Snake Eyes Piercing: Pain, Healing Time, Cost & Jewelry

A snake eyes piercing runs horizontally through the tip of the tongue. A single bar crosses from one side of the tip to the other, and when you stick your tongue out its two ends sit side by side on top, like a pair of eyes.

It is also one of the most argued-about placements in piercing. Many experienced piercers will not do it, and their reasons are anatomical rather than squeamish. This page explains them before you go looking for a studio that will say yes.

The problem is where the bar sits

The tongue is built as a left half and a right half, divided down the middle by a thin fibrous wall. The two halves are what let you curl, point and shape the tip when you talk and swallow.

A standard tongue piercing runs vertically through the middle, along that dividing line, and leaves both halves free to move. A snake eyes bar goes the other way: straight across the tip, through both halves. As the channel heals around the jewelry, it can hold the two sides together at exactly the point you use most.

That is the core objection, and it is why the placement divides piercers far more than, say, a smiley or a tongue web does.

Teeth and gums

When your mouth is closed, the tip of your tongue rests just behind your front teeth. That is where this jewelry lives.

• At rest, the ends of the bar press against the back of the front teeth and the gum line.
• When you talk, sounds such as S, L and TH run the tip of the tongue along the teeth, so the metal taps them with every sentence.
• Over years, that means chipped enamel and gum recession. Enamel does not grow back, and neither do gums.

Every oral piercing carries some of this risk. The difference here is that contact is close to constant rather than occasional, because the jewelry sits where your tongue naturally rests.

Speech is affected too. Expect a lisp while the swelling lasts, and for some people it does not fully go away while the jewelry is in.

Why some studios still do it

Not every piercer refuses. Some studios offer it and take care over placement: centring the bar across the tip, keeping clear of the tissue that anchors the tongue underneath, and choosing a bar shape that sits as far from the teeth as your anatomy allows.

If you are set on it, look for a piercer who does this placement regularly and can show you healed examples of their own work. Ask how they judge whether your tongue is suitable. And if an experienced piercer looks at your tongue and declines, treat that as an assessment rather than an opinion to shop around.

The usual alternative: frog eyes

Frog eyes, sometimes called venom, gives a similar look from the front with a different structure: two vertical barbells near the tip, one either side of the centre line. Neither crosses the middle, so the two halves of the tongue stay independent, and each piercing heals like an ordinary tongue piercing.

It is not risk-free. Two bars mean two sets of ends near your teeth, and the pair has to sit closer to the large veins under the tongue than a single centre piercing would. But it avoids the specific problem that makes snake eyes so contentious.

Pain

About 6 out of 10. The tip of the tongue is more sensitive than its centre, and the needle crosses its full width, so it is a little sharper than a standard tongue piercing. It is still over in a second.

What people remember is the swelling. It peaks around days two to four, and a swollen tongue tip makes speaking and eating awkward in a way a centre piercing does not.

Healing

Four to eight weeks, because the mouth has an outstanding blood supply. Tongue piercing healing time covers the swelling and what to eat.

• Days 1-5: significant swelling, tenderness, and noticeably affected speech.
• Weeks 1-3: the swelling resolves; a white coating near the piercing is common and normal.
• Weeks 4-8: settled.

Downsize as soon as the swelling has gone, usually within one to two weeks. On most tongue piercings a long bar knocks the teeth occasionally. On this one a long bar sits against them all day. Piercing downsizing explains it for every placement.

How quickly it closes if you take the jewelry out is covered in how long a piercing takes to close.

Aftercare

The routine is the same as for any tongue piercing:

• Rinse with alcohol-free mouthwash or saline after eating, after any drink other than water, and after smoking.
• Soft, cool food for the first days. Avoid spicy, acidic, very hot and very salty food.
• No kissing, oral contact, or sharing drinks and cutlery for the first couple of weeks.
• Do not play with the jewelry. Clicking or rolling the bar against your teeth is the single habit most likely to chip them, and on this placement the teeth are already close.

The aftercare guide covers the general principles.

Jewelry

14 gauge, in ASTM F136 implant-grade titanium, either a curved or a straight barbell depending on the shape of your tongue tip and your piercer’s approach. The first bar is long enough to allow for swelling and is replaced with a shorter one once it drops.

Once it is downsized, keep the ends small and low profile. A flat disc or a small dome does less damage than a large ball, and the Association of Professional Piercers recommends smaller, lower-profile ends for oral piercings for exactly that reason. Threadless or internally threaded only. See the materials guide.

Signs it is time to take it out

Tell your dentist about the piercing and ask them to check your front teeth and gums at every appointment. Talk to your piercer about removing it if you notice:

• Gums receding behind your lower or upper front teeth.
• Chips or cracks in your front teeth.
• The tip of your tongue moving differently, or feeling tight or restricted.
• A lisp that has not settled well after the swelling went down.

A dentist, not a piercer, should look at any damage to teeth or gums.

Problems

Swelling that increases after the first week, rather than settling, needs medical attention. So does any difficulty swallowing or breathing, which is rare but an emergency if it happens.

A white coating near the piercing in the first couple of weeks is a normal tissue response, as long as it comes without a foul smell, fever or spreading redness.

Cost

$50 to $100 for the piercing, where you can find a studio that offers it, plus $20 to $60 for an implant-grade titanium barbell. A studio that prices it cheaply and asks no questions about your anatomy is a warning sign, not a bargain.

This article is for education only and is not medical advice. If a piercing is hot, swollen, spreading redness, oozing yellow or green discharge, or you have a fever, see a doctor today.