Makeup and Piercings

This article is for all the lovers of make up and piercings alike. I know how fun makeup can be, especially when there’s an abundance of pretty palettes to drool over. Whether you’re a makeup addict, or an occasional wearer, there are some important considerations to keep in mind when wearing makeup while having piercings. Particularly healing ones. Fortunately, our staff has been there, done that, and are here to help!

Healing facial piercings such as: nostrils, septums, eyebrows, and/or micro-dermals can be targets for makeup mess. It may seem obvious not to put makeup directly on them; you may try to sneak your foundation riiiiiiight up to the edge thinking “it’ll be fine, right?” Sadly, that doesn’t cut it. You should always leave space between the edge of your makeup and your healing piercing. Even if you think you managed to avoid foundation-ing your piercing, during the day as you talk/sweat/etc. that makeup is going to move. All the setting spray in the world can’t prevent those micro-migrations. We suggest leaving at least a 1/2 inch border around your healing piercings when applying makeup. Now, we understand that sometimes that can look pretty silly. If you want a more natural look, try using a clean damp beauty blender to blend out the foundation line so its less harsh. This will keep you looking great and your piercing happy and healthy. This works awesome for liquid products, but what about powder? Bronzer, highlight, blush and bake are all essential for that full-glam look that one tutorial taught you, but those products can cause your piercings trouble. Try taking a business card and cover any healing piercings while they apply powder product, then blend as needed to keep things looking great. The same goes for setting sprays or anything that may get onto or in the piercing! As far as removing makeup we LOVE Miceller water. On gauze or a q-tip it allows for precise control so you can gently melt the makeup away without getting any in your piercing during removal, or worse, snagging it on a makeup wipe!

Healing oral piercings

(labret, philtrum, monroe, vertical labret, vertical philtrum) While these are healing we strongly suggest staying away from lipstick. Even though your favorite liquid lip might be 100% transfer proof when you go to remove it all that scrubbing and wiping can be irritating to your healing lip piercings. Not to mention you may already experience dry or chapped lips as a side effect. With any piercing that doesn’t pass through the vermilion border of the lip you should be fine to rock a bold lip again in just 2-4 weeks. However for vertical labrets, vertical philtrums, and inverse verticals, no lipstick or lip products till it’s fully healed. That includes chapstick- yes even with the dryness that can come from these piercings. Stay well hydrated to combat your chapped lips, and put down the balm for now.

Healed facial/oral piercings

Once you are healed the sky is the limit! You can get makeup right over/under/around your piercings without a worry! However, this can lead to jewelry looking dull over time. A soft bristled baby toothbrush with some warm water works great. We also love water piks on a low setting for keeping everything sparkling clean! They even make cordless water piks these days so you can take them right into the shower to prevent any mess and get throughly clean! Remember to ONLY use a low setting on jewelry and piercings. Beyond that its important to keep them clean because the jewelry can collect product and that can sit against the skin and sometimes cause irritations and even acne. So make cleaning your jewelry a part of your routine, just like taking your makeup off at night! I use my Clarisonic brush right over my healed piercings on a low setting to keep them perfect, and Margo loves detailing around them with makeup wipes to keep everything pristine. With lip piercings a little lip liner will help keep everything in place, particularly as lipstick can sometimes feather around your jewelry. If you wear hoops we suggest clickers, which are super easy to pop in and out to do your makeup around. With vertical lip piercings you can either be delicate with your applicator (this really only works with liquid lips) and just carefully fill around the jewelry. Or, just run right over the piece and go back after with makeup remover on a q-tip to tidy things up.

Ear piercings Umm, but I don’t put makeup on my ears? Well, you may not intentionally but we still see makeup (particuarly powder products) end up in and around your ears. A great trick is to just hold up a business card in front of your ear to keep it covered while you apply powder, and same for bronzer and contour- anything close to the ear that may end up on it. Once healed this trick is still great to keep your jewelry looking fresh and sparkly for as long as possible.Wearing makeup along with healing piercings can require a bit of extra work, but we are here to help with all our tips and tricks to make it much easier!