| Monroe piercing | |
|---|---|
 A Madonna piercing | |
| Nicknames | Crayfish Madonna piercing |
| Location | Off-center, above top lip, on the right side. |
| Jewelry | Labret stud |
| Healing | 6–12 weeks |
A Monroe piercing [1] is a lip piercing placed off-center, above the upper lip on the left-hand side and is meant to resemble Marilyn Monroe's beauty spot, although Monroe's beauty spot was on her cheek, not her lip. The Madonna piercing is similar but worn on the right-hand side.
This piercing is typically fitted with a 14, 16, or 18 gauge labret barbell, [2] the bars of which are usually shortened after healing. A variation on this piercing are angel bites, with both the Madonna and Monroe style piercings worn on either side of the upper lip. This piercing may also be referred to as a Crayfish, Angel Bites, or Anti Bite (being the obverse of snake bites). When long barbells are worn in this piercing, they look similar to the antennae on a crayfish, hence the name. [3] Most people with a Monroe piercing favor a metal ball or a jewel on the outer-end.[ citation needed ] The lip can often swell considerably after the piercing and will need both facial and oral aftercare to keep both sides of the jewelry clean at all times. Monroes, like all piercings, are prone to infection and it is vital that the piercing is cleaned regularly. Scarring is minimal to none if properly taken care of.
An advantage of a monroe piercing is that the lip area generally heals faster than other piercings. The estimated healing time given by professional piercers for this type of lip piercing is between 8–12 weeks,[ citation needed ] but many find it heals in 3–6 weeks. [2]
The monroe can be a very painful piercing process, as this area of the body contains a large system of nerves. There is a small risk of piercing the superior labial artery, which lies just above the upper lip.
The amount of pain experienced during the piercing process differs from person to person and depends on the specific location of the piercing. Those with thicker lips or well-exercised facial muscles will have more flesh or muscle to pierce, [4] so they may experience more discomfort. Men may experience slightly more pain than women, as repeated shaving can make the skin of the upper lip tougher and harder to pierce. The orbicularis oris (the sphincter muscle around the mouth) is used in the playing of brass and woodwind instruments; as a result, players of these instruments tend to have a larger muscle around the mouth and may experience more discomfort during the piercing process.
As with similar piercings, monroes can cause long-term damage to the gums and teeth. The back-disk of metal jewellery worn in this piercing rubs against them, potentially resulting in gum recession or damage to tooth enamel. Plastic labret-studs are available to minimize this problem.
The Prince Albert (PA) is a penis piercing which extends from the urethra to the underside of the glans. It is one of the most common male genital piercings. The related reverse Prince Albert piercing enters through the urethra and exits through a hole pierced in the top of the glans.
A lip piercing is a type of body piercing that penetrates the lips or the area surrounding the lips, which can be pierced in a variety of ways.
A navel piercing is a type of piercing that penetrates the skin of the navel. It is most commonly located on the upper fold of skin but can also be affected underneath or around the edges of the navel. Healing usually takes around 6–12 months but varies person-to-person due to differences in physiology.
Nose piercing is the piercing of the skin or cartilage which forms any part of the nose, normally for the purpose of wearing jewelry, called a nose-jewel. Among the different varieties of nose piercings, the nostril piercing is the most common.
An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or, less often, by some other means. Earrings have been worn in diverse civilizations and historic periods, often carrying a cultural significance.
An eyebrow piercing is a vertical surface piercing, wherein a twelve to eighteen gauge cannula needle is inserted through the bottom of the eyebrow and exits through the top of the eyebrow to permit insertion of jewellery. Those performing the piercing may use a pennington clamp to better guide the needle through the skin. A curved barbell is the most common jewellery inserted post-piercing.
A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue. Since its decline in popularity around 2011, it has seen a recent upsurge making it now the second most popular piercing amongst young women aged 18-25 in 2019. It has become quite unpopular amongst men, although in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was more popular for men than women to get and associated with punk culture. Midline tongue piercings, or one hole through the center of the tongue is the most common way to have the tongue pierced.
Cheek piercing is a facial body piercing through the cheek. The most common variation of the cheek piercing penetrates the facial tissue into the oral cavity. The usual placement is symmetrical on either side of the face, either penetrating or imitating dimples.
A triangle piercing is one of several forms of genital piercing applied to the vulva. It is a horizontal piercing that passes from side to side, beneath the base of the clitoral hood tissue where it meets the inner labia and under the clitoris. The name is derived from the tissue where the labia meets the clitoral hood, which looks like a triangle when pinched.
A hafada piercing is a surface piercing anywhere on the skin of the scrotum. Piercings on the scrotal raphe or "seam" of the scrotum are common. This piercing does not penetrate deep into the scrotum, and due to the looseness and flexibility of the skin in that area, does not migrate or reject as much as many other surface piercings. The main motives are beautification and individualization. A piercing that passes through the scrotum, from front-to-back, or from side-to-side, is known as a transscrotal piercing. Multiple hafada piercings are not uncommon, often as an extension of a frenum ladder or Jacob's Ladder, which is a series of piercings from the frenulum to the scrotum.
A labret is a form of body piercing. Taken literally, it is any type of adornment that is attached to the lip (labrum). However, the term usually refers to a piercing that is below the bottom lip, above the chin. It is sometimes referred to as a "tongue pillar" or a "soul patch piercing".
Body piercing jewelry is jewelry manufactured specifically for use in body piercing. The jewelry involved in the art of body piercing comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes in order to best fit the pierced site. Jewelry may be worn for fashion, cultural tradition, religious beliefs, personal symbolism, and many other reasons.
Barbell style piercing jewelry is composed of a straight bar with a bead on each end, one or both beads unscrewable for removal and/or changing of the beads. Often one of the beads is fixed, either via epoxy or welding, so that only one bead is used to install or remove the jewelry. Barbell threads are usually right-handed.
An industrial piercing, also known as a scaffold piercing (UK/Ireland) or construction piercing, is any ear piercing that consists of two pierced holes connected with a single piece of jewelry. These piercings typically consist of a double perforation of the upper ear cartilage specifically. Two piercings must be made: one is fairly close to the head, while the second one is further down the helix on the opposite side of the ear. Industrial piercings that are vertical are also known as a suicide industrial.
A rook piercing is a perforation of the antihelix of the ear for the purpose of wearing jewelry. It is located just above the tragus on the ridge between the inner and outer conch with the piercing passing from the underside to the top of this ridge, differing from many ear piercings that essentially span between a "front" and "back" surface. Erik Dakota, a well known professional piercer and the individual responsible for originating and popularizing the rook piercing, is said to have named this modification after a shortened version of his first name. The piercing was first named in issue #4 of the magazine Body Play and Modern Primitives Quarterly around 1992 alongside the first printed reference to the industrial piercing, then termed "industrial ear project".
The lip plate, also known as a lip plug, lip disc, or mouth plate, is a form of body modification. Increasingly large discs are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it. The term labret denotes all kinds of pierced-lip ornaments, including plates and plugs.
A philtrum piercing, nicknamed a medusa piercing, is an upper lip piercing placed in the philtrum, directly under the septum of the nose. It is typically pierced using a labret stud as jewelry, with the ball sitting outside the mouth in the dip of the top lip.
Oral and maxillofacial pathology refers to the diseases of the mouth, jaws and related structures such as salivary glands, temporomandibular joints, facial muscles and perioral skin. The mouth is an important organ with many different functions. It is also prone to a variety of medical and dental disorders.
A jestrum piercing, also known as a vertical medusa or vertical philtrum, is an upper lip piercing that is very similar to a labret piercing, or more specifically a vertical labret piercing. It is placed in the philtrum of the upper lip, directly under the nasal septum. Unlike the similar medusa piercing, a jestrum piercing uses a curved bar-bell, and both ends of the piercing are visible externally with the lower part of the bar-bell curving around the underside of the upper lip. Sometimes it is combined with a lower labret piercing to form a symmetrical look.