Tongue piercing in Auckland

Where does it sit?

Straight down through the centre of the tongue, a little back from the tip, with a straight bar: one end on top, one underneath.

Will my tongue suit one?

Most do. We look under your tongue first: the web of skin that holds it down, and the veins either side of it, decide where the bar can go.

We’ll tell you it isn’t the right call, or not the right day, if:

• You’re under eighteen.
• You’re unwell on the day, or have a cold sore or a sore mouth.
• The web under your tongue is short and won’t let it lift.
• There are large veins where the bar would go.

We would rather say no at the table than pierce on a maybe.

Does it hurt?

A quick, firm pinch.

It’s one pass of the needle, over in a moment. The swelling afterwards is the bigger thing: the tongue swells for the first several days, which is why the bar goes in long. Cold water helps.

Will it damage my teeth?

A bar left long, or played with, is what chips teeth and wears at gums.

That’s why the long bar comes down at two to three weeks, once the swelling is down. Leave it still: no clicking it against your teeth.

Who pierces it

Tom or Kat, one client in the room, forty-five minutes.

Eighteen and over. Everyone brings photo ID.

What happens at the appointment

You sit at the low table with a mirror in your hand. We look under your tongue, find the spot between the veins, and mark it on top. You see the mark and agree with it before anything else happens.

The needle is opened in front of you. The piercing is one pass of a single-use sterile needle, and the bar goes in at the same moment. A needle, never a gun. Your checkup goes in the book before you leave.

How long does it take to heal?

Six to eight weeks

1. Day onePierced, and your checkup booked before you leave. Expect swelling for the first several days.
2. Two to three weeksThe long bar is shortened once the swelling is down, included. Call and come in.
3. Six to eight weeksHealed. A new end can go in.

How to clean it

The water rinse after eating and drinking is the whole clean for a tongue. Nothing else goes on it: no alcohol mouthwash, no antiseptic, and no turning the bar.

Is this bump an infection?

Almost never.

A bump on a healing tongue is nearly always a bar still long, or one that’s been played with. Leave it still and come in. If we pierced it, the look is included, healed or not.

When can the bar change, or go gold?

The long bar comes down at two to three weeks, once the swelling is down. Leave it in until then, however long it looks.

A different end can go in once it’s healed, at six to eight weeks. Gold is priced on the piece, from what is in stock.

What goes in it

A straight 2mm (12g) bar in implant-grade titanium, long on the day for the swelling, and shortened at two to three weeks to sit close. The ends are small and smooth, to be kind to your teeth.

Pierced somewhere else and it isn’t right?

A tongue piercing that sits off centre, catches your teeth or never settled is usually placement, or a bar left long. We’ll look at it and tell you plainly what’s going on and what we’d do.

The look is $30, taken off a piercing if you have one with us.

What if I take it out?

A fresh tongue piercing closes very quickly if the bar comes out. A healed one usually leaves only a small mark.