Are Ashley Piercings Painful?

If you appreciate body piercings and possibly have a few of your own, then you may have opted to have your ears pierced along with your tongue, eyebrow, and even your belly button. While there's a fair share of other options when it comes to parts of your body that you could accent with a touch of embedded jewelry, you might find your interest particularly piqued by Ashley piercings.

Thought to be named after the professional who initially came up with the idea, according to Arch Ziner, an Ashley piercing is a type of lip piercing. As opposed to a ring that goes around the lip, this is a piercing that goes straight through the lower lip. To be a little more specific, it happens to be an inverse vertical labret, which means that the piece that you can see is set into the middle of the outer lip while the other end sits inside of your lip where it can't be seen.

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to get an Ashley piercing, per Arch Ziner, including the fact that it can enhance the shape of your mouth while making it stand out. It will also look good when worn with other piercings as well as with or without lip gloss. While that may have you convinced that an Ashley piercing is for you, you might also want to consider how painful it is to get this body modification done.

Like it or not, all piercings come with pain. As for the Ashley piercing, William Thompson, professional piercer at Indiana's Blacklisted Tattoo, told Byrdie that it's in the range of five or six if you're placing piercings on a scale that rates how painful they are from one to 10. He added, "While the piercing isn't necessarily painful, there is a lot of swelling associated with it."

Granted, even though Ashley piercings may not be the most painful option, that doesn't mean that they don't hurt. A piercer by the name of Charlotte, a.k.a. @piercedbycharlotte on TikTok, opened up about her own Ashley piercing, admitting that it was relatively high on the painful piercings scale and described the feeling, saying, "[It was] so sharp" (via the New York Post). 

There's also a lengthy healing period that lasts around 12 to 16 weeks. During this time, you'll not only have to care for the piercing but also have the jewelry that was first put in changed to something more suitable. On this, Thompson explains, "Your piercer should be using a longer barbell when it's initially pierced to allow for swelling. A few weeks after your initial piercing, the client will see their piercer to have the post shortened — downsized — for a flush fit for the remainder of the healing period" (via Byrdie). On top of that, there are a few other factors that you should consider before booking your appointment for an Ashley piercing.

Along with both the pain and swelling that you'll possibly endure when you first get an Ashley piercing put into your lip, you'll also need to deal with other potential drawbacks. For instance, the piercing can continue to have issues around swelling and is much more prone to puff up than other spots on your body that may have been pierced, according to Pierce Journal. This obviously isn't ideal, especially since the piercing is on your face and any swelling may be impossible to hide or ignore.

You might also find yourself unable to hide the potential scar that comes with an Ashley piercing. If you remove the jewelry, the hole in your lip may close up eventually, however, a dark spot can be left behind for a time, per Pierce Journal. Finally, due to the fact that the inner part of the piercing sits inside of your lip, it also sits against your teeth. When you move your mouth, it might rub against both your teeth and your gums, which can cause uncomfortable issues and possibly even permanent harm.

Of course, if you're the kind of stylish and brave person who would consider getting an Ashley piercing done in the first place, then there's a good chance that you're tough enough to put up with the pain and swelling while also managing other possible problems in order to proudly show off your fabulous and truly stunning lip piercing.