I've been fascinated with piercings ever since I was little. I remember taking out my earrings just so I could get them re-pierced again. When I realized I could make the magic happen on my own with a sewing needle, I began piercing all up and down my ears. I later regretted it because each hole became infected and I can still feel all the little bumps in them. For Christmas of my 13th year, my parents finally gave in and took me to get the ear piercing I desired; my industrial. I loved that piercing to death, but I made a stupid mistake of putting the wrong gauge hoops in the holes so it could heal faster, and when I went to put the barbell back in, I started bleeding profusely.
At A Glance Author Jehc Contact jehcmartin@yahoo.com When It just happened Artist Spoon Studio Art to the Bone Location Studio City, CA So piercings and I have our good times and our bad times. I've had many things pierced, and a lot of them I took out within hours because they were either bothersome or I realized I didn't really want it.
So one day, I was hanging around my home tattoo shop when I ran into my friend who had a piercing I had never seen before. I asked her what it was and she said it was a vertical labret. I thought it was the most beautiful piercing I had ever seen. I instantaneously fell in love with it and had to get it as soon as I could. The only problem was that I was still only 17 and my birthday was months away.
So for months I just went on BME and looked at pictures of it and read experiences. Almost every single experience said it was the most painful piercing they'd ever had. My friend who had it said it was terribly painful, but I assumed she was blowing it out of proportion.
The day finally came, March 24th, when I finally was granted the privilege of inking up my body and having others stick needles through my skin. I got a sick tattoo of the Hindu God, Ganesh, on my forearm first thing in the morning at Body and Soul by Jaimain. Derek, the piercer who I know pretty well, said he couldn't pierce it for me because he didn't have the jewelry and never had done it before. So I decided to go down the street to Art to the Bone to have Spoon do it.
I asked him if he could do it, and he said "Yeah, of course". So he picked out a banana barbell and measured it up to my lip. As we were walking back to the piercing area, he calmly muttered, "I've never done this before." I started having second thoughts because I didn't want him to fuck it up. I eventually decided to trust him and away he marked. He marked the holes accurately to the barbell, which I think was a mistake. Then he asked me if they were okay, and just seeing the marks made me even more excited to have it done! So as he was prepping the needle, my anxiety began to weigh in. At that moment, I remembered all the stories I read of how painful it was. He asked me if I was ready, and I lied and said yes.
He started from bottom to top, and the moment the needle pierced the skin, I felt a pain I never imagined. It wasn't completely unbearable, it was just very, very uncomfortable and I wanted it to be over as soon as possible. When he put the jewelry in, it hurt even more. When he was all done, the throbbing settled in. I asked him if it bled and he said "barely", which was surprising.
The moment I got into my car, I flipped down the mirror and probably stared at my new piercing for 10 minutes. I was completely in love with it and was so proud of myself for sitting through that. It's been 3 days since I got it and I still love it. The morning after, my lip swelled up twice the size making the jewelry very snug. I don't really know if the jewelry is too small or if my lip is just very swollen but I've been doing some things to help the throbbing and swelling dissipate.
So as far as advice for aftercare, I've got a couple things to help. Pain pills didn't work for me, but you can try them if you want. Make sure to cut up all your food before you devour it because I made the mistake of ordering a huge burger right after and I had to eat the thing so pathetically. Drink any beverages with a straw because it takes a couple days to get used to the can bumping the top hole and it also pushes the barbell down which can be very painful at first. Ice cream (especially push pops!) is very soothing at the end of the day. Sea Salt solutions are definitely very good and relaxing.
I love this piercing to death, and if you want a very unique lip piercing, definitely give it a go!