Ever since I saw the vertical labret piercing I knew it had to be my next one. I first saw it on the BME lip gallery and I just loved the way it looked. I printed out a picture of a beautiful girl who had it done and showed all my friends and family. Everyone seemed to love it, except my mother, but I'm not surprised. For the next few weeks I did my research and finally decided to go for it. And then I remembered that I needed to talk to my orthodontist first because if he said it'd interfere with my braces then I'd hold off until a better time. So I talked to Doctor D and he said it was absolutely fine with him because a lot of his patients had tongue rings and lip rings so this wouldn't be too bad either.
At A Glance Author jMi Contact trippinroses@msn.com When It just happened Studio Ocean Mistique/Atlantic Gold & Silver Location Virginia Beach
After having "permission" I kind of chickened out a bit. So back to BME I went to brush up on some more stories. Most people said there was pain but not too much, and that helped convinced me to do it. I figured nothing could be worse than my tongue... I guess that's just something I would have to deal with later. I kept going by Ocean Mistique but then I would wimp out again.
GETTING THERE
Yesterday afternoon I was down at the beach with some friends, when some of the guys started talking about getting pierced. I decided to put my foot down and go do it right then and there. So the five of us walked to Ocean Mistique/Atlantic Gold & Silver and I went in and asked the lady whether or not they would do it for me. She smiled and nodded. Great! Now all I need is some courage. I told her I'd be back in a few minutes because I was still waiting on some friends. While I was waiting, I tried to convince my one friend he should get a pubic piercing (the one he wanted) because after getting into the store he decided that he was too scared. Focusing on calming him helped calm me a bit too. When everyone finally got there I went back to the lady and told her that's definitely what I wanted to do. She said okay and then explained to me that to clean it, I need to treat the top ball like my tongue ring and clean it with Listerine a few times a day, and the bottom is cleaned like an earring. I signed the paperwork, read the care instructions real quick, and gave her my ID. The total was about $30 (I also bought some aftercare for the bottom), so I paid and she told me to have a seat and I'd be called in a few minutes.
IT'S TIME!
What seemed like 2 seconds later the piercer (who's name I missed somehow) called me in. My friends wished me good luck and in I went. I sat on the table and watched as he prepared the ring and the needle. He was pretty nice and talked to me a little bit. I told him that I was getting nervous and he just smiled and said "Yeah?" He cleaned my lip with iodine and placed two small purple dots were placed on my lips and he showed me in the mirror. "This is where each ball will sit." I said that it was exactly where I wanted it and he said Okay. I made the HUGE mistake of saying "So what hurts more? This or the tongue?" He grinned at me and laughed a little "Oh.. This, definitely." Great... I was so scared now I could have thrown up. So he walked over to me with the needle. "No clamp??" I asked. "Nope! Can't really use one on here. Don't worry, you'll be fine." So I stuck my lower lip out and he brought the needle closer to my face. My heart was pumping and I was shaking. I felt the needle prick the bottom of my lip and thought Hey, this isn't too bad! And then he got deeper. Ouch. It got a little stuck halfway through and he had to stop and wiggle it around, then push it through. This seriously had to be the slowest piercing I've ever had. I actually could feel it go through each layer of skin and tissue. The worst part (pain wise) was when he got to the top of my lip. Have you ever had really bad chapped lips and then you smile too big and your entire lip cracks and it hurts like hell? Yeah, think that but worse. He turned to get the jewelry off the counter and began to put it in, which also hurt. Then he clamped the top part of the ring and I flinched. He laughed at me for being scared of the clamp. He said "Relax, everything's done now." and screwed the top ball on. I looked at myself in the mirror and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I think that's pretty funny too because I read someone else's story where they said the same thing. The balls were a little too big and it took a minute to get adjusted to th em. I tipped him and walked out to show my friends. Everyone LOVED it (minus the big balls part). My best friend Sav said "Not to sound bad or anything, but I kinda want to kiss you to see what that feels like." I told her she could once it healed a bit. Hey, I'm curious too! We waited around a little bit for our other friend to get pierced and then we were off.
AFTERWARDS
We decided to go to McDonalds right after that. I was starving but a little scared to eat. Mike and I ordered a #2 so we could split it. I managed to eat a plain cheeseburger and some fries without any pain- well, I did get salt in it once but that's not what I meant. Eating is a little awkward at first, I had to try to find a comfortable way to get the food in my mouth without smacking the top ball. Drinking is even better. If anyone wants to do this I definitely recommend stocking up on a weeks worth of straws! Straws made it so much easier, but it is possible to drink from a glass. Just takes some getting used to.
NOW
When I woke up this morning my lip was a little more swollen than it was last night and it wasn't as numb, unfortunately. The bottom kind of tingles a bit and the top feels like a chapped lip. Smiling is interesting because I can feel it spread the hole open. It's probably not opening but it definitely feels like it is. I've been nursing it with ice to bring the swelling down a little bit, and for some reason ice made it hurt more. I showed my sister when I woke up this morning and she said "Hmm.. I don't like it." I explained that it's probably just because the ring is too big now, and she agreed because she liked the picture of the girl who's beads are smaller. I called my mom and I'm a little scared to show her now. I did warn her that it wasn't quite how it'll look in a few weeks.
All in all, I love the piercing but this sucker HURT. A lot. I honestly couldn't believe that it hurt as much as it did because I wasn't expecting anything like that. I'm not trying to scare anyone out of doing it but this really really hurt and I want to be honest so you will know what to expect.
Email me with any questions trippinroses@msn.com