Strange as it may sound, but where I live, lip piercings aren't that common. I don't actually know anyone other than me who has got it done, I've seen a few people on the street but that's about it. In fact now that I think about it piercings aren't all common. Almost all the girls in England have their ears pierced but that's about it. I'd see the occasional pierced nostril or even more rare would be a stretched lobe (which I am now in the process of achieving, but that's another story). So since getting my lip pierced I stand out a fair bit in my society.
At A Glance Author itchystitches Contact itchy_stitches@hotmail.com When Six months ago Studio adorn piercing studio Location Bristol, England I've wanted my lip pierced for ages, Its been an obsession of mine ever since I saw Chester from Linkin park with one (give me a break I was 12) but since then I've grown to want one for other reasons. Since I was about 13 I realised that I didn't want to be like everyone else. I'd look around and see everybody dressed the same. It would piss me off incredibly. Then I would look in the mirror and realise I was no different. So I thought I'd better do something about it. Slowly but surely I've changed my appearance, dropping name brands for clothes I actually like, dying my hair, and changed myself internally, making my own choices about what music want to listen to, how I want to speak, everything. Anyway, this is a piercing experience not my life story so I'll get on with it.
I saw this strange black mark on Chester 's bottom lip and I was intrigued. What was it?( I was obviously still quite a close-minded person at this point) I asked around and slowly realised that it was a piercing. Well it looks pretty cool, I thought, I should get myself one. This thought stayed in my mind for a year or so until eventually I got the guts to ask my mum If I could get it done. I was shocked when she said, although somewhat indefinitely, that maybe when I was older she would consider it. Obviously I had been expecting a flat out no with a long lecture on why not.
So now the question was, how much older? I figured it would be quite a while, so I waited it out. Months passed, and I began to grow impatient. By now this had become more than just something I wanted aesthetically, this was about the time when I started to see myself differently internally. Now it was also about making myself a different person.
I waited for about a year, until my 14th birthday came around . I thought now would be a good time to ask again. The response this time around was much better. She told me (although somewhat hesitantly) that she would consider it. I took this as a yes and I was ecstatic.
A couple of months later, my school organised a trip to France. I couldn't miss it so I an idea came into my head. I asked my mum if that when I came back, if had enough money, I could finally get my lip pierced. She said yes!!
While I was in France I started to think about placement. Originally, I had just planned to get a ring in the middle, but now other ideas were gathering in my mind. After a lot of thought I came to the decision that I wanted my lip pierced on the left side, as this was even more unique.
As soon as I got home, I started to prepare myself. All sorts of questions were in my head. How much would it hurt? The price? Ring or labret post? It was so exciting. I was due to get pierced on the Saturday of my return, but we (me and my mum that is) were too late and there wasn't time so I had to wait until the Saturday afterwards.
I waited all week, and finally it was Saturday again. This time we went straight to the piercing studio. When we arrived we went up to the front desk told them what I wanted done and showed them our I.D. ( the youngest age to get pierced is 14 with parental consent so I was lucky) then we were given a form to fill out. Once this was all done I paid then waited for the piercer to finish with his current customer.
We waited for less than five minutes for him then he called me in. I wasn't allowed anyone in with me, I'm not sure why. He asked me to wash out my mouth with this strange, warm, pink liquid and then to sit down on the table. I saw the needle in the packaging and he opened it in front of me. We discussed positioning then after 2-3 attempts we decided that it was perfect. He asked if I wanted him to numb my lip a little bit. I said yes because it was my first proper piercing (before that I had only had my ear pierced with a gun, so I had no REAL experience). He then put the anaesthetic (sorry I don't know what it was called) on my lip and left it to work.
After a couple of minutes, we were ready. I closed my eyes and he asked me to breath deeply and steadily. He then put the clamps on my lip, which wasn't as bad as everyone says it is. As I had my eyes closed, I didn't know when the needle was going to go through. Then all of a sudden I felt a sharp pinch and he told me not to open my eyes because there was a needle sticking out of my lip! I opened my eyes anyway but I couldn't really see the needle. I watched as he took the ring which I had chosen earlier out of the packaging. He told me he was putting it in and I felt a slight bit of discomfort and then it was done. I looked in the mirror and it was perfect. The ring was a bit angled but that was only because the ring was big to accommodate the inevitable swelling.
He asked me to wash my mouth out again but it wasn't that bad as it only bled very little. He then gave me an aftercare sheet which said to use antibacterial mouthwash (which he gave me for free) after every meal and to make sure no food or anything was stuck in the piercing by turning it regularly (after washing my hands of course).
Then that was it. After a 2 year wait I finally had my lip pierced. I met my friends Caron and Charlotte and they thought it was brilliant. Caron was a little jealous because her mum wouldn't let her get her lip pierced. It swelled a little after that but other than that there were no problems, even after I smacked on the seat in front of me on the bus on the way home (don't try that a t home, it hurts!)
It's been six months now and it's healed well. I'm currently think of stretching it a little up to a 10g (it's at 14g now) and I'm also planning to get the other side pierced in a month or two.
Thanks for reading my story, I know it was long and boring but I hope I've helped someone decide whether or not to get there lip pierced.
Happy piercing folks!