I got my first piercing about a year ago when I was 17. That was my eyebrow, but unfortunately that one has gone because I realised that it wasn't ever going to heal comfortably due to the shape of my eyebrows (they don't stick out enough so there was constant pressure on the piercing.) Soon after that I got my vertical labret, which is my favourite piercing. Recently I got my nipples pierced too. I first saw a smiley piercing on this site, and decided I liked it; and as I had never seen one before I thought it was quite unusual. I haven't seen anyone else with this piercing where I live, although it's getting more popular apparently.
At A Glance Author jack of spades When Six months ago Never the recommended thing to do, but I decided to pierce it myself because I didn't know of any piercing studios who would do it or knew what it was at the time. I used a small needle to do the initial piercing because the tissue is fairly tough and it won't work if a larger, blunter needle is used; as I found out. The smaller of the two needles went through eventually, although I had to use quite a lot of pressure. It was not particularly painful but the skin was very resistant. The first time I inserted the needle, the hole wasn't straight so I tried again. The second time it was straight so I removed the small needle and gently pushed the larger one into where the hole had been. Once as small opening in the skin had been made, it stretched easily to allow the larger needle in. I then used the larger needle as a taper so I could insert the jewellery (14ga curved barbell.) I soon realised a barbell was very impractical as it kept sliding around and irritating my gums, so I swapped it for a tiny 16ga CBR. Apart from having a hard time getting the ball in, it worked much better.
I felt a sense of achievement that I had pierced myself, because it took some time and it was awkward. I didn't have the same rush that I felt before someone else pierced me, and I was able to watch the needle go through my flesh whereas I prefer not to look if someone else is doing it. Also I know my pain tolerance is higher when I'm doing something to myself as I'm completely in control.
At first it felt really strange having something resting on my front teeth all the time, but after about a week I didn't notice it. I have to say I was pleased with the result as the piercing was straight and it healed very quickly. I would not try to pierce myself again, because I realise it is risky: although the needles I used were the sealed medical type it is unbelievably hard to keep everything else clean because obviously a piercing studio is (or should be!) cleaner than the surfaces in my house. In hindsight, it was a hellishly tricky piercing to attempt, because I had to hold my top lip out the way with one hand and pierce myself with the other at the same time. However...six months down the line and I still have a little ring under my top lip, and I still think it looks great. It definitely makes me smile more, even if it is just to scare people!
Tips if you want a smiley:
1. Don't do it yourself. It's a tiny bit of skin; looks easy as hell, but in my experience it's very tough. Also there's all the other risks of infection etc.
2. Wear the smallest diameter CBR/circular barbell possible; mine is about 8mm diameter. Any bigger than 10mm I found annoying because it moves around a lot.
3. If you can, get a CBR with a plastic ball so there's less risk of tooth damage, also it won't sound like nails on a blackboard if it scrapes on your teeth.
4. It's a pain in the backside to get the ball into a CBR which is in your mouth (because it's slippery!) so a circular barbell may be better. However, the balls can fall off in your mouth, so make sure you screw them on tightly and check them often.
5. Plaque builds up on the jewellery like it does on your teeth, so take it out and brush it when you brush your teeth. While it's healing, be careful when you brush your teeth because knocking it will hurt.
6. In my experience, the jewellery can be left out for at least a couple of hours once it's fully healed without the hole closing up.
7. Don't try to eat apples while it's healing, believe me it hurts and you have to gnaw on it sideways instead. This results in apple going all over your face (sticky!) Eating apples is still difficult, but apart from that eating generally/talking/kissing aren't affected by this piercing in any way.