Recently having moved to Massachusetts from California, at first i was skeptical about getting any work done. In California I've always gone to the same person at the same shop for all of my piercings over the last 5 years. Living in a new state, I was a little unsure if I would be able to get the same quality of work that I always got at home.
At A Glance Author Jellz When A year ago Artist Erin Duff Studio Chameleon Body Arts Location Cambridge, MA Deciding that it had been too long since i had gotten a piercing, I woke up one morning and decided that I finally wanted to get my vertical labret, something that I've wanted since I was about 13. I did my research and asked a few friends from the area and got the name of Chameleon Body Arts in Cambridge as the best place to go for any type of piercing/tattoo work. I instantly looked up the address online and hopped on the T (you know what I mean if you've been to Boston) to go to Cambridge.
After wandering around like a lost child for awhile, I finally asked the first person I saw that had some piercings and ink if they knew where Chameleon was, and they pointed me to the second floor of a little shopping complex called the Garage. I walked in and was instantly astonished at how nice the shop was. Extremely clean and professional looking with great artwork on the walls and super friendly staff, I knew that this was definitely a good place to get pierced. I told the girl at the front desk what I wanted done, and she told me that the piercer was on lunch break but she would be back any minute and told me to take a seat.
I spent a few minutes looking through their awesome selection of tattoo and piercing magazines and books, and then somebody tapped me on the shoulder and told me they were ready to see me. A really nice lady, who turned out to be Erin, led me into a room that looked even cleaner than the last doctor's office i had been in to. Instantly asking me if I had any blood diseases or allergies or conditions that could make the piercing more complicated, I was a little thrown off at how professional the place was. I told her that I was as healthy as I could be and we got down to business.
Erin asked what I wanted to get pierced and I told her that i wanted a vertical labret. At first she laughed and asked me if I was sure because it was an extremely painful piercing, but once i showed her the remnants from all of my previous piercings we both laughed and figured I'd be alright. First washing my mouth out with listerine and rubbing the outside of my lip with iodine, Erin placed some points and asked me if they seemed like they were in the right place. Perfectly aligned, I told her that that was exactly where i wanted the bar.
Erin started making small talk asking me where I was from and all of that kind of stuff, messing with my lip the whole time; and suddenly i felt a tiny sting and she told me she was done. I didn't even know she had the needle out when she did the "extremely painful" piercing. Excited how something that I barely noticed could be an alleged beast of a piercing, I could barely help but laugh as she was explaining the aftercare procedures and handing me some soap and mouthwash.
I walked out of the shop with a sense of accomplishment, smiling so much that everybody around me probably thought I was insane. My lip looked great and I was in absolutely no pain from the piercing except the expected slight tingling and warm sensation that I always get. I picked up the special saline solution that they recommended I get on the way back to my apartment and that was the end of that. The piercing was done so well that it healed completely in about 2 days with minimal aftercare. There was never any pain to speak of and it was the most perfectly centered piercing I have ever seen. I took the piercing out almost a year later because of a no-piercing rule at my new job, and there was absolutely no scar tissue or even a sign that I there had been a bar through my lip for about a year.
I absolutely loved my vertical labret and it was easily the most painless and simplest piercing I have ever had done. Super fun to play with and very good looking, a vertical labret is a perfect piercing if you want to get a lip piercing that not everybody has. If anybody is ever in the Boston area, I definitely recommend Chameleon in Cambridge for any piercings you want done.