It was sweltering hot day here in Florida and I had my best friend Brittany visiting from my native state of Illinois. She came down because I had just gone through an extremely nasty breakup with my ex. She wanted to show some support since she is, in fact, my best friend. So one Friday, we were driving around with nothing to do AND no air conditioning in my car, mind you, and we decided to stop at my favorite tattoo parlor in the whole world, Big Kahuna. We went in to browse and I thought to myself, "Hmmm...I have been wanting to get my center labret pierced and now that I'm not with my boyfriend anymore, (who did not like the idea of a labret) so why not just get it done??" I asked my friend what she thought and she loved the idea. So with that said and done, I approached the piercer and voiced my request.
At A Glance Author IAM: myInfection IAM myInfection When Three months ago Studio Big Kahuna Location Boca Raton, FL Two minutes later, I was filling out the standard release agreement for my eagerly awaited labret. I only had to wait for a couple minutes for him to prep for the piercing. He then directed me to the chair and told me to sit down. This is where I started to get a tad bit nervous. Plus, there were a lot of people in the store and of course, they have to all watch the victim get pierced, which is more nerve-wracking for me. Then he took a good look at my lip structure, pulled out his purple pen, and tried to determine where to place it. I let him know that I wanted it to be pierced with a labret but in a place where I could still put a CBR in it.
He told me that I had "perfect lips" for this particular piercing which made me blush but also calmed me down a bit because he was very nice and made me feel comfortable. After a few tries, we were finally satisfied with the placement marking, and he clamped me. At this time, there were about five people watching me with big eyes and wondering how I would react to the piercing. So I put on my "brave face" and started my breathing ritual.....In through the nose and out through the mouth--SLOWLY. My best friend said I could hold her hand but I promised her I would be fine. The piercer put the clamp on very gently and asked if I was ready. Indeed I was. He asked me if I wanted a countdown and I said no because I hate going through the anticipation. So he said ,"Here we go", and I shut my eyes as hard as I could.
I could feel the needle slice through all the layers of my skin but to my surprise, the pain was relatively minimal. After the needle was through, he unwrapped the jewelery, and I had to sit there for a minute with a three inch needle protruding through my lip. Of course, I turned to show the crowd and grinned when their faces grimaced with the sight of me. I was laughing and gloating on the inside. I turned back to my piercer and he threaded the jewelery through the hollow needle and pulled the needle out after that. He screwed on the back. Then, he asked me if I was okay or if I felt dizzy or needed something to drink. I told him I was fine and gave him a reassuring smile. He let me see it in a little hand held mirror and I loved it. It was a bit uncomfortable because of the tightness and pressure but that feeling subsided after a few moments. He went over the cleaning procedures with me, "Wash it with dial twice a day and baby it with sea salt and warm water on a cotton bud... And no ointments." No problem. I paid, tipped, and thanked him.
Brittany and I then went to Target to buy my cleaning supplies and gab about how nice the guys were. Later that night, we went to a party at my friend's house and everyone loved my labret as well. Then everyone was talking about what piercing they wanted and asking me questions. The only problem I encountered with my fresh labret was the heat and humidity. It's very muggy in South Florida and it did not feel too good when sweat leaked into my brand new hole. It burned a bit but I couldn't do anything except wash it.
Today, three months later, my lovely labret is healed entirely and doing well. Anyone who is thinking about a labret should go for it, because I only felt some discomfort and not too much pain. I plan on getting labret snake bites now, so I can finish off my lip project. I would also recommend Big Kahuna to anyone looking to get some new metal or ink in South Florida. All the guys there are wonderfully nice and down to earth. I have returned for one other piercing(tragus) and one tattoo and they all have done a marvelous job. My experiences there awesome and everyone loves the work they do.
Getting my labret was a way for me to relieve the tension and get a lot of the hurt inside, out of me. So in a sense, it was my therapy session. It also helped me stop thinking of my ex and for that I am eternally grateful. Being single and pierced is a lot of fun! I thank all of my "therapists" at Big Kahuna!