I am a 25 year old female. I reside in Altoona, Pennsylvania. As of today I have acquired seven tattoos and fifteen piercings, including my ears. I began my body modifications with tattoos, eventually becoming more interested in body piercing.
At A Glance Author Kara Ebersole Contact kara0428@lycos.com When Three months ago Artist Danny Studio Custom Skin Art Location Altoona, Pennsylvania The first facial piercing I got was my tongue, then my nostril. This time, I wanted something that I thought represented myself a little better. I thought upon it for a while and after browsing through some pictures, I saw the labret. I found the labret to be feminine and sexy, so I decided to go with that. Besides that, I have a full bottom lip and I thought that would add to the beauty of it.
After about a month of bargaining with my husband, I finally made an appointment to get it done. I had originally made an appointment with a place called Paragon Tattoos, but as it turned out, when I arrived at the studio, they had told me that they ran out of labret posts and I would have to come back the following week. Okay, I was fine with that. I had waited for approximately a month, so one more week wouldn't hurt.
The following week arrived and I called into the studio first to see if their shipment had come in. They told me it hadn't and it would be yet another week so I decided to go elsewhere. I felt like I was getting the run-around and I wasn't going to play phone tag with them.
At last, I called Custom Skin Art, a little well-known studio in my area. I had gotten many of my tattoos there and I was very pleased with their work and I had found them to be extremely sanitary. Their piercer wasn't there full-time, so I had to call and see when he would be available. Luckily, I wouldn't have to wait long; he would be in the next evening, which was a Friday. The appointment was set for 6:00 Friday evening.
Thursday came and went and Friday was finally upon me. I was very nervous that day and I had myself all worked up because I felt that the lip was a sensitive area and it would be a bit touchy. I believe I had smoked about two packs of cigarettes before six o'clock finally came around. Nonetheless, it did come around and I wasn't any less nervous about my new piercing. I left my house and headed towards the parlor.
I arrived about five minutes early and I was instructed that the piercer would be there within a few minutes. I stood around nervously looking around at all of the flash. I kept looking at my watch and six came and went. I asked again if he were there yet and they said he was late again, as that were commonplace for him. Another good five minutes passed before he finally came strolling through the door. I filled out the proper paperwork for him and showed him my identification card. It was time.
I followed him back to his little area and sat on stool while he gathered the proper tools and jewelry. There were at least five or six other people in there and I just stared at them as they stared back wondering what I was going to have done.
After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, he asked me if I had any questions. I told him, I had but one, the most annoying of all questions. How badly does it hurt? He told me that pain was something that is different for everyone and that it all depended on me. He did say though, that the majority of his customers getting the labret told him it was absolutely painless with a minor percentage that said it was extremely painful. It was a relief in one way, but then I wondered if I could be a part of that minor percentage.
He asked me if I had any other questions and when I shook my head no, he asked if I were ready. I told him I was as ready as I would ever be, and that was that. A mark was placed below my bottom lip in line with the center of my top teeth. He showed it to me in a mirror to be sure that I liked and agreed with the placement. He told me to take a deep breath, then count to three. I took in a deep breath, and when I started my count, the needle eased in. With that, I was greatly relieved for I felt it was a much lesser pain than I was expecting. In fact, I really didn't have any pain at all.
After having disposed of the needle, he screwed on the ball of my labret. It was finally done and over with. He handed me his hand mirror so that I could admire my new piercing. I just stared at it in awe. It was just as beautiful as I had expected. I must have had the biggest smile on my face because Danny, my piercer, also started to smile. I paid him for my piercing and gave him a ten-dollar tip. He seemed very well pleased with his tip, as I was pleased with my piercing.
Now for the true test. I went home to display my latest hole to my husband. He isn't much for facial piercings and I knew that if he liked it, I would be in the clear. He wouldn't tell me for a few days, and I didn't ask. Finally I said to him, I don't think you hate it as much as you thought you would. He said, no I kind of like it. I said, I knew it, but why wouldn't you tell me? His response was, well, you didn't ask. I guess that's what I get! But at any rate, I had a fairly quick healing time. I believe it healed up within two weeks. After the two weeks were up, I went and bought a shorter post. I have had many compliments on this piercing and I think it's the prettiest piercing I've ever gotten. I am very pleased and I look forward to more piercings in the future.