Thursday January 24th, 2008 @ 12:33 PM
4 days ago I have labret in the middle lip, but it turns out that for the inflammation the part inside of the piercing the inflamed lip gets lost, that is to say, covers it almost in its entirety, I must change the jewel? Or do I wait to that this deflate me?. I am afraid of that it is buried.
If I understand the issue, the disk on the inside of your labret stud is sinking into the inside hole. If that’s the case, you need to return to your piercer and get a longer labret stud. It sounds as though the piece that was put in initially was not long enough to accommodate the swelling you are having. If you don’t get a longer piece put in, the disk will likely embed into your lip to the point that it’s impossible to get it out without cutting it out.
+1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday January 18th, 2008 @ 12:05 AM
I’ve had my lip rings out for almost a year. I recently decided to put them back in. is tapering them up to a 16g an option, or should I should just repierce them?
Depending on how long you had your piercings, before you took them out, yes you might be able to taper them back up to a 16ga. Of course the only way to see is by visiting a piercer and have them analyze the area and attempt to pass the taper through. The taper should not be literally forced through, it should just slide through easily.
If this is potentially an option expect a bit of tightness and treat the piercing as if it was a fresh piercing for a little while, normally 3-4 weeks
0 / 0 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Sunday January 13th, 2008 @ 3:10 PM
Okay so dumb story but I pierced my lip.. i was clean about it and all that but then the next morning I realized it was stupid and needed to come out… so I took it out.
no pain or anything when I was piercing it, putting it in, or taking it out.
the swelling of the actual lip only lasted a day but it feels like its swollen between my lips (I think its just forming scar tissue)… like the outside isn’t swollen and on the inside of my lip is just a little white circle where the hole was.
Is that normal? Everyone I’ve talked to has says yes and it will go down in due time, I mean its only been 3 nights since I did it but I’m a worrier and I just wanna double check with people who might know a little more.
and every night I wash the outside and i rinse with mouthwash or warm salt water any chance I get….
but I just wanna make sure that kind of swelling is normal and will go down?
and if its scar tissue what is the quickest way to make it go down because i plan on re piercing it when I don’t have to worry about my job and my sports coaches and parents breathing down my neck, and its really kinda annoying
Putting a hole in your face = swelling.
If it’s only been 3 days, I wouldn’t worry about it. Give it some time and everything should return to normal.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday January 11th, 2008 @ 9:57 PM
Would it be possible to perform a piercing right at the bottom of the lip where it meets the gum, and if so, would there be any likely issues? Would a standard labret post be suitable?
Thanks [=
I go as low as I need to go thank you very much, but only with the right person ;P
In seriousness to answer your question yes you can pierce where you are essentially looking to get them. If you search for Lowbrets on BMEZine, you’ll see a plethora of various different options.
Yes a labret stud would be ideal and I’d personally advise using a 3-piece internally threaded labret. As depending on how your lips and gums are you might require a smaller disc on the inside so not to rub against where the lip and gums meet,etc.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday January 11th, 2008 @ 9:45 PM
Alrighty. I have a healed labret piercing(14ga) and a healed Monroe piercing(16ga). I recently moved out of the province so I had to find a new place to buy jewelery. When I did I bought two studs, one supposed to be a 14ga and the other supposed to be a 16ga. I came home, cleaned them and went to put them in when I discovered that both of them were the wrong size! The stud that was supposed to be a 16ga was slightly larger than the one I had in. That wasn’t a huge problem so I put it in and the piercing was a little sore and red for about a day. But the other one that was supposed to be a 14ga was the same size! Way smaller than the one I had in my labret before! So, both of them were bigger than a 16ga, but smaller than a 14ga. What’s up with that? Is there such thing as a 15ga?
In essence, yes there IS a 15ga, but most jewelry suppliers never make the in between gauge size. This is often a result of inconsistent polishing techniques, either they mass tumble polish or even if it’s polished by hand, they can either over polish or under polish the jewelry. Thus giving the jewelry a inconsistent size, which ethically the jewelry suppliers should be checking to ensure its the proper gauge and length before sending them out to the wholesale buyers.
This is why I personally prefer dealing with only the best (highest quality) jewelry manufacturers nowadays, as they guarantee the correct gauge, length, diameter,etc that is ordered.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday January 11th, 2008 @ 9:34 PM
i had gotten my cheeks pierced almost 3 weeks ago and had some trouble with them they had to put 5/8 inch barbells in from the swelling then they had to change the left one to 3/4 inch and it doesnt really hurt but it keeps getting like this really nasty stuff in it that leaks out like not just the lymph secretions but like thick stuff and where the ball had went inside my cheek it had made the skin rather loose ive been brushing every time i eat as well as doing sea salt soaks and H2Ocean spray on the outside of the cheeks and the skin inside is turning white and the ball is still wanting to go inside my cheek but not from the swelling just from where it had went in before like the hole wont close is it infected and what would u say the best thing to do is?
thanks
To be honest 5/8″ and quite often even 3/4″ is just a bit too short for initial cheek piercings. Most piercers I know will use jewelry that is close to 1″ or longer in length initially, to accomodate for the cheeks swelling allowance, which is a lot.
Also depending on where the placement was done, complications could definitely be occuring. If they pierced through the parotid glands or some of its ducts, problems can become quite serious.
Also brushing teeth should be kept to 2-3 times a day. As for the sea salt soaks, how are you mixing the sea salt and water together? Also how are you doing them (ie: washing your mouth out with it, soaking the outside of the piercing,etc) and how long are you doing this for?
Also depending on the bead size, you might require a little bit larger bead size, to prevent it from being sucked into your cheek. However a lot of this is just speculation, a proper in person assessment would be ideal, to troubleshoot the situation effectively.
+2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 9 Comments
Wednesday December 19th, 2007 @ 1:41 AM
I pierced my lip a little over a week ago. The swelling has gone down, and now it feels like my other lip piercing (that’s now 2 years old) did, except I’m pretty sure it’s infected. The outside hole has a big sore around it that scabs up and makes moving the ring hell (even after I soak it to try to losen it up beforehand) and there has been copious amounts of pus. I’ve been doing sea salt soaks and trying to leave it alone, but I suppose my question is, is it better to “squeeze” the pus out (I tend to put pressure on the ring by stretching my lip out to make it come out) or leave it alone to clear up on it’s own?
Plain and simple, change the ring out to a implant grade steel or titanium internally threaded labret stud. Honestly I often ask myself why the hell are piercers still using rings/CBR’s for lips, when anyone with an iota of logic and intelligence will know that a labret stud offers a more effective and efficient healing process. Anyways sorry for that lil rant, teehee.
The fact is that the pus is still occurring because of the constant rotation of the ring. This rotation of the ring in and out of the piercing often irritates it and prolongs the healing time. With rings you should never be turning/spinning the jewelry around and the more you “squeeze” and touch and play with the piercing, the more you’re just going to irritate it.
So as I said above get a high quality labret stud inserted into the piercing and leave that thing along, at least for a good 8 weeks or so. If you decide you want a ring, then you can do so, once the problems are troubleshooted and gone. But still you want to wait a lil bit before changing the labret stud out to a ring, be patient and don’t rush…Else this problem will just keep occurring.
+6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 9 Comments
Thursday November 8th, 2007 @ 8:50 PM
I drink a lot of coffee and tea, and I’ve just re-quit smoking for the 50th time, so my teeth aren’t as white as I’d like them to be. Are teeth whitening products, like the strips you put on your teeth ok to use with oral piercings? I have a new-ish (about a month old) inverse vertical labret. I was of course going to wait until it was much more healed to stick any harsh chemicals like whitening products in my mouth; I just wanted to know if they would be ok to use once I was healed up.
Thanks! 
I’ve used teeth whitening systems myself, and they’ve never affected my healed oral piercings negatively - but I’ve only ever used the professional sort that one has done by a dentist, and I honestly don’t know if the supermarket ones are any different. I’ve always been told that the supermarket teeth whiteners are much weaker and take longer to be effective, so I can see it going one of two ways: A. It’s not as harsh and doesn’t irritate the piercings; or B. The multiple treatments and extended exposure will be more irritating. Of course, if the strips start irritating your piercings, you can always just stop using them!
Also, it just occurred to me that the kind of whitening I had done involved the bleaching gel put into fitted mouth trays, which pretty much kept the gel off my gums, let alone my lips or cheeks, so that’d be something to think about, too. Readers, feel free to weigh in with your experiences in the comments!
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 6 Comments
Monday November 5th, 2007 @ 3:04 PM
So, I currently have a captive bead ring in my lip. When I got it the piercer told me that I would easily be able to remove it myself. Well, i finally tried… and it was not easy and did not happen. I looked it up online and it said to use pliers… but im wondering if theres a less scary, less damaging way?
Also, my friend loosened his (i.e. stretched the ring more) so that he can more easily pop the ball in and out. I’m wondering if this is an okay thing to do?
Note: I changed the original title on this to make it a bit more relevant
If a captive bead is a smaller (thinner) gauge, they can often be inserted and removed by hand. How easy this can be done depends a bit on how tightly the bead was inserted into the ring as well as the quality of the metal the ring is made from. If the ring is made of 316LVM stainless steel that has been properly annealed (heated up and cooled down, which softens it), popping the bead in and out should be pretty easy. If the ring hasn’t been annealed, it can be very hard to pop the bead in and our without ring-opening pliers.
Whether the ring is annealed or not, you should be able to adjust the gap where the bead sits so you can remove the bead more easily with just your hands. However, if the ring is not annealed, you will probably need a pair of ring opening pliers to adjust the gap. if you don’t have access to a pair, any piercer should be able to make the adjustment for you.
Disposable latex or nitrile gloves that fit your hands well can often make the jewelry easier to work with as it will give you a better grip on everything. At the very least, wash your hands with soap and water to help remove oils from your fingers, so everything will be a little less slippery.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Saturday November 3rd, 2007 @ 12:54 AM
I’ve had my medusa (aka upper middle lip) for about 2 years now and it has refused to heal. I get a small infection every now and then to one side of the hole. This just involves a small pustule forming under the skin, more often than not it’ll leak out on its own accord but I’m left with a swollen lip and goop coming out. I also experience a lot of crusties. I salt soak it twice a day and I’ve been putting vitamin e cream around the area (I have very dehydrated skin). I’ve also changed the jewelry to a different metal twice but that didn’t help. When I take the jewelry out I notice a patch of very different textured skin on that side…that may or may not be scar tissue. I’m reluctant to remove and heal it for some stupid reason, but if that is my only option I’ll take it. It’s just really annoying and I know that putting up with it for 2 years seems really absurd. Any suggestions as to what is causing it and how I can fix it?
I’d be willing to bet a body part (although not one I need for piercing) that the problems you are having are related to how the jewelry is sitting in your piercing. After 2 years of never fully healing, the most likely problem is that your jewelry is causing continual irritation/pressure to the piercing, which is preventing it from healing full and is causing the recurring bump/”pustule”.
No amount of salt soaking or anything else you put on the piercing will help if you’re suffering from a mechanical irritation. Think of it like this: if you have a cut on your arm and you constantly poke it, play with it and pick the scab, your body is going to have a very hard time healing it. Your piercing is also a wound your body has to heal, and if it’s constantly irritated, your body has a very hard time doing that. Until you relieve the irritation, everything else you try is really just treating the symptom and not the problem.
While i think that jewelry causing irritation is the likely culprit, it is also possible your body simply doesn’t like the placement of the piercing. Perhaps your upper lip webbing is thicker and the piercing going through that connective tissue is causing the irritation.
Either way, it may be necessary to remove the piercing to get everything to calm down. However, a trip to a reputable piercer in your area is probably in order. Being able to see and feel your piercing will go a long ways in figuring out how to proceed. Best of luck.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
