I had been thinking about getting a new facial piercing for awhile, and knew that a friend of mine was thinking seriously about having her labret done. In order to kill two birds with one stone we went along together, and I paid for her labret as an early birthday present. I made the appointment almost a month in advance, and for a couple of weeks I stewed over what to have done. I finally decided on having my bridge pierced, partially based on the fact that I hadn't really seen a whole lot of bridge piercings "walking around".
At A Glance Author Bloodfever Contact Bloodfever@bme.anon When N/A Artist Chrissy Studio Sydney Medical Body Piercing Clinic Location Kensington, NSW Once we arrived to the clinic we had to wait about 10 minutes for the piercer to arrive, and then had to fill out the necessary forms and the rest of it. We spoke with the piercer, Chrissy, for awhile about general piercing stuff (had we been pierced before, did we like her new surface piercing, etc) and she really put us at ease with her obvious experience and easy manner. When it came time to "measure up" and choose jewellery, we discovered that the pieces both of us wanted to use were not sterile, and we would have to wait about half an hour. So we sat in the waiting area, (which resembles a waiting room at a doctors office!) and nervously chatted about nothing. At this point we were both starting to freak out a little, and the adrenaline was definitely pumping.
Although I wouldn't have chosen to wait, we decided that in order to stop my friend from chickening out that she would go first. Her procedure went smoothly, despite her nearly fainting. I made the mistake of watching closely (morbid curiosity, I guess) and upon seeing the needle nearly chickened out myself. In the past I had always had my piercings done with my eyes closed, and requested to not be shown the needle! I did pull myself together though, and my friend left the room to recover whilst I was getting done.
Chrissy and I spent a lot of time talking about placing for my piercing, particularly in light of the fact that I wear glasses. It's a delicate place to pierce, trying to balance out a depth to ensure it doesn't migrate or be so deep that it is through cartilage. In the end we got marks in a place I was satisfied with and would cause me a minimum of problems. I watched whilst Chrissy arranged her gear, and managed to keep my eyes open when she clamped the skin. I knew at that point though that it was "business" time and I very quickly scrunched up my eyes and gripped the table I was sitting on hard.
Whilst I don't remember precisely the amount of pain there was, I do remember saying "f---" as the needle slid in. It was so quick however, that any intense pain was momentary. There was a bit of blood, I was actually fascinated by the sensation of the blood running down my nose and onto my cheeks, and had to open my eyes to look at that point. The barbell had not been put in yet, and except for Chrissy having trouble getting the ball to thread, it went in without a hitch.
Chrissy and I then had a quick discussion about after care, told me to check out their website if I needed more information, and sent me on my way.
For the next day or so it felt almost like someone had punched me between the eyes, the small area above and below the pricing felt bruised, although there was no actual skin discolouration. I was surprised to discover that there was hardly any perceptible swelling, and my eyes didn't get bloodshot or anything like that. Due to the length of the barbell it was easy enough to clean, and I any pain I experienced I was able to deal with by taking paracetamol.
One of the biggest issues I face with the piercing is my glasses. I wear them to drive and when I need to concentrate on anything that is more than about 30cms away from my face - my sunglasses are prescription too and I wear those whenever I'm out in the sun. Although I discussed this with Chrissy at the time, and we selected a placing that wouldn't interfere as much, I still wear my glasses very low now - in order to see through the entire lens I need to tilt my head ever-so-slightly up. Other than the general annoyance factor of having to be aware of that and being gentle when I put my glasses on, this isn't really a problem.
Approximately 2 months after the original procedure, I started to experience a small amount of granulating tissue (overgrown healing tissue - similar to, but not the same as keloids) below the holes on either side of my nose. Using salt water soaks I have been able to nearly "heal" them, but I have been advised that they could return. Whilst not the most attractive thing in the universe, this "complication" in the healing process hasn't been painful or even uncomfortable - it just means I have to do some extra work to make my piercing healthy (and presentable!).
Other than those two small problems, and the fact that people stare at me wherever I go (sometimes even wincing!), it's been a good experience, and a piercing I love. I would recommend the piercing and the clinic (to anyone in the area), all of their equipment is properly sterilised, and the technique of both Chrissy and Dr Richard is flawless. Getting pierced there is on the expensive side, particularly if pierced by Dr Richard (who uses anaesthetic), but it's worth it.