Ever since I was thirteen years old I wanted a lip ring. It was around then that I was getting out of my Backstreet Boys phase and the band Orgy was introduced to MTV. I bought a magazine with Jay Gordon himself on the cover and I noticed that he had a barbell in his eyebrow. I was instantly in love.
At A Glance Author Jessica Contact Diamondjt@aol.com When Six months ago Artist Jay Studio Adrenaline Location Brick, NJ I begged my mother for months to let me get one done and she continually refused (I would too if my thirteen year old daughter was asking me for a hole in her face.). A few months later, I saw Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit. HE had a lip ring. All thoughts of an eyebrow ring flew out of my head as I fell in love with the little ring in the side of his mouth.
I waited for about four years before my mother actually gave in. I had already gotten a straight edge tattoo on my chest for my seventeenth birthday and it was March of 2003 before I actually convinced both my parents to let me get my lip done.
I like to get something done every time something bad happens in my life. Getting a tattoo or a piercing helps to relieve the stress. People ask me what the designs of my tattoos mean, but I only draw designs that I think look nice. It is the reason why I get them that means something to me. My lip ring happened at a time when I got into a huge fight with my best friend. He decided that he couldn't be my friend anymore because of a misunderstanding. I kept getting very sick and would have to leave school early, or I would just not go to school at all.
One day, my mother and I were walking around Linens N' Things looking for sheets and I asked her out of no where if I could get it. She said to call my father and I finally convinced him to say yes. My mom said, "I'm only getting this cause I am so tired of seeing you miserable. Do you promise me that if you get this you will try to be a little happier?" I told her I would try, but it is hard when you have the idea in your head that your best friend hates you.
We got to Adrenaline and I told Jay what I wanted to get done. My mother and I filled out all the necessary papers that I needed to get it done and he brought me into a little room off to the side on the opposite side of the tattoo section of the shop.
He told me to get up into the dentist type chair that they have there and made me wash out my mouth with Listerine. That was probably the most painful part of the procedure. I hate that stuff. He marked a spot on my lip and made me get up and check it in the mirror. Once I had approved of that I sat back in the chair and laid down.
I watched as he put on gloves and set everything out on the tray. I wasn't nervous at all. I was too excited. I had been waiting for this moment for four years now. He explained to me what everything was and would change his gloves after every new step. He leaned over me and put the needle right through. Didn't hurt a bit. In fact, I sat up and smiled at my mom and two kids who were staring at me with the needle hanging out of my lip. She didn't appreciate it and turned away. I guess she just doesn't understand the beauty of a lip ring. Jay came back with the ring and everything (well, he was only two steps away, so I don't know if I should say "came back.")and put the ring in. I remember looking up and feeling like the chair was spinning. It was such a great adrenaline rush. I have never felt anything like that with my tattoos.
After everything was finished up, he handed me my aftercare stuff and some non-alcoholic mouthwash and I was on my way. He told me to come back after two weeks so he could change the ring.
This is where everything started to go wrong. I ended up OVER cleaning the ring, and the skin around the hole started to get really dry and flaky. So I called up Jay and he told me what to do and what I was doing wrong, so I followed his instructions of lotion and to stop over cleaning it and it cleared up within days.
After three weeks (he told me to wait another week to help the skin heal up) I went in to get the ring changed where he proceeded to say, "You'll feel a bit of pressure here." And put a taper through to bring it from a 16g to a 14g. That was the most painful part. I later ended up bringing it back down to a 16.
I do plan on getting two more lip rings done, in the middle and the right side, and also my cheeks in the near future. I have been debating getting my collar bones done, but as it is illegal to get a surface piercing done in NJ, I am debating whether I want to go out of state to a piercer I do not know to get it done.
All in all, my lip piercing experience was a good one and I am so happy that I got it done.