I'm 16, and have been interested in bodymod for a few years now. I've been collecting ideas for everything from tattoos to piercings that I'd like to get, but with one problem...I'm horribly intolerant when it comes to pain. The farthest I had gotten to this point is the 3 cartilage piercings I have on my left ear, and those were done with a gun in a hair salon for $12 – and even then, I had to be held down by my friends – so you can imagine the jump I was making.
At A Glance Author Michelle Contact hooked_onthe_shindig@hotmail.com When A month ago Artist didn't get her name :( Studio Dansing Dragon Tattoos & Body Piercing Clinic Location Mississauga, Ontario, Canada I originally set off to get a Monroe done about a year ago, but ultimately I was too back and forth on wanting and not wanting one to push myself to do it. Then, a friend of mine mentioned that my lips – which are on the fuller side – would look great with a labret. I had always thought they were great, but for some reason never really considered one for myself. I decided to go for it, and after making excuses to put it off for months, I finally set a date with a friend of mine to go to the parlor closest to our school and made her promise to not let me back out.
I called a couple weeks in advance and asked things like if it was alright to just walk in, what my price would be after the aftercare products, and if I could use Emla (numbing patches) on the area beforehand. The girl on the phone was amazingly helpful and gave me all the answers I was looking for, plus some to questions I didn't even think to ask. Without me even mentioning it she told me about the entire I.D. process, to eat something heavy and healthy (not including fast food) less than 2 hours before coming, and to stay alcohol free for at the very least 36 hours.
She also warned me that because I needed aftercare for the outside and for the inside it would run me a little bit more than the pricelist on their website mentioned. She gave me the total price with taxes and let me know that it was ok to use the numbing patches, but since I could only use it on the outside, I would still feel most of it. After telling me that I could walk in anytime as long as it was at least a half hour before closing and that I called to make sure the piercer was in, I thanked her and started to make my plans of getting there.
The night before and the entire day of I was so nervous I was shaking. I was way too anxious to have an appetite but I forced myself to eat 2 heavy meals (including the one just before going) during the day. My friends – one who was getting her eyebrow, and the other her navel done – and I went to my place first to put the numbing patches on and let them set before walking over to Dansing Dragon, which is just about half a block from me. Living so close to it and being interested in tattoos/piercings for a while, I had already been inside many, many times over the last few years. I noticed how clean and friendly they were, as well as the "hospital smell" when I walked in every time, so I trusted them completely.
The piercer was the one who greeted us at the front desk. With two of the three of us having the numbing patches on our faces, we looked like we had gotten into a bar fight. The big laugh we had with her over it was definitely a good icebreaker. She explained all of our prices and jewelry choices, and then gave us the forms to fill out. The form asked all the types of questions I had expected, like whether I was on any medication or if/when/what I had eaten before coming. Once they checked our photo I.D., they collected our payments, gave us our aftercare products and said we were ready to get started.
My friend getting her eyebrow went in first. Since I was supposed to go right after her, I made the mistake of taking my numbing patch off about 5 minutes after she went into the back figuring that the effects would last long enough. Only once my friend had come out, it had taken long enough that the most of the numbness had worn off. I started to panic a little bit when it was my turn, but I refused to back out after I had come that far, so I forced myself to follow the girl into the back room.
The first thing she got me to do was rinse my mouth with Listerine for a while. It was probably only about a minute, minute and a half tops, but it seemed like 5. It burned while I was rinsing, but she was right about the inside of my mouth being numb by the time I was finished, which helped calm my nerves. I told her where I wanted it placed (just under my lip), and she marked it out for me with a toothpick dipped in a little jar of some kind of ink. I took a look at the spot in the mirror and decided I liked it. She then got me to sit up in a barbershop-looking type chair and put one of those dentist bibs around my neck. She cleaned the area with 2 different wipes and asked me to make sure not to touch it afterward. While she was unwrapping the needle she explained how she would put it through, then slide it out as she slid the jewelry in. She also let me know that the needle was new and would be thrown out afterward, and the clamp was reused but had been sterilized in the autoclave beforehand.
She mentioned that I would need to hold my bid up to catch any possible blood while she was putting in the jewelry although it was pretty unlikely. Before she put the clamp on I asked her if she could count to 3 before she put the needle trough, and she explained that she couldn't, because she had to be giving me instructions on how to hold my mouth, but she would do her best to let me know when it was going to happen. She put on the clamp, which was a little bit uncomfortable then got the needle ready and coached me through the whole thing.
I had read that you don't really feel it until it comes through the outside and that's exactly what happened. I think more because of the fact that it happens so fast, you don't have time to register the pain until it's over. I did feel it go through all the layers of skin though – there must have been at least 3 or 4 – that was a really weird feeling. When it came through the outside I let out what scream I could with my lips in that position and heard my friends in the lobby, and the guy getting a tattoo in the next room start laughing. It was a little embarrassing, but still pretty funny once I thought about it, and I had to do my best to not laugh before she was done putting on my bead. As soon as everything was secure, she put some disinfectant around the outside with a q-tip and asked if I was feeling light headed or dizzy at all, and to let her know if I started to.
She let me relax in the chair while she explained the aftercare to me. She told me to avoid liquid dairy products like milk, yogurt, ice cream etc, as well as oral contact with others for the first 4 weeks to avoid bacteria. She described how to clean my piercing on the outside, and the inside and let me know how often to do it. She explained a lot more that was hard to remember, but she did give me a sheet that said everything she just had. Once she made sure I was still not feeling lightheaded, she took a picture of my piercing, sent me out into the lobby and brought in my second friend for her navel.
All the next day (Saturday) I began my aftercare religiously, and was slightly puffy but nothing major. It was a little awkward talking and eating but again, nothing I couldn't deal with. Then, when I woke up the day after (Sunday), it was like my face had exploded. My bottom lip was 4 times its normal size, and I looked like a blowfish. My initial reaction was to panic; I then remembered the piercer telling me that I should expect this type of swelling to last for 3 to 5 days. I doubled checked my aftercare sheet and realized t was on there too. That's when I accepted the fact that all I had left to do was calm down, keep up my aftercare regimen and wait this out.
Eating was definitely harder than the day before, and swallowing became pretty difficult too. The only real pain I felt was really in my lip since the skin stretching so much so fast had made it crack and burn a little bit. Other than that, and being able to use the sausage stuck to my face as a flotation device should the need arise, everything was fine. I found that icing my lip not only helped sooth the burning of the skin, but also brought down the swelling slightly and made the whole experience more bearable. Then when I had realized not only did we have no ice made, but I couldn't find and ice tray to boot, my only option was using the frozen pierogies we had. Which coincidently worked out pretty well since the shape of them matched the curve of my lip.
So after the pain, frozen pierogies, deprivation of ice cream, and being a blowfish for a week, I am completely, utterly and madly in love with my labret. It looks amazing on me and couldn't possibly suit my face more. I also wouldn't trade the experience of it for anything. Next stop, my tattoo. Stick around, it should be interesting.