Getting my madonna was not as scary or painful as I had thought it would be. With a marker, I dotted on my face where I wanted the piercing to be. I asked for some numbing solution to be sprayed on, which probably eased my fear of it hurting more than it helped the actual pain itself. I could feel the needle literally going through my lip, but it didn't really hurt- it was more of just an unusual sensation. My lip felt puffy afterwards, but I was able to eat fine and every thing.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Two years ago Artist i don't remember Studio Lucky Devil Location Newmarket, Ontario During the following few days, I noticed that the backing of the madonna jewelry was cutting into my lip, and I was afraid the skin was going to grow over the backing. Luckily, the piercer had given me an extra, longer bar, so I replaced it, and it was much better. A couple weeks later I was able to put the smaller one in. For about a month or two after I had it done, I carried a mini- bottle of mouthwash in my purse that I used after every time I had something to eat.
Two years later, I've never had any trouble with it at all, it has never been infected, and it's never really been irritating (I've used metal jewelry most of the time). The only thing I don't really like about a madonna piercing is that it seems jewelry falls out really easily- generally they cost any where between fifteen to twenty dollars or so, and once four or five of them have fallen out and gotten lost, it really starts to add up. So be careful to make sure its on tight every day.
Also, there have been a couple of time I've "decided to take it out for good"- only to change my mind a couple days later (anywhere from a couple of hours to three days). Putting the bar back in was always discouraging and seemed nearly impossible, and hurt horribly. I basically had to "re- pierce" my lip, it felt like. It always took a lot of pain and perseverence to get it back in. It would usually start bleeding too (but again, I have never had any problems with infection or anything). Generally, one it was in I would have a tylenol to ease the pain, and would replace the longest bar in, that I had had to put in a couple of days after I had originally gotten it pierced, to accomodate the swelling.
The jewelry I have had the most problem with is the kind that has a plastic backing, that the bead fits into. I find this falls out relatively easily. My favourite is internally threaded jewelry, because I find that I end up playing with it less, and it is very unlikely to fall out.
For the person thinking of getting a madonna piercing, I would recommend that you ask other people you know with these kinds of piercings about their experiences. I'm sure everyone responds to being pierced differently- some people probably experience a lot of pain, and some probably don't. Also, it would be wise to think long and hard about where exactly you want your piercing. If it is too high, there is a chance it could irritate your gums, but you definitley don't want it so low as to catch on your teeth when you talk. When it comes down to it, the health of your gums and teeth are paramount to anything as simple as a piercing for aesthetic purposes- if your dentist tells you that it would be in your best interest to remove the piercing, you probably really should. Also, if you feel that your piercing is affecting your gums or teeth negatively (somehow chipping your teeth, and causing gum recession) you should also definitely think about removing it.
If you have younger siblings and are planning to get a madonna, you should prepare for absurd questions. I have been asked on countless occasions to squirt water (or fruit punch, or pop, etc) out of it, which is not only disgusting, but I imagine also highly unhygenic. You should not do this, lest anything get caught inside a still-healing piercing, causing infection. Which is gross. If you do do that, you are probably still under 16 and not old enough (translation= mature enough) to make the decision to get a piercing.
I also faced awkward questions from various grandmas and grandpas in my family: "What is that?" "That is an...interesting...accouterment..." etc. They'd probably never seen a madonna before, so just prepare for that too. If you're lucky and have neat parents, they'll probably just be like "cool." Again, make sure you get it pierced in an appropriate spot, because how it is situated on your face determines if it suits you or not, and if it looks nice, etc. I would recommend a madonna to anyone who has been considering it, and has a face shape that would be complimented by such a piercing (don't get it if you think it won't suit you).