A tale of a – wonky – vertical labret
At A Glance Author Caroline Contact Caroline@bme.anon IAM Momentary_Seizure When It just happened Artist Pete Studio Kazbah Location Leicester, UK After retiring my side labret I felt the need for something else on my lip. It had to be interesting, it had to be bold and it had to be new. I threw plenty of ideas about in my head and trawled through BME galleries for something that struck a cord with me. I didn't like the idea of anything above my top lip – other than my medusa – and I didn't want something standard on my bottom lip. I had always loved the vertical labrets purely for the beauty and individuality of them. Living in a relatively large city, you'd expect to see a fair few but in my life living here, I've only ever seen one person with a vertical labret and this was at least a year ago.
I looked and looked and asked and pondered and waited and pondered some more and then looked a little bit more still. Being indecisive and picky, I wasn't sure as to whether I should get it done or not. It seems to me like one of those kind of piercings that only a few people can get away with whilst looking nice still. I strive to still look girly with my metal which is why a lot of it is small and of a low gauge. I might just look like I have a really dotty face, I thought at one point, with having a nose stud (and the intention of getting another), a medusa and a vertical labret. After being convinced by various people on IAM and in the real world I decided that a vertical labret would be for me. My only problem is accuracy. If things aren't placed exactly where I want them too or if they're wonky, I'll go crazy. I knew that my medusa was pierced at an angle and though you can't tell for looking at the medusa, I didn't want my vertical labret to be the same.
The retiring of my lip ring was a big thing for me so I wanted to make my vertical labret count. June 28th 2006. That was the day. It was the last day of my exams, the last day of compulsory education and the last day of my childhood as I know it. It was a big day and so I decided that'd be the day I got pierced. I came out of my exam and met Amy at the bus stop – as she was getting pierced too – and we made our way into Kazbah in town. The pre-piercing jitters had kicked in more than ever before as I knew this wasn't going to be pleasant. We decided it'd be a good idea to eat before but neither of us felt we could stomach any food so we made our way into the studio. We paid and then went upstairs.
There was the usual routine of the gloves and the packaged jewellery that everyone knows all about so I'll spare you the details. I perched on the edge of the bed and gripped the bottom of it, shaking slightly. The trusty purple pen came out and drew on my lower lip. The bottom dot seemed perfect placement, so I was happy with that. The top seemed a little further back than I had wanted to have so I asked if he could bring it forward a little for me. We settled on the placement and he told me that I'd have to be careful just in case the top ball was too heavy and pulled my piercing slightly downwards. I was aware of the risks of it being more of a surface piercing on my lip and I was accepting of it.
"Oh good God! If I kick you, I'm really sorry" – why he continues to agree to pierce me, I do not know.
I gripped the bench tighter as he came at me with the needle. The piercing was remarkably quick but wow it hurt. It felt as if the needle were on fire and then in turn that my lip was. The needle was in and my mouth felt like sandpaper. I tried to lick my lips only to be confronted blood which wasn't as refreshing as I had hoped for. The jewellery was threaded in from the top and the ball screwed on. Pete then noticed that it wasn't straight. My heart sank and I hadn't even seen it yet. He moved the bar around slightly so it was comfortable but also to see if it would settle straight. He showed me the mirror and I felt really dispirited as it was very wonky. Within about 30 seconds my lip had swollen to the size it has continued to remain at and the crookedness was a little less visible. But I knew it was there. I sipped a glass of water and looked at it in the mirrors. Amy was pierced and then we left, feeling weak and hungry.
We then went and got chips. Great idea after new lip piercings, huh? Well we managed it and felt a bit better. I still didn't like how crooked it was but I hoped I'd get used to it. When I got home I decided it'd be a nice idea to post new pictures on my IAM page and the video, but then I had to go offline.
When I got back online the next day, I felt awful. The amount of comments about how it's a shame it's wonky and how my piercer is ridiculous for touching the barbell so much after it's pierced without even one ounce of a compliment. I felt like it was a complete waste of money if no one was even going to pass any sort of slightly encouraging comment and I wasn't as keen on it as I had wished so hard to have been. After having a very emotional day as it was, this just added insult to injury and I felt ugly and dejected. I didn't know why I had convinced myself that it was even semi decent and spent a lot of my day moping and feeling pathetic.
I then thought to myself, why should I care what other people think? I had just been beginning to enjoy how it looked, despite the fact that it's off and deeper than I had hoped for but what everyone said had really effected me. I tried to not let it and ended up taking lots of pictures of it for BME and just so I could see what it looked like from someone else's perspective. By the end of the evening I was convinced that, for want of a better phrase, screw what they thought, it was my face, my body and by this time some people had said some nice words. It still hurt, believe me, but I was beginning to come to terms with it being wonky and it not living up to my expectations.
At the moment it is as sore as anything, which is to be expected. I cleaned it on Thursday with (well diluted) Dettol and I don't think that'll be an experience I'm likely to re-peat at any time soon. My friend was sitting in the bathroom wincing and giggling at me as I complained and winced along with her as it stung my fresh stab-wound. It did feel a lot better afterwards though and my skin has felt very soft across my lips which I'm very thankful for – I read that sometimes a piercee can get very chapped and sore lips after having a vertical labret and fortunately I'm not one of them. Plus, it means I can't bite my nails! I have however only been drinking water – and a couple of pints, but they were through a straw and that might explain the soreness this morning – and I've been applying lip balm pretty frequently to keep my lips supple and both of these seem to have managed to keep my lips feeling good. I'm about to go try a salt soak, have some food and then brush my teeth with supreme care and hopefully it'll continue to feel as fine as it has done over the past few days.
I sit here not even a week later and I really like it. I know that it's wonky and it one more person tells me that, I might snap but it is ridiculously fitting for the circumstances. Perfection cannot be sought out, and even if it could, everything would be boring and similar. As I got my vertical labret pierced as an end of an era, it is even more fitting. In school I never really fit in and I missed a lot of time out for depression and general laziness. The lack of precision in my school time is reflected in that of the lack of precision in my vertical labret. It's almost laughable. I feel that something properly fits however backwards that may seem. I feel that it is fitting of my face, fitting of my characteristics and fitting of my time and reason behind the piercing.
Under no circumstances am I deeming Pete as a bad piercer because he's wonderful. He's a lovely guy and 99% of the time, I adore the outcome of the piercings he has done for me. I even spoke to him today after seeing him in the café across the arcade from the studio and he told me he'd be happy enough to correct it for me. We discussed doing it slower and I suggested clamps to hold my lip in place and we decided that'd be the best idea. On further inspection, I don't think it'd be possible for it to be re-pierced with just changing the top hole. From looking at it from plenty of angles, I can see that it's a mm or two off centre at the bottom and the same again at the top so it would need to be completely re-done.
To be continued, perhaps?