"Mom, please...please can I get my lip pierced?", "No!" Typical. As it should be, I guess. I'd been asking her the same question for a good year and a half, but always to the same reply. She thought piercings were "strange" and wondered why anyone would want them. Over time, she lightened to the idea. I wouldn't say that she quite LIKED the thought of an unnatural object in her little girl's face, but at least I had gotten past the "no way in hell" stage.
At A Glance Author Rhea Contact nuclearain@aemail4u.com When A month ago Artist Chris Studio Mom's tattoo Location Amherst, massachusetts So the day arrives...its raining. My mom, older sister Maria, and I leave the house and head to Mom's Tattoo studios (or something pretty similar) in the middle of town. We walked into a fairly small, well lighted, clean room. Chris was finishing up doing an older girl's navel, so we watched from across the room. (The piercing room and the waiting room were really the same room, but with big thick walls dividing the cleaner part of the room from the register & seating area). After he finished up with her, he came to the front and helped me pick out the jewelry I wanted to be pierced with, which was a stainless steal labret stud with a dimondy type deal in it. I'm not 100% sure that it was sterilized, but it was right out of the plastic package and I didn't remember to ask, but it looked clean enough to me.
We walked to the back part of the room where he put on some gloves, and arranged the area with his tools he'd be working with while he explained the aftercare for my labret to me. He got out a black marker and made a dot on my lip, a bit lower than what is typical for a regular lip piercing, but said I'd be able to wear a ring in it at a later date if I so desired. We re-marked a few times until I was fairly satisfied with the placement...not wanting it to be more to one side than the other, I wanted it in the middle; exactly. So Chris hands me a cup of Listerine and tells me to put as much in my mouth as I can, and rinse for a minute. IT BURNS!! Mommy no! I don't like it! Stupid mouthwash... After that hell, Chris took back my spitty mouthwash cup of doom, and changed his gloves once more. He clamped my lip and told me not to look, because I had specifically told him that needles creeped me out. He was a doll about that, and told me to take three deep breaths, and he'd pie rce on the exhale of the last one.
*POKE* I opened one eye, and then the other... To my surprise the needle was all the way through and it barely hurt at all. "Almost done, just have to put in the stud and you'll be all set". So I closed my eyes again and let him do his thing, I didn't even feel him put the stud in, and it barely felt like he touched the needle when he said "Finished! I'll just screw the ball on and....well. I'm done. Have a look". I took the mirror he held out to me, and I couldn't believe it was finished. It looked terrific, even though it definitely had a visible part of the bar behind the ball; which was fine though, as it was to compensate for any swelling that might have occurred (but didn't). Chris made me swish again with the mouthwash for 30 seconds, and we stayed there for about another ten minutes and talked for a bit. I seemed to have lost some enthusiasm, as I was now afraid to move my face for fear of pain (silly me). But all was well, I smiled and we thanked him, and then left.
At that point, I was late for a show I was going to that night, so we headed off directly there. While there, I had a couple ciggs (not smart) and a bottle of water, but my fresh facial stabbing didn't seem to mind too much. Throughout the healing time it behaved pretty well, even though I didn't quite follow the after care instructions as well as I should have. You aren't supposed to smoke, as I did. You aren't supposed to make out or have any other type of oral contact with another person within the first 6 weeks, as I did. And you're supposed to clean it at least twice a day and after meals, as I stopped doing as religiously as I had been the second week into the piercing. Why my lip didn't throw a fit? I'm not sure, but if I were to talk to someone else about it, I'd definitely tell them to stick to the directions on that piece of paper STRICTLY. No use in having stupidity mess up what could turn out to be a beautiful addition to your body.
It's now finished healing, and looks pretty awesome. I now wear a stainless steal 12ga circular barbell in it, but I think it looks nice with just the plain stud too. If you're thinking of getting this piercing done, I'd say go for it as long as you've done your research. Bme has helped me with a couple of my mods, but if you have a specific question, feel free to drop me an e-mail.
Happy, healthy stabbings. ;)