I got my labret pierced in September 2001 and was very happy with it. It looked subtle but great. The placement was very low, which, although it looked really good, caused some major gum erosion. So last week, after much deliberation, I finally decided to retire my lovely labret.
At A Glance Author Lyz Contact futant@btopenworld.com IAM Futant When Three months ago Artist Louise Studio Manchester Piercing Studio Location Manchester, UK I felt naked! It was so strange not having any facial piercings (I took my eyebrow bars out sometime before), I just had to get a replacement quickly. I thought about getting a normal lip piercing with a bar, but decided not to in case this too led to gum erosion. I'd like to keep my teeth! Pretty much the only choice then was a vertical labret, which was fine by me as I love them. I was a bit worried about the reported high rejection rate, but decided to go ahead and deal with it if it happened.
So, the decision was made. It took a long time to actually get round to getting it done though. Well I say a long time, I mean a few days. I went in one day, Louise (my piercer) wasn't there. I went in the next day and they didn't have the right jewellery. Then for the next two days things kept happening that prevented me from carrying out my plan. Finally though, the time came.
Lou asked if it was OK if Caz (the other piercer) watched and took some photographs (some of which can be seen in the pictures section). Of course I agreed, although I really don't like having my photo taken! Anyway, I lay down and mentally prepared myself. Lou made two marks on my lip and consulted Caz, then I looked in the mirror to check. This took some time, we all wanted to make sure that the placement was absolutely right as it matters so much with this piercing, both for aesthetic reasons and to lessen the chance of rejection. Finally we all agreed that the markings were good, so I lay down again.
It was then time for the anaesthetic, which Lou rubbed on to my lip. This was a little odd, it smelled like bananas and tasted foul, but it was rather amusing when I began to dribble. At last, it was time for the actual piercing. Lou assured me that it would be a lot less painful than my nipples, but to be honest I wasn't worried as, like many of you I'm sure, I rather enjoy the needle - through - flesh feeling. I took some deep breaths, and as I exhaled, Lou quickly pierced my lip. It actually hurt a bit more than I expected, more than the nipples anyway, but of course it was still hardly pain at all. The curved bar was then inserted, a rather long one to accommodate swelling. The balls were also pretty big (what a charming sentence), and to be honest, when I looked in the mirror I thought it looked a bit odd. I was still really pleased though, because I knew it would look a lot better with a shorter bar and smaller balls. I thanked Lou and Caz, sat down again in case any b leeding started (it didn't bleed at all), and after a few minutes it was time to go. Lou told me to be gentle with it until it healed, which would probably be about a month, and use sea salt solutions to clean it after eating and brushing my teeth.
Well that was almost three months ago, and everything is going fine. When I got home that day I changed the 5mm balls to 4mm ones, which looked a lot better. I didn't try eating or drinking for a while, but when I did, the results were rather messy. Drinking was the most difficult, I would recommend using straws but as I don't like them, I had to develop a whole new method of drinking. Fortunately I was able to go back to the normal way after a couple of weeks. I got the bar changed to a shorter one after about a week, and that looked a lot better.
At first, I was very much aware of the top ball resting on my lip, and it felt very strange. Of course I got used to it very quickly and now it feels completely natural. I admit I've not been awfully kind to this piercing, I tried to be gentle with it but I'm afraid I'm just not very good at babying piercings. Luckily, it seems that this has had no adverse effects, as it healed quickly with no problems. There are also no signs of rejection (touch wood!) so far, which I am really glad about. I've really come to love this piercing and would be so upset if I had to take it out!