I have been interested in body modification, mostly piercings, for several years now. At 16, I was allowed to get my navel pierced, and shortly after got my earlobes and inner conch done, much to the dismay of my mother. After I turned 18 I had several other things pierced, including my tongue, nipples, rook, nostril and my vertical labret, which is what I'm writing this experience about.
At A Glance Author Jennifer Contact Jennifer@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Chickenwing Studio Bad Boyz Tattoo Location Houston, Texas I always loved the way lip piercings look, though one thing I was always afraid of was the effect that they could have on my teeth. I wore braces for years in high school so taking good care of them now is important to me. Clearly, the piercing for me was a vertical labret. I also loved that they are kind of uncommon, and though I wasn't always sure it would look great on me, I figured that it probably would be okay. (It is.)
The only thing stopping me was the job I held at the time, which didn't allow facial piercings. I feel that I should get what I want pierced now while I don't have to worry about looking professional, but still I balked. As the months went on, I started to like working there less and less, and finally I decided that I shouldn't let a low-paying job that I didn't even like dictate what I can or cannot do to my body.
One Sunday afternoon, my boyfriend decided that he wanted to get his nipples pierced. I was planning to go along anyway to support him, so I figured why not? That day was finally the day.
We walked into the studio, and in a few moments were telling Chickenwing, the piercer, what we wanted to have done. At first he was confused by me referring to it as a "vertical labret", but after I explained what I meant he assured me that he did them all the time and people usually just called them lip piercings and pointed. I was a little worried about this, but I've had nothing but great experiences at Bad Boys before, so I tried not to let it bother me. We filled out some paperwork, and my boyfriend went first. After he was done, it was my turn.
After I approved the placement, Chickenwing clamped my lip and stuck the needle through. It hurt a lot more than I expected. It actually hurt more than when I got my nipples done, although less than when I got my inner conch done. Several things were running through my head while this was happening, including "This was a terrible mistake!" and "When will it be over?" After he slid the 16 gauge CBR in, it was. Or, almost. It bled for several minutes after that, which was unexpected because I don't usually bleed very much, if at all. After receiving written and oral instructions for aftercare from our piercer and tipping him, we left the studio.
It was very sore and swollen for about a week. The first day was especially painful, especially when I talked or smiled. I was told more than once that I looked like a fish with a hook in it's mouth, which was hilarious. Straws became not only my best friends, but absolutely necessary since drinking from cups or bottles was really uncomfortable at first. Kissing my boyfriend was all but impossible while I wore the ring, though if I had been pierced with a curved barbell I'm sure I could have done it lightly after about a week or so. After about a week and a half the swelling had gone down almost completely, so I put a curved barbell in. It was a huge change in comfort and quite a relief.
A few couple later, it's still healing. But it looks great and is only painful if I'm accidentally too rough on it. At first it burned after I smoked or if I got toothpaste or alcohol in it, but it's fine for all those things now. Pretty much every day of the healing process I've washed it twice a day with dial soap, and it's worked well for me, though sometimes my whole lip gets dry from the soap, but that's easily fixed.
It's easy to work around now that I'm wearing the proper jewelry, and I usually just forget it's there. Having a metal ball between my lips was quite a thing to get used to, but I like it. My boyfriend told me the other day that he loves it.
Not everyone has liked my new piercing, but anyone who's going to take time out of their day to express dislike for someone else's personal choice isn't worth paying much attention to anyway. I quit the job that wouldn't accept me for who I am, so that eliminated virtually all the negative comments I got about it. (Why it's such a big deal to some customers and supervisors is something I'll never understand.)
I love the way my vertical labret looks and feels, and would recommend this piercing for anyone who would like something a little different with virtually no risk of tooth damage. I feel it's been worth all the trouble and I've actually received many compliments on it.