I am currently 21 and now have three body piercings. Before I get a new piercing I think on it for a long time. Having had my nose (right nostril) and tongue pierced, I was ready for something new that I knew not everyone had. A challenge.
At A Glance Author Weeble Contact cc_childs@yahoo.com When A week ago Studio Maine Tattoo Location Brewer, ME I was first introduced to the vertical labret by an online friend who said she wanted one herself. As soon as I saw the piercing, I knew I had to have it. After two years of exclusive consideration, I decided that I was ready. Only one slight problem, not many people around here were willing to do it. A lot often told me that they had seen it done but weren't willing to do it or weren't set up for that kind of piercing.
I had heard through the grape vine that Maine Tattoo in Brewer did a vertical labret. Since it was a toll call, I ended up paying my brother $20 (plus all his gas) to drive me the 85 miles to have this done without knowing if they would actually do it. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to go right then but I had been looking for a mode of transportation for over a week and had been unsuccessful.
When I got there and asked if they in fact did the piercing I wanted, I was informed that they weren't technically set up for that mod. I then told them how far I had come and they decided to see what they could do before they ruled it out. In the end, they found a curved barbell that would fit my lip.
I filled out the paperwork while the owner prepared and cleaned the barbell and piercing tools. I was sat down in a chair and told to rinse my mouth out with mouthwash. He then made his marks and asked me if they were okay. The piercing would be small but that was okay with me. 18 gauge and tiny 3mm balls.
Soon he put the clamp on and I knew he was about to put the needle through. I was expecting a lot of pain and a lot of blood after having read others experiences. The needle went through. My eyes watered but I didn't cry. My nose piercing actually hurt a lot worse then this one. It didn't really bleed much either. He took a picture for his portfolio and I was on my way home.
There have been minimal problems with my new piercing. I began cleaning the top hole with Oral Antiseptic and the bottom hole with Bactine. The first few times the Oral Antiseptic made my lip bubble up a small amount of blood and puss. After two days, the Oral Antiseptic no longer hurt, but I continued to do it about 4 times a day as extra precaution.
Another problem that presented itself about two days after was that the barbell was a little tight from the swelling and caused the top ball to burrow it's way halfway into the top of my bottom lip (similar to what it did to the top of my tongue when I had that pierced). Now that it's had a few days to heal on the bottom hole I have cut a Band-Aid in half the long way, dampened the padded strip with Bactine and placed it over the bottom hole. The purpose of this is that it pushed the piercing up so that the top ball isn't putting any pressure on my lip. Already this method has helped the swelling go down and the pressure that was on my lip before is almost completely gone.
My mom asked me today if it was worth it. I know now that if I had decided that I didn't like the piercing and took it out that there would always be a small indentation in my lip. I doubt that I will take it out anytime soon but if I do sometime later in my life, the scar will be a pleasant reminder of my experience with the little piece of metal that currently has taken up residence in my bottom lip.
The biggest annoyance out of the whole piercing has been how dried out my bottom lip is. It never actually bruised but it did become chapped. Not being able to apply lip gloss for a week has been pure torture. I think the fact that they are cracked so badly is actually almost more painful then the piercing itself.
I'm in love with my new piercing. It's beautiful, sexy and draws more attention to my full bottom lip, which was my total intention for the piercing. For anyone who is thinking about getting this piecing, I would recommend to eat stuff you can cut into small pieces to avoid rubbing against the piercing and to drink anything through a straw.