Background: By the time I turned the big eighteen, I had eight ear piercings of varying gauges. I had my mind up: I wanted my labret pierced, and being away from home (at college) made it all the easier to have that done. I used to hate labret piercings and desperately wanted my nose pierced, but at the last minute I decided on the labret instead.
At A Glance Author jess Contact jess@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist caron Studio 252 tattoo Location oberlin, ohio The big day: Arriving at the piercing parlor sent the adrenaline a-flowing. My friend was going to get her nostril pierced, but they were out of jewelry. So it was just me with a few strangers who wanted to watch me get it done. No way was I going to back down, especially when the entire thing only cost $27. I had heard some strange things about 252 Tattoos, but I was determined to get that piercing. Besides, I could just take it out if something went wrong, and the people who had bad things to say had never been there before. You know what assuming does.
I sat in the piercing chair and was relieved when the piercer (Caron) told me that she had her labret pierced a while ago, so she knew exactly how the procedure would feel for me. She said that labret piercings look best on thicker lips (which I have) and made other small talk while she marked my labret. She then sanitized using some disgusting yellow liquid and made me swish some Listerine.
She took a "no bullshit" style with me. When she got out the clamp and put the rubber band on it, she flat out told me that it would be painful because she had to flatten both my lip and my labret (which is really easy on thin lips). Sure enough, it hurt. She asked me how I was doing, and I replied, "Um, okay" with the clamp hanging awkwardly from my mouth.
Then came the needle. It was not as threatening as one may imagine. I barely felt it go through my lip. We all joked about how sexy I was with a huge needle sticking out of my lip with a cork on the end. After she took it out, she slipped in the bar, and that was it. It took all of ten minutes. No blood, no mess, and barely any swelling. It kind of looked a bit funny because of the lack of swelling and such a long bar, but oh well.
Aftermath: I had no complications, no bruising, no awkwardness. It felt fine after a week. I got many compliments. I just used a half water, half Listerine concoction to clean it twice a day. Here is where the problem comes into play.
About a month after the original piercing, my appendix decided to commit suicide. That normally has nothing to do with the labret, but anesthesiologists are pretty strict about removing any and all piercings on your body. I had a spacer, but they would not allow me to put it in. Goodbye, all of my piercings, including my precious labret. I tried to put it back in after my surgery, but alas, the hole had already closed on the inside. I could have gotten it redone at a piercing shop at home, but it would cost me forty bucks, which I was not willing to shell out while practically immobilized.
The saga continues...: After I finally returned to college two long weeks later, I knew that I had to get it redone. I went back to 252. Caron remembered me, and I told her what had happened. We concluded that the process was not going to be so fun the second time around because she was going to have to pierce through scar tissue.
The general process was exceedingly similar to the first time. The only major difference was that it hurt like hell when she pierced me, and it bled a little bit. However, she gave me a smaller bar the second time around so that it wouldn't stick out like it had the first time. It felt a hell of a lot tighter and was uncomfortable for a few days.
It took about two weeks to feel comfortable with the piercing again. I kept getting it caught on my bottom front teeth. As we all know, biting metal is painful. Of course, this was no fault of the piercing, nor was it the fault of me. That is just how it goes when piercing scar tissue, and I was fully prepared to deal with it. However, by following my schedule of cleaning, everything went smoothly. I dare say that it looks better now than the first time around. My sister proclaimed, "Thank god the bar is shorter! It looked so stupid sticking out of your lip like that the first time!" Thanks, sis.
In all, I'm extremely happy with my labret piercing. I love how it looks, and I constantly receive compliments. In fact, an 80 year old woman told me that it looked beautiful. I highly recommend this piercing (although it certainly does not look good on everyone) and this parlor.