I've been interested in body mods for, what seems like, forever. On my 16th birthday I made my first trip to a tattoo parlor, and since then I've been hooked. About 3 months ago I was offered an apprenticeship with one of the most acknowledged body piercers in North Carolina, and I jumped at the chance. Now that you know a bit about me, I'll continue with my experience.
At A Glance Author Nurse Jenn Contact annabel_lee333@yahoo.com When A month ago Artist Loco Studio Inksinker's Hall Tattoo and Body Piercing Location Rocky Mount, NC I first saw a picture of a vertical labret piercing about 2 years ago. I thought it was gorgeous, but alas...I already had a horizontal labret and (at the time) I didn't think you could have both a vertical and horizontal done. I know, I know...I could have simply taken the horizontal out, but as everyone that has ever had a piercing knows, you get really attached to them. I couldn't find it in my heart to take it out.
So, as the following years passed, I got tattoos and more piercings, but never my vertical labret. I know it's funny, but no matter what piercing I got, nothing quite lived up to the piercing I'd been longing for.
Okay, now fast forward a bit...now I work at the tattoo shop I've been going to for years. I'm working with the man that has been doing my piercings since I was 16, and it occurs to me to ask him about a vert. labret. He laughed at me at first, only because I didn't think I could get it done. End result, he said he'd do it.
Before hand, he made sure that I'd eaten a decent meal at some point during the day. He told me that vertical labret piercings tend to be pretty painful and that they tend to bleed a bit. I got a little bit nervous, but that didn't stop me.
When I finally got in the chair I took a deep breath to calm myself. I trust my piercer with anything, I trust him more then I trust most of my friends. I knew he'd do an excellent job, I was just having pre-piercing jitters.
He set up his equipment, or rather, I set up the equipment seeing as how I'm his apprentice and that's my job. I know that all our equipment is sterile because I'm the one that puts everything in the autoclave.
Loco (the piercer) walked in and cleaned my lip off. He put dots on my lip where the needle would go though. I checked it out in the mirror and gave my approval. He put the forceps on my lip and lined everything up. He told me that he was going to do the piercing on the count of 3 (as he always does) and he said that he'd walk me through it.
I was ready for him to do it, and I'll admit, he sped through the process a bit. He knows me and he knows how well I usually take piercings. He knew I wasn't extremely nervous or anything like that, so he started the count.
One...I closed my eyes and held my breath for a moment. I thought about the piercing and how happy I was going to be when it was done.
Two...I took a deep breath, like he tells everyone to do.
Three...I let the breath out slowly and felt the pressure and pinch as the needle went through.
Loco pushed the needle out of my lip and the jewelry into my lip at one time (a move known as 'the pass'). It honestly didn't hurt NEARLY as bad as I expected it to.
"Done," he said as he cleaned up and threw away his gloves, "Now clean this shit up." He laughed as he walked out of the room. I giggled to myself as I cleaned up the remainder of the mess and then looked in the mirror.
I felt the lump in my throat as I saw the piercing. It was perfect. It was everything that I'd imagined it would be, and I didn't bleed a drop.
When I came out of the room he gave me the normal run down. He told me how to take care of it and to be careful with it. I pretty much already knew all that though, seeing as it's my job to tell people the information he was reiterating to me.
ANYWAY, long story short. If you want to get a vertical labret, or any other piercing for that matter, just go for it. It's never as bad as you think it's going to be. Just make sure that you're going to a good place, and for god sake's...cheaper is not always (if ever) better. Make sure your piercer knows what he(or she) is doing, and make sure everything is sterile.
I hope you make lots of wonderful piercing memories of your own.