Lip / Labret Piercing Jewelry

This section covers the choice of jewelry best suited for Lip Piercings, Labret Piercings, and Beauty Mark Piercings. All of these are pierced with a Threadless or Threaded Labret Stud.

Jewelry Style:

When it comes to Lip piercings, it's essential to consider that the jewelry and piercing will be in contact with clothing and bedding during and after the healing process. Therefore, the jewelry needs to be simple, without sharp points or edges that could get caught on things, yet still allow room for swelling, discharge, and cleaning. 

• Labret Stud or Flat Back Labret:
  • The Advantages:
  1. The flat disc has a low profile in the mouth to reduce the risk of damage to teeth, gums, and bones.
  2. Lower profile than rings, which makes speaking and eating easier.
  3. Piercings can be grouped in small areas.
  • The Disadvantages:
  1. The hard metal disc is often in contact with gums and teeth, which can lead to damage.
  2. Length cannot be adjusted, and the jewelry will need to be replaced entirely after healing to reduce the risk of damage to teeth, gums, and bones in the mouth.
  3. Since the jewelry will be longer than needed to allow for swelling, the piercing will need to be downsized to short jewelry in 4-8 weeks.
  4. With a threaded Labret Stud, you need to check the ends regularly to make sure they are secure. In some cases, the ends will unscrew and fall off.
• Fishtail Labret:
  • ​​The Advantages:
  1. No sharp edges in contact with gums and teeth. This reduces the risk to teeth and gums.
  2. It can be adjusted once the piercing is healed to fit the piercing and the piercee's mouth.
  • The Disadvantages:
  1. It can be challenging to find. Most manufacturers no longer make them​​
  2. Since it is a piece of wire with a ball on one end, nothing is holding the jewelry in place, and it can fall out on its own if it is not in the correct position.
  3. The wire takes up more room in the mouth, which limits placement and can affect eating and speech.
  4. Since it has a larger profile, piercings can not be grouped.
• Curved Barbells:
  • ​​The Advantages:
  1. Lower profile may reduce abuse from contact with clothing, bedding and etc.. and less noticeable.
  2. It has the advantage of less contact with teeth, Gums, and bones in your mouth after healing, when a shorter piece can be put in.
  3. Since the jewelry is threaded, it can be easily removed if needed.
  • The Disadvantages:
  1. The angle of the piercing will need to be more vertical and will not allow the wearing of Labret Piercings
  2. Jewelry should be longer than necessary to accommodate swelling, discharge, and cleaning. This often means more weight, increased likelihood of abuse from contact or catching on clothing, bedding, etc... or being pulled or twisted.
  3. Since the length has to be longer to allow for swelling during healing, there is an increased risk of damage to teeth, gums, and the bones in your mouth.
  4. If the jewelry is too tight, there is no extra room at all, and it can cause the jewelry to become impacted.
  5. The tightness of the ends needs to be checked regularly to prevent the jewelry from falling out and the piercing from closing. This increases contact with the piercing and increases the likelihood of cross-contamination.
  6. In most cases, the jewelry is heavier than a simple Captive Bead Ring, which increases the stress on the piercing, which could lead to migration or other problems.
  7. Due to its shape, the jewelry is prone to twisting, which causes stress. Additionally, due to its weight, one side will be pressed against one of the piercing holes, potentially blocking the discharge.
• Jewelry that should be avoided during Healing:
  • Ear Piercing Studs and other traditional jewelry:
    • ​​The jewelry is often too short to accommodate the thickness of the piercing area, which prevents swelling and can cause the jewelry to become impacted in the piercing. Additionally, if the jewelry is too tight, it can block both the discharge and the flow of oxygen, potentially increasing healing time and/or the risk of infection or other complications.
    • The backs or locks are loose and can be tightened with normal wear.
    • Often, the jewelry material is not body-friendly. Even those marketed to individuals with metal sensitivity are only plated.
    • In most cases, they cannot be sterilized correctly.
• Rings and  Circular style jewelry such as Captive Bead or Beaded Rings and Circular Barbells:
  • The Advantages:
  • There are no sharp edges or points that may get caught on clothing, bedding, etc.
  • Since the jewelry is not tight and broader than the piercing area, it allows extra room for swelling, discharge, and cleaning.
  • Especially with Captive Bead and Beaded Rings, the jewelry is designed for long-term wear, eliminating the worry about ends coming unscrewed and losing the O-rings. It reduces the maintenance and gives the piercer one less thing to deal with during the healing process.
  • Much easier to move for cleaning.
  • Usually lighter in weight than threaded jewelry.
  • Allows extra room for the swelling that oral piercings are prone to.
  • The Disadvantages:
  • The profile of the rings may cause additional contact, abuse, and stress on the piercing.
  • The larger profile of the jewelry increases contact with teeth, increasing the risk of erosion.
  • Especially with Captive Bead and Beaded Rings, they can be difficult to remove or replace. In some cases, it requires special tools to remove the jewelry. 

​Size of the Jewelry and Weight:

• ​Gauge:​

As a refresher, gauge refers to the thickness of the wire used to make the jewelry. Body piercing jewelry typically ranges from 18-gauge to 0000-gauge. The smaller the number, the thicker the jewelry will be. As I'm sure you know, the thicker the jewelry is, the more weight it carries and thus the more stress it puts on the piercing during the healing period. Also, the thicker the jewelry, the more tissue that needs to be produced, and hence the longer the healing period. Although in most cases, an 18-gauge piercing will heal in about the same time as a 12-gauge piercing.

When choosing the gauge of the jewelry, the jewelry needs to be thick enough to reduce rejection or migration and have resistance to tearing, but light enough that it will not cause added stress during healing. Due to the location of the conch piercing, there are minimal chances of rejection or migration. With a Lip, the concerns are more focused on rejection and migration.  For this reason, larger gauge jewelry is usually the better choice. Not only for healing, but after healing, thicker jewelry is not only going to feel better when pressure is applied, but is also a great deal less likely to tear. In my experience, 16g or larger feels much more comfortable than 18g or thinner jewelry in the long run.

Due to the softness of the tissue, jewelry thinner than 16 gauge has a high risk of migration, rejection, and tearing. Since weight can also cause these problems, I generally suggest piercing with either 16g or 14g jewelry. 

• Width:

​The jewelry needs to be large enough to allow extra room for swelling, discharge, and cleaning. If the piercing is done with a barbell, this usually means that the jewelry must be done with a much longer piece than is needed, thus adding additional weight and risks. If the piercing is well-healed and seasoned, a ring can be worn, but it will need to be wide enough to wrap around the lip without causing pressure.

Even in a healed piercing, you should not put jewelry in that is too tight. The jewelry should not put pressure on the piercing or cause the jewelry to pull inward. In most cases, you need about a 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch of play. With rings, this can cause migration, scarring, and tearing of the piercings. With a labret, this can lead to the jewelry impacting.

Since oral piercings are prone to swelling, the jewelry is typically oversized to accommodate for it. You need to return to the piercing studio and have a shorter piece of jewelry put in. It is best to do this within 4-8 weeks after the piercing is done. If you notice that the jewelry is catching on your teeth or getting snagged, consider downsizing it sooner.

In conclusion, nothing replaces the first-hand knowledge of a professional piercer when it comes to choosing the correct jewelry. There are vast differences in shape and size, and often, what works for 99.99% of the public is not the best choice for you. The goal of this is to provide you with a working understanding of jewelry selection, so that you can have an informed discussion with your piercer about what will work best. Every piercer understands that one of the motivations for getting a piercing is fashion, but jewelry that will produce the best outcome should always consider fashion last. Think of the jewelry used for the piercing as temporary, or trainer jewelry, that will be replaced with your preferred choice once the piercing is healed.