Centre tongue piercing
The classic piercing people mean by «tongue piercing»: one channel along the midline, about two centimetres back from the tip.
Other tongue piercings
Where it goes
Down the centre, in the vessel-free strip between the two halves of the muscle. The piercer checks from below, where the veins are easy to see, and routes the channel around them.
Which barbell
A straight 1.6 mm barbell: 16 mm while healing, 12–14 mm after two weeks. Rings are not worn in the tongue — they catch on teeth.
What actually protects your teeth
Not a «lighter metal», as is often claimed, but a short barbell and a plastic end: chips come from hard hitting hard, and titanium is about as hard as steel. Swap the long healing bar for a short one as soon as the swelling is gone.
Care for the first two weeks
Cold soft food and a rinse after every meal. Swelling lasts three to five days — that is why the first barbell is a long one. Skip alcohol, spicy food and hot drinks until it goes down.
Size and material
| Material | 316L steel — 4 models. Cheaper, corrosion-resistant, suitable for a healed piercing. For the first jewellery titanium is the better choice. |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 1.2 mm — 4 models, 1 mm — 1 model. The thickness must match the one the piercing was made with. |
| Bar length | 10 mm — 4 models, 6 mm — 4 models, 8 mm — 4 models, 25 mm — 1 model. A longer bar is needed while the swelling lasts, a shorter one — for a healed piercing. |
| Thread | External — 4 models. |
