Whether a lip piercing hole will close up entirely after the jewelry is removed depends on the age of the piercing and the body’s natural healing response. Lip tissue is highly vascular, meaning it has a rich blood supply, which generally promotes faster healing compared to other areas. While the hole will almost certainly shrink, the degree of complete closure is dictated by the piercing’s history and the body’s scar tissue formation.
Understanding the Piercing Hole (The Fistula)
A fully healed lip piercing is not simply a hole but a small, hollow tube of tissue known as a fistula. This tube forms as the body attempts to heal the original wound while the jewelry remains in place, creating a permanent channel lined with epithelial cells. These cells are similar to those on the surface of the skin and prevent a mature piercing from bleeding or closing rapidly.
For the piercing to close completely, the body must break down and absorb this epithelial lining along the fistula tract. Once the jewelry is removed, the immune system recognizes the epithelial-lined channel as foreign tissue. The body then begins the process of collapsing the tube and replacing the lining with scar tissue, which pulls the edges of the hole inward.
Primary Factors Determining Closure
The age of the piercing is the most important variable determining closure. A fresh lip piercing, one that has not yet completed its initial healing phase of three to six months, can close rapidly, sometimes within hours, if the jewelry is removed. This rapid closure occurs because the epithelial lining has not fully matured, allowing the tissue to quickly collapse and fuse together.
For a mature piercing, worn for a year or more, the fully formed fistula is much more resistant to closure. The older the fistula, the denser the surrounding scar tissue becomes, which prevents the hole from shrinking back to its original state. The dense, fibrous tissue acts as a structural barrier against complete closure.
The size of the jewelry, or gauge, also plays a significant role. Larger gauge jewelry creates a wider fistula, meaning there is more epithelial lining and scar tissue to be reabsorbed. Consequently, a larger gauge piercing is much less likely to close completely and will leave a more noticeable opening or indentation.
The location of the piercing involves both external skin and internal mucosal tissue, which heal differently. The oral mucosa, the tissue inside the mouth, heals remarkably fast due to high vascularity and constant moisture. The external skin portion, however, often retains a more visible mark because skin tissue is slower to remodel the underlying scar.
The Healing Timeline After Jewelry Removal
The process of closure begins immediately upon jewelry removal, but the timeline depends heavily on the piercing’s maturity. If the piercing is still healing, the hole may shrink so quickly that reinsertion becomes impossible within a few hours. This rapid closure is a defensive mechanism to quickly seal an open wound.
For a well-established piercing, initial, visible shrinkage occurs over the first few days. The outer edges of the hole pull inward, and the opening appears much smaller, often reducing to a pinprick size within a week. This rapid initial change is mostly the skin relaxing, not the complete breakdown of the fistula.
Complete remodeling of the fistula and scar tissue can take several months, often three months or more, before maximum closure is achieved. During this time, maintaining good hygiene is important; the area should be cleaned gently to prevent bacteria from becoming trapped. The goal is to allow the body’s natural healing processes to run their course undisturbed.
Addressing Scarring and Permanent Marks
Even after maximum closure, a lip piercing worn for a significant period will almost always leave some trace. This is most commonly seen as a small indentation or dimple at the former piercing site, which is the remaining, non-collapsible scar tissue. This indentation is known as an atrophic scar, a slight depression where tissue volume has been lost.
The healing process can sometimes result in raised scarring. Hypertrophic scars are raised, red, and often itchy areas confined to the original wound site; these may flatten over time or with intervention. Keloid scars are a more aggressive type of scar that grows beyond the original wound boundaries, though they are less common in lip piercings.
To minimize the appearance of the remaining mark, simple interventions can be helpful. Gently massaging the area with a neutral oil, such as vitamin E oil, can help soften and break down the underlying scar tissue over time. However, no non-surgical treatment can completely erase the mark left by a long-term lip piercing, and a slight discoloration or dimple is a likely permanent outcome.