What is a Spider Bites Piercing?

The spider bites piercing is actually two separate piercings that are placed near each other off to one side of the lower lip area. They draw their name by their close proximity to each other – the placement resembles a spider bite.

Although the lower lip is the most popular location for this type of piercing, sometimes you’ll see it on the upper lip instead.

The spider bite is similar to the snake bites piercing, which has a single piercing in each corner of the lower lip.​

What Happens During A Spider Bites Piercing?

Before doing the actual piercing, your piercer will make sure to disinfect the location. That’s done for your safety so any bacteria on your skin is neutralized before any puncturing is done.

The spots for the spider bites piercing will be marked to get the measurements exactly right. You don’t want the fang marks too far apart or too close together. It may seem like a small detail, but it can completely screw up the look of your piercing if the distance isn’t right.

After that, a sterile hollow needle will be used to make the piercings, one at a time.

Spider Bites Piercing Pain – How Much Do They Hurt?

On a pain-ranking scale of piercings, a spider bites piercing comes in pretty low on the list. It hurts a little more than having your ears pierced. Though, it’s less painful than having your nose pierced. You’ll feel a sharp pinching sensation for a few seconds. If you’ve survived immunizations in the past, this won’t be any problem for you.

Even if you are always worried about the pain level of anything you do, you shouldn’t sweat this one. You’ll be just fine – try not to stress about it. Just keep your mind on something else. If you distract yourself instead of thinking about what’s happening, it will be much easier on you.

How Much Does A Spider Bite Piercing Cost?

A spider bites piercing isn’t one of the more expensive piercings you can have done. It’s pretty budget-friendly. You can expect to pay between $25 to $45, depending upon how in-demand your piercer is.

What To Do Before Getting A Spider Bites Piercing

Before you have it done, you should talk to your piercer about any other piercings you’ve had in the past. Let him know if you’ve had any complications with those. If you’ve had an allergic reaction to a certain type of metal, you need to let him know that before the procedure.

A little bit of communication beforehand can save you both a lot of trouble down the line. If he knows about any possible problems that could result from your piercing, he’ll know how to thwart them.

Before you have your procedure performed, you should also pick up a few basic aftercare supplies you’ll need. You’ll want sea salt, cotton balls and Q-tips. It’s a good idea to have those on-hand before the piercing as it’s always best to be prepared instead of scrambling to pick up supplies afterwards.

Spider Bites Piercing Aftercare & Cleaning Guide

A spider bites piercing is relatively easy to take care of. There are only a couple of steps to take and they won’t require much time either.

First off, before you touch any new piercing with your bare hands, including spider bites, you need to make sure your hands are washed really well with soap and water.

You don’t want to take the chance of loading your new piercing up with bad bacteria. You could end up with an infection if you aren’t careful.

To clean your piercing, you should make a warm sea salt solution of 8 ounces of water mixed in with one-fourth of a teaspoon of sea salt. Dab a cotton ball in the sea salt solution and firmly press it against the piercing. You should do this twice a day.

However, if you don’t wish to make your own cleaning solution, there are many great pre-made products available to purchase that will help ensure your piercing heals up quickly and effectively.

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.​

When you go to dry your piercing site, make sure you don’t use a bath towel that you have lying around. That’s a good way to introduce bacteria to your piercing site, and remember, bacteria in the piercing is bad! Instead, use a clean paper towel to gently pat your pierced area until it’s dry.

Due to the location of this piercing, you need to be careful about your oral hygiene too. Continue to brush your teeth twice a day, just as you should have been doing before you had your spider bites piercing. You may want to tone down how minty your toothpaste is though. You don’t want a burning sensation in your piercing.

A good alternative to strong mint toothpaste is the bubble gum light mint paste you can find in the kids’ toothpaste section.

Every time after you eat, you should use your sea salt solution to rinse your mouth well. When you’re eating you should stay away from spicy foods until your piercing has healed. Why make your aftercare any more uncomfortable when you can just stay away from these types of foods for a while?

During this healing phase, you should also avoid alcohol and smoking. Plus, try to avoid putting makeup, including foundation or concealer, over the piercing area.

There are a couple of things that may promote faster healing. You can try taking a daily multivitamin. The right minerals and nutrients can jumpstart the healing process.

Also, try eating some yogurt every day. It’s full of probiotics, which is the good type of bacteria. That may help keep your wound in tip-top shape.

How Long Does A Spider Bites Piercing Take To Heal?

If you’ve ever had your belly button pierced, you may be used to a long healing period because that can take up to a year to fully heal.

You’ll be happy to know a lip piercings heals much more quickly than that. Unless you have complications, your spider bites piercing should be healed in one to three months.

During that healing time though, you need to remember to keep your piercing in. Don’t change the jewelry until after it has fully healed, and do yourself a favor and stay away from public pools.

You don’t want to chance that until your piercing is fully healed. Pools can be germ and bacteria havens.

While your spider bites piercing is healing, you might find it helpful to suck on popsicles or drink ice water to help with any pain you feel in that first week or so.

Spider Bites Piercing Infections

The dark side to piercing that no one likes to think about is the risk of infections. If you don’t keep up with the correct aftercare procedures, your risk of getting an infection goes up.

If you notice increasing discharge around your piercings or extra pain, redness or swelling, you may have an infection.

If you think an infection is beginning to develop, you can try stepping up your aftercare by cleaning the piercing site often and well. Although, if it looks like your infection is starting to spread or you find you can’t handle the pain, then a doctor’s visit is in order.

Spider Bites Piercing Risks

When you have a spider bite piercing done, you should choose a piercer who has a lot of experience under his belt with this kind of piercing. Despite the fact that it is a straightforward, fairly simple procedure, there is the risk of complications just because your teeth and gums are nearby.

If you don’t use the right type of jewelry or consider any crooked or jutting teeth when deciding on spider bites placement, you could end up with tooth damage later on.

Spider Bites Piercing Jewelry

Make sure your piercer selects the type and size of jewelry they think will work best for you, after they consider the structure of your teeth and mouth. Your piercer’s experience is also important for this reason.

If the jewelry is too big, you could end up with gum damage. Nobody wants that, so trust your piercer when he tells you what will work and what won’t. That’s why you’re paying him – for his expertise.

There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to jewelry. You can use studs, rings, barbells – your imagination can run wild to come up with a unique look you’ll love.

Summary

Now that you know everything there is to know about spider bites piercings, you’ll be all ready for the procedure. You’ll show up knowing what to expect, how to take care of it, and you’ll sail right through this experience.

In just a few short weeks, you’ll be swapping your spider bites piercing jewelry out and having great fun with your amazing new look.​