One of the many forms of ritual body modification that always intrigued me was lip sewing. I was draw to the beauty and uniqueness of it and wished to experience it myself. However I didn't know any professional that would help me with this so I began thinking of ways I could do it myself. I figured the easiest way would be to start with play piercings. I would push the needles through my lips, thread the sutures through the hollow needles, remove the needles, then tie off the sutures. It seemed like something I could do myself. The problem was I had no sutures and the only sterile needles I had were 26 gauge; far too thin to thread anything through.
At A Glance Author Uberkitty Contact Uberkitty@bme.anon IAM Uberkitty When Three months ago Location North Carolina It then occurred to me to do something of a dry run; to use the needles that I had to pierce my lips in order to both prepare and hold myself over for a later time in which I could complete a lip sewing.
I took the needles out of my "toy" drawer and set them aside. I then cleaned out my mouth as best I could, brushing my teeth and using diluted hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic mouthwash twice. I cleaned my hands with antibacterial soap and returned to my room. I did have gloves available at the time but I chose not to use them on this occasion.
I opened up one of the new needles and uncapped it. Looking in the mirror I placed it at the bottom of my lower lip where a labret would normally be pierced. Despite having been professionally pierced several times this was to be the first time I pierced myself in at least seven years. I was nervous and couldn't bring myself to push the needle through. I paused for a moment and tried again. Once again I couldn't do it.
I really surprised myself. Starting sometime around the age of 7 or 8 I used to take sewing needles and push them through the pads of my toes, I would remove flesh from my feet and once even cut a wedge out of my lip. I don't know what drove me to do that at such a young age other than the fact I was fascinated with my body. Yet here I was years latter, supposedly older and wiser and for some reason I feared doing the things that used to be routine as a child.
After reflecting on this I decided that it must be the location of the piercing. I thought that if I warmed up with something more familiar that I might be able to then move on and pierce another body part. I didn't really feel like piercing the pads of my toes but the pads of my fingers seemed similar enough to me. I took the needle and placed it against the side of my left thumb. As I began to push it the little needle started to buckle a bit (it seemed much flimsier than the sewing needles I used to use) then finally popped through the skin. I watched as the incredibly sharp needle cut through until it was too deep for me to see through the skin. After a few seconds of slow, constant pushing it the popped out the other side of my thumb. Yep, just like piercing a toe. I admired the needle for a short while before removing it. It stung a bit (Odd I don't remember the piercing itself stinging) and did not bleed at all.
I then took the needle up to my bottom lip once again and tried pushing it through. The needle buckled again, much more severely this time, and refused to punch though the skin. The needled had been dulled by my thumb far more than I thought it had (I now know why piercing needles are one time use even if you are getting two piercings at once, those things become dull quick!) I recapped the old needle and opened a new one. I placed it on my lip and slowly began applying pressure. The needle popped through the surface, stung a little as it steadily cut through the meat of my lip then popped out the other side. I thought it was just beautiful and was ecstatic. It seemed too difficult to use the same needle to pierce my upper lip and pin them together so I removed it.
I pierced myself one last time. I was stuck with the spontaneous desire to horizontally pierce my upper lip, something I've never really seen or heard of. The needle hadn't been dulled as much as the first I used on my thumb and it was still able to easily cut through my upper lip with very little resistance. I left this in the longest, only about two minutes, because it somehow just seemed more dear to me before taking it out and recapping the old needle.
The entry and exit holes on my lips scabbed up almost as soon as the needles came out. The tiny little dots of blood looked more like blemishes than anything and lasted less than a day before coming off in the shower. I did feel it however. My lips felt sore all night and into the next morning before the pain faded away.
The thing that strikes me as setting play piercings apart from professional piercings is the time it takes. I pro will drive a needle through in a split second, but using your own hands the needle enters slowly and you can truly appreciate the sensation. I still look forward to sewing my lips together sometime in the future and hope to order some larger needles and sutures soon.