PREGAME
At A Glance Author Jimy Contact jimy@elpocholoco.com Artist Georgina Studio Green Man Location West Hartford, CT ------
Ok to start, I've wanted my lip done for a very very long time, but going back aways to a tongue experience I had, I've always had a fear of opening my mouth and someone work in it. I was finaly coaxed into it by my roomate and best friend. They agreed that we should go out trick or treating before we went over to Green Man studios.
We arived at around 6:00pm and saw that all the tattoo artists and even the piercier Georgina, were dressed in halloween costumes. It was kind of unsetteling to have a Witch or whatever she was dressed as pierce my lip but I've been to Green Man many times and I know of there reputation. Georgina was an apprentice of the great Phish who now works under Steve Hayworth at HTC. I've been pierced by her before and she is very knowledgable. Anyways, amidst all the halloween fright and a few butterflies, I paid my 45 bucks and went upstairs with Georgina and her new apprentice. There was a special where you could have gotten pierced by her apprentice for a mere $25 bucks, but like I said, I have an ORAL piercing fear and felt very safe with Georgina.
SHOWTIME
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Once upstairs, we tried several different rings and placements around my bottom lip. We decided on the dead center and a tad bit lower then usual so that I could wear both a ring and a stud if I wanted to. The actual jewlery that we decided to go with for the initial pierce was a 14ga 1/2" Captive Bead Ring. The size had to be a tad bit bigger then what I would wear in a healed piercing, to compensate for the swelling, and trust me, I have hige lips as it is. Georgina said that the next part was the hardest, I disagree. It took about 2 minutes of trial and error to place the mark in the perfect place. I definatley think that it is PERFECT in where it was placed. The best part was that Georgina had to describe everything that she was doing for her apprentice to follow her procedure so that kept me very up to date on what was going on.
Before I knew it, Clamp was on and I was taking breaths. IN, OUT, IN OUT, and then I felt the pressure and a very tiny pinch (I hate experiences that say "NO PAIN") Very little pinch. Wanna feel it? Take a match, Light it, Blow it out, and place the head on your skin.
Georgina even left the needle in my lip, long enuff for my roomate to snap a picture of the impailing. Then came my favorate part, time to run the jewlery through. I always get some butterflies with the run through, because if you have someone who has no clue what they are doing then you may have a lost pierce on your hands. But like I said, A confident piercier and you get a confident piercie.
Jewlery run through and I was able to look at it, and it made me smile which did'nt feel too good. My lip was also trembling a very little bit which she said was pretty normal and I had the biggest rush that I've ever gotten from a piercing and to make it even worse, I had about 1/2 a shopping bag full of halloween candy that had to be eaten, It was a sugar/adrenaline rush combo that made me wired all night.
POST GAME WRAP
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Before heading off home we stopped in at CVS and picked up a bottle of Bactine and a bar of Dial soap. Later that night there was a little bleeding on the inside of my mouth, While the outside was starting to get very crusty. I cleaned off the crust and they next morning I was very suprised at the amount of crust that had formed on the jewlery. I had to clean the pierce about 5-7 times a day in order to keep it crust free. Hot towel compresses work very well. Take a clean washcloth and make it VERY hot. Then hold it on the piercing until it cools down, Then repete! Also while doing the hot compresses, It's a good idea to suck on little ice chips. Put them between your bottom gum and your bottom lip and just let them melt away because the last thing that you want is having your lip swell tight to the ring and you being forced to take it out... WATCH YOUR SWELLING AND CLEAN YOUR CRUST!
After about 2 days, The crust started to go away and a little red bump began to form. It looked kinda like a pimple, but there was a 14ga hoop coming out of what would have been the head of it.:) I kept up with the compresses to make the red go down but there was very little need to do them at this point because there was no more crust.
After about 1 week the redness had gone down considerably and I began the funnest part of having a lip ring... Playing with it and Kissing!
Anyways, It's the kind of piercing that grows on you very quickly and becomes part of your persona imeditley as you are pierced. I've never had a piercing or tattoo become a part of me as quick as it did. Some of my friends did'nt even notice I had got it done and others thaught that I had it done for a while, It went unnoticed to my parents when I came back home for Thanksgiving. And for those of you who would want to hide it, They sell clear retainers that really are almost un-noticable (check BME/Jewlery)((plug:))
If your thinking about getting it done, Theres no reason not to. GO FOR IT... It grows on you, it's hidable, and it'd fun for kissing! And while your in West Hartford, CT - stop by and say hello to Georgina or get something pierced!