When I turned eighteen I persuaded my friends to give me a special birthday present - a bridge piercing. (http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sirkala/piercings/bridge2.jpg) I fell in love with it immediately and, encouraged by the fact that it didn't hurt at all, I started to plan another piercing. I thought about it carefully for some 6 months and finally came up with the vertical labret because I thought it would compliment the previous piercing between my eyes.
At A Glance Author sirkala Contact sirkala@bme.anon When A month ago Studio Skink Location Helsinki/Finland I had noticed that next to my school there was a new piercing parlour that had somewhat low prices. I checked the place (to see there wasn't anything suspicious about it or its hygiene) and noticed the piercer was the sweetest young woman ever. So I decided to give the place a try.
It took me awhile to have the guts to open the door and step inside because I had read that this piercing was going to hurt and feel uncomfortable. However the piercer calmed me down a little while we went through the standard procedures of filling out forms et cetera. She marked first two dots, but as I didn't like their placement we changed them. She let me pick the banana bell's material - bioplast or titanium. As I was unfamiliar with their differences she told me vaguely about them and I chose to use bioplast. Then it was time for the clamps and the needle. I cannot really say that it didn't hurt, because it did, but I can say that it was not uncomfortable - vice versa. The feeling was very warm and extremely pleasant and it was over in a blink of an eye. My lip bled but it wasn't swollen or anything, I merely felt very weird having extra stuff inside my lip. I thought it looked gorgeous.
As I woke up the next morning the piercing was hurting. My chin was covered in blood and my lower lip was all swollen and purple. It was nothing serious though, I had probably hit the piercing while asleep. The following days went well despite the bruises that looked a bit creepy. It was easy to learn to live with the piercing. Also, nobody seemed to notice it, which was nice since it meant it suited my face and didn't stand out. After five days my lip had gotten back to its normal size and colour and that's when I noticed the problem - the place I had picked for the piercing was terrible. The upper ball hit my teeth continuously - when I spoke, when I smiled, when I ate and it was not because of the long bar. Besides, it didn't look the way I wanted because the upper ball wasn't visible, it was covered by my upper lip.
So I contacted the piecer and we agreed I'd take the bar out, let the piercing heal and that we'd re-pierce it, this time with a placement she had originally had in mind. When I removed the jewellery I was surprised to see how non-curved it was, it was almost straight! (http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sirkala/piercings/bioplast.jpg) None the less I trusted the piercer had picked the right kind of jewellery. So after a week I was once again at her place. She marked the dots and they looked to be in good position. The lower end was lower than first time and when I closed my mouth I could still see the upper marking well. She had some problems getting a good grip with the clamps and she told me it was because of the scar tissue caused by the old piercing. However this didn't make me nervous - I was sure that this time it was going to work out. It hurt more (but only very very slightly, I can't stress that enough), yet as an experience it was also more pleasant and I felt great afterwards. The piercing looked nice once again and I was content. I was also happily surprised by the fact she did it for free even though it had been me who had picked the bad place.
The second healing process started heavenly - no bruises, no blood, nothing. I immediately felt comfortable with the piercing since I had had it before and it was easy to adjust to life with it. However, after three days the piercing had once again gone somewhat wrong. It didn't hit my teeth anymore, except very rarely, and when it did, it was because of the long banana bell and not because of the location. It looked better than first time, but the upper ball was still covered by my upper lip. I thought I'd first change the bar to a shorter one and only then decide whether to still pierce it again (at another place for that matter) or just leave it be.
Well, after two and a half week I went to Harness, where I had had my bridge done to buy some plastic balls. I chatted with the girl there for a good while and she told me that I shouldn't combine bioplast with plastic. So I decided to ask my piercer to change the material when I'd go to her place to get the smaller bar - goodbye bioplast, welcome titanium. That turned out to be a good decision. The new piece of jewellery was way more curved and when combined with the fact that the new balls were bigger, it resulted in a perfectly fit piercing! Finally! I have now had this re-done labret for some month, a bit more, and this new jewellery has sort of pushed the piercing and thus made it sit better. At the time being it seems to be fine. (http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sirkala/piercings/labret_closed.jpg, http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sirkala/piercings/labret1.jpg)
Summa summarum, this piercing is great, especially when combined with the bridge piercing. Eating, brushing teeth - no issues. And when it comes to kissing, I no longer could do it without this. I'd also like point out some things that made my life easier (They may or may not be healthy and may or may not work for you)
1. If the piercing feels disturbingly weird use some menthol containing lip balm (I used MedPlus by Blistex); by tingling a little it takes your attention off of it.
2. For the first days slice everything you eat beforehand; biting stuff is painful.
3. Also it's handy to cover your lower lip with your tongue while putting food to mouth and especially while drinking.
4. Mind the piercing while kissing; the balls (at least the plastic ones) seem to get quite easily unscrewed in the middle of fierce intimate moments.
5. Cover the piercing if temperature outside gets sub zero; it's going to hurt otherwise.