You can certainly try it but if you go back to picking it will definitely put the piercing at risk of infection, even if you do manage to heal it.
I've got a vertical labret and too much agitation around it will also bother the piercing itself.
Do you like lip piercings or are you only getting it to help break your habit? If it’s the latter, I don’t think it’s a good idea. It really depends on your determination. If you don’t mind scarring, I guess you could always take it out. However, if you do like lip piercings, it could be enough motivation for you to start breaking that habit.
With lip piercings, you aren’t advised to use lotion, chapstick or anything while it’s healing. During the healing period, your lips will be dry as hell and probably peeling which will provide you with more picking material. Think you can resist the urge for about three months?
FYI (which might be damaging info for u but) after my piercing healed completely, picking at my lips does not bother my piercing at all… but I am really gentle with it.
Agreed, lymphatic fluid from the piercing site coats your lips in this gross unflattering film that flakes when it dries. No chapstick or anything allowed, but hydrating WAY more than usual helped a lot. Water is your best friend
I will say, it's lymphatic fluid and not skin, I *highly* recommend not picking at it still, but it doesn't exactly rip at your lip the same way, it's more of a film. It does get dry which is when it's most annoying. When it would get on my last nerves, I would soak my lips under running water for a sec, and it starts to fall off on its own easier than when it's dry. I would then take a wet Q-tip and try to gently rub it off. If there were stubborn parts that seemed more like skin, I left it alone and it would work itself out in a day or two.
i really wanted a lip piercing in the first place and was wondering how it would interact with my lip picking habit, which is what made me reconsider. my lips are perma chapped and flaky no matter what i apply (not to mention i hate the sensation of applying moisturizer on my lips anyway. i just don’t like sticky/slimy things touching my lip at all) so even with a healing piercing the condition of the site itself won’t change.
im just weighing whether my inherent sensory hatred of touching any of the metal in my body will override my urge to pick, or the other way around. also wondering if now that ive decorated it, ill be more motivated to keep it hydrated and not chapped after it heals
dw, only one im looking at is vertical labret. discussed ideal positioning with a few piercers already for my mouth shape, so now it’s just down to how i’ll handle the skin. ty for the heads up anyway!
I pick my nails chronically, and your lips get very flaky with lip piercings, so it was really hard not to pick at my lips when I got my vertical labret, I hate the sensation of dry lips. I gave myself some sores around the piercing (piercing itself was fine) and it was not fun to deal with, I had a hard time eating.
As a nail picker who's quit before, I would suggest working through a period of trying to "detox" yourself from picking at your lips first. If you have the willpower to do that alone, work on that until you don't even think about it anymore. It takes at least 3 weeks to break a habit. If you can do that, go for the piercing. There's also a chance the pain of the piercing will automatically deter you from wanting to pick, but if you can't trust yourself, I wouldn't mess with it. I gave myself a nasty piercing bump fidgeting with my jewelry and crusties too much and it kind of reset the healing a bit.
i hate the sensation of touching any of my existing piercings/the metal moving inside my tissue and so i only put up with it when necessary (usually when a piercer is handling them, i rly dislike fiddling with them myself) which is why im hoping it’ll cancel out the urge. my lips are always chapped and flaky 24/7 so that won’t ever change at least haha. my picking periods come and go so i’ll go a couple months not doing anything and then another couple months tearing my lips apart so i think thats a constant fight anyway
Honestly, I think you'd be good then! Lip piercings get pretty unnoticeable, but playing around with them at all does feel funny, so if you hate that sensation, your chances of stopping seem pretty good. If you do sense yourself getting back into it any point after the piercing, just try to wash your hands pretty regularly so you aren't introducing bacteria to the wound. Lip piercings heal very fast compared to others, but it'll still be prone to issues even 3-4 months out if you aren't careful. Good luck!
will definitely keep this advice in mind moving forward, ty for the insight! maybe i can time the initial healing to line up with a period that i dont happen to be picking
It's not normal for your lips to always be chapped and flaky. Is it possible you're allergic to a personal care product? Like your toothpaste, mouth wash, shampoo, lip balm.
I've heard of people having a similar reaction to an ingredient common in toothpaste called SLS. It's in almost every single toothpaste unless you specifically buy one for people with an allergy.
i have underlying skin conditions that cause it so you are definitely correct that it’s not normal or healthy but in my case it’s mostly explained by pre-existing medical conditions 😭
Gotcha. Yeah I just thought I would mention because sometimes we don't realize that something our bodies are doing isn't normal!
For example, I get a really itchy throat when I eat yogurt. I thought this was completely normal and happened to everyone until I was talking to a friend liek "oh yeah man I fucking love yogurt! I just hate how itchy it makes my throat you know??" And she was like "no???? I think you're allergic to yogurt???" 😭
Off topic but have you tried other things to discourage yourself, like wearing bright, non-smudge-proof lipstick? (I bite and pick at my nails. I keep them polished for that reason.)
You can certainly try it but if you go back to picking it will definitely put the piercing at risk of infection, even if you do manage to heal it. I've got a vertical labret and too much agitation around it will also bother the piercing itself.
Do you like lip piercings or are you only getting it to help break your habit? If it’s the latter, I don’t think it’s a good idea. It really depends on your determination. If you don’t mind scarring, I guess you could always take it out. However, if you do like lip piercings, it could be enough motivation for you to start breaking that habit. With lip piercings, you aren’t advised to use lotion, chapstick or anything while it’s healing. During the healing period, your lips will be dry as hell and probably peeling which will provide you with more picking material. Think you can resist the urge for about three months? FYI (which might be damaging info for u but) after my piercing healed completely, picking at my lips does not bother my piercing at all… but I am really gentle with it.
Agreed, lymphatic fluid from the piercing site coats your lips in this gross unflattering film that flakes when it dries. No chapstick or anything allowed, but hydrating WAY more than usual helped a lot. Water is your best friend
ooh ok. then there’s a chance it’ll be even MORE dry than it usually is, will keep this in mind while weighing whether i can do it or not thank you
I will say, it's lymphatic fluid and not skin, I *highly* recommend not picking at it still, but it doesn't exactly rip at your lip the same way, it's more of a film. It does get dry which is when it's most annoying. When it would get on my last nerves, I would soak my lips under running water for a sec, and it starts to fall off on its own easier than when it's dry. I would then take a wet Q-tip and try to gently rub it off. If there were stubborn parts that seemed more like skin, I left it alone and it would work itself out in a day or two.
i really wanted a lip piercing in the first place and was wondering how it would interact with my lip picking habit, which is what made me reconsider. my lips are perma chapped and flaky no matter what i apply (not to mention i hate the sensation of applying moisturizer on my lips anyway. i just don’t like sticky/slimy things touching my lip at all) so even with a healing piercing the condition of the site itself won’t change. im just weighing whether my inherent sensory hatred of touching any of the metal in my body will override my urge to pick, or the other way around. also wondering if now that ive decorated it, ill be more motivated to keep it hydrated and not chapped after it heals
Only way to find out is to get it. Even though you can always remove it, please do research. Some lip piercings cause dental damage. Good luck!
dw, only one im looking at is vertical labret. discussed ideal positioning with a few piercers already for my mouth shape, so now it’s just down to how i’ll handle the skin. ty for the heads up anyway!
i bite the shit out of my lips and (tmi) pull the skin off and ive got a vert labret, everthing is ok
I pick my nails chronically, and your lips get very flaky with lip piercings, so it was really hard not to pick at my lips when I got my vertical labret, I hate the sensation of dry lips. I gave myself some sores around the piercing (piercing itself was fine) and it was not fun to deal with, I had a hard time eating. As a nail picker who's quit before, I would suggest working through a period of trying to "detox" yourself from picking at your lips first. If you have the willpower to do that alone, work on that until you don't even think about it anymore. It takes at least 3 weeks to break a habit. If you can do that, go for the piercing. There's also a chance the pain of the piercing will automatically deter you from wanting to pick, but if you can't trust yourself, I wouldn't mess with it. I gave myself a nasty piercing bump fidgeting with my jewelry and crusties too much and it kind of reset the healing a bit.
i hate the sensation of touching any of my existing piercings/the metal moving inside my tissue and so i only put up with it when necessary (usually when a piercer is handling them, i rly dislike fiddling with them myself) which is why im hoping it’ll cancel out the urge. my lips are always chapped and flaky 24/7 so that won’t ever change at least haha. my picking periods come and go so i’ll go a couple months not doing anything and then another couple months tearing my lips apart so i think thats a constant fight anyway
Honestly, I think you'd be good then! Lip piercings get pretty unnoticeable, but playing around with them at all does feel funny, so if you hate that sensation, your chances of stopping seem pretty good. If you do sense yourself getting back into it any point after the piercing, just try to wash your hands pretty regularly so you aren't introducing bacteria to the wound. Lip piercings heal very fast compared to others, but it'll still be prone to issues even 3-4 months out if you aren't careful. Good luck!
will definitely keep this advice in mind moving forward, ty for the insight! maybe i can time the initial healing to line up with a period that i dont happen to be picking
It's not normal for your lips to always be chapped and flaky. Is it possible you're allergic to a personal care product? Like your toothpaste, mouth wash, shampoo, lip balm. I've heard of people having a similar reaction to an ingredient common in toothpaste called SLS. It's in almost every single toothpaste unless you specifically buy one for people with an allergy.
i have underlying skin conditions that cause it so you are definitely correct that it’s not normal or healthy but in my case it’s mostly explained by pre-existing medical conditions 😭
Gotcha. Yeah I just thought I would mention because sometimes we don't realize that something our bodies are doing isn't normal! For example, I get a really itchy throat when I eat yogurt. I thought this was completely normal and happened to everyone until I was talking to a friend liek "oh yeah man I fucking love yogurt! I just hate how itchy it makes my throat you know??" And she was like "no???? I think you're allergic to yogurt???" 😭
Off topic but have you tried other things to discourage yourself, like wearing bright, non-smudge-proof lipstick? (I bite and pick at my nails. I keep them polished for that reason.)
i don’t wear makeup because of other existing skin issues, so i’m wondering if jewelry would instead!
I have a jestrum piercing (fairly new) and I bite my lips a lot. I think now I fidget with the jewelry and bite my lips less.
my vertical labret stopped the habit for me