Facial and Oral Piercings, the Complete Guide

Every piercing has to suit your anatomy. Facial and oral piercings have to suit two more things on top of that, and it is the reason they need more thought than an ear does.

They have to work with the things your face does all day, which is talking, eating, laughing and being looked at. And in the case of anything that sits inside your mouth, they have to coexist with your teeth and gums for as long as you keep them, which is a genuine consideration rather than a footnote.

None of that is an argument against them. It is an argument for choosing the right one, having it placed properly and knowing what it will ask of you. Done well, facial piercings settle beautifully and cause nobody any trouble for decades. Done badly, they are the piercings most likely to leave a mark you can see, in the one place you cannot cover.

This guide covers the lip in all its positions, the tongue, the eyebrow and the bridge. We have written separately and in detail about septum piercings and nostril piercings, so the nose gets a short section here and a pointer to those.

What Makes the Face Different

Three things, and they run through everything below.

1. Swelling is more dramatic and more consequential. The face has a rich blood supply, which is good for healing and inconvenient in the first week. Lip and tongue piercings in particular swell substantially, and they are fitted with deliberately long jewellery at the start to give that swelling somewhere to go. If a piercer fits you with the short jewellery you eventually want, the swelling has nowhere to expand into and the jewellery is driven into the tissue. This is one of the most common causes of a facial piercing going badly, and it happens in the first three days.

2. Anything inside the mouth meets your teeth thousands of times a day. Every time you speak, chew or swallow, metal touches enamel and gum. That contact is manageable with the right jewellery in the right position, and it is not manageable with the wrong jewellery. This deserves its own section and gets one.

3. It is your face. That sounds obvious and it changes the decision. Scarring anywhere else is a private matter. On the face, a piercing that migrates or is placed badly leaves something you will see every morning. It is the strongest possible argument for taking your time over who does it.

Lip Piercings, the Whole Range

Lip piercings are usually grouped by where they sit around the mouth rather than by what they do, and the names get confusing because several of them describe the same anatomy from different traditions. Here is the map.

Labret

A single piercing through the centre of the lower lip area, below the lip itself, sitting flat against the chin side and with a disc inside the mouth. It is the most common lip piercing and the one most people picture. The labret is a good first facial piercing. It sits in soft tissue rather than cartilage, it heals reasonably quickly, and it is easy to place well because there is a natural centre line to work from. The main consideration is the flat disc inside, which rests against the gum below your front teeth, and which is why the jewellery choice matters so much.

Vertical labret

Runs through the lower lip vertically, entering on the front of the lip and exiting on top of it, so both ends of the jewellery are visible and nothing sits inside the mouth against the gum. This is worth knowing about specifically, because it delivers a similar look to a standard labret without any hardware touching your teeth or gums. For anyone concerned about the dental side, it is often the better answer, and a lot of people are never told it exists. It does need enough lip depth to sit properly, so it is not right for every anatomy, and a piercer should tell you honestly whether yours suits it.

Philtrum, also called a medusa

Sits in the philtrum, the vertical groove between the nose and the upper lip, centred, with a disc inside the mouth above the top teeth. Extremely popular and, when placed on the true centre line, one of the most striking facial piercings there is. Placement precision matters more here than almost anywhere on the face, because it sits dead centre and any deviation reads immediately. This is a piercing to have done by somebody whose work you have looked at closely.

Monroe and Madonna

A single piercing through the upper lip, off to one side, positioned to sit where a beauty spot would. Monroe is the left side, Madonna the right, and the two names describe the same piercing on opposite sides. The jewellery sits against the upper gum, which means the same dental considerations as a labret apply, and the position tends to sit closer to the gum line than a philtrum does.

Snake bites, angel bites, spider bites and cyber bites

These are all names for combinations rather than for individual piercings. Snake bites are a pair of labrets, one either side of the lower lip. Angel bites are a pair on the upper lip, one either side. Spider bites are two piercings close together on one side of the lower lip. Cyber bites are a philtrum and a labret together, one above the mouth and one below, on the same centre line.

Dahlia

A pair sitting right at the corners of the mouth. Rarer than the others, and worth flagging that it is one of the more difficult lip placements to heal, because the corners of the mouth move constantly in every direction and get more friction than anywhere else on the lip.

What Lip and Tongue Jewellery Can do to Your Teeth

This is the section most guides skip, and it is the one that matters most over a lifetime.

Metal against enamel wears enamel. Metal resting against gum tissue can push it back over time, which dentists call recession, and gum tissue does not grow back once it has receded. Neither of these is a reason to avoid oral piercings. Both are reasons to take the following seriously, because they are almost entirely preventable.

Choose the jewellery material and shape properly. A well fitted flat disc in implant grade titanium sitting in the right position causes far less trouble than a large ball, an ill fitting bar or a low grade metal. Our comparison of titanium, steel and gold in a fresh piercing goes through the materials in depth.

Get the length right, and downsize when the swelling has gone. This is the single biggest factor. Jewellery that is too long moves around, catches on teeth and gets played with. Once the initial swelling has settled, your piercer replaces the long starter bar with a shorter one sized to your healed anatomy. Skipping that downsize appointment is the most common reason a well placed oral piercing causes dental problems years later.

Stop playing with it. Almost everybody does it unconsciously, clicking the jewellery against their teeth. It is the fastest route to chipped enamel there is, and it is a habit rather than an inevitability.

Tell your dentist you have it and let them look. A dentist checking a specific spot at each visit will catch recession early, when changing the jewellery or its position still solves it. A dentist who does not know will find it later, when it does not.

Consider the vertical options. As mentioned above, a vertical labret has no interior hardware at all. If you want a lip piercing and the dental side genuinely worries you, this is the answer rather than talking yourself out of the piercing entirely.

Tongue Piercings

A standard tongue piercing sits through the centre of the tongue, roughly midway back, placed to avoid the substantial blood vessels running underneath. That placement is not a matter of style. It is anatomy, and it is why the underside of your tongue gets looked at carefully before anything happens.

Not everybody can have one. Some people have a lingual frenulum, the web of tissue under the tongue, positioned so far forward that there is no safe placement. Others have vein positioning that rules it out. A piercer who looks under your tongue and says no is doing exactly their job.

What to expect. Tongue piercings swell more than most people are prepared for, peaking in the first few days, which is why the initial bar is noticeably long. Speech is affected for a few days and returns to normal. Eating is manageable with soft, cool food early on. It heals faster than most facial piercings, because the mouth has an excellent blood supply and saliva does useful work.

The downsize is not optional here. A tongue bar left at its starter length after the swelling has gone is long enough to sit against teeth constantly, and this is the classic route to a chipped tooth. Book the downsize when your piercer tells you to.

Variations. A venom or a pair of tongue piercings sits as two piercings either side of centre rather than one down the middle. A snake eyes piercing, which runs horizontally through the tip of the tongue, is one we would generally steer people away from, because it passes through both halves of the tongue muscle and can restrict movement and press against the teeth in a way the standard placement does not.

Smiley and Frowny Piercings

A smiley goes through the thin web of tissue joining your upper lip to your gum, visible only when you smile. A frowny is the same thing on the lower lip.

They are appealing precisely because they are hidden most of the time. The honest caveat is that the tissue they pass through is very thin and moves constantly, so these have a higher rate of migrating out than most oral piercings, and the jewellery sits directly against the front teeth and gum line. They are worth having if you like them and worth knowing that they are among the less permanent options.

Eyebrow Piercings

A standard eyebrow piercing is a surface piercing that enters and exits through the skin at the outer end of the brow, usually at an angle rather than vertically, held with a curved barbell. Because it is a surface piercing rather than a piercing through a fold of tissue, the body has an easier time pushing it out, and migration is the main thing to be aware of. Our comparison of dermal anchors and surface piercings covers exactly why that happens and how to spot it early.

Two things make an eyebrow piercing more likely to settle. The angle, since one that follows the natural line of the brow ridge experiences less tension than one that fights it. And the jewellery gauge, since something too thin cuts through tissue more easily under pressure.

Everyday life is the other consideration. Glasses, hats, towels and pillows all catch on an eyebrow piercing, and the first weeks require some care about how you dry your face and how you sleep. 

The Nose, Briefly

We have written separately about septum piercings and about nostril piercings, and both go into far more detail than a section here could.

The short version. A septum piercing goes through the thin soft tissue between the cartilage walls rather than through cartilage itself, it can be hidden completely by flipping the jewellery up, and it heals more comfortably than most people expect. A nostril piercing is straightforward and popular and the main things that decide how it goes are jewellery choice and resisting the urge to change it too early.

Higher and less common nose placements exist, including high nostrils and multiple stacked nostril piercings. Those are worth a conversation in person, because whether they suit you depends on the shape of your nose more than on anything general we could write here.

Swelling, and Why Your Jewellery Starts too Long

This applies across the whole face and it is the thing people most often misunderstand, so it is worth stating plainly.

You will be pierced with jewellery longer than the jewellery you eventually wear. It will look too long. That is deliberate. The tissue is going to swell, and if there is no room for it to swell into, the jewellery presses into the tissue on both sides, which causes pain, delays healing and in the worst case allows the disc or ball to become embedded.

Once the swelling has fully resolved, you come back and the jewellery is swapped for the correct length. That appointment is short, and it is the difference between a piercing that behaves for twenty years and one that causes trouble. The timing is not the same for every placement, and it is not the same for every person. Your piercer sets it based on how your particular piercing has settled, which is why it is an appointment rather than a date you can read off a chart.

Do not attempt the downsize yourself, and do not do it early. Both cause more problems than waiting does.

The Mouth is Where the Usual Aftercare Advice Changes

Most piercing aftercare is the same everywhere on the body. Anything sitting inside the mouth is the exception, and it is worth knowing what changes rather than assuming your ear routine transfers.

The inside and the outside need different things. A labret or a philtrum has an exterior side, which is treated like any other piercing with sterile saline, and an interior side sitting in your mouth, which is rinsed instead. Two surfaces, two routines, and neglecting the interior one is easy to do because you cannot see it.

Alcohol based mouthwash is the wrong tool. It is harsh on healing tissue and using it repeatedly through the day dries out the mouth, which slows things down rather than speeding them up. A saline rinse, or an alcohol free mouthwash diluted with water, does the job without the damage. Rinse after eating and before bed rather than constantly, since over cleaning irritates a piercing just as reliably as under cleaning does.

Food and drink genuinely matter for the first week. Cool and soft is the guideline, and it is not fussiness. Heat increases swelling, and swelling is the thing you are managing. Spicy food, very acidic food, alcohol and smoking all irritate a fresh oral piercing directly. Cold water and cold soft food actively help, because the cold reduces swelling.

Chewing changes. Take smaller bites, chew more deliberately, and be conscious of where the jewellery is until the habit forms. Almost every chipped tooth story starts with somebody eating normally on a bar that was still at its starter length.

Everything that touches your mouth counts. Sharing drinks, cutlery and anything else that goes near somebody else's mouth is worth pausing on while the piercing is open tissue.

Which Side, and How Much Symmetry Matters

For any piercing that is not on the centre line, you have a choice to make, and there is more to it than preference.

Sleeping position is the practical one. Whichever side you sleep on will press against the pillow every night for months. If you consistently sleep on one side, piercing the other one makes the healing period noticeably easier.

Faces are not symmetrical, and that is worth using rather than fighting. Almost nobody has an evenly balanced face, and a good piercer will look at yours and have an opinion about which side a Monroe or a spider bite will sit better on. That opinion is worth taking, because they are looking at your face as a whole rather than at one spot on it.

Centre line placements are the unforgiving ones. A philtrum, a septum or a vertical labret sits dead centre, and there is no side to choose. What there is instead is the requirement that it be placed exactly, because your eye finds a centre line piercing that sits a millimetre off far more easily than it finds an asymmetric one that sits a millimetre off.

Pairs are easier done together. If you want snake bites or angel bites eventually, having both done in the same sitting produces better symmetry than adding the second later, because the piercer is measuring against a face rather than against a healed piercing that may have settled slightly off where it started.

How Long Each One Takes to Heal

Rough timelines, and the honest caveat that individual healing varies more than any chart suggests.

Tongue. The fastest of the group, generally healing in weeks rather than months, helped by an excellent blood supply.

Lip, in all its positions. A middle timeline. The outside settles before the inside does, and it is easy to assume you are finished before you are.

Eyebrow and bridge. Longer, as surface piercings generally are, and requiring more patience about jewellery changes.

Nostril and septum. Covered in their own articles, and both are slower than people expect.

In every case, the visible calm of a piercing is not proof it has healed internally. Tissue closes from the outside in. Changing jewellery on something that looks fine but is not finished is one of the most common causes of a piercing that was going well suddenly becoming irritated.

It is worth knowing the difference between the two things people confuse here. Irritation is the piercing reacting to something being done to it, and it looks like localized redness, some tenderness and a clear or pale discharge that dries to a crust. It settles once whatever is causing it stops. Infection is different in character rather than in degree, and it brings heat, spreading redness, swelling that increases rather than decreases, genuine pain and thick discharge that is yellow or green. Irritation is a conversation with your piercer. Infection is a conversation with a doctor, and the two should not be treated as points on the same scale.

Work, Visibility and the Practical Question

Facial piercings are visible in a way ear piercings are not, and it is a reasonable thing to think about before rather than after.

A few practical notes. Septum jewellery can be flipped up and hidden entirely, which makes it the most work flexible facial piercing there is. Retainers, which are clear or skin toned pieces of jewellery, exist for most facial placements and make a piercing far less noticeable without letting it close. And an oral piercing that sits inside the mouth is invisible until you open it.

What we would not recommend is taking jewellery out for the working day and putting it back in the evening on a piercing that is still healing. Healing tissue closes surprisingly fast, and repeatedly forcing jewellery back through a partly closed channel causes exactly the irritation you were trying to avoid. If visibility is a genuine constraint, say so at the consultation and choose the placement accordingly rather than fighting it afterwards.

Bottom Line

The face rewards patience and punishes rushing more than anywhere else on the body.

Three things matter more than which piercing you choose. Get it placed by somebody whose facial work you have looked at closely, because centre line placements are unforgiving and the face is not somewhere to discover a piercer's limits. Accept the long starter jewellery and go back for the downsize, because that single appointment prevents most of the problems that oral piercings are blamed for. And if anything is going inside your mouth, tell your dentist and let them check the spot at each visit.

Beyond that, ask about the versions people are rarely offered. A vertical labret instead of a standard one if teeth are your concern. A dermal instead of an anti eyebrow if you want the look with better odds. Most of the disappointment in facial piercing comes from picking the obvious option when a better suited one existed and nobody mentioned it.

If you are weighing up a facial piercing, come in and have the anatomy looked at before deciding. A great deal of what determines the answer is specific to your face, and ten minutes in person settles questions that no guide can.

FAQ

Which facial piercing is the best first one?

A labret or a nostril, generally. Both sit in forgiving tissue, both heal predictably and both are easy to place well. Bridge and anti eyebrow piercings are the ones we would steer a first timer away from, because they are surface piercings and less likely to settle.

Will a lip piercing damage my teeth?

It can, and it usually does not when three things are true. The jewellery is properly fitted and made of implant grade material, you go back for the downsize once the swelling has gone, and you stop clicking it against your teeth. If the dental side worries you, ask about a vertical labret, which has nothing inside the mouth at all.

How long before I can change my jewellery?

Longer than you think. Tissue closes from the outside inward, so a piercing that looks completely settled can still be healing underneath. Your piercer will give you a timeframe for your specific placement, and the downsize appointment is a separate and earlier thing from a full jewellery change.

Can I get a facial piercing if I wear glasses?

Yes, with two exceptions worth planning around. A bridge piercing sits exactly where frames rest, and an eyebrow piercing is right beside them. Both are still possible and both are more comfortable if you can wear contact lenses for the first weeks.

Does a tongue piercing affect speech?

For a few days, while it is swollen, and then it returns to normal. Most people find it much less disruptive than they expected past the first week.

What if my piercing starts migrating?

Come in and let somebody look at it early rather than waiting. Caught soon enough, changing the jewellery or its angle can sometimes settle it. Left too long, it will work its way out and leave a mark. Our article on why piercings reject and migrate covers the warning signs to watch for.

Can I hide a facial piercing at work?

Often, yes. Septum jewellery flips up and disappears. Retainers exist for most placements and are far less visible than standard jewellery. What we would not advise is taking it out daily during healing, since the channel closes faster than people expect.

Do facial piercings leave a scar if I take them out?

Usually a small mark that fades over time, and how noticeable it is depends on how long you had it, how well it healed and your own skin. Piercings that migrated or were repeatedly irritated leave more of a mark than ones that healed cleanly and were simply removed.