The horizontal lip piercing experience section seem to be severely lacking in numbers (I believe there are three), so figured I might as well put off the piles of school work that have built up over the past week, and contribute as I have recently become a bit of a BME junkie.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist ...? Studio Scotia Location Halifax After four years or so of agonizing over getting my lip pierced I finally found myself living in a city which had a reputable piercing studio. Having settled into university and res life after about a month of school, I made my way over the bridge to Dartmouth with a friend who was looking into booking a tattoo appointment. Having checked out prices and their willingness to do a horizontal lip piercing beforehand, it was just a matter of showing up with the cash.
I was drawn to this piercing in particular as the symmetry of it was important to me, as well as the fact that it was in the lip which I had wanted forever, yet it didn't run the risk of gum erosion, and I reasoned that it would be more sterile than having the piercing inside my mouth (I chose to push the high chances of rejection and migration to the back of my mind). I convinced myself I should spend the $70 I really couldn't afford by reasoning that the aftercare instructions involved abstaining from alcohol consumption for six weeks, and so it would all theoretically even out. Funny how things often "theoretically" work out.
So we take the bus to Scotia, and after a quick trip to the ATM machine, we speak briefly with the counter dude (I apologize as I am horrible with names, and I'm not sure that he actually introduced himself).But at any rate, my friend got her appointment all set up for the next month, and I was pleased that he agreed to do my piercing right away. Once I realized that this was finally going to happen, the nerves kicked in and I got the queasy, "oh god, what-why am I doing this?" kinda feeling in my gut. I wouldn't say that I have an intense fear of needles, but they are far from an enjoyable experience for me.
There was a guy who apparently wasn't from that piercing studio, but he said he had been in the business for years and had never seen this piercing done before, and wanted to know if he could watch. I shrugged, cool, I guess it's a rare one. This guy had largely stretched lobes, tattoos up the neck, and other facial surface piercings, so I thought it was pretty nifty he wanted to see me get mine done. Did the mouth rinse, sat on the chair, everything got arranged, lines were drawn, and tygone measured. I asked if he couldn't pierce just a little bit lower then where he marked. He said he could, but then rejection would be inevitable. So I said good enough, we'll keep it where it won't be a waste of money.
Got the whole, "take a deep breath" spiel, and holy shite batman, ouch! The eyes tearing up was beyond my control. He got the needle through, and wasn't happy with where it had come out. So the needle was pulled part way back out, and shoved through again. There was really no bleeding which was great, and he asked a couple times if I was okay, because as I said, the eyes were streaming, but I answered I was fine. Hopped down, paid with slightly shaking hands (but was aware enough that I should leave a tip), and started to head out. My friend wanted to ask something about her appointment later on, but it was about this time that the rush of sick not breathing properly hit me. Damn, I thought, I had hoped I managed to avoid that. So I went outside to sit on the step and get some air. After five or ten minutes of feeling like I might die, I was good to go. This feeling didn't freak me out, as it was the same one I got when my ears were pierced at nine years (some dinky place with the dreaded piercing gun:)) and whenever I have to get a needle, or blood taken. The worst it had been before was when I had gotten my tattoo. But it passes and then everything is all good.
Went and bought the Oral-B, and Sea Salt, and was good to eat supper. I was pretty impressed with the lack of pain. After the initial pain, which was different and shorter than I had imagined it would be, it really wasn't noticeable unless my lip was moved. There really was no swelling. I discovered rather quickly that smiling and laughing should be avoided for the first couple days. Its not that they meant extreme pain or anything like that, but it felt like it was stretching my lip in ways that would be unhealthy for the fresh piercing. But followed the aftercare instructions as they had been given for the first couple weeks, and it was great. There was only once incident which involved some bleeding. I was doing an Oral-B rinse by holding the filled lid over my lip for thirty seconds, and when I took it away, the lid had filled up with a fair bit of blood. That freaked me out a bit, but it stopped bleeding immediately, and never had trouble with that again.
Its going on two months since I've had it and I probably don't deserve to still have it. As I said, instructions were followed for the first couple weeks, but slacked a little afterwards as I found the soaks and rinses were irritating it more than anything else. So stopped those as it seemed perfectly healed. Than there was the ball fiasco. I decided I wanted to try some new balls. Cue me going and buying some which once put on, would not come off. Wrestling with them for hours resulted in a swollen lip, and minimal pain. So headed on down to the piercing shop feeling a bit stupid, but they hauled out the pliers and, ouch, got them off. He thought I wanted the piercing removed and started to take the bar out which ended with me yelling, and jumping a little which led to more pain. But got my trusty little steel balls back on. I play with them more than I should. And after the first week or so my no drinking plan went to shit. Woke up one morning with a hulluva hangover and very crusty balls. Haha, amusing to announce loudly at dinner. I was lucky, aftercare is important people! Especially with surface piercings i am told.
But now it seems to be healthy and happy, and haven't had any negative reactions to it really, aside from the grimaces when I announce that it is one piercing that goes through the length of the lip, and not two separate ones. I loved my grandmothers response of "Oh, now no nice boys will want to kiss you. You'll have to take it out when you meet one." Now only the parental response which shall be most interesting as their "show up with a piercing that's not in your ear, and you find a new home" policy was abandoned when I moved out. Good piercing, I really like it, wasn't hard to heal, wasn't overly painful, I really have nothing negative to say about the entire experience.