At A Glance
Author	Draven
Contact	Draven@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	Kathy W.
Studio	Studio 24 (Formerly KGee's)
Location	Delaware, Ohio

This, as you could expect, is about the vertical labret I got on March 21, 2006.

I have been an avid body piercing extraordinaire for about 10 years, and I have learned respect for every artist and every procedure and its pros and cons.

I had wanted a center vertical labret for as long as I can remember... which would be about 3 years ago when I first saw it on BME. My mom naturally said no and I put it out of my mind.

Over time I got more piercings, septum, tongue, industrials, nipple, surface, navel... but I kept coming back to my lip. I wanted it done! I proposed the idea to my mom again and she has given up somewhat on telling me what I can and can't do, as I'll be 18 soon anyways.

I went down to Studio 24 and Kathy was in the back working on a tattoo. I talked to her daughter and she told me that Kathy would no longer even attempt a vertical labret because the last one she did failed miserably and he couldn't heal it. This didn't sound like Kathy at all to me so I walked back to the tattoo room and asked her if she would order some jewelry for me and do it?

I have a shitty job, one in which facial piercings are strictly prohibited. Even a little nose stud is out of the question. I have learned to accept this, and just flip my septum up when I work. My ears are quite decorated but that's beyond their control... Anyway... I wanted her to order two flesh toned beads so that the piercing would be as invisible as possible. She said that yeah, she would, and after writing what I wanted on a slip of paper for her, I left, happy that I was going to finally get what I had wanted for so long and sad that I had to wait longer for it.

Over the next two weeks I called several times and went in 3 or 4 times to check if my jewelry was in. It still wasn't there and my impatience grew... something I should learn to work on.

Finally, about 2 and a half weeks later, maybe closer to 3, it was there. I went in and she explained that she had ordered from a different company than Industrial Strength. She'd ordered from Steel Skin in order to get smaller flesh-tone beads and just because she has some unresolved issues with IS... plus it was cheaper for me.
I had already had my dad sign the papers and everything 3 weeks ago so if he was busy and my jewelry came in, I wouldn't have to drag him along. He came anyway though... We headed back to the piercing room and my anticipation grew. I always hate waiting this long to get a piercing I really want, and that shows later.

I sat down on her operating table and she wasted no time. She measured my lip with her calipers and then marked it with an indigo stick. She moved the bottom mark back further when I told her I wanted it back and then re-measured and we were ready to go.

The clamps went on and for some reason, they never seem too tight. Just a comfortable hold on my lip. She checked her marks once more, making sure they were in the center of the eye of the clamps, then held the needle above my lip.

I closed my eyes and she rested it on my top lip. I gripped the sides of the table and I was already breathing shakily, but still deeply. She told me to keep it up and at the beginning of my second exhale, I felt her begin to push. It hurt. I won't lie. I've had my septum pierced and I also have a triple piercing industrial, in which all three piercings were done within 2 minutes and with the same needle, pushing first through the bottom of my conch, then my rook, and then my upper helix... and it STILL hurt more than that. It burned and stung and brought two small tears to my eyes. The clamps came off and I looked in the mirror, smiling with a needle in my lip.

I looked back to her and she neatly slid the curved barbell (7/16") through and screwed on the bottom bead. After swabbing around the beads with a q-tip and putting cleanser on it, she asked me how I felt and told me my color was gone from my face.

I knew I felt lightheaded and I wasn't going to lie about it. I've learned that the hard way with my first piercing. Kathy had me lay down, she got a cold towel and placed it on my forehead and neck and got me some water. Drinking the water without a straw was a joke and after a minute I felt better. I sat up and started to feel the same way again.

She got me a yummy cherry Jollyrancher sucker and I laid down again. In under two minutes I was back to normal and able to sit up and walk just fine. Gotta <3 Jollyrancher =)

As I said, the anticipation is what causes this to happen to me. I wanted my tongue pierced for 5 years and after I finally got it, I was just as lightheaded. All other procedures between my tongue and my lip, I never had to wait this long for. It's the anticipation that builds and builds and at that final release, when it's done, I got up so high, then crash, and that's why it happens... to me at least.

While I laid there she cleaned up everything and wiped her countertops and all of her equipment either went into the autoclave, the biobox, or the trash can.

I had paid beforehand so after we walked out of the piercing room she just had me sit down in the lobby for a few minutes while she invited the next customer back into the piercing room.

I was feeling fine so I got up, told her I was heading out, and she said come back 3 days later. She wanted to watch it closely and I needed her to change the beads from steel to acrylic hide-its for work.

That Thursday she changed them with no problem and my swelling had gone down enough for me to get a smaller barbell, (3/8"). She said it was healing really well and was amazed at how quickly the swelling was going down, as the last person she tried it on couldn't even keep it for a week before it was immediately removed.

I went back again a couple days ago to show her once more how my lip was doing. Kevin was in there, the one I keep referring to that it wouldn't work on. He just kinda sat there. Not jealous, just understanding. She had pierced me with a 16g and him with a 14g. Our lips have pretty much the same structure, and his body got extremely mad at 14g. That's why she got a 16g for me and tried it that way, which was obviously successful.

I change the beads and barbell for work every couple days and my boss said that only if someone seriously complains about my little pink beads, can she ask me to remove it. I love it and love wearing the longer barbell, I'm not sure why. I'm going in to see Kathy in about an hour and we'll see what she has to say about it at the 3 and a half week mark.

To anyone wanting a vertical labret, I can only say go for it... but be sure your piercer knows what it is in the first place and make sure they don't try to do it half-assed. Again, as always, it depends on YOUR body and what it wants to heal, not always the piercer. Sometimes I have to keep that in mind.

Until my next stab wound occurs, Draven