip piercings may take between 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal, but some of the more detailed lip piercings like Joker bites, Monroe piercings and Medusa piercings may take up to 3 months or more to heal. Healing time vary depending on how diligent you are with your lip piercing care. Therefore, it’s important that you take care of your physical health overall, like you Eat healthy, get sufficient sleep every night, stay hydrated, practice good hygiene, and avoid things like smoking, aspirin, alcohol, excessive amounts of caffeine, and intake of any drugs because these things can dilute your blood and make it harder for your body’s natural system to clot and heal. You’ll also have to avoid wet kissing, any kind of oral sex, dipping in communal water, etc. to protect your immune system from any foreign bacteria.
There are a few other specifics you should take care of following your lip piercing:
- Spray your lip piercing 3-6 times a day with a saline-based rinse spray like Recovery Piercing Aftercare Spray. Or rinse your mouth with any alcohol-free sea salt mouthwash 3-6 times per day. Make this a particular habit after each meal.
- Brush your teeth and floss gently to avoid any toying with your lip jewelry.
- Chew food slowly or better yet go for soft foods like oatmeal, Jell-O, macaroni and cheese, soups, and yogurts during the first few weeks of getting pierced.
- Moisturize the lip area with a tea tree oil-enhanced sea salt solution to prevent any dryness rather than using lotions, creams, oils or balms that could clog fistula, trap in bacteria and make you susceptible to infection.
Things to avoid while your lip piercing is healing:
- Do not twist, turn or pull on your jewelry to loosen crusties. You could end up pushing bacteria into your fistula or trigger an infection.
- Touch your jewelry only with freshly-washed or gloved hands.
- Don’t use any alcohol-based mouthwash while your lip piercing is healing, as alcohol dries, and it can delay the lip piercing healing process.
- Don’t take any aspirin and by-products as new lip piercings are prone to occasional bleeding, and these can thin your blood and make clots harder to form.
- Don’t wash the skin around the lip piercing with soap since soap, like alcohol, dries and can delay the healing process.
- Do not change your lip ring prematurely unless you are experiencing a piercing problem since your fistula will still be tender and it may be dangerous to insert new jewelry yourself.
Before getting a lip piercing, it may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with all the pros and cons of a lip piercing and we hope we have clarified all your doubts.
