Angel Fangs: The Piercing That Bites Back

Angel fangs are a matching pair of vertical piercings punched straight through the flesh of your top lip. Not into your mouth. Through it.

Imagine two curved barbells on either side of your Cupid’s bow, with the spiked ends through the lower top lip, like a pair of fangs glinting over your smile. This is the angel fangs piercing aesthetic in a sentence.

The jewellery goes through your lip tissue, avoiding the oral cavity. So, your teeth and gums remain out of the danger zone as long as the placement is correct. (More on this later, because placement is everything with vampire fang piercing).

This is a double curved barbell lip piercing, using a pair of 16g or 14g pieces with generously long posts, ready for the swelling storm ahead.

Most people swap in upper lip piercing spikes once things calm down, for that intoxicating vampire effect. Although smooth balls or discs work too if you want something lower key or going about your daily life.

Pro tip:

Implant-grade titanium lip jewellery is non-negotiable. We’re talking about your instrument for speaking, eating and kissing, which isn’t fair game for corner-cutting on metal quality.

Most fang bangers we speak to rate angel fangs pain somewhere in the 4 -7 out of 10 range. It’s not brutal. But bear in mind you're doing it twice in one sitting, so it adds up.

A quick sharp pinch on either side will make your eyes water. But it’s over in seconds.

The second piercing tends to sting more, purely because your lip is narked after the first onslaught.

Then, the days ahead typically bring the following side effects:

• Throbbing
• Puffiness
• Talking and/or eating feeling out of whack

Angel fangs healing time is a slow burn:

First week -

Heavy swelling is completely normal, so don't panic

Three - six weeks -

Rebook in with your piercer to downsize the starter angel fangs jewellery once the swelling settles. Skipping this step is an invitation to snagging, shifting, and migration, which are all problems you can do without

Two - four months -

Initial healing complete. Yay!

Three - six months -

You’ve now got a safe window to swap initial angel fangs jewellery for the fun stuff. Yes, there’s a notable three-month differential in this suggested timeframe, depending on your individual biology and healing journey

6 - 12 months -

Fully, properly healed, both externally and at deep tissue level

Caution! The angel fangs piercing can take a turn if you rush any of these stages - literally. And sideways fangs aren’t a look most children of darkness aspire to.

For all these reasons, you’ll want to drill down into angel fangs aftercare to keep things on the straight and narrow.

An unhappy angel fangs piercing won’t hesitate to bite back at you. Here’s how to ensure you keep it sweet:

Reach for saline spray -

Keep your vampire fang piercing on track with pro-approved aftercare products, once or twice a day. LobeLove™ Professional Saline Piercing Spray is your ride-or-die preservative and alcohol-free daily mist in a pocket-sized bottle, widely recognised for flushing away daily grime while you heal.

BPA Safe Solutions™ Piercing Aftercare is another rock-solid bet. Its vegan, cruelty-free blend of plant actives and vitamins nourishes the upper lip skin around your angel fangs jewellery.

Both are strictly for external use around your piercing, and should never be used inside your mouth.

Hands off -

No touching or twisting the jewellery.

Avoid cosmetic products -

No lipsticks, balms, glosses, oils, skincare, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on or near it during angel fangs healing time.

Rinse and repeat -

Rinse your mouth after eating to clear any trapped food

Dress for size -

Keep your angel fangs downsizing appointment when the time comes. It’s vital for safe, steady healing.

All the same, no warts-and-all overview of angel fangs piercing is complete without sharing its dark secrets.

To be clear, we're not here to scare you off. But it’s only right to forearm you with the truth, so you can make the best decisions.

And like it or not, there’s a thoroughly dark side of vertical lip piercing:

• Angel fangs rejection and migration - Your top lip never stops moving as you talk, eat, laugh, and simply exist. So, the angel fangs piercing behaves a bit like a surface piercing, with the risk of jewellery slowly working its way out over time due to constant motion.
• Scarring - Rejection can leave a visible vertical scar on the lip. This is something to really weigh up if you're not fully committed to the idea in the long term.
• Infection - Any fresh wound in your mouth area is a bacteria magnet. This is why strict angel fangs aftercare is the main character energy with this piercing.
• Snagging - A double curved barbell lip piercing is a prime candidate for catching on forks, towels, jumpers, and anything else that gets near your face while you heal.

And what about one of the most frequently asked burning questions, for very understandable reasons: Can angel fangs damage teeth?

Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is no - if it's done properly.

The curved barbell sits outside your mouth, without touching your gums or enamel. This is a major difference from piercings inside the lip.

This being the case, it can still go wrong for the following reasons:

• Placed too low - The bottom ball ends up inside the mouth, rubbing on your gums or teeth.
• Wrong size jewellery - Ill-fitting bars catch on your teeth while you eat or talk.
• Accidental bites - More likely early on when the bars are extra long to accommodate initial swelling.

The moral of the story? Go to a reputable piercer who knows about anatomy. And don’t delay with angel fangs downsizing when it’s time.

It’s an easy mix-up. But there’s a massive difference.

Angel fangs are an external piercing through the lip flesh.

Whereas angel bites are the inner lip version. They’re a different placement with a much higher risk of gum erosion, because the jewellery can rub against your gumline from the inside.

The angel fangs piercing isn’t a universal fit. It needs a fleshy top lip with a decent, well-defined ridge to hold jewellery without it working loose.

Conversely, thin, flat lips are a dodgy canvas. This is because the vampire fang piercing has less tissue to anchor into, which raises the odds of migration.

A decent piercer will check your lip shape before there’s a needle in sight. And they’ll tell you straight that it's not an anatomical match.

Plus, there are other valid reasons to hit the brakes or have a serious discussion with your piercer first:

You wear braces

The jewellery won't touch your teeth. But the healing process, swelling, and general faff of eating around wires and brackets make it a bad time to add a vertical lip piercing into the mix.

You bite your nails, chew pens, or fidget with your mouth

These habits need to go on pause, because an angel fangs piercing struggles most with constant mouth movement.

You've had lip or facial piercing rejection before

Past rejection doesn’t mean an automatic hard pass. But it's worth flagging to your piercer, so they can assess your tissue and set realistic expectations.

You're not ready to commit to an angel fangs aftercare routine

This isn't a piercing you can half-arse. In short, don’t cause yourself the potential trouble if daily saline and a diet reshuffle sound like too much effort.

To repeat, none of this is meant to talk you out of it, and tons of people sail through healing with zero problems.

But it's worth an honest conversation with your piercer before you commit, rather than finding out the hard way three weeks after.

Wondering what it’s like to go about your day-to-day with angel fangs jewellery through your top lip?

Here are some of the main things to think about:

Eating

Soft foods like mashed potatoes, custard, yoghurt and pureed anything are your BFFs in the early days of your angel fangs piercing. On the other hand, acidic, salty, and spicy food is off the table for the first couple of weeks, because it’ll sting like crazy.

Guide food past your lips towards your back teeth. Take small bites. And steer clear of biting straight into anything substantial like apples, burgers, or other foods that need a proper chomp.

Kissing

You’re going to have to resist a good snog while healing, so saliva and friction don’t invite infection with open arms.

Ease in slowly when you’re fully healed, angling your head so the upper lip piercing spikes don't clash. And perhaps swap to smaller or rounder tops if it gets too sharp for comfort.

Everyday habits

Don’t fidget with it, twist it, get lip products anywhere near it, or expose it to water in public pools, hot tubs, or open water until you're fully sealed up.

You can unscrew and remove a healed angel fangs piercing yourself. Just be mindful that threadless or tightly screwed ends can be fiddly. For this purpose, clean gloves or a small tool can help you get a proper grip.

But don’t DIY it if they're still fresh and you’re experiencing pain, swelling, or signs of infection.

Go back to your piercer, because yanking jewellery from an unhealed piercing risks trapping infection. Or it can close up within minutes.

Q. What is an angel fangs piercing?

A. A double vertical lip piercing through the top lip, using curved barbells with spiked ends to mimic fangs.

Q. Do angel fangs hurt more than a normal lip piercing?

A. A bit more. You're getting two piercings through thick lip tissue in one go. So, you can expect moderate pain at around the 4 - 7 out of 10 mark.

Q. Is angel fangs rejection common?

A. It can be. The upper lip moves constantly, which puts it at a similar rejection risk to a surface piercing. In addition, thin lip tissue or rushed angel fangs downsizing increases the risk further.

Q. How long before I can change angel fangs jewellery?

A. Downsize the original long bars at three to six weeks. But wait a minimum of three to four months, ideally six, to really be on the safe side, before swapping jewellery purely for style.

Q. Are angel fangs bad for your teeth?

A. Not if placed correctly, in which case the barbell will remain outside the mouth. Problems only crop up with poor placement, ill-fitting jewellery, or accidental bites during the swollen early stage.

Ultimately, angel fangs reward you when you’re patient or punish you if you’re impulsive. But you’ll be rocking one of the most provocative lip combos if you follow the recommended MO:

• Get the anatomy check right
• Use implant-grade titanium lip jewellery
• Keep your angel fangs downsizing appointment
• Don't skip a single angel fangs aftercare step

And of course, visit Stretch It Body Jewellery for detailed piercing and stretching guides, angel fangs aftercare essentials, and the greatest jewellery on the planet for every angel fangs piercing exploit ahead of you.