I'm going to start with a little bit of background information here. I had been interested in body modification for quite a long time, since I was 8 or so. My ideas for what I want have changed drastically. At first I thought tongue piercings were disgusting and dangerous, then I got one. I thought I would look hideous with a nose piercing, then I got one and it is pretty. For a while I thought about tattoos but thought that if I change my mind about piercings so much, a tattoo would not be the best idea. The one piercing I've wanted for the longest, about 6 or 7 years, was a lip piercing. I wanted it on the side for a very long time. Then, BAM!, the side lip ring become a staple for every emo/skater/punk rocker on the planet and it lost it's appeal to me. Some BME searching later, and I stumbled across the vertical labret.
At A Glance Author Donna Contact schumacher_girl@hotmail.com When A month ago Artist Sahja Freed Studio Middle Finger Response Location Timmins, ON At first I didn't like them either. I thought they looked stupid just... there. But after a while they grew on me until I fell in love. I HAD to have one. One day after work I marched on down to Middle Finger Response to make an appointment. And I did, it was made for August 26, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. However, when that day came along, I got a call saying that Saj' had to go out of town to help his father and that I could re-schedule for the next Saturday, the second, at 11:30 am. I agreed and went back to bed.
The next Saturday I woke up extremely early and went to pick up my friend Wesley. From there we went to get my other friend Marshall. Then we drove to M F R and waited outside as they were not open yet. Saj' came and opened up and we went in. He apologized for the weekend before, asked me what I wanted, gave me the forms to fill out and excused himself to call up some people to let them know they could come in early. I filled out the forms, basic stuff like allergies, medications, have you been drinking, and he checked it out and said he'd be a few minutes while he set up. So my and my friends checked out the tattoo portfolio while we waited, Saj is pretty good at tattoos too, and he called me in.
My friends decided to pull up two chairs outside the door so they could mock me and watch, Saj offered to close the door if it bothered me but I said I was used to it and if he was cool with it then so was I. So we let them watch. Saj got everything ready and we decided on placement. We both thought that having the top ball too far forward can look like you just have something hanging there and decided that the top ball should look like I'm holding it between my lips when I close my mouth. He cleaned my mouth off with something that stung a little bit because of chapped lips and placed the marks. He said he was really glad I wasn't getting the standard side lip piercing as vertical labrets were his favourite piercing and he doesn't get to do them often, and because he said I had the perfect lips for one. I okayed the marks and we decided on size. He thought I would want 16 gauge as that is the size places like Claries and Ardene's sells but I told him I believed bigger is better and wanted 14 gauge, he laughed and checked his jewellery selection, at first he thought the ones he had would be too long but after measuring he found out it would work. So there I was, sitting in the room, looking at the 7/16 14 gauge curved barbell about to decorate my lip and all I could think was, think is going to hurt like a mofo. Boy was I wrong.
Next came the clamps. He didn't put them on very tight at all, which I liked. The clamps are my favourite part, the pressure they put on your skin, I don't know what it is but I like it. Anyways he quoted me by saying "here comes the freaky part" and told me to breathe in and out slowly and he would pierce on the breath out. I was expecting a pain beyond words after reading as many experiences as I did but no. I felt nothing, and it kind of upset me. I was hoping to feel the layers like other people said they felt, the sting, anything, but no. I suppose I shouldn't complain. I got a painless piercing, I love it anyways. So he put the jewellery in and I checked it out in the mirror, it looked a little crocked on the bottom but I seem to be the only one to notice, and only if I look at it for a VERY long time.
Then he checked to make sure I wasn't dizzy because he knows I have low iron, gave me some after care instructions, complimented my lips again, and told me I could go see Jeff and get my aftercare sheet and sea salt (they recommend moving the bar around to get soap in but I know better and just stuck to LITHA). So I talked to Jeff a few minutes and he complimented me as well saying it looked like it was always there and that it looked cool. He checked the prices, $65 and gave it to me for $50 as I had to wait an extra week, I gave him $35(I had a $30 deposit) and said to keep the change and went to the mall with my friends.
I had a poutine with little trouble and found that drinking with straws wasn't very hard, but cups and cans were. My mom took about 15 minutes to realize I had done it, which shows it suits me quite well I think, and my dad hasn't commented at all. It didn't swell at all and I've had little crusties, it still doesn't hurt and never bled, which is weird because I tend to be a bleeder.
So far I've gotten mostly all compliments. Quite a few "isn't the other ball supposed to be IN your mouth?" and "I think they missed" but mostly compliments. My mom thinks it's stupid, and my best friend, who thinks piercings are gross, loves it.
If you have any questions feel free to email me.
The best advice I could give anyone think carefully about what you want. Research, research, research, and if you like it, then that's all that matters.