It was my 17th birthday, and it was finally time for my lip piercing! I'd spent a large chunk of my previous teenage years wanting one but never actually thinking it would happen. Then I was given a piercing voucher for my birthday by my lovely friends and it was time to take the plunge.
At A Glance Author Janice Rose. Contact Janice Rose.@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Mercy. Studio Silver Surfers. Location Palmerston Nth, NZ. Let's establish the fact that I am SO scared of pain and needles. Sounds so cliché, but I really am. I'm even scared of roller coasters. And spicy foods. Haha. But the fact that they're so pretty and I wanted one so much made me suck it up!
The night before, I was SO scared. Every 5 minutes I'd dig my nail into the side of lip just to see how much it would hurt and then freaking out because it did, quite a bit. But I had that little silver voucher in my hand and there was no getting back. I was finally getting the piercing I want.
The next day was rather hellish. Not the actual piercing, but the time before hand. We came into town and went to the shop. Unfortunately, they couldn't fit me in just then which gave me some time to walk around and hyperventilate. Fantastic!
At 1pm we went back, and they didn't have any clamps left so they couldn't do me that day! I almost cried. A whole day/night of freaking out for nothing.
I had to go through it all again.
I went back the next day [early, not too much freaking out for me!] And they were ready for me. The piercer introduced me to a trainee and asked if I wanted to get done by her. She said she was absolutely top notch, she'd done quite a few before, and she [the experienced piercer] would be supervising. Plus I'd be getting it for half price so I said why not.
Mercy, the trainee, is a really lovely, calming person. We got introduced then she went to set up. That was my time to really freak out. I almost ran out of the shop. I kept picturing needles and blood and pain. I was NOT doing well. My friends tried to calm me but I was holding onto a clothes rack, bent over, trying to breath properly.
At last she called me into the little, medical looking room. I was really happy to see that everything was sterile and clean looking. She told me to lay down with my hands under my bum and my shoes off. She went through everything with me, the stages she was doing through, what she was using and how it was sterile etc.
She then told me to shut my eyes and take deep breaths, and that on my 3rd breath out she would put the needle through.
I braced myself for the excruciating pain but it didn't come. There was a short sharp pain and it was all gone. Nothing like I was expecting! It really was like a pinprick. I even said "Are you serious?" which caused a bit of laughter.
Over all, my experience was fantastic and I even went back to the same person to get my other side done. She was so nice and calming, she made sure I was totally happy with the positioning with a marker before hand, and let me know what she was doing when she was doing it. I love her!!
The healing was slow but good. I used the cleaning solution morning and night, a special mouthwash after brushing teeth, and a sea salt wash through the day after I ate. I had to take the ball off to go to school, and eating and talking ball-less took a bit of getting used to. The first time it fell out I FREAKED out, convinced it would close up in the time it took me to get to a mirror and put it back through =D
When it falls out, it's quite scary getting it back through because you think it's going to be really painful, but you barley feel it.
After about a month and a half a changed it back and forth from a bar to a ring. But at the moment it's a bar permanently because my new lip piercing has to be a bar while it's healing, and I don't really like wearing different jewellery.
Some things I heard that are good for healing is iron tablets, eating cold foods, and ibuprofen. I also got little round plasters to put over it at night when it was quite swelled, so skin didn't grow over the back. I didn't have much of a problem with that. I thin film like thing grew over the back some nights, but I just pushed it through in the morning [and quite a bit of puss].
And as cliché as this too sounds, I'm addicted and can't wait till next holidays to get more. If your thinking about getting it done, find a good place, a piercer you trust and do it.
WELL worth it.