Well I really had no motivation to get this piercing, it was just a sudden whim, but I'm glad that I got it. I've had it for about 2 weeks now, here is the story:
At A Glance Author Agent_N Contact AgentN182@aol.com When A week ago Artist John Studio Inkaholics Location Moreno Valley, CA Every summer, I spend my summer vacation in California with my family. It all started when I went with my cousin Stephie to get her industrial. It was so cute and I decided that I really wanted mine. The only problem was that you need parental consent, and my parents were thousands of miles away in Massachusetts. So I went on the whole summer, craving another piercing. I already have a 14 g navel and several ear piercings, assorted locations and gauges. I wanted something new.
Finally in the middle of August, I got an email from my mom saying that my dad was coming out to Moreno Valley for a job interview. So he would be able to give consent for my industrial. I was so excited.
When he finally came, I started having second thoughts about my industrial. It would disturb my other earrings and I started feeling like a lot of people already had that piercing. I wanted something somewhat "unique".
I already check out BME almost everyday, but I started searching for something that I liked. I came across monroe piercings and decided that it was what I was looking for. I'd tossed the idea of a monroe around for a long time before that but I never thought I'd actually do it. I knew my parents wouldn't allow anything on my face, but I gave it a try because my dad is different and more liberal around his family. So I asked. And he said no. But that did not stop me. I was determined. I pleaded with him one day when he was in a particularly good mood, and instead of shutting me down instantly, he considered it. Being from a typical filipino family (I'm only half filipino), I had to ask all my "titos and titas". 2 of my aunts said yes, 2 of my uncles said no, but then my grandmother said yes. So it was agreed. I would be able to get my monroe after all.
I called my mom earlier that day and got into a fight with her about it and she ended up hanging up on me so I immediately wanted to get it even more to make her mad.
By some miracle, my dad talked her into it and I was to get it the next day. That was when I started getting nervous. It really is stupid because it's not like it's my first piercing or anything, I can take the "pain" if you can call it that, it's that I'm so scared of needles. So the whole next day I was tripping out, asking all my cousins what they thought about the piercing, and all but one said that they thought it would be really cute. So I decided to go through with it.
My dad told me to go online and check out how much it would be and all that stuff. I decided that I would go to Inkaholics, the same shop where Stephie had gotten her industrial, because I knew that it was clean and I already knew how they did things. So I went to the website and checked everything out, and then it was finally time to go.
I took Krissy and Stephie, 2 of my many cousins, with me for moral support or something like that. I was worried but I knew it was something that I really wanted and it would be worth it in the end. When we got to Inkaholics, my dad was still trying to talk me out of it. I went inside the clean shop and walked to the desk to look at the jewelry. A really nice guy helped me out, telling me that it was a really easy piercing and it would look good on me. So I looked at all the labret studs, and picked one with a small pink gem in it. So he took it back to John, the official piercer. I was filling out forms while I waited. My cousins were both talking about how they really wanted their navels pierced, but again with the conservative family thing, it was out of the question. The guy came out and told me that the post wasn't long enough so he brought me one that was, it was a plain steel ball, and I was okay with that because I didn't want it to be this big piercing on my face, j ust something feminine and unique, so we agreed on it and he said that it would just be a few minutes. Another reason that I agreed was because the pink gem was a 14g and I didn't want something that big in my face. The steel ball was a 16g, so that made it easier to choose. My cousins and I looked at the flash on the walls while we waited. After a long time, John came out and told us that he was ready for me. I wanted both Stephie and Krissy to come, but he said that only one could come with me for insurance reasons or something. I said it was okay and we decided that Krissy would come because Stephie had already been back in the piercing room, as had I.
So I sat on the table and he asked me to rinse my mouth with listerine. Afterwards, I came back inside the room and sat back on the table. John asked me if I was nervous, I told him that I was and he explained to me that it was a really simple piercing and it would be fine. So he asked me what side I wanted it on, the right. For some reason, I don't like the way it looks on the left. So he marked me, but I thought it was too high so I asked if we could change it and he said sure and just handed me the marker. So I marked it where I wanted it, he nodded and had me lay back on the table. Krissy held my hand because I was getting nervous.
He attached the clamps, which didn't hurt at all. I don't know why people say they hurt so much, they didn't hurt when I got my navel pierced and they didn't hurt this time either. I had this huge metal thing latched onto my lip, but I still knew I was okay. So he told me to take deep breaths, inhale and on the exhale he pierced me. I was expecting a sharp, tearing pain like my navel, but I felt absolutely nothing at all with this piercing. I was so pleasantly surprised. It just felt like the metal slipping through my lip easily.
I could see the needle sticking out of my face and it kind of freaked me out. He inserted the jewelry from the inside so the needle fell out onto the floor when he pushed the flatback labret stud through. It was over. I had an adrenaline rush. The only part that came close to physical discomfort was when he was screwing on the ball. It pulled at it a little bit, but nothing major. He let me look in the mirror, and I wasn't sure if I 100% loved it or not, but now I LOVE IT. He had me rinse with listerine one more time, and gave me the aftercare sheet and told me that I should take ibuprophen for the swelling. I said thank you, paid and left. The first night was fine. I had a hard time eating anything though because the flatback kept getting stuck on my tooth, and it was really hurting so I just gave up and had drinks through a straw all night.
Everyone liked it except for one of my uncles that had originally said no. Even the other one that said no came around and liked it.
Aftercare was a little confusing. I rinsed with listerine after eating or drinking, and cleaned the outside with saline solution 2 times a day. But the swelling was crazy.
2 days after I got it, it was time for me to go home. On the plane I kept ordering drinks so I could use the cup to ice my lip. When I got home, I called my local piercing shop, Action Ink, for advice on aftercare. He wasn't very clear, just telling me to rinse with saltwater and saline solution outside, so now I do all of them. Listerine, salt water rinses, saline solution.
It seems to be fine now. The swelling has gone down and since I've started school I've gotten a lot of compliments. I definitely recommend this piercing to anyone, male or female because it's cute and painless.
The only downside of this piercing is that after I got it, I saw on tv that Benji from Good Charlotte has his monroe done, and that kind of ruined it for me, but I still think it's cute, and I WASN'T trying to be like him.