Well I have alot of piercings- nose, central labret, tongue, ears all over the place but i for some odd reason I really wanted my lip pierced again. Out of all my piercings the central labret was definetly the least painful. I walked around shopping for a while, then checked my bank account and checked i had enough of money (at my studio its only £20 for a lip ring).
At A Glance Author Sarah Contact Sarah@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Sharon and Tony Studio Black Wolf Location Bedford, England I went to my studio and up to reception, and there you have to fill in and sign two kinds of release forms. They know me very well there so I don't have to get parental consent but if you're under 18 and they don't know you so well, you will need consent.
Labrets can be pierced with a stud, plain titanium ring or rainbow titanium ring. For healing, titaniums a great matierial to use but steel works just as well.
Then once I've got my sheet on after care (plus the offerings of baggies of sea salt or hydrogen peroxide) I was called down for my piercing.
The piercing assistant is Sharon and the body piercer is Tony. They've been going for years and they really know what they're doing. They sit down you down in the scary dentist style chair and double check exactly what you want dont. We chose my second lip piercing on the right hand side (so its opposite my nose stud) and with a plain silver ring, and not too far in the corner.
Alcohol Scrub is first rubbed all over the area and I watched Sharon put on clean gloves as I walked into the room. She layed out a clean silver tray with clamp and a sealed brand new needle. I really do trust these guys.
Central labret or lip studs really are amazingly painless, there's not too many nerves there and they dont stretch while you talk which keeps swelling to a minimum. However, Sharon warned me that a side lip piercing would be slightly more painful, which I can appreciate now!
My lip was numbed firstly with a mouthwash which you push down over the lip to encourage numbing and then numbing cream was applied to the outside and inside. Sharon put a dot on my lip and i checked that it was the perfect placement, which it was.
Labrets dont always have to be pierced this way (in camden you lie down) but at my studio Sharon stand behind you and pulls out the lip as far as it will go, and then it is clamped. Tony then pushed the needle through. Woah- it really was alot more painful than a central labret but it wasnt too bad- its more uncomfortable having your lip stretched and clamped than having it pierced- hes a very smooth, quick piercer.
Sharon then threaded the ring through. The ring used for lip piercings is the same size as a navel ring, and it is pretty big. The ball however is moved down from 5mm to 4mm, and that means the ring had to be squeezed together in order to hold the ball nice and tightly. After this my lip bled for a while, but it was pretty okay, and the swelling wasnt too much. All in all it was pretty good. I spoke quite quickly afterwards, although a lot of people won't They bleeding took quite a while to stop but it wasn't horrific and I hasnt put me off getting anymore piercings.
Its two days later now and I have to admit, it does look dodgy, the ring really is very big and the swelling is pretty enormous, it looks funny because the other side of my lip is fine, but I hope its worth it. I have to go back in two weeks to have the ring changed down quite a few sizes, but until then i just have to keep cleaning and moving the jewellry.
I would reccomend this piercing, yes it does hurt but any part of your body you shove a needle through will hurt! The swelling is not to bad, espeicially if you use ice or an anti inflammtory like ibruprofen. It does get in the way sometimes while i speak, or eat or drink, but i normally just push the ring over to one side and then its fine. Its a good piercing to have, and even though its quite popular theres still just something unusual about it!
I'm quite likely to get a stud at some point, just because its easier than a ring but I definetly like the way a lip ring looks. I;m not too sure about getting a third one on the other side, but this one is easy to look after and not very uncomfortable so I am pretty tempted. Anyone whos thinking of getting this piercing can go for it, its great :)