So this basically all started a few weeks back, when I was fired from my construction job, since I'm apparently not strong enough to do the work they wanted me to. Meh, no real loss for me, except for..y'know..the money issue. I worked there for about 2 weeks and made close to $800, which was promptly spent within a few weeks, 40 of which went towards my new piercing, my vertical labret.
At A Glance Author dannyfrost Contact danny.frost@airhop.com When A week ago Artist Jesse Studio Black Lotus Tattoos and Piercing Location Avon, Indiana My entire logic behind getting it was that I no longer had to worry about the conservative-as-hell supervisors that were at my construction job. That, and I'd wanted a vertical labret for a long while, at least a year and a half, since my girlfriend got her first tattoo. I remember looking on BME for the hell of it and finding it, being amazed at the fact that it didn't actually go inside of the mouth, which eliminated the entire problem with a standard labret piercing (gum recession wasn't one of the effects I wanted from my piercings, simply because it had cost around $10,000 to fix my teeth, and I'd like them to remain where they are as long as I can).
So, as I generally do, I chose between my regular two piercers, Chad and Mark. For this venture, I chose Chad simply because he seemed so enthusiastic about doing it (Mark will be doing my second septum piercing as soon as I get the money for it), and because Avon had a White Castle in it (it's somewhat of a tradition to go there before getting pierced).
So I called them around 3-4pm, making sure he'd be there by the time that I got there, and luckily, he said he'd be in all day. I gathered my cash and my friend Reggie, and we were on our way.
After a stop at White Castle, the journey ended pretty promptly as we arrived at what was now Black Lotus Tattoos and Piercing, formerly Tommy's, formerly Sacred Ink (these dudes need to keep the studio name now..haha). I reminded him of what I wanted, and up to the piercing room we went.
We marked it probably..4 different times to make sure it was straight. It looked straight, and thusly, I lied back on the table, preparing for what I was considering to be horrible pain. Turns out, I barely even felt it, though I'm not sure why..
About 3-4 days later, I thought the piercing looked a bit off, so I went back to Black Lotus, and sure enough, the owner and Chad both agreed that it looked off, and they apologized profusely, saying that we could re-pierce it whenever I wanted to. They gave me the jewelry and I was on my way, now with an empty lip. Quite disheartening, really.
Cut to about 3-4 weeks into the future. I once again called Black Lotus, expecting to talk to Chad. Turns out, he was let go, and replaced by the piercer they now have, Jesse. I talked to him, and made plans to show up later that day for the re-piercing.
I arrived, and we hung out on the porch of the studio, smoking, and then we decided we'd go back inside and get the set-up done, as well as marking. Once everything was set up, the jewelry was re-sterilized in the autoclave, and I went downstairs to show the marks to my girlfriend and the two friends I'd brought with me, along with the 2 available tattoo artists and the owner of the shop (8 people all together and we all agreed that the marks were extremely straight). Jesse smoked another cigarette, but I didn't this time since I didn't want to smudge the marks or anything, and we were on our way back upstairs once the jewelry was done in the autoclave.
Once we were upstairs, Jesse took one last look at the dots on my lip, and then decided the top one was slightly off..so we re-marked it, and I showed it to everyone in the entire shop once again, because he didn't want to get this one crooked since I'd already had that happen once. I must say, his strive for precision and exactness was excellent, which made him even better in my mind. After re-marking another 2 times, and consequently showing everyone nearby the marks, we were ready (He spent nearly 10-15 minutes marking it making sure it was just right). I laid back on the table, and the clamps were adjusted on my lip (He took another 5 minutes or so to do this, since, once again, he didn't want to get it crooked). After getting everything just right, he placed the needle against my lip, and had me inhale...then exhale. This time was significantly more painful than the last, probably because of the wee bit of scar tissue that existed on my lip from the last time. It didn't really hurt, it was just a sturdy pinch on my lip. Reggie took a picture of me with a needle through my lip, and Jesse threaded the jewelry through. I was much more pleased this time, because the marks were PERFECT. The exit hole is right underneath my lip, which was exactly where I wanted it. Jesse gave me a small bag of sea salt and some Dixie cups, as well as aftercare instructions, and told me that if I didn't feel that I could change the curved barbell out by myself to a shorter one, to come back in and he'd sterilize/insert it for me.
Aftercare so far has been pretty uneventful, just salt soaks twice a day, followed by a shower and a rinse with Crazy Chamelon soap. So far, it's working out well, even though it's only been a couple of days.
I must say, I will recommend Jesse to many people now, since he is a wonderful piercer. The piercing goes great with my septum, which is definitely a plus. The vertical labret is a great piercing if you're sick of the normal lip rings you see everywhere now, and it doesn't rub inside of your mouth, which means you really don't have much to worry about. The only thing I don't understand is why you have to rinse your mouth out, but I'd assume it's to minimize the germs inside of your mouth since your lips are pressed together so much, meaning the top hole is exposed to all of it. Either way, it's what Jesse told me to do, as well as a few other piercers I've spoken with in the past, so I'm just gonna listen to them, since they're the pros.
Happy piercing!
If you have any questions, simply email me.. dannyfrost@gmail.com