Piercing hole/dent removal

Blue_Seas

Are there any cosmetic options for removing the hole or dent left behind by a piercing eg nose, lips or ear? Could a piercer re-pierce a hole with a larger gauge needle and not put jewellery in (while the piercee obviously cleans it as if it was a new piercing), in theory letting the hole close?

A faint scar on those places would be grand and could possibly be treated with bio-oil or another scar reducing gel/cream but other than re-piercing the hole are there cosmetic options to close a hole (ears, I'm guessing since nose is cartilage it'd need surgery) or remove dents (lips and closed ears - maybe something similar to acne scar treatment).

Anyone have experience of this?

RhoDoDenDron

Re-piercing would not close the hole, it would make the hole more visible. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing you can do for remove a regular-size piercing scar, as any surgery would leave more marks than it would remove. Bio-Oil or oils with Vitamin E are your best bet, I'd say.

If you're worried about a piercing leaving a small scar, don't get it.

raze_them_all_

Piercing scars are barely noticeable, I've had 17 or 18 facial piercings and the only ones you can notice are on my actual top lip and thats only if I told you they were scarred

Blue_Seas

A scar I don't mind too much, it's dents I'm worried about. Or the holes being permanently there.

I've wanted lip piercings for a few years but haven't looked in to them until now. Before getting them I wanted to be sure of the long-term consequences - visible holes wouldn't make me too happy, unless bio-oil could help that.

RhoDoDenDron

You'll more-than-likely end up with a pin-prick hole where the piercing was. If you keep a small size in (1.2mm) the hole will be practically invisible. At 1.6mm it gets a bit more noticeable, and more so if you go any bigger with it. The longer you have it, the more visible it will be too. On the plus side, lip piercing very rarely get infected so you'll not be left with a red mark, as is a danger with other piercings.

You're still getting a needle through your skin and that's not going to be easy to completely hide. Also, what do you mean by "dent"? Do you mean like a dimple?

Blue_Seas

Yeah, a dimple in the skin from the piercing hole. A scar or discoloration can be hidden with make up, not so much a dimple or hole

RhoDoDenDron

I've only heard of people getting dimples from cheek piercings. With a lip piercing that won't be a problem, just the tiny pin-prick.

Blue_Seas

Really? I saw here http://tinyurl.com/cu9gqe4 someone who got something cosmetic done to fix her holes, and it looked like a little dimple or dent. I couldn't find many pictures of retired lip piercings so I'm not sure exactly what the pinpricks look like. I have one or two small acne scars that are a bit pink, you're saying there won't be a red one?

RhoDoDenDron

What that person has isn't very common, but still a risk you run I guess. And no, there generally isn't redness. I have a few friends with retired facial piercings and you wouldn't know they were there unless they pointed them out, even for someone like me who would be used to being around piercings.

Chances are the hole would be so small you wouldn't need to. Your skin is naturally not 100% smooth anyway.

Blue_Seas

Do you happen to have any pictures? I could not find any online, just want an idea of how these pinpricks look. I want spiderbites on the left hand side so am worried two pinpricks could be more noticeable?

If I get it done I plan to wear 16G rings, mainly, for the health of my teeth and so that the holes can hopefully close. I hear that in general piercings left in for 2+ years can leave a bigger hole?

Edit: what I could find was this person who had snakebites in for around 5 years, they've been out for 2 years http://tinyurl.com/c82cwol and this person who has had a few but these won't close http://tinyurl.com/d732l8p she did say she used to pull her studs through the holes though... I think I see a labret scar in the centre of her lip, is that the type of pinprick you mean?

RhoDoDenDron

Those are both worst-case scenarios. My house-mate has a pretty hard-to-spot one but he's away at the moment. I might ask if it's ok to take a picture of his lip and eyebrow when he gets back to pop on here, as they're both barely noticeable.

It will vary from person to person, and the longer you have it, the larger they will naturally stretch and the more permanent the fistula (tunnel of skin) will be.

There's not much I can say but that if you're worried about the aftermath, you shouldn't do it. Piercings aren't something you can just take out and pretend you never had. While they usually aren't too visible, they will be almost always be visible for someone who is actually looking for them. That's pretty much the ballpark you're most likely to land in.

Blue_Seas

How long did he have those in for?

I'm not going for permanence. I know that's not the right attitude one should generally have but I like the look and want to get it done before I leave college. Might as well do it and say I have, enjoy them for a while and then take them out.

If the pinpricks look like pimples or acne scars I can deal with it, considering I already have one or two acne scars. If the pinprick "hole" is only noticeable to me or those who look for it then that's fine too. Like you said, skin isn't smooth, and I already have a few skin problems that I've inherited. I just don't want the holes to be as big as they would when first pierced

RhoDoDenDron

He had the lip ring in for maybe two or three years, the eyebrow only for a few months, I think. Give me a day or two and I'll ask him and get pics. From searching the internet, there aren't really any good pics, just ones that have scarred badly.

It will look less visible than a pimple. If you have it pierced at 1.2mm, the pinprick might have 0.6mm diameter, as an example. It should be barely noticeable. When I was in school I had several piercings at 1.2mm which I just wore clear retainers in, and no one knew I had them until there was a non-uniform day and I came in with the lot in.

They usually shrink up pretty tiny.

Blue_Seas

That'd be a great help, thanks. I'm planning on piercing and wearing jewellery at 1.2mm. And I hope to get it pierced very close to the lip so that might help too?

Plus, speaking of retainers, you reminded me that I have plastic orthodontic ones in. So I'm hoping for no tooth damage

It really depends on the person and the area on the body. My retired lobe piercing holes are extremely visible, whereas my nose closed right up and you can't see any evidence it was ever pierced, even in a magnifying mirror. Probably because it never really healed, so my body was happy to have it close over! I have a bump where my helix piercing was (had lots of trouble with it) but the hole itself is completely gone.

I find that lip/monroe piercing holes tend to be VERY obvious, even years after they've been taken out. I wouldn't say those two pictures were worst case scenarios, I'd say they're fairly typical from what I've seen, if the person had the piercing for a few years. I would never get a lip piercing unless I was happy to always have a fairly obvious hole there. That's just my opinion, though. If you're already worried about it (as I would be), I'd get a piercing that wasn't in the middle of my face.

Blue_Seas

I had lobe piercings in for a few months and my body just didn't like them... Plus the jewellery had nickel in them. I had huge trouble putting studs in and out - I'm putting it down to getting them pierced with a gun in Claire's.

That fistula healed with no evidence at all except for a little "worm" feeling inside my ear - so I think skin or scar tissue covered the hole. Got them re-pierced in December or January and even a few weeks after them being pierced they'd start to close up if left out for a few hours.

I also have 3 scars from a laparoscopy that are barely visible.

So I'm hoping that that means I heal well.

I guessed that Monroe or very low lip piercings would be a little more obvious but I was hoping that ones close to the lip wouldn't be as obvious when retired.

And if I was getting a piercing for piercing's sake I'd pick something like ears or nose but I've chosen these because I like the look

Blue_Seas

Blue_Seas wrote: »

I had lobe piercings in for a few months and my body just didn't like them... Plus the jewellery had nickel in them. I had huge trouble putting studs in and out - I'm putting it down to getting them pierced with a gun in Claire's.

That fistula healed with no evidence at all except for a little "worm" feeling inside my ear - so I think skin or scar tissue covered the hole. Got them re-pierced in December or January and even a few weeks after them being pierced they'd start to close up if left out for a few hours.

I also have 3 scars from a laparoscopy that are barely visible.

So I'm hoping that that means I heal well.

I guessed that Monroe or very low lip piercings would be a little more obvious but I was hoping that ones close to the lip wouldn't be as obvious when retired.

And if I was getting a piercing for piercing's sake I'd pick something like ears or nose but I've chosen these because I like the look

It does depend on the area and your skin type and many other things. From personal experience, the closer to your actual lip, the less obvious. Just make sure you're 100% sure. I know I'd hate it if I saw my old nose piercing hole every time I looked in the mirror, but that's me. Empty piercing holes bother me more than they seem to bother most people!

RhoDoDenDron

Blue_Seas wrote: »

That fistula healed with no evidence at all except for a little "worm" feeling inside my ear - so I think skin or scar tissue covered the hole. Got them re-pierced in December or January and even a few weeks after them being pierced they'd start to close up if left out for a few hours.

You don't leave out ear piercings for at least six weeks. If you do, they close up in a matter of hours anyway. Although the original set not leaving visible holes is a good sign.

Blue_Seas

RhoDoDenDron wrote: »

You don't leave out ear piercings for at least six weeks. If you do, they close up in a matter of hours anyway. Although the original set not leaving visible holes is a good sign.

So Alessandro Easy Tailgate's saying holes like that are very common and what I'd most likely get, and you're saying that those are atypical and I'd get a very small pinprick. I guess I'll have to wait and see if you can get pictures, that's the only way to know if I'll be alright with the scar I guess...

Is there any sort of indentation from the piercing? I'm guessing there's a very small one

Cupcake_Crisis

If it's any help to you I've had the side of my lip done for the last 5 years, when I take the bar out I'm left with a slightly noticeable hole, byt in the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal. Also, I had the bar out for around 6 months at one stage, the inside of the piercing closed up, but there was very little change in the outside.

P_1

I had my labret pierced a few years ago. There is a small dent left from it but honestly you'd only notice it if you looked up close in a mirror.

You'd want to have a fairly massive hole pierced to make it in anyway noticable

Blue_Seas

Would either of you two be able to post pictures? I'm almost leaning towards getting just one lip piercing as opposed to two (if I get it at all) because I think the scars will be more noticeable. I really like the look of two rings though!

Abracadabra99

I think they look great too but I would think twice before piercing my face again. I've a big scar on my eyebrow. I had it pierced twice, very near each other and had a largish stud in it for a few years when I was a teenager. When I took it out, it never healed properly.

Abracadabra99

Then again, most people don't get bad scars. Probably just me. I think I look like I've been in a fight most of the time! BLue Seas did you get the piercing in the end?

Blue_Seas

I had some time to myself to think and look at other piercings. In the end, I fell in love with a septum piercing, and went and got that done instead a few weeks ago, when my exams were done. Of course, I got the bug, and just yesterday popped back in to Wildcat and got my helix done. I'm thinking of building up some piercings on my ears.

Of course, I'm still interested in the lip piercing.. I'm considering a vertical labret instead, though, for the sake of my teeth. If I'm pierced close enough to the outside of my lip then I'm hoping the scar won't be too bad! Only thing stopping me is the jewellery available - I'd quite like to put a ring in there but found very little info regarding vertical labrets and anything other than a curved barbell. And the idea of a scar there is still putting me off but I think I'd take it out eventually so...

Basically I'm back at square one, but have plenty other piercing sites to occupy me