LIP & LABRET PIERCING AFTERCARE

HISTORY

The piercing of the lips for the insertion of objects into them is very widely practised throughout the world, however only two tribes pierce the lips with a ring; the Dogon tribe Of Mali, and the Nuba of Ethiopia. Among the Dogon the piercing of the lip has religious signifigance, they believe that the world was created by their ancestor spirit "Noomi" weaving thread through her teeth, but instead of thread out came speech. All the other lip piercing that is practised in the world is done with labrets, which can either be a pin of wood, ivory, metal, or even in one case quartz crystals. Among the tribes of Central Africa, and South America the Labret piercing is stretched to extremely large proportions, and large wooden or clay plates are inserted.

Among the ancient Aztecs and Mayans labret piercing was reserved for male members of the higher castes, they wore beautiful labrets fashioned from pure gold in the shape of serpents, golden labrets with stones inset and ones of jade or obsidion (labret in Aztec "Tentetl"). The Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, and the Inuit peoples of northern Canada and Alaska wore labrets fahioned from walrus ivory, abalone shell, bone, obsidian, and wood.

The Makololo tribe of Malawi wear lip plates in the upper lip called Pelele. The African explorer Dr. Livingstone asked a chief the reason for this, in surprise the chief answered "For beauty! They are the only beautiful things women have. Men have beards, women have none. What kind of person would she be without Pelele ? She would not be a woman at all."

"The plug of wood in the lips, which became little by little a disk, and then a real plaque, was in some manner a sign of possession of the husband of the Djinja woman. It is the man who is to marry her, and very often him alone who operates, transfixing the lips of the young girl with a blade of straw forms the first sign of the deformation to which she will be subject as an adult. It is in sum, a betrothal rite."

Dr. Muraz reffering to the Saras-Djinjas tribe, who insert lip plates up to 24cm in diameter in both lips. Chari River South of Lake Chad in "Nudity to Raiment" Hilaire Hiler London 1929.

Interview with Fiona Horne, ex Lead Singer of Rock Band Def-fx, Radio and TV personality and Witch.

Fiona why did you pick the Labret piercing?

Aesthetically I really like the appearance, I like the idea of the symetry, I often wear bindis and I like lining things up. I experimented with sticking a bindi in the spot with Myrh gum, I found that having it there really made me aware of speech and because I'm a singer speech is very important to me; it seems to focus my energy in the region of my mouth. I like the fact that it's balanced in the centre of my face, and I don't like rings in peoples faces.

What did the piercing feel like?

The split second when the piercing was performed was on of the most profound feelings in my life, it almost like losing my virginity, I experienced infinity. it made me aware of how powerful and unimportant I was at the same time. When you voluntarily decide to put a piece of metal through your skin is very empowering thing. The permanent medium of steel being put through the impermanent medium of flesh is a powerful physical symbol of the impermanence of human existance.

What does the piercing mean to you now?

For me my piercing is very personal, I didn't didn't do it to impress anyone or because I'm in a rock band, it's a symbol of a major transition in my life. I would never take it out, on the occasions when I've taken it out to change the jewellery or something it feels as if a part of me is missing. Since I've had the piercing people have seen mine and have gone out and had the piercing just to copy me, but afterwards they've said that the experience made them realise that it's more than a fashion statement; it physical statement of self empowerment.

Any advice for people considering getting a piercing?

Well funnily enough I have a segment on JJJ Radio called Feral Beauty and kids call me up and ask advice, I recommend that they try sticking a bindi on or try wearing a fake ring first to see if they really like the piercing before getting it done.

LIP RING OR LABRET STUD ?

A piercing once healed, will last a lifetime so you must decide carefully if you would rather wear a ring or a stud, the angle of the piercing for a ring and a stud is different. However, you can change later on although a stud will not sit in a ring piercing at as nice an angle. Aesthetically most people prefer the look of a labret stud over a ring, and a stud is more versatile as it's very easy to change the jewellery and there's a huge range of labret studs available now.

PLACEMENT & JEWELLERY

The placement for a ring can be virtually anywhere along the lip, and the piercing can be done with either 1m or 1.6mm rings of various diameters depending on taste. Thinner guage jewellery heals quicker but has a greater chance of nesting. Rings are available in Surgical Steel, Gold Plated Steel and solid Gold.

Labrets are done with labret studs are like a small bolt with a ball on one end and a flate plate on the other which goes on the inside of the mouth. These are generally pierced at an angle so the backplate doesn't rub on the gums. Labrets though are mostly positioned in the centre of the lower lip about 5-10 mm below the lip-line. Labrets are occasionally positioned in the corner of the upper lip, in the position of an old-fashioned beauty mark. This piercing is called a "Chrome Crawford" after the Model Cindy Crawford. Many different types of Labret stud are available; Surgical Steel, Gold-plated Steel, Glow-in-the-dark Lucite, solid Gold, and 18ct Gold and Steel set with your choice of gemstones.

HEALING

Lip & Labret piercing usually take between 6-8 weeks to fully heal, it is very rare to develop an infection because the mouth contains an enzyme "Ptyalin" which inhibits bacteria. You will experience swelling usually 2-3 days after the piercing, this swelling can last 7-10 days. A longer Labret stud must be worn till the initial swelling has gone down; it can then be replaced by a shorter one.

Lip & Labret piercings have a tendency to move position on the inside of the lip, this process is called nesting. Rings have a greater tendency to do this than labrets because they tend to move around more, which puts stress on the wound. When the lip is pierced the membrane of thin skin inside the mouth is cut, this skin can then move back over the labret stud. Eventually this skin will die off and a depression will form where the stud sits, this can take weeks though and in the meantime the back of the stud can become embedded in the wound. Don't be alarmed if this happens, this is quite common but in time the wound will settle down.

DO'S & DON'TS TO CARE FOR YOUR LIP/LABRET PIERCING

THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR INFECTION IS TOUCHING OR PLAYING WITH THE PIERCING, ONLY TOUCH THE PIERCING WHEN CLEANING!

• DO rinse your mouth with a mouthwash such as Listerine or cepacol after meals or eating. For the first few weeks you should suck on antibacterial/antinflammatory throat lozenges (Difflam-C), these reduce the chance of infection and reduce swelling.
• DO clean the front of the piercing by soaking a cotton wool ball in salt water or Saline and leaving it on the piercing for 2-3 minutes to dissolve the crusting in the morning. Salt water can be made by dissolving 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt or table salt in a 1/4 glass of warm water, or use Saline (from any Chemist).
• DO use Lavender oil as it promotes healing and lubricates the wound reducing tenderness. Apply a small amount with a cotton-wool bud (to the front) after cleaning then move the jewellery so it gets into the wound. Remove any excess with a tissue as leaving it on can cause the skin to become irritated. It may be purchased at supermarkets (medicine section) or at chemists and must be marked (BP) or medicinal grade.
• DO eat things such as frozen yoghurt, ice cream, cold foods, or suck on chipped or crushed ice, or very small ice blocks. Cold things help the healing, alleviate pain and reduce swelling.
• DO remove the plaque and exudate which can form on the jewellery, do this very gently with a soft toothbrush during the healing period.
• DO be careful when chewing that so you don't bite the labret stud/ring and shatter a tooth!
• DO check once a month that the jewellery is screwed on tight , clean hands with a germicidal soap before touching the jewellery. The ball that screws off is on the front, and it must be turned clockwise to tighten it.
• DO use B-vitamins with a zinc supplement as this promotes healing.
• DON'T pick at the scab on the front of your lip, as this can cause infections, excessive scar tissue and can lead to lumps forming.
• DON'T put anything dirty in your mouth such as fingernails, pens, etc. And you must refrain from oral sex for the first month, this includes kissing even if you are in a monogamous relationship.
• DON'T play with the jewellery or chew on it during the healing period as this can lead to excess scar tissue formation. If you develop the habit of chewing on the jewellery you will eventually damage you teeth by wearing them down, this may result in a costly visit to the dentist.
• DON'T remove or replace the jewellery during the healing period, as the hole closes up very quickly and it's painful to reinsert the jewellery once this happens. Even after the wound is healed, the hole will close up very quickly if you remove the jewellery. It can take up to 1-2 years before you will be able to remove the jewellery for anything more than a day.

CHANGING JEWELLERY

If you have a ring you must get a piercer to change it for you as you need circlip pliers to remove the ball from the ring. Labret studs you can change yourself but not till they are fully healed and you can't leave the jewellery out for more than 12 hours as the hole will tighten up. If for some reason you can't get the stud back in see a piercer and they will be able to reopen the hole with a taper pin (like a blunt, tapered needle) this doesn't hurt.

After the piercing is healed you will want to change your stud, do this sitting down with a towel in front of you so if you drop the ball you wont lose it. Hold the back-plate of the stud between your front teeth and bite down firmly, apply more pressure until you have a firm hold of the stud, but be very careful because if you bite down too hard you can chip or snap a tooth. Once you have developed this trick you can change studs. The front of the stud unscrews counter-clockwise and can be tightened clockwise, just like a nut and bolt. Unscrew the front, remove the old and insert new stud, grip back-plate strongly between your teeth then screw on the front finger tight. Once the front is screwed on finger tight bite down firmly onto the back and give the front a bit of a turn to ensure it's on tightly.