In fact, these are so rare that you may have never heard of them.

Lip piercings, on the other hand, are somewhere in the middle.

One such piercing is the lip gauge, which is often referred to as the lip plate.

red head lip ring

If you’re curious about this extremely rare form of body modification, read on.

What is a lip gauge, and how exactly does it work?

First things first: What even is a lip gauge?

gauge percing

However, people often think of gauges as piercings that have thicker than normal shafts.

What are the differences between lip gauges and lip plating?

As mentioned, lip gauges in the U.S. are quite rare.

African woman with lip plate

However, they are commonplace in some African cultures they just go by a different name: lip plating.

Typically, lip plates are constructed out of wood or clay, and they symbolize social or sexual maturity.

For now, though, it’s still a fairly common occurrence.