Lip Piercing Types: A Comprehensive List December 11, 2019 – Posted in: Piercing Types – Tags: ashley piercing, lip piercing aftercare, lip piercing types, lip piercings, madonna piercing lip piercing healing times, mouth piercings, oral piercings, piercing types

Lip piercing types highlights:

• There are tons of lip piercing types to choose from, including many multi-pierced looks.
• Most lower lip piercings take around 6 – 8 weeks to heal, while upper lip piercings take around 2 – 3 months.
• Make sure that you choose jewelry that sits flush to the skin and doesn’t scrape against your gums or teeth.

The lips offer a full canvas of pierceable places. Perhaps this is why they never go out of style; in every decade, there’s a new piercing trend that takes the fashion world by storm.

Today, lip piercings have found new strides in fashion. There are around 17 lip piercing types, and many of these can be customized. Whether you crave bold and beautiful looks, or simple and understated styles, there’s a lip piercing for you.

When it comes to lip piercings, you’re spoiled for choice. Here is a list of lip piercing types, healing times, and the jewelry that each type prefers.

The Ashley piercing

While most lip piercings pierce the skin surrounding the lips, the Ashley piercing pierces the lip itself. Its entry point sits at the center of your bottom lip with an exit point directly behind, inside your mouth. This piercing looks fantastic when decorated with a dainty gemstone and surrounded by a bright lipstick color. Keep in mind, however, that you’ll have to forego the lip color until your piercing has fully healed.

Ashley piercing healing time

2 – 4 months

Preferred jewelry

The Ashley piercing can only wear jewelry with a straight post with a flat backing. The flat disc backing sits flush with your lip and won’t rub against your teeth and gums like other backing types might. You can choose different charms and gemstones for your labret studs or stick with a simple ball end.

The angel bites piercing

This double piercing combines the Madonna and Monroe lip piercing styles. The angel bites piercing features symmetrical piercings above the upper lip. Depending on your personal preference, you can choose to have the piercings done closer together or farther apart. Most commonly, each piercing is placed about halfway between the edge and the center of the lip.

Healing time

2 – 3 months

Preferred jewelry

The angel bites piercing only accepts two flat disc labret studs. You can go for the classic ball end look, or have fun with gemstones and charms.

The canine bite piercing

The canine bite piercing features four piercings in one. A combination of the angel bite and snake bite styles, the canine bite piercing consists of two piercings placed symmetrically above the upper lip and two piercings placed symmetrically below the lower lip. The piercings are placed roughly where your canine teeth are located, hence the name.

Healing time

Upper lip: 2 – 3 months

Lower lip: 6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

With four different piercings to play with, you can have a lot of fun with the jewelry in the canine bite piercing. While the upper lip can only accept flat-back, straight-post jewelry pieces, the lower lip can accept various hoop and circular barbell styles as well. Have some fun by playing around with different jewelry looks.

The cyber bites piercing

A combination of the labret and Medusa piercings, the cyber bites piercing showcases one piercing centrally located above the upper lip and one piercing centrally located below the lower lip. Healing time

Upper lip: 2 – 3 months

Lower lip: 6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

You’ll likely see flat disc back labret studs as the most common jewelry for the cyber bites piercing. Some choose to go for a flat-back, straight-post piece in the top piercing with a seamless hoop or captive bead ring in the bottom piercing. For a similar aesthetic as a captive bead ring, you can also choose circular barbells, which are shaped like horseshoes with small beads at each end.

The Dahlia piercing

With macabre roots, the Dahlia piercing is named after the infamous Black Dahlia, an actress who was found with a smile carved into her face. (If this name is too dark for you, the piercing is sometimes referred to as the Joker piercing.) It’s characterized by two piercings placed at the edges of your mouth.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

The Dahlia piercing takes flat disc labret studs. Most choose small beads or gemstones as their decoration.

The dolphin bite piercing

Meant to emulate the narrow muzzle of a dolphin, the dolphin bite piercing consists of two piercings placed closely together and centrally located beneath the lower lip.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

Since this piercing is located in the center of the lip, many prefer small straight-post jewelry with a flat disc backing. Most often, people with this piercing opt for a simple beaded end, but you can find small gemstones or charms as well. Two seamless hoops that sit flush against the lip are becoming a popular trend, as well.

The Jestrum piercing

Although the Jestrum piercing (also called the vertical Medusa) consists of only one puncture, it offers a double-pierced look. It features an entrance point centrally located above the upper lip (where the Medusa piercing takes place) and an exit point toward the bottom of the lip itself.

Healing time

2 – 3 months

Preferred jewelry

Since the jewelry needs to connect the entrance and exit holes, you’ll have to stick with curved barbells (body jewelry pieces with a slightly curved barbell and beads at either end). Choose different ball ends to customize the look.

The labret piercing

Centrally located beneath the lower lip, the labret piercing is one of the more popular lip piercing styles, and it can also be decorated with tons of jewelry varieties.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

The labret piercing can be decorated with a wide variety of jewelry types. Jewelry with a straight post and flat disc back offers a subtler look. For bolder options, you can opt for captive bead rings or seamless hoops. Circular barbells offer a similar look to the hoop style, but the two beads at the end help the labret piercing to pop.

The lowbret piercing

The only difference between the labret piercing and the lowbret piercing is that the lowbret piercing is located as far down as your anatomy allows. It often sits in the curve between your lips and your chin. Often, those who wish to stretch their labret piercing after healing opt for the lowbret piercing option.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

Since the lowbret sits so low, you’ll be pretty much limited to a flat disc labret stud. If you get this piercing type, pay attention to how the jewelry sits. If it scrapes against your teeth or gums, it should be retired.

The Madonna piercing

Inspired by Madonna’s beauty mark, the Madonna piercing is located above the upper lip to the right. The exact location depends upon your personal preference.

Healing time

2 – 3 months

Preferred jewelry

Since this piercing type is inspired by a beauty mark, a straight-post jewelry piece with a flat backing is the only jewelry style for the Madonna piercing. You can also choose flashy gemstones or cute charms for a more individual look.

The Medusa (philtrum) piercing

Located above the lip, directly centered, the Medusa piercing sits where your lip shape turns downward (the philtrum), accentuating the shape of your mouth. This piercing looks stunning for those with unique lip shapes or those who want to draw attention to their lips.

Healing time

2 – 3 months

Preferred jewelry

The Medusa piercing can only wear jewelry with a flat disc back. Have some fun with unique charms and gemstones.

The Monroe piercing

Meant to emulate the late, great Marilyn Monroe’s beauty mark, the Monroe piercing is located above the upper lip, to the left.

Healing time

2 – 3 months

Preferred jewelry

You should wear a jewelry piece with a flat back in your Monroe piercing.

The shark bite piercing

The shark bite piercing is really a combination of two spider bite piercings. This quadruple piercing consists of two piercings located closely together beneath the lower lip on both sides.

It’s meant to resemble the stacked teeth of a shark.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

With so many piercings, the shark bite piercing allows for creativity. Labret studs, seamless hoops, captive bead rings, and circular barbells are all popular jewelry choices. Many like to mix and match their jewelry options as well.

The side labret piercing

 The side labret piercing is simple: one piercing located beneath the bottom lip to either the right or left of center, depending on your preference.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

For a subtler look, go for labret studs or slim seamless hoops. For bolder styles, you can choose captive bead rings or circular barbells.

The snake bite piercing

If you can’t choose on which side you’d like to have your side labret, then choose the snake bite piercing; it consists of two side labret piercings on both sides of the mouth.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

Like the side labret piercing, you can choose labret studs, captive bead rings, seamless hoops, or circular barbells for this piercing. Many opt for the seamless hoop style because it emulates the look of snake fangs.

The spider bite piercing

Similar to the snake bite piercing, the spider bite piercing features piercings on either side of the skin beneath the lower lip. Unlike the snake bite piercing, the spider bite piercing features four piercings, with double side labret piercings on either side.

Healing time

6 – 8 weeks

Preferred jewelry

The spider bite piercing provides perhaps the most variety when it comes to body jewelry. You can choose labret studs, seamless hoops, captive bead rings, and circular barbells. You don’t have to stick to just one style; many choose to pair seamless hoops and labret studs or any other variety of jewelry styles in their spider bite piercing.

The vertical labret piercing

Like the Ashley piercing, the vertical labret piercing is one of the few lip piercings that actually pierce the lip itself. As the name implies, it consists of a single piercing placed vertically in the labret piercing region. The entrance hole is placed in the center of the lower lip with an exit hole in the skin beneath the lip, creating a double-pierced look.

Healing time

2 – 4 months

Preferred jewelry

The vertical labret piercing exclusively uses curved barbells. The beads on either end will sit flush with your skin, creating a double-pierced look. Many choose curved barbells with a bead at the top end and a charm at the bottom end, which helps to encourage double-pierced aesthetic.

Can I shorten my lip piercing healing times?

Healing any piercing depends on your adherence to aftercare and your body’s ability to heal itself. To set your piercing up for success, make sure that you are cleaning the front and back of your piercing daily, practicing excellent oral hygiene, and try to move your mouth and your jewelry as little as possible.

Make sure that you clean your new piercing 2 – 3 times daily with saline solution, like NeilMed Piercing Aftercare. Saline solution only uses ingredients found naturally in your body, so it works with your body’s natural healing process in order to clean the area and promote healing.

It’s also important to note that if you opt to get multiple lip piercings in one sitting, it may affect your healing times. Taking care of multiple piercings at once is more difficult, and if one piercing becomes inflamed, it could cause the others to become inflamed, too. For more information about getting multiple piercings at once, read our blog here. 

Lip piercings are one of the hottest trends in the piercing world. Don’t limit yourself to side labret styles. With so many lip piercing types, you’re bound to find the right look for you.