Thinking of getting a lip piercing...

I have both sides of my lip pierced. It was the least painful piercing that I have, it's over sooooo fast but I also have a high tolerance for pain. They even made fun of me for showing no reaction to it at all haha. Mine healed up in about two months but I would wait longer before changing the rings. The ring healed faster than the stud did. If they place them wrong they do grind your teeth and can cause some bad problems with your gums. Ask your piercer any questions you have, be totally comfortable with it before you get it done.

pain and healing was exactly the same as nightmarequeen said. i thought about the teeth thing for a long time too, i think most piercers know that you want to keep your teeth for a long time ;) and have a look at the best constellation. at least mine did... and many people say that studs made of teflon are more gentle for teeth... i have horseshoes in both holes and they kinda "sink" into my lip so they can´t grind on my teeth!

talk to a few different peircers, maybe they can talk you through it

Pain is different for everyone, one thing I learned from my favorite piercer is to breathe in through your nose when the needle goes into the skin and breathe out through the mouth when the needle goes out again. I have quite a number of piercings and this has worked very well for me, it helps the body relax (or maybe it's the brain that relaxes by having a job to do...). I'm afraid of needles as well so I know the feeling...

As for the jewelery get a labret at first 1.2 or 1.6 mm(it heals better than for example rings since those are curved and therefor "irritate" the new piercing)and take good care of it.
Bioplast is a gentler option and works well, there is also something called "surgical titanium with ART-tech™ " I haven't tried this yet but it's supposed to work well and be gentle on your gum and teeth.

It normally takes 8-10 weeks to heal, after that you need a shorter labret or a ring if thats what you want. Many don't seem to know (or care) that when having piercing jewelry in lip or tongue that is to long it can cause more damage than one that is the right length.

the bar can hit your teeth a little. but the only reason mine did was because the bar was pretty long (to allow swelling). but once i switched it it was fine. the only time it hits my teeth is if i do it on purpose cuz i'm playing with it. not too painful. easy to get. it's a little annoying when they screw the ball on. but besides that not bad. you'll be fine.

I've looked on a couple of sites where they compare piercing pain levels, and they say that a lip ring is somewhere in the middle, with a tongue ring being less painful D= I've heard that tongue rings are really painful so that puts me off a lot, but I still want the piercing. I think the only way I'd get it though is if I have a whole support group or am slightly intoxicated. I am terrified of pain when other people hurt me, but if I hurt myself I don't mind. If it wasn't so risky with the positioning and everything I would pierce my lip myself..

i got my lip pierced over two years ago, it didn't hurt one bit personally, the healing was about two weeks but it didn't hurt that much it was just red. now i make my own lip rings because i don't like the ones that close so i just put it in or out whenever. it has to be completely healed for you to do that though. It's also my one and only piercing i've ever had so i wouldn't know how other piercings hurt.