How Painful are Eyebrow Piercings?

Eyebrow piercings entail a pretty low pain threshold. Pain is relative to the person, of course, but because eyebrow piercings puncture only a small amount of skin, they’re considered one of the least painless piercings you could get.

The piercing needle will be extremely sharp, and will puncture the skin very quickly. Though you will feel a sharp pinch as the needle goes through, it will only be for a couple of seconds.

However, naturally, some people will experience more pain than others when getting an eyebrow piercing. Even though this pain cannot be fully avoided, there are ways to reduce how much pain you feel when getting your eyebrow pierced.

Once the procedure is over, you may feel some discomfort in the area for the next few days. While the area will continue to sting a bit for the rest of the first day, the pain will gradually decrease into a subtle throb for a couple of days, before slowly fading away completely.

Avoid touching or accidentally bumping the area as much as possible while it’s healing as this will generally cause further bouts of pain.

Ways to Reduce Eyebrow Piercing Pain

Although it’s normal to feel a pinch when the needle enters your skin, others can feel a much stronger sensation. Whether you’ve gotten piercings before or an eyebrow piercing will be your first one, these tips will help you reduce how much pain your eyebrow piercing causes you.

Breathing Exercises or Distraction

Controlling your breathing is an easy way to calm down and help decrease how much pain you feel when the needle enters your skin. Also, bringing a friend to talk with can help distract you from the procedure and help keep your mind focused on something other than the needle.

Numbing Cream

Numbing cream is the number one way to reduce eyebrow piercing pain. Though your piercer will have to sanitize the area you’re getting pierced, if you apply the cream before your appointment, it should still last during your time in the chair. Be very careful not to get any in your eyes.

One of the most effective piercing numbing products currently on the market is Zensa Numbing Cream, which contains the highest level of Lidocaine allowed by the FDA for over-the-counter use. The feedback left by thousands of customers for this product is nothing short of exceptional.

Just follow the instructions on the packaging, apply shortly before your piercing procedure is due to begin, and look forward to a less painful and more comfortable piercing experience.

The Eyebrow Piercing Procedure

Clients will identify the piercing site, and the piercing professional will mark the piercing points with a pen or marker. Piercers will clean the area and disinfect the piercing tools. With the client lying down or sitting, piercers will use a Pennington clamp to grasp the skin and pull it away from the eye.

Then, piercers will ease a hollow piercing needle through the skin and insert the client’s chosen jewelry as they remove the needle. Piercing professionals will fasten the jewelry to prevent the new piercing from closing up—thus you’ve got a brand new eyebrow piercing!

Types of Eyebrow Piercings

Generally, the phrase “eyebrow piercing” conjures up a particular image, yet there are actually a few different types of eyebrow piercings. Though they may look intimidating, eyebrow piercings are nothing to be afraid of and can add an extra flair to your aesthetic.

All eyebrow piercings may be subject to “migration” or “growing out,” which means that the piercing may naturally move from where it was originally placed or grow up and out of the skin. Sometimes this occurs because the proper gauge was not used for the piercing—a 16 gauge is most common and preferred.

Vertical Eyebrow Piercing

This is the most recognizable eyebrow piercing. Piercers place this piercing along the ridge of the eyebrow at a complementary angle to its natural growth. Curved barbells or captive bead rings are the most common jewelry for vertical eyebrow piercings. They also run a risk of migration.

Horizontal Eyebrow Piercing

This is the complete opposite of a vertical piercing. Rather than going through the eyebrow, this piercing sits just on top of the brow ridge. Instead of using a curved barbell, piercers use a surface bar to do this piercing. The angle at which it goes in is much more precise at about 90 degrees.

T-Piercing

A T-piercing is the amalgamation of both vertical and horizontal eyebrow piercings. Essentially, you’d get both a vertical and horizontal piercing placed closely together—close enough that they form a “T” shape. You can even get this piercing done in one sitting.

Spiral Eyebrow Piercing

This eyebrow piercing is unique because the piercer places two to three holes consecutively before looping a specially shaped spiral piece of jewelry through each hole. These piercings can be visually interesting and a change from the typical vertical eyebrow piercing.

Eyebrow Piercing Aftercare

The first 3 months after a piercing are the most crucial when it comes to healing. To ensure a faster healing time, you should drink plenty of water, eat well, get plenty of sleep, and avoid trauma to the pierced area. 

You should also take care of the pierced area and make sure you clean it twice a day with a saline solution to help prevent infection.

The best aftercare product I’ve personally used is the After Inked Piercing Aftercare Spray. Not only is it vegan, but it’s also completely alcohol and additive-free. The solution works well on all skin types including sensitive skin, and it comes in a generously-sized mist-spraying bottle for easy application. When using it from the very start of the healing process, the spray helps to decrease healing times and aims to eliminate any lingering pain or soreness.​

Avoiding potential irritants like lotions, hairspray, makeup, serums, creams, and face wash is extremely important while the piercing heals. Newly pierced people should also opt for tweezers over waxing or threading, when grooming their brows during the time that their piercing heals.

Conclusion

Overall, eyebrow piercings are a unique way to change up your appearance without causing too much pain. This procedure is by no means painless, but it’s relatively low on the pain scale when compared to other popular piercings.

Eyebrow piercings go through less skin and sensitive areas, which results in less pain for you. As long as you find a good piercer, you should be in and out of the chair in no time and enjoying your brand new eyebrow piercing.