I I had been wanting to get another piercing for quite awhile now (it has been a good 2 years since my last one) I played around with the idea of a vertical lip piercing for quite some time and decided that wishing I had it, just wasn't good enough.
At A Glance Author LaRae Contact LaRae@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Stacy Studio The Crypt Location Winnipeg, Manitoba I had been out shopping the night I went and got it done. Walking the mall alone I told myself that I was going to get it done, even if it killed me. I called The Crypt at 6 and asked if they had any openings for that night. They said she had a 7:00 slot that I could have. I told them I would call them right back. The idea of getting it done scared me senseless, I almost backed out (for the 8634832165 time) "Nope, that's it, im doing it" I called back, booked my appointment and ran to the bus stop. And I have to say, this was most definitely the longest bus ride of my life. The entire way I pinched and poked and twisted at my lip, trying to imagine the pain I was undoubtedly in for. It makes me laugh when I think of it, cause I probably looked pretty silly tugging away at it.
After finally arriving at the shop, I ended up having to wait a good 30 minutes. 30 minutes of pure terror! I was so nervous. At this point I wished I had brought someone with me. But honestly, I don't think I would have went through with it if I had brought someone along. I probably would have put too much thought in to it and chickened out. This down time gave me a little while to read the pamphlets about healing and keloids and all that other fun stuff. I also studied their portfolio for my next piercing adventure (which im sure will be my nipples) and o0o0o'd and ahh'd over all the pretty barbells.
Finally, Stacy called me in and we chatted for a little while, making me feel very comfortable and a lot less scared. We took some time to talk about the aftercare and even gave me some tips on becoming smoke free and what not. After awhile she showed me the jewellery and asked me to swish some Listerine around for 30 seconds. I didn't know you could get that stuff with as much of a burn factor as this one. My mouth was numb after awhile (I was quite thankful for this) She laid me down in the really cool gothic dentist chair thing and practiced a breathing technique with me (If it wasn't for this, I probably would have cried) She cleaned the area, marked the spot then clamped my lip (which DOESNT hurt at all, I don't know what everyone else is talking about) She then went in to "professional piercer mode" and counted to three telling me to breath in through my nose, and out through my mouth. She sounded so calming, I was no longer afraid. On the third breath (exhale? inhale? I don't really remember) she pushed the needle through. Even though my eyes watered, the pain was really minimal. More then anything, it just felt really weird. When I felt the needle go through I sort of panicked and stopped breathing. Tensing up at a time like that is never a good idea. I finally calmed myself and took a few more deep breaths as she put the barbell through. That also felt a little odd, but totally bearable. She sat me up and I jumped out of the chair to look in the mirror. "Its beautiful! I love it!" Was all I could say to express my gratitude. She gave me a big hug and we jumped around like excited little girls for a little bit more. For my next piercing, I will definitely go to Stacy. She has a way of being very calming and that helps more then any friend holding your hand.
It's healing really nicely, no pain, a few crusties but no real swelling or anything. The only thing that I don't like is that I have to hide it from my boss because I work in retail. I find that unscrewing the balls hides it a lot and I get away with it just fine. Because I do this, I take extra special care of it with sea salt soaks and lots of diluted witch hazel. I'm sure if stacy knew about that I would be deserving a good smack.
All in all, this piercing makes me feel incredibly pretty. Its funny how something like this can boost your ego and make you feel so confident. I love it, and I recommend it to anyone that's interested. Don't wait around like I did, just go ahead and get it over with!