I just went to get some jewelry. I came out with a vertical labret.
At A Glance Author PCP Contact PCP@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Joey Studio Skin Candy Location Racine, WI I've been meaning to go see Joey again for months now, but for some reason or another I never ended up at the shop. Finally, I pulled my ass outta bed and meandered down to Skin Candy. At least, I tried...But I zoned out and found myself somewhere in the 3500 block and had to walk all the way back to the 5000 block where the shop had semi-recently moved. Eventually, I got there.
The shop was gorgeous. Big windows, brightly painted walls, awesome pendant lamps--beautifully done. I asked for Joey and she walked out from the back with a slightly surprised look, making a comment something along the lines of, "You're not dead!" No, no I am not dead. I asked for an 8g barbell for my tongue and a 12g cbb for my septum, which she pulled out and we went back to the piercing room where she put my jewelry in. And that's when the craving hit me. Something about the smell of latex gloves and disinfectant--it's like I have a Pavlovian response that makes me need a piercing right then and there. I mentioned this to Joey and we started talking about where I needed piercings. At the time I had an unfortunate "diagonal" effect going across my face, from double eyebrow, to nostril, to septum, to monroe. It was unfortunate and pissed the hell out of me, so I was thinking about a lowbret. We bounced that idea around for a bit, along with the possibility of an ear piercing for the helluvit, but I just couldn't decide. Nothing sounded quite right, but I knew I'd be a little disappointed if I left without a facial piercing. Joey made the suggestion that I go through her portfolio to see if anything in it appealed to me.
We went back out to the main room and flipped through the piercing portfolios.
Of all the piercers I've been to, I like Joey the best. I don't get worked up and I'm mellow; I can focus on what's going on around me and not on the pounding of my heart. We talk and joke around and getting pierced is just one more thing to do. The whole dynamic puts me at ease. Which is why when she said she had an idea, but I'd be her guinea pig, I said sure. Her suggestion was a vertical labret, which I'd been very interested in since September but had never gotten around to do. It was as though she had read the thought bouncing around in the back of my head. The only caveat was that she had never done one before.
The last time she spoke those words to me was nearly two years ago when I went in for a double eyebrow. Blood ended up running down my face and I made the comment that all I needed was to burst into stigmata and I'd be Jesus. I got back at her by spilling Powerade all over the chair and floor, but I figured it couldn't go any worse than last time and I wanted a vert labret and she wanted to do one. Joey knocked the price down since it was an experiment and she went in back to set up, coming out a few minutes later to get me. Ah the smell of disinfectant. The tray was set up with the requisite tools; clamps needles, marker, calipers, two different 14g curved barbells, some of what I'm assuming was disinfectant/skin cleanser, lube, gloves, a small hedgehog and fourteen green apple pixie stix. All right, not the last two.
I rinsed out with Listerine as instructed before Joey started marking me up. With a q-tip my lip was cleaned and the entry and exit holes were marked. Obviously, the right side of my brain is heavier than the left, because she kept having to tilt my head back to a straight position to get the markings even. There was a bit of double checking and adjusting, along with a lot of "Smile real wide...Okay...Look up a bit more...Okay..." followed by more marking and re-marking before I was pleased with the placement. By now my heart should have been racing, but I was pretty mellow and more focused on getting the alignment perfect than the ensuing pain.
The calipers were then used to see what length of barbell I would need; measuring my lips and what I can only assume was the distance between the marks. I'm not sure what length she decided on, but it was the longer of the two, which was good, as my lip later swelled up to the point of just brushing the bottom ball. Joey took the clamps and wrapped a rubber band around them a few times for tension, then clamped my lip...Then un-clamped my lip...Then re-clamped my lip. She did this a few times until she felt comfortable with the placement, which put me even more at ease somehow. I closed my eyes and let her do her thing, breathing deeply. Apparently, I made her laugh a few times just as she was about to pierce me, but she didn't end up sticking the needle through my lip and into my neck or anything crazy, so it was all good.
It hurt. I wouldn't say it was very painful, just very intense. The feeling was that of pushing a needle through leather; I could feel the tension of it vividly, especially right before it broke through the skin--so much clearer than any other piercing I've had before.
"Ow."
...
"Ow that hurt."
...
"That really hurt."
Joey asked if I was ok and yeah, I was good. To her, it felt no different than an eyebrow piercing. To me, it was a little more intense, though this time was sans Jesus complex and need for stigmata. No blood at all!
We were chatting a little as she took the jewelry out of its packaging. I still had the needle sticking through my lip, which she corked. According to her it would have made a great picture. Laughing with a needle through your lip is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but I'll admit I was highly amused by the situation.
Getting the jewelry in sucked, as usual. It pinched and in general I think it's the biggest bitch of the entire piercing process, but entirely necessary, as I was not about to try to heal a vert lip with a long-ass needle stuck through it. The balls were tightened and I looked in the mirror for the first time. I was in love. It was perfect--absolutely perfect. It broke up the diagonal of piercings I'd previously had and it went very well with my septum ring. Joey agreed that it looked very good and was quite proud of herself, as she deserved to be. Once I was situated the camera was dragged out and portfolio pics were taken. She had to straighten out my head again. I gave her a nice tip.
For once, I felt fully involved in the process and not like I was simply along for the ride, which was a really nice change from my usual piercing experience. Joey is awesome. I felt the excitement and adrenaline, but I didn't feel the anxiety or spike in blood pressure that I usually do. It was great. Currently, the barbell looks crooked, but I'm convinced that's a result of swelling, as it was straight when first done and I look like I've OD'd on collagen right now. The barbell tends to flop to one side or the other, giving the impression its slightly wonky, but it'll look better when I can downsize. Hopefully the swelling will go down at a steady rate, but I'll deal with it, because I am a guinea pig in love.