Different varieties of piercings have recently become hugely popular, but there’s one that always seems to stand out from the rest: The Monroe piercing. The piercing is named after the beautiful and iconic actress, and looking at a picture of her face you’ll see why this piercing was named after her.

Thanks to the legendary Marilyn Monroe, the piercing, which is placed in the same spot where her beauty mark was, has become one of the most popular facial piercings of all-time. So, in order to make sure that your piercing turns out exactly how it’s supposed to look, it’s vital to prepare yourself properly before stepping foot into the shop.

Before Piercing

First off, it’s important that you begin a strict oral hygiene routine in the week before to your piercing appointment. The reason for this is that your mouth is home to billions of bacteria that could very easily cause an infection, especially if you’re not careful. So, taking this into account, you’ll want to be sure you keep your mouth as clean as you can leading up to the day of your piercing appointment.

To decrease the bacteria within your mouth, it’s preferable if you focus on brushing your teeth, gum-line and tongue at least two times each day and every time after meals/sugary snacks, paying special attention on the areas near to where the piercing will be placed.

Besides brushing, it’s vital that you both floss and rinse your mouth with some antibacterial wash to make sure that you remove as many germs as possible.

How The Piercing Is Done

Although the Monroe piercing looks very straightforward and simple, the piercer still has to be someone that’s experienced enough to put the needle in exactly the proper spot. Not only is this important in order to get the classic Monroe look, but also to avoid any common lip and mouth piercing problems like gum damage and enamel erosion.
The actual piercing procedure itself should all be over and done within a very brief amount of time (commonly less than 10 seconds).

1. First, the piercer will have to clean and disinfect the upper lip area before marking out the right needle entry and exit points.
2. Later, the piercer will take a clamp to gently pull your upper lip away from your teeth and gums before proceeding to insert an extremely sharp hollow needle through the skin quickly and easily.
3. After the needle has entered into the skin and exited out of the inner mouth region, it is then removed before a barbell is pushed into position and fastened into place.
4. Once this is done, the procedure is complete; your piercer will likely offer you an aftercare FAQ sheet that will have instructions on how to properly take care of the piercing during the initial (and critical) healing phases.

After the Piercing

The Monroe piercing requires a lot of facial and oral care to make sure that both sides of the jewelry are properly clean. You can use some sea salts, both internally and externally for this. This type of piercing can end up being a little bit more painful than others because the lip area has many nerves. There is also a risk that you could end up piercing the superior labial artery, located right above the upper lip.

This piercing has also been linked with long term damage to the teeth and gums because of the rubbing action of the back disk that is worn in the piercing. It could lead to gum recession or damage to the tooth enamel, if you don’t take the proper care. You could also see that the skin around the piercing may try to grow around the disk base and if this occurs, taking of the stud can be something quite painful. So, remember to remove it before it does.

In order to minimize the pain and damage that can be caused by the Monroe Piercing, you could be advised to use a plastic Labret stud. To minimize any possible complications, it is highly recommended that you do it only on a professional piercing shop and get some help from actual experts.