I never expected I would ever get this type of piercing done personally. I seen it on a few people and in pictures and I always thought it was cute, but not for me.
At A Glance Author Jenn Contact Jenn@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Paco Studio Hot Rod's Piercing Location Pittsburgh, PA That all changed when my close friend had gotten her smiley pierced, of course I ended up going with her because we always go with each other when we get pierced. After she had gotten it done it looked so cute and I loved it and I wanted mine done but was too afraid to get it while we were there.
After she had hers done, every time I seen it, it just looked so cute on her and it fit her perfectly. So after thinking it over for about a month, I finally decided to go get mine done. I was worried about it for work reasons, but she showed me that you can spin it so the ball hides and you can't even see it when you talk.
Anyways, I called up my friend, and we headed down to Hot Rod's Piercing in the Southside, the only place I go to get my piercing's done now.
When we got there, I told them what I wanted, signed a paper, paid, and sat down and waited. My friend knows the entire staff, so she talked to them while we waited. I knew what to expect, but as always, I got nervous, I can't help it, for some reason I get nervous before every piercing or tattoo and then I walk out saying "Oh, that wasn't so bad"
Finally, we go in the back and I sit up in the chair. Paco (no longer at Hot Rod's) is very good at keeping me calm by talking to me the entire time. He told me all about the procedure and the cleaning while he was getting everything together. The clamp was probably the most uncomfortable part, as always! And the fact that the piercing is in a weird place didn't help matters much.
He asked me if I was ready and I said yes, and he put the needle right through. It didn't hurt one bit, all it felt like was a little pinch. It was a little uncomfortable for him to put the ball on the hoop, but it was all complete in a matter of seconds and I had my lovely smiley piercing in. I looked at it and I loved it, it looked so cute! The only thing I didn't like was that the hoop was huge for any swelling that may occur in the next few weeks. It looked so big in my little mouth.
It was very easy to take care of and clean. It pinched a little for the few days when I had to turn it, but all I really had to do was gargle with Listerine every time i ate, smoked, etc. It was just like taking care of a tongue piercing.
I'll have to say, eating with this piercing was a little difficult at first since there was a hoop hanging down from my upper lip. I know a few times I was trying to eat a cheeseburger and when I went to bite down I'd hit the hoop and it would pinch, but that was something that needs getting used to, and once you do get used to it, you don't even know it's there.
My piercing healed up perfectly, and it was very simple to take care of, probably one of the easiest actually. I did eventually take it out, because of two reasons that had nothing to do with it not healing right or from hating it.
The first reason was that every time I looked at a picture someone took of me from a good distance away, it looked like I had something stuck to my tooth where the ball hung. You could never tell it was a piercing, and if you didn't know I had that pierced, you'd probably think "What did she have stuck on her tooth?"
The second reason was all the questions! I never expected to be asked at least once a day by someone new, "What is that piercing?" "Can I see it?" "Did it hurt?" "I never seen that before!" At first it was alright, I didn't mind the attention, but then after about a month or two, I got completely fed up with explaining over and over again what was in my mouth, and eventually I just took it out.
My dad was so happy when I finally took that piercing out. He used to always ask "So when are you taking that out?" He absolutely hated it and it bothered him to look at me when I smiled.
My advice to anyone who wants this done, go for it, it doesn't hurt at all, but be prepared for all the questions you will get asked after you have it done!