Origins of labret and lip piercing

According to some sources, labret and lip piercing has been practised throughout the world for 8000 to 10000 years. Eskimos would pierce themselves just under the lower lip and would place a piece of jewellery made of bone there. In the same way, labret and lip jewellery is found among various tribes, like those of the Dogons in Mali or the Nubas in Ethiopia. The pieces of jewellery created were made of ivory, metal, or sometimes quartz crystals.

For the Aztecs, only men of a superior cast were able to pierce their lip. They would often wear gold labrets, in the shape of a snake and encrusted with gems.

Labret piercing is therefore one of the most widely spread piercing practises in the world.

Piercing names like Monroe, madonna or medusa are more recent creations and show that this type of jewellery, though anchored in a millenary tradition, adapts itself very well to the present cultures.