I had my Monroe done about three weeks ago. It was the best piercing experience I have ever had. I had only ever gotten my cartilage pierced (4) and I never really had a desire to pierce anything else. I like the way other piercings look on other people but none of them appealed to me personally.
At A Glance Author bekababe Contact bekababe@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Mike Studio HB Tattoo Location Huntington Beach, CA I was looking at tattoo and piercing sites and I started looking at pics of Monroe piercings. They were so cute and kind of unusual. I had only ever seen one person with one. I thought that they were so sexy and I really liked that they had a connection to one of my favorite people - Marilyn Monroe. I started reading everything that I could about them and looking at lots of pics-good and bad. I wanted to know everything about them. Then, it hit me that this was the piercing that I was looking for. I really started thinking about how it would look on me and if I would really like it. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.
About a month and a half ago, I had my latest cartilage piercing done and my best friend got her navel pierced. We had always gone to the same shop (HB Tattoo) and been pierced by the same guy. Unfortunately, he was not working there any more so we went to a different shop. A week later, my best friend's piercing was not doing well, so we went back to HB Tattoo to see the new piercer.
Mike, the new piercer, was awesome. He is a really outgoing, funny guy that obviously loves what he does. I looked at his portfolio and he had pics of Monroes that he had done. They all looked great. I asked him a couple of questions: price, what gauge jewelry he used, etc. I wanted to do it right then. My best friend wouldn't say anything because she wanted me to get it right then also. She knew that all I needed was one little push, but she wanted me to do it when I was really ready. I resisted because I wanted to be absolutely sure and not just doing it on the spur of the moment.
I talked to a couple of my friends about getting a Monroe to see what they thought. The general consensus was that it would be very sexy. So, I told my friend that we were going back. It just happened to be New Year's Eve. We rushed down to the shop because it was closing early. We got there about an hour before they were going to close. I figured it would be quiet on NYE. Wow, was I ever wrong. The shop was packed when we got there! Mike was going crazy. I talked to him briefly, he was excited to see that I came back. I asked him if he was going to have time to do my piercing. He said that he would be willing to stay late. I made sure that he was really going to be okay with that and not rush my piercing. He assured me that it was not a problem and he really didn't mind staying to make a couple extra bucks.
I sat in the shop for almost an hour waiting for a bunch of kids (legal, of course) to get their eyebrows and lips and navels pierced. Slowly, the shop emptied out and then, it was just me and my friend. The entire time that I had been sitting there, I was really not nervous. I had read some really awful stories on this site but I was confident that Mike knew what he was doing. I knew it was going to hurt, but I told myself that it would be fast and it wouldn't kill me, so there was really nothing to be afraid of. When Mike came around that corner and told me to come back, I got nervous.
My hands were a little clammy, I started chattering like a monkey and I kept giggling from the adrenaline that was rushing through me. I got up on the table and I really started asking some questions, like a mile a minute. I asked him if he had ever had trouble getting the jewelry in the piercing and all of the other horrible things that I could think of. All this time, he was getting all of his tools ready. He changed his gloves constantly. He had ordered the wrong size gloves and he was having a very hard time getting them on each time he changed them. I was very happy that he did not let this stop him.
Finally, he looked me in the eye and said, "Yes, this is a very difficult piercing, but you are going to be fine." So, I decided that worrying was only going to make it worse for me and I concentrated on relaxing. He placed the dot where he thought it would look best (on the left side of my face). It was the exact spot that I had been staring at all day.
He had my best friend put a bib around my neck while I swished with Listerine. That was the worst part, by far. I thought it was going to burn a hole through my tongue. Finally, I got to spit it out and he put the clamp on my lip. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it made my lip go almost completely numb. I was facing a huge mirror but Mike was standing in front of me so I couldn't really see much. I could see my friend standing in the corner, grinning.
He grabbed the needle and said " In a second, I am going to tell you to breathe in and then breathe out slowly." He got the needle in position and said "okay, breathe out". I kinda freaked out because he had never told me to breathe in and I had just exhaled. So, I just tried really hard to exhale some more. But, he realized what he had done and apologized. Then, he told me to inhale, I took a deep breath, then exhale, I emptied my lungs as the needle slid through my lip. There was a sting, but it was gone instantaneously. It stopped hurting after about 5 seconds. Then, he moved to my side and I saw myself with a huge needle through my lip. It was kinda bizarre looking. He then put the stud in, without any problem. I didn't even realize it was in until he started to screw the ball on. Understandably, this was the most difficult part; those balls are tiny, especially on my 16g stud.
He had me swish with Listerine again as he gave me my aftercare instructions. That stung a little but it wasn't too bad. I jumped off the table and checked out my new piercing. It was perfect. Tiny and sexy. I gave Mike a $20 tip for staying late and doing such a good job and headed off to my NYE party to show off my latest addition.