Inside lower lip - new tattoo palette

Nigel Peyton has long had a penchant for body art. He has Chinese script, a yin and yang symbol, and numerous family dedications all over his body - 25 tattoos in all. He's also pierced his nipples, ears and penis. One day, about two months ago, Peyton decided to decorate a little more by having "VA 804" etched inside his lower lip.

"I got it because I love Virginia," the 22-year-old professional body piercer said of the state and his area code. Peyton also has a smiley face and the phrase "Welcome to 2007" on his tongue. "I wanted to do something different from everyone else."

Well, it's not that different. Lots of people are getting the inside of their lower lips inked, a spot where only intimates, and certainly not parents, peek, according to several artists and tattoo aficionados.

"It's definitely something that's becoming more and more popular," said Brad Buehrly, owner of the Lucky 13 parlor in Richmond, Va. "It's a good way of getting a tattoo and its not being visible."

Clients often have four-letter words referencing anatomical actions written on the inside of their lips as a way to quietly object to authority. But increasingly, Buehrly said, tamer vocabulary has sneaked in. Words like goofy, thug life and love are now just as common. Pictures are rare, because there's just not enough space available.

The secrecy is a large part of the appeal, said Steve Redone, an artist at Fun City Tattoo in Manhattan's East Village. He noted that he has never done lips on anyone older than 25. "Young people want the satisfaction of knowing they have a tattoo without getting one on the outside of their body," he said.

To brand the inside of the mouth, a tattoo artist folds back the lower lip to reveal the pink fleshy area that abuts the teeth. There is no pain medication, and the agony can last 10 minutes.

"As far as pain, it's out there," Buehrly said. "There's no anesthetic. We're not doctors."

Because they are inside the mouth, these decorations often don't last too long. About 40 percent of lip art will fade after a year, according to Kevin Leblanc, a tattoo artist in Toms River, N.J. That's because the cells in the mouth regenerate faster than those on the external skin.

"The skin in there, it's just all fatty tissue," he said. Sometimes when the artwork is administered, the ink just sinks into the flesh and puddles, or runs out into a client's mouth, he said.

A typical lip job can cost $50 to $125 and is just as safe as a tattoo on any other body part, said Redone of Fun City.

Yet others, namely medical professionals, disagree.

Lip tattoos that don't heal properly could lead to hepatitis, a general infection and nerve damage, said Dr. Shane Methal, who teaches dentistry at New York University.

"The mucosa lining of the mouth is even more delicate than the inside of your eyelid," Methal said. "Now, the risk is not substantial, but there's a potential."

Dr. Matthew Messina, a spokesman for the American Dental Association, took a similarly cautious approach.

"I'm struggling to find a benefit of it," he said of lip art. "If the ink is not sterile, then there's going to be an entry point for bacteria into the mouth."

Lip tattoos began in the animal world. The Jockey Club, the governing body for thoroughbred racing, requires lip markings to identify horses. Cows and sheep are sometimes tattooed inside the mouth instead of being branded on the rump, Buehrly said.

For humans, of course, the appeal goes beyond identification, although there are some who like to share their private markings with the public.

"When you're drinking in a bar and feeling frisky," Buehrly said, "you can pop it out and show it off."