Neck piercing

Neck piercing
Nicknames Vampire Bites
Location Surface of neck
Jewelry Barbell
Healing 5–7 weeks

A neck piercing is a series of surface piercings done to emulate the appearance of a bite on the side of a person's neck. A barbell is placed in the skin of the side of the neck. When the earring/barbell is removed it looks like a vampire bite.

Straight barbells will, in almost every case, cause a surface piercing to be rejected. Surface bars are the best jewelry for vampire bite piercings.

This piercing is also commonly done through the loose flesh on the back of the neck and is called a nape piercing. Like most surface piercings, neck piercing reject about 90% of the time; usually because of infections. Infections can be avoided by maintaining proper piercing hygiene.

Due to the high amount of movement performed by the neck during the day, the jewelry used is usually made of Teflon. This allows the piercing to move fluidly with the neck. A steel bar would restrict movement and be very uncomfortable. Shortly after the piercing is performed, the surrounding area is prone to swelling and bleeding. The neck will continue to stay swollen for the next few days, and the skin around the ends of the piercing will be red and inflamed.