So this is the story of my Labret piercing, I've been wanting it since I was fifteen but the studio I've heard so much about won't pierce you unless you're over sixteen. No exceptions.
At A Glance Author Dhys Contact Dhys@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Nic Studio Medway Tattoo and Piercing Location Gillingham Now I don't like to mess around with my body unless it's well thought out and I know the ins and outs of the procedure, whatever it is. I a year before I finally started stretching my ear lobe and it took two years to finally get this piercing done.
Yesterday I got a pleasant suprise when I went to withdraw my weekly paycheck to pay bills and other such nasty things. I was up £90, so I made a quick drop into the piercing clinic my friend goes to and had a little chat with the woman on the counter, she was very friendly and told me exactly what the piercing was like, how much it would cost (£35) and was even kind enough to give me the latest appointment possible at 7pm. I paid the full amount and went home, called a friend to give me some moral support and grabbed something to eat.
It slowly started rolling closer and closer to 7pm and I was getting seriously nervous, I knew I'd back out if I hadn't already paid for the piercing but I also wanted this, so my quick thinking earlier meant I had to go through with it. Thank god, it was finally happening.
I walked into the piercing studio, laughing and joking with my friend to aleviate some of the nervousness. It worked for a little while.
The piercer introduced herself as Nic and asked me for my photo identification, I handed her my passport and she handed me some forms I had to fill in asking if I'd taken any drugs in the past twenty four, had any diseases such as HIV or haemophilia and if I'd recently eaten. This piercing stuff is much, much more professional than I thought. I was starting to become much more comfortable already because of the professionalism and I wasn't even in the studio yet.
She asked me to come through, told me my friend had to stay in the front (another hygiene thing I noticed, made me even more comfortable) and showed me into a rather smaller than I'd imagined, but immaculate room. White walls, white floors, white everything. I could practically see my reflection. Very nice.
Nic asked me to take a seat whilst she marked up the area with ink and a cocktail stick, she joked that she wouldn't be piercing it with the cocktail stick which also put me at ease I wanted to be pierced then checked it was perfect in the mirror. It was, I was really happy with it.
The nervousness was really starting to kick in as Nic cleaned the front side of my lip with antiseptic and dried the inside out. The clamp went on and she checked for veins inside my lip. She talked me through everything and all the while I was getting more and more comfortable sitting here, about to get a sharp piece of metal through my face.
After Nic had checked for veins, she unwrapped the needle from the sterile packaging. I'd lost count of the amount of times she'd changed her gloves now, I think it was three but I was a lot more interested in the needle she was showing me. It was really quite larger than I'd expected.
I told her exactly what was going through my head "That's a fucking big needle" to which she replied "It's really not the size of the needle and the clamping was the worst part and that was already done"
Nice asked me to sit back in the chair, I did and she slowly lined up the needle with the mark she'd made earlier, my heart was racing my now, I was sure I could feel the point of the needle touching my lip... I looked up at the ceiling, I didn't want to see that. Wait, she was unwrapping something now, what the hell is she doing now I thought? Oh, It was the stud. "This might be a little uncomfortable" she said and started to insert the stud. Obviously she was an amazing piercer because it was just now that I'd noticed the scratching feeling I'd felt against my lip was actually the needle going through.
"No oral sex or excessive tongue kissing for the next month or so okay?", "What about smoking I replied" and she told me that excessive smoking isn't a good idea but a salt water rinse after every meal and cigarette would keep the risks down as much as they possibly could.
I walked back through to the front of the shop where Nic explained all of the hygiene tips to me, I thanked her and left the shop with my shiny new labret piercing. Incredibly proud of myself.
On the way back to my friends house I smoked a cigarette and bought a bottle of water, headed into her house where I was greeted with a shocked expression and a "Did that hurt?" remark. I always thought people who said piercings didn't hurt were trying to look cool. It really didn't hurt though, maybe it was the adrenaline or something but it was definately not painful.
It's taking some time to adjust to having a small disc of metal sitting between my gums and lip but it's getting easier, after biting the piercing whilst eating and shouting a few choice obscenities I've been very, very careful whilst chewing and damn near obsessive about keeping it clean. The quicker I can get this enormous bar downsized the better. I really want the ball touching my lip. Or maybe a cone. who knows?
I'd recommend medway tattoo and piercing to absolutely anyone in the medway area. The staff are very friendly and professional, the studio is imaculate and comfortable to be in and the price is fair.
I'll definately go back for my next piercing, or tattoo. I wonder what it'll be?