I've always loved body piercings. They've always fascinated me. When I turned 18, I got three facial piercings in six months. I slowed down after that, and waited 6 months to get something else done.
At A Glance Author Cat V. Contact Cat V.@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Stokie Studio Hardware Location Albuquerque NM I decided that what I got done needed to be original, something no one else had. Well, by this time, every frat boy and corresponding hooker had something pierced. I thought about surface, but I wasn't feeling that bold or had that much money. I've always had an oral fixation, so I skimmed through BME's glossary and looked for funky variations of lip piercings. I already had my lower right lip done, so I thought it might be fun to add to the enjoyment. Then, I saw a piercing on a girl that I had never seen before called a jestrum. An upper vertical labret. Now hey, that's nice. It looked very good on the model and I thought it would be a nice addition to my face.
I thought about it for a while and then, after my roommate offered to pay for half the procedure, went to get it done a week after my 19th birthday. I went to Sachs, with some reservations, since that place has pretty much become "navel piercing central" in Burque. When I told the lady what I wanted done, she said I should go see Stokie at Hardware, since he was more into experimental piercings than the guy working that night. Fine by me. Stokie had pierced my nostril 6 months earlier and returning to him was something I should have done anyway. My roommate and me drove over there and I explained to Stokie what I wanted to do. He seemed really excited about the procedure and told me he'd never done one like it before. I felt good and original. I waited in the lobby while he pierced a girl's labret and told off her boyfriend for making fun of her for being scared. That was great. Then, it was my turn.
I was surprisingly nervous. I wasn't nervous for any other piercing I'd had done, but this time, I was good and scared. I had talked to people before hand and told them what I wanted to do and they all seemed to cringe up in pain. But, I didn't think it was going to hurt any more than my lower lip. I was very wrong...
Stokie sat me down, went through all the basics of the procedure. He was piercing it with a 14 gauge curved barbell. He told me to stay relaxed and everything would be fine. He cleaned me all up with iodine and dotted me. I checked out the dots and had him redot a few times till I got exactly the line I wanted. Then, we were ready to go.
He clamped my lip and told me to take a deep breath. Well, for some reason, I didn't. Then, wap, in the needle went. It freaking hurt like none other. It felt like, well, being stabbed with a needle. I guess I must have made a terrible face because he pierced me as I was looked at my roommate and her face cringed up into the most painful look ever. So, there I sat, waiting for the pain to go away, like all piercings do once the needle's through. The pain subsided, but it was still there. Stokie put a retaining bar (I think that's what it was called) through to make sure he had pierced it straight. And that felt just as bad as getting pierced. Then, he put in the jewelry. Once again, just as bad. By this time, I'm trying my damnest not to cry, but tears are starting to come out. Once the bottom ball was screwed on to the jewelry and contact stopped, it started to feel a little better. I got up and looked in the mirror after Stokie boasted that it looked "fucking awesome". He was right. The line was perfect and it really looked awesome on my face, really. I tipped him nicely and he asked me to come back in a week so he could take a picture of me for his portfolio.
The healing process was surprisingly not that bad. All that monstrous pain took a night to subside and then it was gone. The area around the piercing was extremely tender for a few weeks and I drank lots of cold water to keep the area almost numb (good trick I learned for oral piercings, it also keeps em clean!). After a month, I downsized the gauge of the jewelry to a 16 and learned to enjoy my new mod. It healed perfectly straight and I'm sure it made a wonderful addition to Stokie's portfolio.
People always ask me if my piercings hurt "that one through the top of yer lip" in particular. I tell them no, it feels really good getting having a needle pushed through your skin, Even if your into pain, it still does hurt. I promise.
Remember to tip your piercer and get as many mods as your body will hold! Put your body to use!