I first saw a monroe piercing on a bus. This girl had it and although it didn't look particularly good on her, it definitely sparked my interest. I went onto Google, and searched for monroes/madonnas and I knew I wanted it. I liked how it looked, and as a kid I was always drawing on beauty marks a la Marilyn Monroe. I had seen it originally when I was 15. My parents wouldn't let me get any piercings, particularly face piercings so I had to wait until I was 16.
At A Glance Author Dolly Dead Contact Dolly Dead@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Can't remember name Studio Adrenaline Location Granville St., Vancouver I knew of a few good piercing spots around where I lived, but I eventually chose Adrenaline. I liked the people there and it was clean. I went on my birthday. My girlfriend took me to dinner and then we went to Adrenaline. I hadn't made an appointment, I was told my other people who had gone there that it wasn't necessary. We got to the place and I told them I wanted my monroe done. The woman there gave me a form to fill out and checked my I.D. I was told to take a seat and wait for my piercer to get ready.
I was so nervous! I am not usually all that good with needles; I used to have to get held down to get shots. I had researched the procedure thoroughly, so I knew what was going to happen, but I was still really nervous. I was mostly excited though, it was my first piercing since my ears when I was 6 months old.
I was then called in by the piercer (I can't remember her name, all I remember is her medusa piercing) and she got me to take a seat on the doctor-like table. She took a pen and asked me to smile. She made a dot where she thought it should go and had me take a look at in in the mirror. I asked my girlfriend what she thought and then we got the piercer to move it where we thought it would look good.
I watched her put on the gloves and take all of the tools out of the sterile packaging so I felt confident that she was fairly experienced. She was very friendly and made me feel like it was a basic procedure.
She put the clamps on my upper lip and adjusted it a bit. I was freaking out inside, but on the outside i remained calm. I was squeezing my girlfriend's hand pretty hard though; she knew I was scared. The piercer asked me to take a deep breath and she pushed the needle through. I kept my eyes shut the entire time; the needle would've freaked me out way too much. It barely hurt at all, I didn't really feel it going through my lip. When she put the labrette stud in (a plain silver ball) the only pain I felt was mild discomfort.
The piercer told me I was done and I relaxed. She went over the cleaning procedure with me, although I could barely pay attention. My girlfriend told me afterwards the procedure which was to:
1) clean it every morning with the antimicrobial soap
2) use mouthwash constantly throughout the next few weeks, after eating, kissing, moving, breathing etc... practically everything!
3) use a salt water soak at night time
I was given the cleaning supplies and my girlfriend paid as a birthday present. The stud was really long incase of swelling and it was a bit red. Other than that it felt alright. I did feel a bit weird when I smiled, but I think that was just getting used to having metal in my mouth.
I experienced no pain whatsoever throughout the next few weeks. I had no swelling or keloids. I had the usual puss, but I knew it was normal so that was fine. The only time it ever hurt was if the long stud got caught on my tooth, but I even get used to that.
After about a month I went and got my stud changed to a sparkling blue gem. I got it changed at Sinister Skin; it's cheaper there, and I know Ryan the piercer from other experiences. He told me my piercing was healthy and we discussed future piercings. Unfortunately, Sinister Skin doesn't do the surface piercing I want, but thats another story.
It's been two months since I got it done and it is doing fine. I love love love it and I am very happy with it. The placement is perfect, it is discreet, and sometimes people don't even notice it! I'll be able to get a job at most places it is so tasteful. Even my parents who initially hated it, like it now. It's true though, piercings are addictive, and there will be many more to come in the future. I'll be sure to write in BMEzine!