Lip piercings are timeless. You can get lip-piercing any time and be part of the ongoing fashion trend. Lip piercings are one of those piercings that do not cause much pain during the procedure and the healing time is not lengthy either. Sounds good, right? But there is an issue you should be aware of if you get your lip pierced, which is lip piercing getting embedded. Now, you might be wondering how can you stop your lip piercing from getting embedded.
Imagine getting your lip pierced and wearing a rad piercing ring. You are getting compliments from left and right for that awesome piercing, but suddenly you notice your lip piercing has embedded, Ouch! To avoid this “ouch” moment I have elaborated on how to stop lip piercing embedding in this article.
Key Takeaways
- When your lip piercing becomes too tight and oral tissue covers the jewelry to some extent or whole then it is an embedding of lip piercing.
- Reasons, why lip piercing embedding may happen, are the natural response of your body, wrong bar length, piercing mistake, improper jewelry material, excessive pressure or friction, infection, and poor placement.
- Ways to stop lip piercing embedding are to choose the appropriate bar length, avoid infection, maintain oral health, recognize early signs, and avoid pressure and friction.
- Things to do if lip piercing embedding happens are don’t panic, assess the situation, avoid removing the jewelry at home, go see a doctor, visit your piercer, get the jewelry removed by professionals, replace the jewelry, or let it heal, avoid irritating, and take proper care.
Lip Piercing Embedding: What Is The Fuss Is All About?
For you to understand how to stop lip piercing, first you need to understand embedding. I have seen many clients complaining that their lip piercing is embedding, but after examining the piercing I can tell it is just nesting not embedding. That is why it is crucial for you to understand the embedding phenomenon properly.
Embedding usually happens if you choose jewelry that is too small for your lips. Or should I say when the jewelry is too short to accommodate the normal swelling you get after the piercing procedure., After getting the lip pierced, the area will get swollen a bit, so you are supposed to choose jewelry that would not get covered after the swelling occurs. Meaning the jewelry should be a bit longer than the pierced hole. That said, even if you choose an appropriate-sized piece of jewelry, it still may get embedded because of too much swelling or your skin tissue growing over it. Skin tissue growing over the piercing is not something unusual, it may happen as a natural healing process.
Lip piercing embedding is when your piercing jewelry gets covered by the skin tissue that grows over it or when it gets covered because of swelling. When the embedding happens your piercing jewelry will feel too tight and uncomfortable. If the imbedding happens you should go see your piercer and let them handle the issue.
7 Reasons Why Lip Piercing Embedding Happens
There are many reasons why you may face the embedding issue. I have elaborated a few reasons below.
1. Natural response of your body
When you get wounded or get your skin injured, what happens? Your body starts to heal the skin injury by creating new tissues to make things normal again. The same thing happens when you get your lips pierced. Your body may create new oral tissues to cover up the injury you have caused by piercing it. And there is a chance for your body to grow tissue to cover up the piercing jewelry as well.
2. Wrong bar length
The jewelry size can be a crucial factor behind your lip piercing getting embedded. If you choose a shorter bar length for your lip piercing then there is a high chance of you facing the embedding issue. A shorter bar length may not be able to accommodate the swelling of your lips. The swollen tissue may end up covering your piercing and make it tight. Tight piercings are a prime reason for increased discomfort and pain.
3. Piercing mistake
If your piercer makes a mistake during the procedure then embedding could occur. If the piercing is done properly then it may get closed or face embedding. Piercers are supposed to insert the jewelry properly after the procedure. If they do not insert it all the way in then it could be considered as a faulty piercing procedure.
4. Improper jewelry material
Choosing non-hypoallergenic materials could increase the risk of embedding. Any low or cheap-quality material that could cause allergic reactions or infection should be avoided. Any sort of irritation could increase the chance of your lip piercing facing an embedding issue. Try to choose high-quality materials for your piercing jewelry to avoid embedding.
5. Excessive pressure or friction
If your lip piercing faces excessive pressure or friction due to a lack of aftercare then it might get embedded. Friction and pressure may cause oral tissue to grow over the piercing. Chewing gum, putting too much makeup, washing the face frequently, and playing with the jewelry could cause excessive pressure or friction on the lip piercing area which could lead to embedding.
6. Infection
If the lip piercing gets infected the area may face increased swelling and pain. Your oral tissue may end up covering or tightening the piercing and cause embedding.
7. Poor placement
Choosing a newbie piercer is a big no. They may not know the perfect piercing placement and the anatomy of lips properly. They may end up piercing in the wrong place which can potentially affect how your body reacts to it and how the healing process goes. It can lead to embedding on some rare occasions.
5 Ways to Stop Lip Piercing Embedding
Now comes the crucial part you have been waiting for. Ways to stop lip piercing embedding, I have listed and elaborated on them below:
1. Choose the appropriate bar length
The bar length of your lip piercing jewelry should be appropriate. Choosing too small or too big-sized bars may cause many issues. Your piercer will be able to guide you on what size bar you should go for after they asses your lip thickness and anatomy properly.
2. Avoid infection
Infection or irritation may lead your lip piercing to get an embedding. Make sure to take proper care and avoid getting your lip piercing getting infected.
3. Maintain oral health
Now that you have a healing piercing on your lips, you should ensure you maintain a proper oral health routine. Brushing your teeth morning and night and using saline solution to rinse your mouth is very crucial. Doing so can help you maintain proper oral health and reduce the chance of getting an infection. Maintaining oral health can prevent lip piercing complications including embedding.
4. Recognize early signs
Make sure to recognize early signs of embedding and visit your piercer. Visiting the piercer as soon as possible can reduce the damage. What are the early signs of lip piercing embedding you may ask? Just look at the signs such as:
- Redness
- Increased swelling
- Increased pain
- Increased discomfort
5. Avoid pressure and friction
Pressure or friction could irritate the lip piercing which may lead to embedding. Make sure not to irritate the healing piercing. Avoid chewing gum, putting on too much makeup, and playing with the piercing.
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9 Things to Do If Lip Piercing Embedding Happens
Your lip piercing has already embedded, well that is a bit unfortunate. But all is not lost yet, you can fix the situation by following the things I have mentioned before.
1. Don’t panic
Trust me, panicking will not help your embedding. But it may make things worse, so why panic? Take a deep breath and relax for a moment. This embedding issue will be fixed, do not worry.
2. Assess the situation
Assessing the situation is crucial. There is a chance you are getting over a nesting instead of embedding. So, assess the situation properly to see if it is embedding or nesting. Notice any signs of swelling, redness, pain, and discomfort. See if the piercing jewelry is too tight and sunken under oral skin tissue.
3. Avoid removing the jewelry at home
Do not go all DIY mode and try to remove the jewelry at home by yourself. Doing so may further irritate the skin, disrupt the healing, and may even cause bleeding and scarring. It might be a bit tempting for you to remove the jewelry to give your swollen lips some comfort, but trust me removing it by yourself can be a bad idea.
4. Go see a doctor
Now that you have assessed the situation you should go see a doctor if the piercing seems to be sunken under oral tissue. A doctor would know better how to deal with the piercing embedding situation. Even though it is a piercing matter, it may still require help from medical professionals to sort out.
5. Visit your piercer
After visiting a doctor, it is time you visit your piercer. Your piercer knows best how your lips or the piercing area look when they conduct the procedure. They can tell exactly how bad the situation is and how to go about it from there.
6. Get the jewelry removed by a professionals
Remember I said not to remove the jewelry? That is only if you do it yourself, which may end up further complicating things. You should get the piercing removed by a professional, such as a doctor or your piercer. Removing it will stop further embedding and give your lips some relief.
7. Replace the jewelry or let it heal
After getting the jewelry removed, discuss with your piercer or doctor what should you do now. You can let the piercing hole heal up and later pierce the area again or wear jewelry right away that has a longer bar. Depending on your situation the solution may vary.
8. Avoid irritating
Avoid irritating the area further. It is already in a delicate situation, irritating it would cause increased pain, and delayed healing and may lead to possible infection.
9. Take proper care
Now, make sure to take proper care of your lip piercing. Not causing any pressure or friction, clean the area twice a day with saline solution, and avoid doing anything that could further irritate the area.
FAQs
What is lip piercing embedding?
Lip piercing embedding is when the piercing jewelry sinks under newly grown skin tissue rather than staging on the surface of the skin. And the jewelry will feel very tight when the embedding happens.
How do I know if my lip piercing is embedded?
There are a few obvious signs that can tell you if your lip piercing is embedded or not. Such as:
- Redness
- Increased pain
- Increased swelling
- Increased discomfort
What factors are responsible for lip piercing embedding?
There are many factors that are responsible for lip piercing embedding, such as:
- A natural response of your body
- Wrong bar length
- Piercing mistake
- Improper jewelry material
- Excessive pressure or friction
Final Thoughts
Lip piercing embedding can be quite a bummer. It can cause redness, pain, discomfort, and swelling. Lips being swollen and red is not a pretty sight. To fix it up quickly, do not try to remove the jewelry on your own. First, assess the situation and then go see a doctor and piercer, they will remove the jewelry if needed. After resuming the jewelry they may recommend you to heal up and get pierced again in the same area or put on another jewelry with a longer bar.
Usually, lip piercing embedding occurs due to the body’s natural healing process and the piercing jewelry bar being too small. You can avoid getting embedded by wearing appropriately sized jewelry, taking proper care of the piercing area, and avoiding irritation, pressure, and friction.
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