So, I've now had my vertical labret done three times. The first time, it was crooked. The second time, it started to migrate. This time, it appears to be going pretty damn well, considering the last two attempts.
At A Glance Author danny.frost Contact danny.frost@bme.anon IAM danny.frost When A month ago Artist Jesse Studio Black Lotus Location Avon, Indiana
Once I removed the second piercing, I instantly missed the ball resting on my top lip. I removed it before my guitar class on a Monday, and once I got out of class, I tried to put the barbell back in, to no avail. I was sad, but I knew I'd get it done again.
While with my friend Reggie, who was getting his tongue web pierced at Black Lotus, I started talking to Jesse about the last time we'd pierced my lip, and how I thought it sucked that it refused to stay in place. He said to call him over thanksgiving break, and that we'd redo it for a third, and hopefully final, time, for free (as the last one had been, aside from the tip). I told him I'd give him a call before my arrival to let him know it was going to happen, and I left with Reggie, excited about what would happen in about 3 weeks.
Break rolled around, and it actually hit me that I'd be getting my vertical labret done again. I was so excited that I could hardly wait. Unfortunately, my family sucks, so I HAD to wait until after our thanksgiving gathering. The friday after, I called Jesse, and left my house at about 5 with a car full of people. We arrived at about 6, just as I'd told him, and we talked for a few minutes.
It was now time for the piercing, and we went upstairs. He'd sterilized the barbell, and marked my lip..5 times or so. He wanted to make sure that it was going to be straight this time. He used calipers on my lip to make sure the jewelry would be the right length, since he planned on piercing at a slight angle, with the top ball sitting directly behind the scar tissue of the past 2 piercings. Once we both confirmed that the marks were in a good place, I sat back on the table, and began breathing deeply. He checked the marks one last time, changed his gloves, and held the needle below my lip.
Needless to say, scar tissue hurts a hell of a lot more than unpierced flesh. This time, my eyes actually watered a bit, but it was extremely bearable.
The needle was through, and he glanced one last time just to make sure that it had gone through straight. The jewelry was inserted, and we both checked ANOTHER time to make sure it was, in fact, straight. And it definitely was.
Afterwards, I thanked him profusely, and gave him all the cash I had on me, $10, as a tip for doing the piercing for free yet another time.
I went downstairs, and everyone agreed it was definitely straight. I thanked Jesse yet another time, he said to call him in a few weeks to let him know how the piercing was doing in terms of straightness and whatnot, and I was on my way back home.
The entire ride home, I couldn't stop staring into the rear view mirror and admiring the addition to my face.
As usual, my dad was completely indifferent about the piercing, simply pointing out that I'd gotten it done again. My mom, however, was not as accepting, and yelled at me for about a minute before deciding that she probably wasn't going to be able to stop me from getting things pierced. It's good that she's finally accepted this..haha.
Healing, as usual, is really uneventful. I rinse my mouth with mouthwash whenever I eat/smoke, and I wash it with Crazy Chameleon soap in the shower. Other than that, I generally practice the LITHA method, aside from applying chapstick throughout the day to help with my lips cracking. Unfortunately, getting this piercing right before winter wasn't a brilliant idea, but whatever..haha. This piercing will hopefully stay in place..it's been in place for 3 weeks so far, so this piercing is definitely looking as though it'll remain where it is. I'm consciously not trying to play with the piercing very much, which includes biting it and whatnot, and so far it seems to be helping a lot.
Needless to say, Jesse is an awesome piercer, and a great guy, as far as I know. I plan on returning there many times for future piercings, simply because I really like the atmosphere of the shop and the people that work in it, and the fact that Jesse is completely willing to correct anything that goes wrong, intentionally or not.
So, if you're ever in Avon, IN, I highly recommend Black Lotus on I-36 as a place to get pierced/tattooed at.