I can't say that I'm one of those people who has dreamed of getting a facial piercing since before I was 18, and I can't say I imagined myself having a facial piercing until just recently. However, for the longest time, I have admired them and found them to be the most beautiful body mods. So, although my monroe was not the result of long-time longing for another hole in my face, I could not be happier with it.
At A Glance Author thefemalecliche Contact thefemalecliche@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Didier Studio Red Light District Piercing Location Lausanne, Switzerland I made the decision to get modified last summer. I was about to leave the US to live in Switzerland for a year, and I knew that I wanted some sort of mod when I came back, as a memory of my year there. I assumed I would get a tattoo but I couldn't choose one idea or place because there were too many I was interested in. So, after realizing it's probably not the best time for me to get tattooed, I decided on a facial piercing.
I was familiar with the monroe, having seen it on strangers, but I was still thinking of the medusa. As I thought about it more and more, I couldn't imagine myself with anything but a monroe. It seemed the best suited to me - to my face, my personality, my style. I started researching piercers in Lausanne, the city where I was living, and found many. A friend of mine had gotten a crooked, poorly placed lip piercing at one place in town so I knew to avoid them and after visiting a few salons in town, I decided on one called Red Light District. Dubious name aside, the piercer was nice and professional, and they had a huge selection of jewelry. The place seemed to be the cleanest of all that I saw.
A few days later, I showed up back at Red Light. I explained to Didier what I wanted, and he quickly ushered me back into his room. My friend Sarah, who had come along with me for moral support, was banished to the waiting area as Didier said menacingly "Je pierce toute seul" (I pierce alone - meaning no one else allowed in the room). Due to nerves, the part that followed seemed almost to be a blur as he sanitized his equipment and explained everything to me before he did. He showed me everything he'd be using. I didn't rinse my mouth, but he swiped my lip with alcohol and marked a tiny dot with a pin, checking on my inside lip that he wouldn't hit a vein and that the piercing would be comfortable on the inside of my mouth.
Before taking out the needle, he asked me if I was afraid. I said yes, and he asked if I was afraid of him (hah) and I said no, the pain, and he said it would be no big deal, and it wasn't, of course. He clamped me and asked me to breathe and before I knew it, I was pierced, and the jewelry was in. No pain, just the feeling of the needle going through...but that wasn't painful. My lip was barely swollen at all. He explained the aftercare to me and told me what I wasn't allowed to do (smoke! drink! oral sex!), gave me a list of things to buy at the pharmacie (effervescent antibacterial mouth tablets and antiseptic wash for the outside).
My healing period has gone pretty well - I'm at 7 and a half weeks now. At the beginning I had no problems whatsoever, and after four weeks or so, it started to be swollen again and the 9 mm bar was uncomfortable to wear. I started to get irritation on the inside around the piercing and at 6 weeks I had it changed to a 10 mm bar. I still haven't switched to 7 mm because I like the feeling of a longer bar and it doesn't bother my gums or teeth. Eventually I will switch to 7 mm though because it is prettier. I am wearing a retainer around my parents because I am back in the States now, and while my monroe doesn't really like being prodded by a retainer so often, it's doing fine. I am looking forward to being back at school where I can wear it full time again. When I look in the mirror, it feels strange not to have the jewelry there, like something big is missing. I have grown to love my piercing so much.
Reactions from people (besides my parents, who naturally don't know about it and who are way too conservative to appreciate facial piercings) have been good! My friends in Switzerland liked it but called it my "third nostril" or "second mouth" and said that they didn't even know you could get pierced there. This coming from a bunch of girls with nose rings! My friends back in the States love it and think that it suits me perfectly, and I agree.
I encourage anyone who has been thinking about a monroe to go for it! It has to be the easiest to care for oral piercing. Now that I can change the jewelry without it being irritated, it's so much fun and I love the way it looks. I think I'll have my monroe for a long time to come.