Getting yourself pierced is cheap and easy but it can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. While professional help is always recommended, certain places will be safer to get yourself pierced than others; Lips are one of them. If you want to get your own lips pierced, then you have to be careful that you get the right equipment, follow the right methods, and keep everything sterile.
Step
Step 1. Use the right equipment
Usually this piercing is done using a professional piercing needle. Sewing needles are used for fabric and NOT for your skin!
Step 2. Clean your needle
This is the important part. You don't know where the needle came from. If you have a pack of professional needles, they probably have been safely cleaned in a cleaning machine, so don't worry.
Make sure you clean your jewelry too. Although the jewelry has been carefully crafted, being too careful can't hurt
Step 3. Get ready to get your lips pierced:
Dry your inner lips with a dry tissue or cloth so that the spit doesn't stick to your piercing hand. First, mark the location of the piercing so you know where to insert the needle. Then, make sure that your piercing is very clean; not in the rundown bathroom sink. Prepare your utensils and place them on clean paper towels. Do not expose your equipment to germs.
Step 4. Put on clean rubber gloves
Once you've put on the rubber gloves, make sure you don't touch anything other than the needle and tongs.
Step 5. Start from the inside of your lips:
piercing the muscle on the inside of your mouth will be much easier than piercing the skin first to penetrate the muscle layer. When you pierce from the outside, it will hurt more, because your outer skin will feel it. On the other hand, it won't hurt as much if you poked it from the inside, though it's honestly going to be more difficult to do. Hold the area where you are ready to pierce and pierce the first layer of muscle with a needle. Make sure you reach halfway on your lips in the first stitch, to get past the muscle layer on the inside and just stick to the skin on the outside, which will be easier to do. Also, make sure this is the location where you want to have your piercing and prepare the piercing at the right angle. Instead of forcing the needle to penetrate your lips, push your lips toward the needle. This will reduce the pain and will make the process go more smoothly. Another way is to place your finger behind your lip, where the needle will come out, and then push your lip. This will make it thinner and easier to see through. Another reason why having tweezers is useful is that not only do they make for a great grip, but they can also reduce pain and make your piercing easier.
Step 6. Continue:
For professional needles, insert your jewelry at the tip and remove your needle by pulling the jewelry through the hole in the lip. Finished!
Step 7. Go and flaunt your lip piercings to your friends
But don't stop there! Make sure you clean it and don't remove the jewelry unless you have to, for example: your parents force you, your job requires you, your school requires you. Do not remove as removal can easily lead to infection. A great, effective, and easy way to get your piercing to heal properly is to use a saline solution. You only need 220 grams of distilled water with teaspoon of non-iodized salt. Do not touch the piercing unless you are cleaning it. Use an alcohol-free mouthwash and avoid spicy foods to aid the healing process. Allow the piercing to heal over time. Some people take longer than others.
Step 8. Within three weeks, there will be a lump on your new piercing
That's great, and it shows that your lips are healing properly. If there is a yellow or green liquid, be careful. This discharge is usually a sign of infection, and, if you experience it, don't take off your jewelry as it will trap the infection in the skin. You should go to a piercer and seek professional help. You may notice a lump the first day or two after you get your piercing, but if it lasts longer, it may mean you have an infection. So, again, keep it clean! Avoid drinking alcohol, smoking, and swimming for a few weeks to a few months after getting your piercing. Healing time is usually 2 months, but generally one and a half months.
Step 9. Done
Step 10.
Tips
- DO NOT USE ICE! The ice will only stiffen your muscles and make it more painful and difficult for the needle to penetrate. Your lips should be warm to allow the needle to penetrate more easily.
- ""Safety must always come first"". In this case you will plan how to pierce yourself using the right equipment. Never use unsterile needles or pins or piercing guns. These tools, if not sterile, will be full of bacteria and will most likely infect your piercing.
- Use a bright light at your skin to see if there's anything that could make you bleed, or look inside your mouth to see your veins.
- Mouthwash can be harmful to your piercing. So, if you want to use it, mix it with water.
- Cleaning your piercing after eating is a good way to avoid infection.
- While many of the old and traditional piercings (nose, lip, ear, etc.) are safe to do, you still have to be careful! Lip piercings are less prone to infection because the enzymes in your mouth can help, but that doesn't mean your lips are free from infection.
- You should use titanium, niobium, or surgical iron as the base for your piercing. Plastic has pores and can allow infection to grow. Make sure the diameter of your jewelry is large enough to provide space for swelling.
- Avoid having unprotected oral sex (in men or women) until your lip piercing has healed. Piercings can create sores, and, if exposed to fluids, can put you at risk for serious sexually transmitted diseases.
- When you're trying to hide your piercing, cover it with tape if you're using studs.
- If you used studs instead of labrets at first, then you'll need to replace them. However, only do this if you are in pain. Leave it for a few days before changing to a labret if you don't pierce it with studs.
- Don't change your jewelry until your piercing is completely healed. Doing so can irritate the wound and lead to infection.
- Do not use a Q-Tip, cotton swab, or cloth to clean skin and holes. This can leave fabric or particles that can enter the piercing and cause infection.
- When cleaning, use a g-tip and dip it in rubbing alcohol, then push with your tongue and clean the studs with a sterile g-tip.
- Don't do this if you are young and your parents don't know about it. Also, be careful not to puncture the veins!
Warning
- Blood should barely come out. If you're bleeding profusely, there's probably something wrong. If serious bleeding occurs, seek help immediately! You may also have punctured a blood vessel. If it's scary, seek medical help.
- Never use the microwave to sterilize needles/jewelry, as they are made of metal.
- It would be better if this is done by an expert, if you can afford the expert.
- If infected, "don't" open your piercing. If you do this, your wound may heal but the infection is trapped inside your body. Instead of going this way, immediately visit a doctor.
- Again, this is your “personal” responsibility. Do this if you really want your lips pierced and don't hide them from your parents. Eventually they will find out.
- Don't expect it to go as smoothly and quickly as if it were done by a professional piercer. Since you are doing it yourself, you have to take it slow and carefully. It will hurt too.
- “Never” let your friend pierce you. It's better to do it yourself, so you'll know what feels right, can do it at your own pace, etc. If something goes wrong, your friend could be in big trouble – and not just your parents (especially if you're a teenager).
