My labret piercing was the 6th piercing that I got. I'd fancied getting it done for quite a long time, but had been debating whether to get a labret piercing or a lip ring instead. Unlike the piercings I had gotten previously, this one would be both visible and centrally placed (my septum has a circular barbell which I can flip up to hide). I liked the idea of getting something in this position as I have always found central facial piercings stand out more than piercings to the side such as nostril or eyebrow.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A year ago Location Alice Springs Eventually I settled on a labret piercing. I thought it'd probably be easier to heal and less likely to get in the way of eating and drinking than would a lip ring, which I feared would complicate these basic activities and might encounter complications for healing.
I made no plans to get the piercing done, but just figured I'd do it on impulse at some point, and this is how it happened.
I was in Alice Springs, after just having done a bit of outback trekking, and spending a couple of days taking things easy around town before moving on elsewhere. Walking down the main street in the centre of town, which I seem to recall was Todd Street, I passed a tattoo and body piercing studio. It looked clean and safe from outside, and I thought to myself, 'what the hell, why not get it done now'.
I enquired as to the price etc, which was $85, and as there were no other customers in the shop I was able to get it done there and then. I don't know the piercer's name, but it was a woman with dark hair who seemed pretty nice, although it was noticeable that she only had one visible piercing (coincidentally her labret). Now, you can never judge piercers by the number of piercings they have on display, but somehow I always feel more comfortable with heavily pierced or tattooed piercers, as I just feel that they are more likely to know what they are doing; perhaps a bit irrational, but thats just how it is. Anyway, this piercer measured my lip to ensure that she got the right size bar for my labret, then marked my chin where she was going to pierce - it was pretty low, but at the time it didn't seem too bad, so I gave the ok. The whole procedure was pretty quick. I swilled with mouthwash, and then it was down to the painful part. My bottom lip was clamped, and then the needle inserted into the marked spot. I've got to say that this was probably the most painful piercing I had experienced. The insertion of the needle was very sharp and stung bad. I felt the jewellery being pushed through, it was ok, although getting the ball screwed on hurt as she had to grip my lip hard to get it done.
Leaving the studio I felt an immediate buzz. There is always a great sensation about getting a new piercing, a sense that an important step has been taken, and my body has been enhanced. This was short lived when less than 20 minutes after leaving the ball on the labret stud became loose and I could not tighten it. I returned to the studio, and the piercer did this for me.
My lip was a bit sore for a few days afterwards, although it then began to settle and seemed ok. However, I was surprised that after a few weeks the bar had not started to stick out. I had been told that it would need changing once the swelling went down, but this never seemed to happen, although I started to realise that there was no swelling, and that the bar seemed to fit right, which was very strange. Then I started to get skin growing funnily around the back of the stud inside my mouth. In the end I visited another piercer a few weeks later for some advice: It appeared that I had been pierced with a bar which should never have been used, as it was about the size to put in after healing, once swelling had gone. The irritation in my mouth had probably been caused by having too tight a fit. I got the jewellery changed for something more appropriate.
Things started to pick up, although a few weeks later I noticed that with the low positioning of the piercing, my gums were starting to take a bit of a whacking. I changed the bar for a plastic one, which helped so much, but eventually I gave up the piercing for other reasons (work).
Sometime later I was able to get my labret re-pierced. After the former experience I decided to be very careful and choose a piercer wisely, going to an APP member in Sydney. The piercing was more expensive than it had been the previous time, but was carried out (in my opinion) with much greater care. It was placed higher so as not to erode my gums (as the piercer said, teeth can be repaired, damage to gums is permanent). Another advantage was that if I chose to I could put a ring in the piercing at some later stage, whereas the lower placement of the original piercing would never have allowed for that.
I still love labret piercings. There is pain involved, but its quick, it heals quickly if looked after properly, and it looks awesome.
However, do choose where you get pierced carefully, as it will be cost and time-efficient in the long term.