I had been surfing BME's pages admiring everyone's triumph's when I found it: the inverse vertical labret. Few pictures as there were, I just could not get over how simple and beautiful it was, and how it accented the wearer's lips in such a lovely way. For quite a while I had been thinking of getting something pierced on my face, but I had shied away from every choice presented me. I was totally paranoid about the way it would make me look-- nevermind the fact that I have 5/8" lobes, two vertical industrials, a snug, two sadhus, and a nape...But something about the face is different. It's just right there up front, the focal point of everyone's attention, the part of you people recall most vividly. I wanted to be really sure about where this attention would be directed, and whatever scars I might have later on. But a vertical inverse labret would be perfect. I have cupid's bow lips that curve up slightly at each end, I every once in a while during the day I would pull out an extra barbell I had lying around unused and hold it between my teeth and bottom lip, only the top ball showing. It looked like I was holding a silver pearl between pursed lips. Very pretty and feminine.
At A Glance Author paullyanna Contact paullyanna@rocketmail.com IAM paullyanna When A week ago Artist John Studio Forbidden Fruit Location Austin, TX I emailed my piercer, John, about it, and included a couple pictures from BME. He replied that he had only done normal vertical labrets, but would be fine with trying out the inverse on me. I made the trip down to Forbidden Fruit on 6th, and he began checking out my mouth. Pulling my bottom lip down, he made a couple markings and asked me to take a look. I had him move them farther back on my lip, so the top ball would not move forward when I smiled or stretched my lips. It would just appear to balance at the top.
He pulled out a couple different pairs of clamps, and had me swish mouthwash around for a while, then lie back on the table. My lip was cleaned with some gooey stuff (sorry, don't know what it was, but it tasted like hospital...) on a Q-tip, then blotted dry with gauze. He asked that I try not to lick my lips or smile, so the area would stay dry. The first pair of clamps would not hold on the soft oral tissue, and slipped as he pulled them back on my lips to test their grip. The second would not hold either. John pulled out one final pair and tried repositioning a couple times, but could not get a good grip. Each time he changed clamps he blotted my mouth with more gauze, and at this point my lip was feeling really icky and dry-- I began to wish he had one of those suck-ey things on hand (like dentists use) to get rid of the spit, cause the gauze was getting nasty. He decided to forgo the clamps and just freehand it.
He picked up the needle and stood behind and to the left of my head, and asked me to do the usual deep inhale/exhale to signal that I was ready. Upon breathing out, I felt the needle pierce the underside of my bottom lip, and slice through halfway. I'm not sure if he stopped halfway on purpose or what, maybe to change direction so he could angle the needle straight up and out of my lip? But anyway, I did the inhale/exhale thing again, and the needle pierced all the way through, coming out the top. It was really painful, and brought tears to my eyes, although they did not fall. It was as if he had slowwwly drawn a razor blade across the delicate tissue, and it felt like it was being split down the middle. It didn't actually take that long to get through, but you know how things feel like they're going in slow mo when the needle's inside a part of you...Somehow I can sit bored through a thick cartilege piercing, but I would not wish to have this done again. It did hurt.
He began to pull the jewelry through, a curved barbell a bit longer, thicker, and with larger balls than I had expected. I would guess now that it's about 14 or 16ga, but I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention. It felt super tight in my lip, and really obtrusive, since I wasn't used to having something on or in my mouth. He explained that he had started so large to accomodate for all the swelling that would most likely happen, which was understandable. He made me promise to go easy on my mouth for a while, and suggested I pick up some Listerine at the store so I could wash my mouth out every couple hours. I was thinking in my head that this sounded awfully frequent, but later found it to be quite neccessary. He also mentioned that it would be a good idea to eat some crushed ice, to help with the swelling.
I'm glad that when I bought Listerine I also had the forsight to get soups and other easy to eat foods-- they were lifesavers! The first two days after it really hurt to stretch my lips, it felt like I would tear them in half. Eating the soup with a spoon proved to be quite difficult though-- as soon as I would put it in my mouth, the top ball on my lip would hit the metal of the spoon, and I would dribble a little around it. I ended up driving my boyfriend insane with all the slurping I did to keep from drooling soup all over myself. Pretty much all I ate though was crushed ice, which I can't say helped at all, but sure felt good. John was definitely right about the swelling: it puffed up and stayed that way for days. The bottom ball looked like it was sinking into my lip, but I've been keeping a careful watch over it and it doesn't look like it'll get any worse. One weird thing: I developed a small, deep violet bruise underneath my lip on the outside, directly over where the bottom ball would be on the inside. I can only guess that maybe I bumped it in my sleep. Sure does look funny though.
A few days into having it, I started to try eating other foods. BIG mistake getting Subway though-- I couldn't open my mouth enough to get it around the sandwich! I had to eat the whole thing by picking away at it with little bites, and I had to concentrate so much on not hurting my lip that I didn't even enjoy the sandwich at all. It sucked! Work was also a pain...I work at a call center as a helpdesk for a big company, and all the talking was a little tough on my lip. What was worse was when a coworker would crack a joke that I would normally laugh like crazy over, but it hurt like all hell to open my mouth wide and stretch my lips, and I would wince each time. I took to covering my mouth with one hand to hold my lip in place when I truly could not help it. Yeah, people laughed at me. But they all loved the piercing! It looked really great.
There is one thing that is truly agony though: chapped lips. I really didn't want to use any kind of balm or gloss; I didn't want to get any sludge in such a fresh piercing. They got so dry so frequently that I would lick them constantly, making things worse. The skin would peel and look really nasty, especially around the top hole where it would build up. Every time I rinsed with mouthwash I would gently brush all the skin off with a soft toothbrush. I had to do this almost constantly, it's got to be the single most annoying thing about the aftercare.
It's coming along pretty well, looking as nice as I could expect it to. I don't believe I'll have too many problems with healing and keeping it. I do have only one more concern: gum/enamel erosion. That was a major thought about me getting this, but I decided to say screw it and go for it. Currently the top ball never comes in contact with my teeth, and the bottom ball sits so low inside my lip that it rests on top of the webbing. It does sometimes strike my teeth when I eat, and I know it will be a problem in the future. I plan speak with my dentist about it at my next visit, and have him measure/photograph/whatever the way my teeth and gums look now. I will have him inspect them carefully at each visit, and this thing is coming out the second it starts causing any damage. Like John had mentioned, it isn't a question of IF, but WHEN it will start to happen. And there's no way this thing is more important to me than the health of my mouth.
I do HIGHLY recommend the inverse vertical labret. I honestly don't think any other piercing could look as lovely or compliment a woman's face as well. I'm glad I got it.