What does a medusa piercing feel like?
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Once a niche piercing, the medusa has become much more accepted societally. The medusa piercing is a specialized lip piercing located underneath the septum above the middle of the upper lip. These piercings are sometimes referred to as philtrum piercing - named after the formal name for the indentation in your upper lip.
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Since the medusa is generally considered a more "advanced" piercing (i.e. in most cases, it's probably not anyone's first or only piercing), if you're actually considering getting this mod, you probably already have a piercing or two. The drill for the medusa is the same as any other piercing - sit in the chair, get marked up, check the placement, push the needle through your lip, so on and so forth... But what exactly is it going to feel like?
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There's no one true answer to this question. Because everyone's body is different; every piercing pro is a bit different; every piercing shop is a bit different... Every piercing shop is different. You'll have a completely different experience than the next person. But it still helps to hear some first-hand accounts of what a piercing felt like from someone who has been through it.
Medusa Experiences:
Ellie M. - Philadelphia, PA
My medusa piercing did hurt, but only for a little bit! I'm proud of my high pain tolerance, I have many tattoos and piercings! But to be honest, having my medusa done made me tear up. I'd give it a 6/10 on my personal pain scale. It hurt less than one of my nipples, but more than my belly, snake bites, and earlobes. The clamp was kind of uncomfortable for sure... But when she pushed the needle through my lip, besides THAT stinging quite a bit, I also got that burning sensation that feels like you're about to sneeze or cry. My eyes watered but I didn't sneeze or cry really, I just kind of welled up. I had kind of a fat lip for a few days, but the swelling went down pretty quickly. I used sea salt to keep it clean and that really seemed to do the trick. My best advice is to make sure you clean it after every single time you eat. I feel like that went a long way toward it healing up quickly. My medusa is probably my favorite piercing now. I love wearing an opal labret in it!
Kendra E. - San Francisco, CA
I've had my medusa done twice. I did it myself the first time (bad idea), and even though it hurt really badly when I did it, I liked it. I ended up taking it out for some reason and it unfortunately closed up really quickly. A few years later I decided to go back to a piercer to get it redone properly. Even though a pro did it the second time, I still found this jewelry really painful. They explained to me that your upper lip is really sensitive with lots of nerve endings. I'm not going to lie, the piercing was pretty uncomfortable, but only for a few seconds. It no longer hurt after like 30 seconds. My medusa healed up just fine. I did a bunch of salt swishes to keep things clean on the inside of my mouth and used H2O spray to keep the outside clean. Once everything was healed up, I switched to a flat back labret piercing to make sure I minimized any damage to my teeth... Right now I have a 14k gold labret in. Listen, this piercing hurt A LOT but it was totally worth it. I give it a nine out of ten on the pain scale but I would do it again if I had to!
Heather H. - Vancouver, WA
I have always thought the medusa was such a stunning mod... But I had always been afraid of the pain (and also what other people would say about it)... But eventually my desire for an opal labret stud outweighed everything else so I made the appointment with my piercer friend to finally get this piercing I'd wanted for so long. I knew this one was going to hurt, but I had also had a few traditionally painful piercings before (multiple ear cartilage), so I was ready for the pain. I actually overestimated how bad it was going to hurt - it stung but it really wasn't that bad. Maybe a five out of ten on my pain scale. It's cliché but the worst part for me was actually having the needle pushed through my lip. It hurt. But now my philtrum is my favorite piercing and I'm so proud for pushing outside of my comfort zone and getting something I've always wanted.
