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What are the Different Types of Labret Piercings?
There are several different types of labret piercings, including the vertical labret, the monroe, and the snake bite labret. Some people also get spider bite labret piercings, which are somewhat similar to the snake bite labret. The vertical labret is the most common type of labret piercing, and the other types of labrets are considered variations on the vertical labret. People who get labrets normally use either curved or straight bell and bar jewelry to decorate them.
The vertical labret is normally considered the most popular of all labret piercings, and it is the type of piercing that comes to mind for most people when they think of the term labret. A vertical labret piercing is done through the top of the lower lip all the way through to the other side, just under the lower lip. After the piercing is done, a small steel bar can be inserted into the hole. These bars normally have small balls that screw onto either end, which makes it easier to remove the jewelry as needed.
One of the more popular variations on the traditional vertical labret piercing is the monroe. A monroe piercing is normally done on the left side of the face, right next to the upper lip. This type of piercing usually requires the use of bell and bar jewelry, and the bar is normally placed through the hole next to the lip with the ball screwed onto the other end either inside the cheek or outside on the face. The piercing gets its name from the late actress Marilyn Monroe, who had a trademark mole just above the left side of her upper lip.
Other types of labret piercings include the snake bite and spider bite labrets. These piercings are similar to the vertical labret, but the snake bite labret involves two piercings in the top of the bottom lip, and the spider bite labret involves three piercings. With a snake bite labret, two piercings are done on either side of the top of the bottom lip, and the end result may look similar to snake fangs once the jewelry is put in place. The spider bite labret involves three piercings close together on the top of the bottom lip. Instead of using a straight bar for these piercings, people occasionally use curved bars that extend out over the top of the bottom lip to enhance the fanged appearance.
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![A Monroe piercing is meant to reflect Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark.]()
By: 1950sUnlimitedA Monroe piercing is meant to reflect Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark. -
![Marilyn Monroe was a famous celebrity and sex symbol -- known for her blond hair and the beauty mark just above her lips -- during the 1950s and 1960s.]()
Marilyn Monroe was a famous celebrity and sex symbol -- known for her blond hair and the beauty mark just above her lips -- during the 1950s and 1960s. -
![Salt water can be used to clean a Monroe piercing and prevent infection.]()
By: Meliha GojakSalt water can be used to clean a Monroe piercing and prevent infection.
Discussion Comments
@afterall- I had a friend who told me that. She had a lip piercing and removed it when she got sick a ridiculous amount the first year she had it, especially compared to before. They can look cool, but any kind of body jewelry can be unhealthy. I knew someone else with a navel piercing whose body slowly rejected it, to the point where it just fell out one day and the skin around it just fell apart completely. If that happened to someone with a labret piercing, it could get them seriously sick.
Labret piercings are not really good for you. I have heard from a few doctors that people who have piercings around the mouth, such as the labret or on the tongue, had way higher rates of disease and other forms of infection. The thing about a body piercing is it's a way for anything in the air to pass through tissue, and while the earlobe or ear cartilage are not places that access the inside of your body, the mouth very much is.
Not that I think it would be enough to turn most people off of getting a labret or lip piercing, but it definitely put me off.
@JessicaLynn - I think the Monroe piercing looks OK, depending on what the person who has it looks like. I've definitely seen a few people pull it off!
I have to say though, I don't think labret piercings are as popular as they once were. When I was in high school I remember knowing a bunch of people that had some kind of labret piercing. Now I don't know any! And I can't remember the last time I saw one in public either.
I really dislike the Monroe piercing. I used to know a girl who had it and I always though it looked kind of like a zit!
I know some people must like it though. I mean, enough people have this kind of piercing it even has a specific name! I wonder what Marilyn Monroe herself would have thought about it?
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