Labret studs consist of three pieces: a ball, a post and a disc-shaped flat back. The most common metal for labret piercings is surgical stainless steel, but the jewelry is also available in titanium and niobium for those with a sensitivity to steel. You can also wear a captive bead ring or a segment ring in a labret piercing. Vertical labrets, in which one bead sits beneath the bottom lip and another bead on the lip itself, are most often performed with curved barbells.
Before performing a labret piercing, a professional piercer first marks a dot on both the inside and outside the lip using a purple antiseptic called Gentian violet. The piercer grasps the lip with Pennington forceps and lines up the front and back dots inside the holes in the forceps. He then screws the flat disc onto the labret post and pierces the lip from back to front with an autoclave-sterilized hollow cannula needle. He removes the forceps from around the needle, presses the labret stud against the blunt end of the needle and pushes the jewelry into the piercing as he pulls the needle out. Finally, he screws the bead into the front of the post.
Before piercing your labret, your piercer will have you rinse your mouth with antiseptic mouthwash. To care for the piercing as it heals, rinse your mouth with saline solution made of sea salt and warm water. Antiseptic mouthwash is too strong for a puncture wound and can irritate the piercing and slow healing. Wash the outside of your piercing with unscented, dye-free antibacterial or antimicrobial soap. Your piercer will insert a post that is slightly too long into the initial piercing to allow for swelling. When the swelling has gone down, return to your piercer to have the bar changed in order to avoid tooth and gum damage. You can use the same flat back and bead with the new bar.
Change labret studs and curved barbells by unscrewing the bead and sliding the jewelry out through the opposite hole. Most people find that it is easier to change labret studs when gripping the post with a hemostat or very gently biting the post to hold it in place while unscrewing the bead. Change captive bead rings by pressing the bead sideways until it pops out of the ring, then rotating the ring until it comes out of the piercing.