First off, I'll give everyone a quick piercing rundown. I have my left eyebrow, left nostril, and septum pierced. I also have 3/4-inch lobes in my first holes and 00g in my left second hole, so I'm not exactly new to the piercing community, nor am I an expert by any means. I do have an addiction to body mods, also having three tattoos, and planning on many more. I believe that body modification is a wonderful thing, and that it gives the individual a chance to exercise his or her rights of expression. I also feel that it is terrible that it is difficult to find a job at times because of the appearance of certain types or modifications. But anyways, on with the story.
At A Glance Author Cheryl Contact Buggrl43@aol.com When It just happened Artist Jason Studio Express Yourself Tattoo Location New Paltz NY Ok, so it was about seven o'clock pm today, and I decided to head over to the local piercing shop. I had the intentions of stretching my four month old 14g septum piercing to a 10g, since it was very flexible from my constant tugging on it. I had called about three hours beforehand with my request, and decided to go after my last class had ended, which was six twenty. After my arrival, I was greeted by the piercer Jason, the tattoo artist Skinner, his wife and their new puppy (soooo cute!)
After talking for a minute, I decided to ask him if he had ever done a vertical labret piercing, since this has been my dream piercing for over a year now. He had already done my septum and eyebrow, but I wanted to see if he had any experience with this piercing. Sure enough, not only has he performed this piercing, but he actually had it done a while back. I was ecstatic. Therefore, due to lack of funds, I decided to abandon my ideas for stretching the septum and get this piercing. I trust Jason because he is great at what he does, and I feel very comfortable asking him any questions that I may have about piercings.
I waited in waiting room until Jason finished with another customer, which was about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, I released some of my tensions by playing with Skinner's new eight week old black lab puppy. Also, I consulted with one of the customers I knew, asking her about me and a vertical labret. After the fifteen minutes, I was called into the piercing room. Jason prepared his tools and work station, and began to mark off the position where the piercing would go. Since I had had a regular labret done beforehand, I wanted the exit hole to be in the same place. After about fifteen minutes, the placement was good and we decided to go for it.
Jason positioned the clamps, which took another five minutes or so, and we were ready to go. I tell you, no matter what, those damn clamps hurt more than any piercing or stretching I've ever had. I asked him if the piercing would hurt, and he told me no more than a regular labret, so I felt a bit better. Nevertheless, my heart was racing and my adrenaline was pumping. Jason asked if I was ready, and I took some deep breaths and told him I was. Then, he took the needle, put it in place, counted to one, two and on three the needle entered. I felt it go through every layer of skin, and then pop out the top of my lip. It hurt a tiny bit, and my eyes watered, but it felt awesome!! Then, he slid in the jewelry and wiped off the blood. Usually, although this sounds odd, I enjoy the taste of blood. However, the mix of the stuff he used to clean my lip and the blood tasted awful, but I was too excited to care.
I jumped up and he told me to rinse with water to get the blood out of my mouth. I ran into the bathroom to see the new piercing. It looked amazing!! And it was perfectly straight. I let out a yelp of joy as I ran back out and showed him (like he hadn't seen already). Jason smiled and took a picture of my piercing. We chatted for a bit about the aftercare and stuff, and I was ready to pay. The best part was, they charged me for a lip piercing rather than a labret, so I had enough to give Jason a well deserved tip.
I couldn't wait to get back to my dorm to show everyone. My roommate just gave me a look of pain, while my neighbors were curious as to how much it hurt. However, my friend Zach really liked it. It was a bit hard to eat later on today, since I am not used to having a metal ball on my lip, but I managed pretty well, although I have to smoke a cigarette out of the side of my mouth now rather than the front.
My vertical labret, my dream piercing, is now mine. It has only been eight hours since I got it done, and already I cant stop staring at myself in the mirror. I am so excited and have a totally new image of how piercings can be so beautiful on some people. To everyone who is thinking about getting it done, I say go for it. It was amazing, almost totally painless, and it looks gorgeous. I can't wait to show my family when I go home for Spring break. Although I do not get pierced to look beautiful, I do believe that piercings give me a sense of self-confidence and pride that I shall carry with me for many years to come.