At A Glance
Author	sheahooray
Contact	sheahooray2007@yahoo.com
When	Three months ago
Artist	Curtis
Studio	Devotion Tattoo
Location	Hickory, North Carolina

[Recommendations for the vertical labret at bottom]

Well, to start off, I decided to get my lip pierced the day after I graduated High School. I took some of my graduation money, and went to the nearest Tattoo Parlor. I went in and told the girl that I wanted my labret pierced. It was a little after midnight [they close at 2am.] and the girl was in a rush to get some McDonalds. So she hastily pierced my labret straight through and I left the parlor with my new jewelry.

The next day I left to go to New York for two months with a friend.
While I was there, My labret would never heal up. No matter how often I cleaned it, and no matter what lengths I went to keep it sanitized, it would not heal.
I also started noticing that my gums were deteriorating where the flat metal was rubbing against them.
When I noticed this, I asked my friends for advice and they all told me to remove it, because I was paranoid my bottom teeth could fall out or something crazy.

I later went to a dentist and I now have to get a skin graft to fix this problem, or my gums may receed further down past my enamel.

So, a bit later, I returned to my home state, NC, and started working at a Party Supply store that allowed piercings.
So, I decided to get my lip pierced again.
I had read up on lip piercings and decided that a vertical labret would be more unique, and also would not be a hazard to my teeth or gums.

I got my lip pierced, at the same place, but by a nicer, more patient piercer. It hurt really bad while getting it pierced, but I took it like a champ, the guy even complemented me on it. The regular labret barely hurt, but since this guy was careful and slower, so he would get it correct and not crooked, it was pretty painful as he slowly slid the needle through my lip.
He told me not to take it out for 3 weeks and to keep it clean.
Well, I lied and said I wouldn't take it out but in truth I had to take it out every day to work at my job, and put a spacer in it.

The entire time it never healed, and it pussed up and was always red, and I knew it was because I was taking it out daily.
I ended up quitting my job for unrelated reasons and was finally able to leave it in for an extended amount of time.
About three weeks after quitting my job, I noticed that my vertical labret had completely healed.

No redness, no swelling, and no pus. It was great. I now get complimented on it all the time, and people love it because it's a very unique piercing and nobody around here is very unique.


On this piercing, I would like to share a few lessons I learned:
-Do NOT take it out, or it will not heal.

-Do not use cheap metals. I would recommend an eyebrow ring, which is what my piercer originally gave me, because they are curved, like your lip, and are more fun to mess with, in my opinion.

-Be careful if you have braces, I do, and when I had the original ball stud in my lip, it was bigger and it would sometimes get caught on my top braces if I opened my mouth too quickly after messing with it.

-After waking up, in the mornings after sleeping for a while, at first, your skin on the top of your lip may try to heal or scab over the stud. Do not detach stud from your lip quickly, but rather, soak it with warm water, peroxide, or alcohol until the crust/scabbing [or whatever you call it] softens, and then proceed to clean regularly. If you remove it from the scabbing too quickly, it will rip the top of your lip and bleed, possibly causing infection.

-If you don't keep it hydrated, your lips will chap very easily. I recommend Carmex, it helps keep your lips moist and helps it heal faster.

- Constant movement of piercing is good, it keeps your skin from trying to heal over the stud. But, be careful, because twirling it too often will make the ball, or spike, come unscrewed and they're very hard to find once lost.

-Use straws for cups and cans. It's moderately difficult to keep your lip sealed to the beverage container while drinking and may leak if you're not careful. Straws can save you from embarrassment, and wet clothing. I'm not the only person who has had this problem.

-Don't kiss anyone for at least a week after getting this piercing. It may not hurt in the process, but afterward, it will be more sore than usual for a few days.

I love this piercing, and so do all of my friends. I would recommend this to anyone over the regular labret.