I have wanted a vertical labret for years. I kept putting it off because I was scared that my parents would force me to take it out, so I kept going to mystics and getting random ear piercings to try to distract myself. One day I dragged my best friend with me.
At A Glance Author plataduckie Contact plataduckie@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Matt Studio Mystic's Location Crofton, MD I was talking to the piercer (Matt) and decided to ask him if they did vertical labrets there... and he said yes!!!
I am a huge fan of spontaneous piercings... so me and my friend decided to each get one. We went to the back room and he checked our ids and we filled out the paper work. Matt then measured out the barbell sizes we would need- to fit our lips and to account for swelling.
I was going first because my friend is scared of needles. So I sat down in the chair and we worked out the final location of the piercing.
Matt used a clamp to clamp my lip, and he took the needle out of the packaging. He then told me to breathe in and hold my breath. As he told me to breathe out I felt a slight pinch and I could see the needle sticking through my lip! The worst part was when he put the jewelry in because the ball didn't want to go on the barbell. He then broke the needle and explained how they break and properly dispose of all their needles.
He then pierced my friend's vertical labret. After she was done he gave us icee pops, and explained the care instructions. We were given a sheet of paper with detailed instructions and a 24-hour cell phone number in case we had any problems. We were told to not touch the piercing for the first day, and on the second to wash it with non-scented dial soap- and then put a dab of ointment (which was given to us) on each hole. We were to use soap and ointment for 7 days, and then to use bactine instead of ointment. Also he suggested icing the piercing to help with swelling.
That night my lip swelled up a lot. I was driving around holding an ice pack on my face for most of the night. The swelling lasted all of 3 days, and after that the piercing did not hurt at all. The hardest part of healing it was reminding myself not to play with it, and also learning to eat with a metal ball sticking out of the middle of my lip. After about 2 weeks it felt like it was completely healed.
I didn't have any problems with my vertical labret until about 3 months later. I ended up getting a new boyfriend that like it kind of rough... He was in love with my piercing and would try to play with it all the time... he would do completely stupid things like bite the bottom ball and pull on it even when I told him to stop. It bothered me because I was scared that it would get ripped out (this had happened to my industrial with a previous boyfriend). One day I woke up and there was a white bump on the top of my piercing near the hole. I immediately drove to Mystic's and asked Matt about it. He said that it looked like my piercing had been torn- and that if I used peroxide and Vitamin E oil, and made sure not to irritate my piercing that it should get better.
I guess I was irritating it in my sleep because it would get better one day and then get worse the next. I tried to save it for about a month after words. It just wasn't getting better- and my mom eventually told me that she would get on her hands and knees and beg me to take it out. I decided that it was finally time to give up on my vertical labret... for the moment anyways. I took it out and the next morning the white bump was completely gone. I actually cried when I took it out. My friends thought I was crazy because I kept thinking about it and getting depressed. It was horrible getting used to not having it. My lip felt empty, and kissing was never the same again.
I loved that piercing and now- 3 months later I still miss it. The friend that got hers done with me also managed to lose hers- she lost one of the balls while walking at night and couldn't get it back in when she got home. We went back to Mystic's to talk to Matt- and he said that as soon as its been 3 months for both of us (she lost hers a month after I did) that we can get it redone- and he promised a mad discount!
I loved my vertical labret- it did not hurt and healing was very easy. If any of you are debating on whether to get one or not- I highly recommend that you do... as long as you're dating a guy or girl that will respect your wishes and not play with it.