I'm a 19-year-old girl who is just coming to the end of a gap year before university, and a few weeks before the start of university I decided to hop across to Holland to visit some friends, as a cheap last-minute holiday.
At A Glance Author JCdizzystar Contact JCdizzystar@bme.anon When It just happened Studio Rival Piercing Location Zeedijk 34, Amsterdam On my last full day before flying home to England the next morning, three friends and me were shopping in Amsterdam, when we went into a jewellery shop, and a beautiful tiny pink labret stud caught my eye. I really wanted to buy it, but that seemed stupid, as I didn't have any facial piercings. So, I thought the answer to this would be to go and get a piercing! A crazy idea, perhaps, but I suppose I didn't really think I'd do it.
But we wandered round Amsterdam vaguely looking for a piercing shop, and I even stopped to eat a sweet snack, knowing that you need to keep your blood sugar levels up before piercings. Still I didn't really believe it would happen, though.
We eventually found a small shop that looked perfectly clean and reputable, and waited outside for the owners to come back from a break. In we went, and I had to stop myself from looking at the gruesome piercing pictures on the walls in case I got scared and left!
I explained (with the help of my Dutch friend) where I wanted the piercing, signed the consent form (in Dutch – trusting that I wasn't unwittingly signing myself into prostitution or something!) and into the room I went, bringing my friend as translator.
I had to rinse my mouth with some horrible tasting Listerine for 60 seconds, which wasn't pleasant but by no means painful! Then, the piercer asked me to lie down on the bed, and I suddenly started to worry as I hadn't been told anything about the piercing, and I had wanted to choose some jewellery for it. But she said there was only one option, and showed me a 16-gauge titanium labret stud. I had wanted a pretty pink jewel like the one that had inspired my piercing, but she explained that I needed a longer one to accommodate the swelling, and that I could have it changed for a smaller stud in a couple of weeks.
So I lay down on the bed, and the piercer proceeded to clean the area around my face with some kind of solution, and then used a tiny cocktail stick to draw on a tiny dot right below my lip. She asked if I liked it and I said no, I wanted it lower, and she drew another dot much further down. At this point, my friend said maybe it would look better a little higher, but the piercer explained to her that it was better if it was lower down, as it would decrease the risk of damage to the gums, or the scraping of tooth enamel, which is common with oral piercings. This was then translated for me, and I decided to stick with it being quite low down, and just to the right (my left) side of my lower lip.
She then removed all the dots but the one I'd chosen, and proceeded to clamp my lip. My friend was very interested, never having had or seen a piercing before, and was talking to me, and through my lack of attention I didn't really have chance to realise that the next stage of the piercing was the actual needle! However, I felt it!
It did hurt, but it only lasted a couple of seconds, and as I hadn't noticed she was about to do it, I had no chance to be afraid, and by the time I knew what was going on it was almost through.
She then put the jewellery in, and I barely really noticed what was going on, as I was lying with my eyes screwed tightly shut, being fairly squeamish of such things! It didn't really hurt, or at least not after the actual needle, and I was distracted by the rapid Dutch conversation going on above me.
My friend later explained to me that the piercer had been asking her if I had drank any alcohol or done any drugs beforehand, as my blood was thinned and the piercing was bleeding more than usual. As I was in Amsterdam, I had been smoking weed only a few hours before, and had been drinking fairly substantially the night before. I knew that you weren't supposed to drink or take drugs before being pierced, but as it was a spur-of-the moment decision I just thought, 'oh well, it'll be alright'.
And it was alright, but I got a bit of a shock when I was given a mirror to look at the end result, and all I saw was a huge piece of metal and blood all over my face! But when she had cleaned me up – which did sting a little, I have to say – it looked fine, and I left the room after only having been in there five or ten minutes.
I paid 50 Euros for my piercing, and was given a care leaflet – in English! – and the names of aftercare products, which my Dutch friend was fortunately familiar with! We went straight away to buy them, as the leaflet instructed me to rinse with mouthwash 4-5 times a day, and my face felt absolutely fine. It didn't appear to have swollen at all, and writing this two days later, it still hasn't. The inside of my lip is a bit bruised, but there is no pain, it is just a little bit sore and delicate.
The mouthwash I use does not hurt or irritate in the slightest, and I was told to use it with 50% water, which makes it taste less disgusting. I also brush the back of my piercing gently when cleaning my teeth, to prevent plaque build-up. I have medicated liquid soap to clean the outside, which I just do using water and a cotton bud. This stings a tiny, tiny little bit, but I have been fortunate so far in that there has been no blood, pus or any sort of mess since it was done, so cleaning is very straightforward.
Before I had it done I was told that healing time would be 6-8 weeks, and that I should get the jewellery changed for a shorted post in about a fortnight, but I wasn't aware of much else, having only briefly glanced through the leaflet. On reading in properly I discovered that I would not be able to drink alcohol, smoke, take drugs, French kiss or give oral sex for the full healing time – i.e. 6-8 weeks! Fortunately, only really being a social smoker/drinker and not being in a relationship, this shouldn't be too much of an issue for me, but I should have read about this before doing it!
Eating has been a bit difficult, as the long post means that the jewellery gets caught on my teeth if I open my mouth too wide to chew, and I am terrified of getting it caught and pulling on it! So I am very careful to take small bites, and to try to chew without moving my jaw too much. I don't think this will be a problem once I have the shorter post fitted in a couple of weeks, however.
I still can't quite believe I actually have the piercing, as I am not normally so impulsive! I am very glad I did it how I did, though, as after having read some other people's stories afterwards it seemed very scary to me. I had known that anaesthetic couldn't be used on the face, but I hadn't really considered the pain (or anything, for that matter!). Because I considered nothing beforehand, it didn't hurt much and I am glad I did it. For this reason I think I'd advise just doing it, if you want it done, as too much reading up on the procedure will only scare you! Look at the pros and cons, consider if you actually want it done – and then do it!