If you are considering a lip piercing, you need to know that aftercare is extremely important, as with any piercing. This style of piercing is very trendy currently, but you need to know what you are getting yourself into before you commit to piercing your lip.
In this blog, we will list the different types of lip piercing. More importantly, we will discuss how to care for your lip piercing to prevent infection.
Types of Lip Piercing
The good thing about lip piercing is that there are quite a few different places where you can pierce your lip. The location, of course, is up to you, but here is a quick list of the most popular types of lip piercings:
- Angel bites
- Ashley
- Canine bites
- Cyber bites
- Dahlia
- Dolphin bites
- Horizontal
- Jestrum
- Madonna
- Medusa
- Monroe
- Shark Bites
- Snake Bites
- Spider Bites
- Vertical Labret
Aftercare Tips for Lip Piercing
Does a Lip Piercing Hurt?
As far as pain level, the average for a lip piercing is around 4 to 6 on a scale of 10. However, pain may vary by location as well as a person. We all have different degrees of tolerance for pain. You might know someone who says that their lip piercing was a ten, while someone else might say it was one. Just keep in mind that, as with any piercing, there is some pain involved.
How Long Will My Lip Pierce Take to Heal?
Typically, the healing time for a piercing on the lip is two to three months.
Are There Any Side Effects?
There are potential side effects from lip piercing. These include possible infection, swelling, irritation, lingering pain, difficulty speaking, trouble swallowing, and difficulty chewing.
Do’s and Don’t of Lip Piercing Aftercare
Follow these tips to properly care for your lip piercing to avoid infection or other issues
Do’s:
- While your piercing is healing, perform a soak with alcohol-free sea salt. To do so, soak a cotton ball in an alcohol-free sea salt solution and place it on your piercing for at least 30 seconds. Then discard that cotton ball and use a freshly soaked cotton ball (in the same solution) to soak the piercing for five minutes. Then, rinse a mouthful of the solution for about 60 seconds and spit out the solution. Repeat this process for about 5 minutes.
- Be sure to rinse your mouth with sea salt mouthwash (alcohol-free) at least three times per day, especially after meals.
- Remove any dried lymph crusties by using a quality aftercare piercing spray. Carefully saturate the area with the spray and gently dab it away with a clean cloth.
- Three to six times per day, spray the outer side of the lip piercing with a quality saline-based piercing rinse.
- Should the area around the piercing become dry, use a bit of sea salt solution enhanced with tea tree oil. Other solutions such lip balms and oils. creams and lotion could only irritate it further and possibly even lead to infections.
- Be careful while chewing food. Eat soft foods such as soup, cheese, jello, yogurt, oatmeal, and puddings for the first few weeks after your piercing.
- Take care while brushing and flossing your teeth so as not to snag or irritate your lip piercing.
Don’ts:
- Be careful not to touch your piercing unless absolutely necessary. Always wash your hands before and after touching your lip piercing.
- Do not share food or beverages with others.
- Avoid engaging in kissing or any oral sexual activities until your lip piercing is fully healed.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or smoking until your piercing has healed completely.
- Resist the temptation to play with your lip-piercing jewelry.
- Do not use any products with alcohol, such as cleaning solutions, mouthwash, lip balm, and so on.
- Avoid caffeine and aspirin for at least three weeks after your piercing. Both aspirin and coffee are blood thinners that can interfere with clotting and healing.
- Wait until your piercing is fully healed before changing out the jewelry. Doing so prematurely can delay the healing time and lead to infections.
If you follow these tips, your lip piercing should heal without any issues!